KDH Defense Systems, Inc.

B-412951 Jul 12, 2016 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights KDH Defense Systems, Inc., of Eden, North Carolina, protests the exclusion of its proposals from the competitive range by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) under request for proposals (RFP) No. SPE1C1-16-R-0002, which was issued for improved outer tactical vests (IOTVs). KDH argues that DLA unreasonably concluded that the ballistics test data submitted in the protester's proposals failed to meet the RFP's mandatory test criteria. We deny the protest. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  KDH Defense Systems, Inc. File:  B-412951 Date:  July 12, 2016 Ruth E. Ganister, Esq., Rosenthal and Ganister, LLC, for the protester. Michael D. McPeak, Esq., Defense Logistics Agency, for the agency. Jonathan L. Kang, Esq., and Laura Eyester, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest is denied where the agency reasonably rejected the protester’s proposals for tactical vests as unacceptable because they failed to comply with the solicitation’s requirements for test data. DECISION KDH Defense Systems, Inc., of Eden, North Carolina, protests the exclusion of its proposals from the competitive range by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) under request for proposals (RFP) No. SPE1C1-16-R-0002, which was issued for improved outer tactical vests (IOTVs).  KDH argues that DLA unreasonably concluded that the ballistics test data submitted in the protester’s proposals failed to meet the RFP’s mandatory test criteria.  We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On November 13, 2015, DLA issued the solicitation, which sought proposals to provide up to 185,000 IOTVs.  RFP at 1, 9-17.  An IOTV is “a multiple threat body armor system consisting of a base vest and modular components for tailoring protection levels to defeat multiple ballistic hazards across the battlefield continuum and manage armor weight.”  Agency Report (AR), Tab 3, Purchase Description, at 1.  The RFP, which was set aside for small businesses and conducted using the best- value procedures in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15, anticipated award of a single indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for a base period of 1 year and three 1-year options.  RFP at 2, 10.  The solicitation contained fixed-price line items for six sizes of IOTVs and permitted offerors to submit more than one proposal for more than one type of IOTV.  Id. at 9-15, 62.  The solicitation stated that proposals would be evaluated based on the following three factors:  (1) ballistic test results, (2) product demonstration model, and (3) price.  Id. at 64‑65.  For purposes of award, the non-price factors were “significantly more important” than price.  Id. at 64.  The agency reserved the right to make award based on initial offers.  Id. at 17.  The ballistic test results evaluation factor instructed offerors, in relevant part, to provide the following information:  PASSING BALLISTIC TEST RESULTS (First Evaluation Factor) Offerors shall provide passing ballistic test results in accordance with First Article Test (FAT) criteria with their technical proposal.  The results shall demonstrate the offerors[’] ability to meet the complete ballistic requirements for FAT found under specification FQ/PD 07/05H while also meeting the aerial density requirement (0.88 lbs./sq. ft.). . . . RFP at 62-63.  If an offeror submitted more than one type of IOTV and therefore more than one proposal, it was required to provide passing ballistics test reports for each system.  Id. at 62.  An offeror would “pass” if its “ballistic test results [met] the performance requirements of Purchase Description FQ/PD 07-05H” and fail if it did not meet those requirements.  Id. at 65.  The RFP further instructed that failure to submit passing ballistic test results “at [the] time of initial closing shall result in the rejection of your entire proposal.”  Id. at 64 (emphasis omitted).  The purchase description, which was an attachment to the RFP, listed the relevant performance specifications and requirements for the IOTVs.  Section 3 of the purchase description addressed the IOTV performance requirements, and section 4 addressed the verification of the performance requirements, including first article tests.  AR, Tab 3, Purchase Description, at 5, 27.  The first article test criteria at section 4.10 of the purchase description listed a number of mandatory sub-tests, including (but not limited to) the following:  V50 testing, which measures the average velocity for tests that result in an equal number of complete and partial penetrations of the test sample; and Vs/Vr testing, which measures the striking velocity of a projectile before hitting the test sample (Vs) and compares it to the residual velocity of a projectile after leaving the test sample (Vr).  Id.