VBC Commercial Services, LLC

B-417528 Jul 15, 2019 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights VBC Commercial Services, LLC, of Killeen, Texas, a small business, protests the award of a contract to Aquarius Contractors, Inc., of Shreveport, Louisiana, also a small business, under request for proposals (RFP) No. W91151-19-R-0020, issued by the Department of the Army for commercial grounds maintenance services at Fort Hood, Texas. VBC argues that the Army unreasonably evaluated its proposal as unacceptable and improperly made award to Aquarius at a higher price. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. No party requested redactions; we are therefore releasing the decision in its entirety. Decision Matter of: VBC Commercial Services, LLC File: B-417528 Date: July 15, 2019 Sarah Schauerte Reida, Esq., Legal Meets Practical, LLC, for the protester. Scott N. Flesch, Esq., and Captain Richard W. Hagner, Department of the Army, for the agency. Paul N. Wengert, Esq., and Tania Calhoun, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that agency misevaluated protester's proposal as unacceptable is denied where, with respect to at least one subfactor, the record shows the evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation, which made its proposal unacceptable overall, so protester was not prejudiced by alleged misevaluation under other subfactors. DECISION VBC Commercial Services, LLC, of Killeen, Texas, a small business, protests the award of a contract to Aquarius Contractors, Inc., of Shreveport, Louisiana, also a small business, under request for proposals (RFP) No. W91151-19-R-0020, issued by the Department of the Army for commercial grounds maintenance services at Fort Hood, Texas. VBC argues that the Army unreasonably evaluated its proposal as unacceptable and improperly made award to Aquarius at a higher price. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The RFP, issued on February 1, 2019, as a small business set-aside, requested fixed-price proposals to provide commercial ground maintenance services for an area of approximately 3,000 acres for 6 months (from April 1 through September 30, 2019). RFP at 4. Proposals were to be submitted in four volumes: general, technical capability, past performance, and price. Id. at 102. The RFP stated that proposals would be evaluated under three factors (technical, past performance, and price) and that "when combined Technical and Past Performance are more important compared to price." Id. at 52. The contract would be awarded to the offeror whose proposal was "determined to be the best value by an overall assessment of the evaluation criteria and other considerations specified in this solicitation and represents the Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable." Id. at 105. The RFP set forth three subfactors under the technical factor: staffing approach, performance management, and proposed equipment and supplies listing. Id. at 103-104. Each subfactor consisted of multiple elements. As relevant to the protest issues discussed below, under the performance management subfactor, the RFP directed each offeror to "provide a written narrative detailing its . . . ability to effectively communicate and manage the Grounds Maintenance Service," and to include in the narrative "[a]n organizational chart or diagram showing the Offeror's organization structure and how it facilitates communication and management of the contract effort." Id. The RFP stated that if any subfactor were to be rated unacceptable, the technical capability factor would be unacceptable and as a result, the proposal would not be considered for award. Id. at 107. The RFP's performance work statement (PWS) specified the required management staffing as follows: 1.4.2.2. CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS. The Program Manager, Quality Control (QC) Manager, Safety Manager/-Alternate Program Manager, and Lead Field Technicians shall meet US Department of State Language Proficiency Level 4 - Full Professional Proficiency standards (able to use the English language fluently and accurately on all levels pertinent to professional needs and able to read all styles and forms of the language pertinent to professional needs). Id. at 5. In addition, the PWS required contractor staff to possess relevant licenses and accreditations and submit them at least five days before beginning work, id., and required the project manager to have complete contractual authority, a minimum of three years of supervisory experience in grounds maintenance at a large military installation, and five years of personnel management experience, among other things. Id. at 8 (PWS ¶¶ 1.4.2.3, 1.4.5). The Army received proposals from four offerors, including VBC and Aquarius.