DataSavers of Jacksonville, Inc.

B-415113.3 Aug 24, 2018 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DataSavers of Jacksonville, Inc., a small business of Jacksonville, Florida, protests the issuance of a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) to Iron Mountain Information Management, LLC, of Boston, Massachusetts, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. HSHQDC-17-Q-00124, issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for off-site storage and records management services. DataSavers challenges the agency's evaluation of its quotation and resulting selection decision. We dismiss the protest in part and deny the protest in part. We dismiss the protest in part and deny the protest in part. View Decision Decision Matter of:  DataSavers of Jacksonville, Inc. File:  B-415113.3 Date:  August 24, 2018 Michael Lombardi, for the protester. Daniel R. Forman, Esq., James G. Peyster, Esq., Olivia L. Lynch, Esq., and Stephanie L. Crawford, Esq., Crowell & Moring LLP, for Iron Mountain Information Management, LLC, an intervenor. Paul B. Oman, Esq., and Peter G. Hartman, Esq., Department of Homeland Security, for the agency. Louis A. Chiarella, Esq., and Peter H. Tran, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Protest challenging the agency’s evaluation of protester’s quotation as technically unacceptable is denied where the evaluation was reasonable, consistent with the solicitation, and adequately documented. 2.  Protest challenging an apparent solicitation defect--that a requirement was believed to be physically unattainable--is dismissed as untimely where the protester did not challenge the alleged defect prior to the due date for receipt of quotations. DECISION DataSavers of Jacksonville, Inc., a small business of Jacksonville, Florida, protests the issuance of a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) to Iron Mountain Information Management, LLC, of Boston, Massachusetts, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. HSHQDC-17-Q-00124, issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for off-site storage and records management services.  DataSavers challenges the agency’s evaluation of its quotation and resulting selection decision. We dismiss the protest in part and deny the protest in part. BACKGROUND The RFQ was issued on March 30, 2017, on an unrestricted basis and using the procedures set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 8.4, to vendors holding contracts under the General Services Administration’s Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) No. 36 (The Office, Imaging & Document Solution).[1]  Agency Report (AR), Tab 4.4.10, RFQ amend. 4, at 47.  The RFQ contemplated the issuance of a BPA under which fixed-price and labor-hour orders could be placed for a base year with four 1-year options.[2]  Id.  In general terms, the contractor was to provide all management, labor, facilities, and materials necessary to perform the required document storage, transfer, tape archiving, transportation, security, retrieval, online access, document scanning/ digitization, disposition, and destruction services for DHS and its component agencies.  Id. at 46; AR, Tab 4.4.11, Statement of Work (SOW) at 13-15.  The RFQ established that BPA award would be made on a best-value tradeoff basis, based on five evaluation factors in descending order of importance:  technical approach; management approach; past performance; price; and small business participation.[3]  RFQ at 55. Iron Mountain and DataSavers submitted quotations by the April 17 closing date.  An agency technical evaluation team (TET) evaluated offerors’ nonprice proposals using adjectival rating schemes.  A separate price evaluation team (PET) assessed, but did not assign ratings to, vendors’ price submissions.  Based on its initial evaluation, the agency made BPA award to Iron Mountain on August 16.  Contracting Officer’s Statement at 2. On August 18, DataSavers filed a protest with our Office challenging the agency’s evaluation and award decision.  On September 5, DHS decided to take corrective action by conducting a new evaluation and making a new selection decision and, in light thereof, DataSavers elected to withdraw its protest.  The agency thereafter amended the solicitation, conducted discussions with vendors, and received revised quotations from Iron Mountain and DataSavers by the October 31 closing date.  By May 1, 2018, DHS completed its reevaluation, with the final evaluation ratings and prices of the Iron Mountain and DataSavers’ quotations as follows:   Iron Mountain DataSavers Technical Approach Outstanding Unacceptable Management Approach Good Acceptable Past Performance Outstanding Neutral Price $13,055,693 $9,361,304 Small Business Participation Outstanding N/A AR, Tab 6.2, Technical Evaluation Report, at 8; Tab 6.3, Price Evaluation Report, at 4. Relevant to the protest here and as detailed below, the TET found DataSa...