Herman Construction Group, Inc.

B-415480 Jan 05, 2018 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Herman Construction Group, Inc., of Escondido, California, protests the award of a contract to Talion Construction, LLC, of Honolulu, Hawaii, under invitation for bids (IFB) No. VA261-17-B-0330, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for construction services. The protester alleges that the agency improperly allowed Talion to correct a mistake in its bid. We sustain the protest. We sustain the protest. 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:  Herman Construction Group, Inc. File:  B-415480 Date:  January 5, 2018 William L. Bruckner, Esq., and Jessica L. Mulvaney, Esq., Bruckner Law Firm, APC, for the protester. Brian A. Darst, Esq., Brian A. Darst Law Office, for Talion Construction, LLC, an intervenor. Kate Gorney, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Todd C. Culliton, Esq., and Tania Calhoun, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Agency unreasonably determined that awardee had demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence a mistake in its bid where the existence of the alleged mistake was not corroborated by the record. 2.  Agency unreasonably determined that awardee had demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence its intended bid price where the awardee failed to show that it intended to use a particular subcontractor quotation prior to bid submission. DECISION Herman Construction Group, Inc., of Escondido, California, protests the award of a contract to Talion Construction, LLC, of Honolulu, Hawaii, under invitation for bids (IFB) No. VA261‑17‑B‑0330, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for construction services.  The protester alleges that the agency improperly allowed Talion to correct a mistake in its bid. We sustain the protest. BACKGROUND The IFB was issued on April 12, 2017, for the renovation and expansion of the emergency department at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System campus in Palo Alto, California.  IFB at 2, 10.  The IFB contemplated a single award, and required that bids be submitted by June 8, 2017.  IFB at 2, 13.  Bidders were instructed to provide a base bid item price and four alternate bid item prices depending on what design features were selected.  IFB at 11-14. Five bidders responded to the IFB.  Talion submitted the low bid of $6,635,332, and Herman submitted the second-low bid of $7,820,508.[1]  Contracting Officer’s Statement of Facts at 2. The following day, on June 9, Talion informed the agency that it had a mistake in its bid and requested that the agency permit it to either correct or withdraw its bid.  Agency Report (AR), Ex. 2 at 1.  Talion explained that it computed its prices for the base bid item and four alternate bid items using an erroneous amount for drywall services.  Id.  Talion stated “[o]ur estimate carried a subcontract bid cost of $500,000.00 but should have been $1,498,770.00.”  Id.  Based on the alleged error, Talion sought to correct its bid price to $7,771,658.  Id. On June 12, Talion provided more information to the agency regarding its mistake.  AR, Ex. 2 at 3.  It explained that the erroneous $500,000 subcontractor quotation reflected in its prices was a “plug” number and that it had failed to include the actual subcontractor quotation when it submitted the bid.  Id.  Talion also provided its worksheet which it stated reflected the mistake and its corrected worksheet.  The worksheets contain line‑item numbers, item descriptions, subcontractor names, and prices.  The worksheet containing the alleged mistake shows a value of $500,000 for drywall installation and reads “Talion Priced” under the subcontractor name column.  Id. at 5.  The corrected worksheet shows a value of $1,498,770 and also reads “Talion Priced” under the subcontractor name.  Id. at 17.  On June 19, Talion forwarded a copy of its subcontractor quotation and fax cover sheet to the agency.  AR, Ex. 3 at 3.  The subcontractor quotation was dated June 7, and the fax cover sheet confirmed that Talion had received it on that date.  Id. at 3, 4.  Talion also explained that its error resulted from Talion’s business practice; Talion typically receives all subcontractor quotations on the day of bid submittal and thus had omitted this information since it received the quotation one day early.  Id. at 1.  Based on the information, the agency permitted Talion to revise its bid to include the cost of the subcontractor quotation.  AR, Ex.