Centurum Inc.

B-415070.2 Mar 08, 2018 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Centurum, Inc., of McLean, Virginia, requests that we recommend that the Department of the Air Force reimburse it for the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest of the agency's decision to issue solicitation No. FA4890-17-R-0018, which contemplates the issuance of a task order for engineering and installation support services using the General Services Administration's (GSA) One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) contract program. Centurum argues that the Air Force failed to take prompt corrective action in response to a clearly meritorious protest ground. We grant the request. We grant the request. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  Centurum, Inc.--Costs File:  B-415070.2 Date:  March 8, 2018 Richard B. O'Keeffe, Jr., Esq., George E. Petel, Esq., and William A. Roberts, III, Esq., Wiley Rein LLP, for the protester. Colonel C. Taylor Smith, Lieutenant Colonel Byron G. Shibata, and Major Ryan P. Payne, Department of the Air Force, for the agency. Alexander O. Levine, Esq., and Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protester's request that GAO recommend reimbursement of protest costs is granted where the record shows that the agency unduly delayed taking corrective action in response to a clearly meritorious protest ground, and where the remaining protest ground was not severable from the clearly meritorious ground. DECISION Centurum, Inc., of McLean, Virginia, requests that we recommend that the Department of the Air Force reimburse it for the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest of the agency's decision to issue solicitation No. FA4890-17-R-0018, which contemplates the issuance of a task order for engineering and installation support services using the General Services Administration's (GSA) One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) contract program.  Centurum argues that the Air Force failed to take prompt corrective action in response to a clearly meritorious protest ground. We grant the request. BACKGROUND The instant request for reimbursement arises following Centurum's[1] protest of the Air Force's efforts to procure engineering and installation support services for its U.S. Central Command's geographic area of responsibility.  Contracting Officer's Statement (COS) at 1-2.[2]  At the time of the underlying protest, this requirement was being performed by Centurum Technical Solutions, Inc., an affiliate of the protester, via a task order issued pursuant to the U.S. Navy's SeaPort-e multiple award contract.  Id. at 2.  To determine its follow-on acquisition strategy, the Air Force researched different methods to fulfill the requirement.  On March 15, 2017, the Air Force posted a sources sought notice on the Federal Business Opportunities website.  Id. at 3.  The agency received responses from six small businesses and two large businesses.  Id.  The agency reviewed the capability statements of the six small businesses and determined that four of them had the capability to meet the requirements.  Id. That same month, the agency sought a determination from GSA on whether the requirement fell within the scope of GSA's OASIS program.  Id. at 5-6.  In May, GSA determined that the requirement was within the scope of the OASIS program.  Id. at 6.  GSA's determination was based on cost estimates provided by the Air Force that estimated that a majority of labor dollars for the requirement would come from professional services, rather than non-professional services.  Id.   On May 19, the Air Force issued another sources sought notice, this time to holders of a GSA OASIS indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract, under small business contract pools 1 and 3.  Id. at 4.  The agency received responses from four small businesses, and determined that all four had the capability to meet the requirement.  Id.  On July 20, the Air Force issued solicitation No. FA4890-17-R-0018, seeking to issue a task order for the requirement to a holder of an OASIS small business pool 3 contract.  Id. at 6.  On August 11, Centurum, Inc. filed a protest, which our Office docketed as B-415070.1, of the agency's decision to procure the requirement via a task order solicitation under the OASIS program.  In this regard, the protester argued that the requirement was beyond the scope of the OASIS contract, since that contract is limited to services that are "executive, administrative, or professional."  Protest at 11.  The protester contended that the instant requirement consists "primarily of blue collar jobs, such as electricians and electronics technicians."  Id.