Johnson Controls Government Systems, LLC

B-411862 Nov 12, 2015 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights AECOM Technical Services, Inc., of San Diego, California, protests the rejection of its proposal under request for proposals (RFP) No. DE-SOL-0006380, issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) for personnel, facilities, equipment, materials, supplies and services in connection with performing energy savings performance contract (ESPC) projects. AECOM argues that the agency improperly rejected its proposal. We sustain the protest. We sustain the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  AECOM Technical Services, Inc. File:  B-411862 Date:  November 12, 2015 Richard B. O’Keeffe Jr., Esq., and William A. Roberts, III, Esq., Wiley Rein LLP; and James K. Lowe, Jr., Esq., AECOM Technical Services, Inc., for the protester. Gabriel D. Soll, Esq., Kevin Hilferty, Esq., Laura L. Hoffman, Esq., Adam DeDent, Esq., and Kimberly J. Graber, Esq., Department of Energy, for the agency. Scott H. Riback, Esq., and Tania Calhoun, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging an agency’s decision to reject the protester’s proposal because it was submitted to an incorrect location within the FedConnect web portal is sustained where record shows that:  the complete proposal was timely submitted; the agency was contemporaneously aware of the proposal’s submission; the agency plans to make multiple awards, so that no other competitor can claim to have been meaningfully harmed by accepting the proposal; the proposal was out of protester’s control and therefore could not have been altered or revised after the deadline for proposal submission had passed; and acceptance of the proposal as timely will enhance competition. DECISION AECOM Technical Services, Inc., of San Diego, California, protests the rejection of its proposal under request for proposals (RFP) No. DE-SOL-0006380, issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) for personnel, facilities, equipment, materials, supplies and services in connection with performing energy savings performance contract (ESPC) projects.  AECOM argues that the agency improperly rejected its proposal. We sustain the protest. The solicitation contemplates the award of multiple indefinite-delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts that will be available for use by other federal agencies to issue task orders to perform ESPC projects such as the installation of energy and water conservation projects, or the acquisition of renewable energy technologies.  The agency used a proposal submission web portal known as FedConnect.  RFP, Amendment No. 3, at 81.  FedConnect is a centralized web portal where vendors seeking to conduct business with the federal government can search for contract opportunities.  Vendors also can submit solicitation responses directly through the FedConnect system.  As explained in the FedConnect tutorial, and as relevant here, the FedConnect system has two distinct communication features, a “response center” for submitting proposals in response to solicitations, and a “message center,” for asking questions related to a solicitation.  Proposals were due by May 13, 2015. The record shows that, rather than submitting its proposal to the response center, AECOM submitted its proposal to the message center on May 12, 2015, one day before proposals were due.  Further, the record shows that, shortly after the protester submitted its proposal to the message center, also on May 12, the agency’s contract specialist noticed AECOM’s error.  He sent a message back to AECOM’s designated employee advising AECOM as follows:  “In accordance with Section L.9.d of the solicitation, proposals must be submitted through the FedConnect Responses web portal, not the Message Center, to be accepted.”  Agency Report (AR), exh. B-2, Contract Specialist Message to AECOM.  The protester apparently did not check the FedConnect message center after submitting its proposal, and therefore never received the contract specialist’s message regarding the proper submission of its proposal before the deadline for submitting proposals had passed.  Thereafter, on July 27, the agency sent AECOM a letter advising the firm that its proposal was rejected because it had not been submitted properly to the FedConnect web portal in accordance with the instructions in the solicitation.  AR, exh.