Tom Smith Fire Equipment Company Inc

B-414349 May 15, 2017 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Tom Smith Fire Equipment Company, Inc. (Tom Smith), of Brandon, Florida, protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. FA8056-17-R-0001 for Fire Emergency Services Personal Protective Equipment. Tom Smith argues that the determination to set aside certain products included in the RFP for small business competition was improper and that several other aspects of the solicitation were flawed. We deny the protest in part and dismiss it in part. We deny the protest in part and dismiss it in part. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  Tom Smith Fire Equipment Company, Inc. File:  B-414349 Date:  May 15, 2017 Daniel F. Edwards, Esq., Stephen P. Withee, Esq., and Michelle Y. Harrison, Esq., Frost Brown Todd, LLC, for the protester. Heather M. Mandelkehr, Esq., Col. C. Taylor Smith, Michaelisa Tomasic-Lander, Esq., and Tedd J. Shimp, Esq., Department of the Air Force, for the agency. Gabriel D. Soll, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging an agency’s decision to set an acquisition aside for small businesses is denied where the contracting officer had a reasonable expectation that the agency would receive proposals from two or more capable small businesses at a fair market price. DECISION Tom Smith Fire Equipment Company, Inc. (Tom Smith), of Brandon, Florida, protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. FA8056-17-R-0001 for Fire Emergency Services Personal Protective Equipment.  Tom Smith argues that the determination to set aside certain products included in the RFP for small business competition was improper and that several other aspects of the solicitation were flawed. We deny the protest in part and dismiss it in part. BACKGROUND The RFP, issued on December 21, 2016, seeks proposals to provide fire-fighting equipment for Air Force installations both within the contiguous United States and abroad.  RFP at 301-2.  The RFP includes five categories of equipment to be provided at fixed prices on an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) basis during the contract’s base year and four one-year option periods.  Id. at 301.  The solicitation anticipates the award of individual indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contracts for each of five product categories, based on independent, simultaneous source selections.  AR, Tab 2, Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS), at 2.  The five product categories are as follows: Product Category A: Structural fire-fighting garments Product Category B: Proximity fire-fighting garments[1] Product Category C: Fire-fighting boots Product Category D: Fire-fighting helmets Product Category E: General purpose boots RFP at 301. The RFP is partially set aside for small business concerns, restricting competition on categories A, B, and C to small businesses.  Id. at 302.  The solicitation instructs prospective offerors that they must comply with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.219-14, Limitation on Subcontracting, and with the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) nonmanufacturer rule, 13 C.F.R. § 121.406.  Id.  In this regard, the RFP explains that offerors that are not manufacturers must propose items manufactured by small businesses and that no waivers of this rule have been issued for the procurement.  Id. This procurement was preceded by an earlier Air Force solicitation for the same items, in November, 2014, that was set aside entirely for small business concerns and anticipated the award of a single ID/IQ contract for all five categories.  AR, Tab 2, COS, at 4.  Following protests filed with both the agency and our Office, the agency took corrective action by cancelling that solicitation, reviewing technical specifications, and conducting renewed market research.  AR, Tab 2, COS, at 5-6.  During the course of the corrective action, the acquisition team (including the contracting officer, program manager, and lead contract specialist) were replaced to ensure objectivity prior to issuing a new solicitation.  Id.