B-298841; B-298841.2, John Blood, December 21, 2006

B-298841; B-298841.2, John Blood, December 21, 2006 TITLE: B-298841; B-298841.2, John Blood, December 21, 2006 BNUMBER: B-298841; B-298841.2 DATE: December 21, 2006 *************************************************** B-298841; B-298841.2, John Blood, December 21, 2006 Decision Matter of: John Blood File: B-298841; B-298841.2 Date: December 21, 2006 John Blood for the protester. Azine Farzami, Esq., Department of Agriculture, for the agency. Nora K. Adkins, Esq., and James Spangenberg, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Under tree thinning solicitation that requested a housing plan be provided with the quotation, awardee's quotation stated that its workers would camp on-site, but did not address or indicate that it would not comply with the housing provisions of the Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act, 29 U.S.C. sections 1801-1872 (2000), and was therefore not unacceptable; the agency did not have duty to specifically confirm prior to award that awardee would comply with the Act during contract performance. 2. Agency may properly consider an evaluator's personal knowledge of and documented past experiences with a vendor in a past performance evaluation. DECISION John Blood protests the agency's evaluation of quotations received in response to solicitation No. AG-82MK-S-06-0019, issued by the Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, for tree thinning to protect area properties and power lines from wildfires in three units in the Gunnison Ranger District of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests in Colorado. We deny the protests. The request for quotations (RFQ), issued as a small business set-aside under simplified acquisition procedures, contemplated the award of a fixed-price order to the vendor whose quotation represented the best value to the government. Quotations were to be evaluated based on price, and the following four technical criteria listed in descending order of importance: technical capability, past performance, quality control plan, and proposed work plan and schedule; price was to be given the same evaluation weight as the combined weight of the technical criteria. RFQ sect. M.1.1. The past performance criterion states, "Includes number of planting contracts performed in the last three years, references and telephone numbers." RFQ sect. M.1.1.2. The proposed work plan and schedule criterion was to be "evaluated for conformance with the minimum production as stated in the contract. Also include plans for housing workers on the resulting contract." RFQ sect. M.1.1.4. The agency received five quotations. Mr. Blood submitted the lowest-priced quotation at $19,654.40 and Native Ecology's quotation of $19,717.00 was second low. Native Ecology's quotation was evaluated with "outstanding" technical capability, "acceptable" past performance, "outstanding" quality control plan, "acceptable" proposed work plan and schedule, and "outstanding" overall. Agency Report, Tab J, Consensus Rating Sheet. Mr. Blood's quotation was rated with "acceptable" technical capability, "marginal" past performance, "acceptable" quality control plan, "acceptable" proposed work plan and schedule, and "acceptable minus" overall. Agency Report, Tab H, Consensus Rating Sheet. Of the vendors' quotations, Native Ecology's was ranked first technically and Mr. Blood's was ranked fourth. Agency Report, Tab K, Purchasing Agent's Report. Based on the foregoing, the purchasing agent determined that Native Ecology's quotation represented the best value to the government. These protests followed. Mr. Blood first argues that the agency erred in evaluating the awardee's quotation's housing plan under the proposed work plan and schedule criterion. Section H.4 of the draft contract included in the solicitation details the applicable camping and worksite provisions. This section also states, "The contractor shall provide a general plan with the technical proposal, and shall provide a more specific plan based on items awarded, prior to start [of] work." RFQ sect. H.4. The work plan in Native Ecology's quotation in response to this criterion only stated with regard to a housing plan, "[w]orkers will camp on-site." Agency Report, Tab J, Native Ecology's Quotation at Work Plan. Mr. Blood's quotation similarly stated, "This [contractor] will camp in a self contained fifth wheel on site," and indicated that "[n]o `outdoor' fires are necessary" and that he "has never had problems complying with the camping rules." Agency Report, Tab H, John Blood's Quotation, at 4. Mr.