American Material Handling, Inc.

B-410899 Mar 12, 2015 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights American Material Handling, Inc. (AMH), of Watkinsville, Georgia, protests the International Boundary and Water Commission's (IBWC) award of a contract to Federal Contracts Corporation, of Tampa, Florida, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 936886, for an excavator. The protester challenges the agency's evaluation of its quotation as unacceptable. We deny the protest. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of: American Material Handling, Inc. File: B-410899 Date: March 12, 2015 Wes McCleary for the protester. Matthew Myers, Esq., International Boundary and Water Commission, for the agency. Kenneth Kilgour, Esq., and David A. Ashen, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that agency unreasonably evaluated protester’s quotation as technically unacceptable is denied, where the evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the terms of the solicitation, and the communications with the protester were clarifications, not discussions, which could not correct material deficiencies in its quotation. DECISION American Material Handling, Inc. (AMH), of Watkinsville, Georgia, protests the International Boundary and Water Commission’s (IBWC) award of a contract to Federal Contracts Corporation, of Tampa, Florida, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 936886, for an excavator. The protester challenges the agency’s evaluation of its quotation as unacceptable. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On September 27, 2014, the agency issued the solicitation, set aside for small businesses, using simplified acquisition procedures. Agency Email, Feb. 25, 2015; Agency Report (AR), Tab 2, RFQ; see Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 13.5. The RFQ sought quotations for the award of a contract for one excavator, brand name or equal to Caterpillar 320EL or John Deere 210GLC, to the vendor submitting the lowest-priced, technically acceptable quotation. An attached specifications sheet contained salient characteristics and solicitation requirements that included, as relevant, requirements for a quick coupler line with necessary hydraulic lines, a heavy duty bucket, the vendor’s “maximum extended warranty,” training for 15 operators, and four copies of the manuals (two hard copies and two electronic). RFQ, Specification Sheet, at 2. Three firms‑‑AMH, Federal Contracts, and Gaithersburg Farmers Supply, Inc. (GFS)--submitted timely quotations by the 10 a.m., September 30 submission deadline. Aff. of Technical Evaluator ¶ 6.[1] AMH quoted an “or equal” Volvo excavator for $191,937, while GFS quoted an “or equal” Hyundai excavator for $189,900 and Federal Contracts quoted an “or equal” Caterpillar excavator for $220,859. AR, Tab 5, AMH Quotation at 1; Tab 3, GFS Quotation; Tab 7, Federal Contracts Quotation, at 1. The technical evaluator initially evaluated AMH’s quotation as technically unacceptable on the basis that AMH listed a standard bucket, while the RFQ specified a heavy duty bucket; did not include a quick coupler in the quotation; and did not specify the additional hydraulic lines required for the quick coupler. The agency also evaluated GFS’s quotation as technically unacceptable, finding that GFS’s quotation did not include the required training for 15 operators and four copies of the manuals, and that the agency could not ascertain from the quotation whether GFS’s quoted cab met all applicable federal requirements. Aff. of Technical Evaluator, attach. A, Email from Technical Evaluator to Contract Specialist, Sept. 30, 2014; AR, Tab 4, Evaluation of GFS Quotation; Tab 6, Evaluation of AMH Quotation. The agency evaluated Federal Contract’s quotation as technically acceptable. AR, Tab 8, Evaluation of Federal Contract Quotation. As a result of the above concerns, the contract specialist sent an email to AMH requesting that it: Please address the following questions:   1. Is the bucket standard or heavy duty? 2. Does the Volvo come with a quick coupler? 3. Quote does not address additional hydraulic line for quick coupler. Evaluation of AMH Quotation, Email from Contract Specialist to AMH, Sept. 30, 2014. AMH responded as follows: 1) Bucket is Heavy Duty 2) Quick coupler will be on machine 3) Necessary hydraulic lines are included for quick coupler Evaluation of AMH Quotation, Email from AMH to Contract Specialist, Sept. 30, 2014. The contract specialist also emailed GFS the following questions: Can you please clarify the following: 1. Does your quote include 1 day of training for 15 operators? 2. Manuals: Does your quote include 4 sets, two hard copies and two electronic copies? 3. It is not clear if cab with [Rollover Protective Structure/Falling Object Protective Structure] meets SAE [International] and [International Organization for Standardization] criteria.