North Wind Site Services, LLC

B-416158 Jun 04, 2018 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Chenega Healthcare Services, LLC (CHS), a small business, of San Antonio, Texas, protests the award of a contract to KÅ«pono Government Services, LLC (KGS), a small business, of Honolulu, Hawaii, under request for proposals (RFP) No. DE-SOL-0010843, which was issued by the Department of Energy (DOE), for an indefinite-delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to support the National Training Center at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. CHS, the incumbent contractor for the services at issue, challenges its exclusion from the competition because one of its proposed key personnel subsequently became unavailable after the submission of proposals, but prior to award. The protester alleges that the agency unreasonably failed to consider the DOE-approved substitute key person currently performing on CHS' incumbent contract, or otherwise unreasonably failed to engage in discussions to allow the protester to provide a substitute for the subsequently unavailable key person. We deny the protest. We deny the protest. 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:  Chenega Healthcare Services, LLC File:  B-416158 Date:  June 4, 2018 Stowell B. Holcomb, Esq., Mark G. Jackson, Esq., and Kevin A. Rosenfield, Esq., Jackson Rosenfield LLP, for the protester. Damien C. Specht, Esq., James. A. Tucker, Esq., R. Locke Bell, Esq., and Lauren J. Horneffer, Esq., Morrison & Foerster LLP, for Kūpono Government Services, LLC, the intervenor. John L. Bowles, Esq., and James J. Jurich, Esq., Department of Energy, for the agency. Evan D. Wesser, Esq., and Edward Goldstein, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Protest that the agency was required to consider proposed substitute key person for a follow-on procurement based on the agency's prior approval of the proposed substitute on the incumbent contract is denied where the agency elected to proceed without discussions and the initial proposal was technically unacceptable due to the unavailability of the initially proposed key person. 2.  Protest that the agency was required to engage in discussions before rejecting the protester's proposal as technically unacceptable is denied where the agency was under no obligation to conduct discussions regarding the protester's technically unacceptable proposal. DECISION Chenega Healthcare Services, LLC (CHS), a small business, of San Antonio, Texas, protests the award of a contract to Kūpono Government Services, LLC (KGS), a small business, of Honolulu, Hawaii, under request for proposals (RFP) No. DE-SOL-0010843, which was issued by the Department of Energy (DOE), for an indefinite-delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to support the National Training Center at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  CHS, the incumbent contractor for the services at issue, challenges its exclusion from the competition because one of its proposed key personnel subsequently became unavailable after the submission of proposals, but prior to award.  The protester alleges that the agency unreasonably failed to consider the DOE-approved substitute key person currently performing on CHS' incumbent contract, or otherwise unreasonably failed to engage in discussions to allow the protester to provide a substitute for the subsequently unavailable key person. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The RFP, which was issued on June 23, 2017, and subsequently amended three times, sought proposals from offerors eligible under the Small Business Administration's 8(a) business development program for an IDIQ contract to support the National Training Center at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  RFP at 1-2.[1]  Specifically, the contractor may be required to provide training, training certification, cyber security, information technology planning and management, facilities, safety, security, business operation, custodial, and ground maintenance services.  RFP, attach. No. A, Statement of Objectives, at 4-5, 7-10, 12.  The RFP contemplated the award of a single IDIQ contract, with the potential for fixed-price or time-and-materials type orders, and an ordering period of 5 years.  RFP at 2, 59. The RFP contemplated a best-value tradeoff basis for award, where the technical and past performance factors were significantly more important than price.  Id.