Gulf Civilization General Trading & Contracting Company

B-416140.2 Jul 31, 2019 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Gulf Civilization General Trading & Contracting Company of Al Salhiya, Kuwait, protests the award of request for quotations (RFQ) No. SKU200-17-Q-0010, which was issued by the Department of State (DoS) for janitorial services at the U.S. embassy in Kuwait. The protester contends that the agency's technical evaluation was inconsistent with the solicitation; Gulf also asserts that DoS engaged in misleading discussions. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  Gulf Civilization General Trading & Contracting Company File:  B-416140.2 Date:  July 31, 2019 Gabriel Grillo, for the protester. Kathleen D. Martin, Esq., Department of State, for the agency. Stephanie B. Magnell, 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 technical evaluation is denied, where the agency had a reasonable basis to conclude that the protester’s proposal did not provide an adequate food allowance for employees and was therefore technically unacceptable. 2.  Protest alleging that the agency conducted misleading discussions is denied, where the agency properly led the protester to the weaknesses in the areas of the proposal. DECISION Gulf Civilization General Trading & Contracting Company of Al Salhiya, Kuwait, protests the award of request for quotations (RFQ) No. SKU200-17-Q-0010, which was issued by the Department of State (DoS) for janitorial services at the U.S. embassy in Kuwait.  The protester contends that the agency’s technical evaluation was inconsistent with the solicitation; Gulf also asserts that DoS engaged in misleading discussions.  We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On September 19, 2017, DoS posted the RFQ on the Federal Business Opportunities website and on the embassy’s website.  Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 1.  The RFQ anticipated the award of an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity fixed-priced contract, with a period of one base year and four option years, to the responsible offeror[1] submitting the lowest-priced, technically acceptable quotation.  RFQ at 5-11, 80.  The procurement was conducted pursuant to the commercial item provisions of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12.  As relevant to this protest, the RFQ explained that “[t]he Contractor shall perform janitorial work, including furnishing all labor, three (3) meals a day for labor[er]s, material, equipment and services, for the U.S. Embassy Kuwait.”  Id. at 5, Performance Work Statement.  The RFQ instructed offerors as follows: It’s the contractor’s responsibility to provide at NO cost to their staff working under this contract, a healthy eating pattern that consists of three (3) meals a day, (breakfast, [l]unch and dinner), to cover working days, holidays and weekends.  Each proposed meal to meet as per attachment 4 “Estimated calorie needs per day, by age, sex” . . . .   *  *  *  *  * Each interested offeror is required to submit in their proposal the proposed three meals that should be . . . consistent with attachment 3 “Adult Meal Pattern” published by [the U.S. Department of Agriculture], and attachment 4 “Estimated Calorie Needs per Day, by Age, Sex”.  The proposed meals will be reviewed and approved by the Embassy [contracting officer’s representative] and Health Unit. If interested offerors will provide meals/food allowance instead of the proposed three meals, they are required to indicate in their offer the proposed dollar/KWD [Kuwaiti dinar] value of the meals/food allowance per day. Id. at 23-24.    The RFQ contained a meal pattern requirement to ensure workers’ nutritional diversification.[2]  Id. at 39, attach. 3.  For breakfast, offerors were to demonstrate that their meals included minimum quantities of milk, vegetable or fruits, and whole grains such as bread, fortified cereal, or granola.  Id.  For lunch and dinner, meals were to include minimum quantities of milk; meat or other protein, such as eggs, beans, or soy products; vegetables; fruits; and whole grains such as enriched bread, grains, or pasta.  Id.  The solicitation also contained a table of caloric needs, ranging from a low of 1,600 kilocalories (kcal) per day for a sedentary woman over age 50, to a high of 3,200 kcal for an active 18-year-old man.[3]  Id. at 40, attach. 4. The RFQ also required offerors to indicate whether they were providing employees with housing accommodations.  Id.  Offerors who did were required to submit a housing plan.  Id. at 74.  Each housing plan was required to meet certain minimum criteria, such as a “[m]aximum of two employees to share one bedroom” and “secured electrical connections.”  Id. at 74-75.  Housing plans would be evaluated on a pass/fail basis.[4]  Id.