Precise Management, LLC (36C25619Q0881)

B-418359 Feb 27, 2020 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Precise Management, LLC, (PM), a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) of Hope Hull, Alabama, protests the award of a contract to CDS Services, Inc., under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 36C25619Q0881, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for pest management services. The protester asserts that the VA improperly excluded its quotation from further consideration after it found the protester nonresponsible, and subsequently withheld pertinent information about the protester when it referred the matter of PM's responsibility to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for review under the SBA's certificate of competency (COC) process. PM also challenges the award decision, and contends that CDS did not possess the required licenses to perform pest control work in Mississippi. We dismiss 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:  Precise Management, LLC File:  B-418359 Date:  February 27, 2020 Joseph A. Camardo, Jr., Esq., and Justin T. Huffman, Esq., Camardo Law Firm, P.C., for the protester. Alan Grayson, Esq., for CDS Services, Inc., the intervenor. Tyler W. Brown, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Kasia Dourney, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Protest that a contracting agency improperly withheld vital information from the Small Business Administration (SBA), bearing on the protester’s responsibility, when it referred the protester to the SBA for consideration under certificate of competency procedures is dismissed where there is no evidence that the procuring agency provided incorrect information, or withheld information from the SBA. 2.  Protest challenging the agency’s evaluation of vendors’ quotations and the award decision is dismissed where the protester is not an interested party to challenge the award. DECISION Precise Management, LLC, (PM), a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) of Hope Hull, Alabama, protests the award of a contract to CDS Services, Inc., under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 36C25619Q0881, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for pest management services.  The protester asserts that the VA improperly excluded its quotation from further consideration after it found the protester nonresponsible, and subsequently withheld pertinent information about the protester when it referred the matter of PM’s responsibility to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for review under the SBA’s certificate of competency (COC) process.  PM also challenges the award decision, and contends that CDS did not possess the required licenses to perform pest control work in Mississippi. We dismiss the protest. BACKGROUND The agency issued the solicitation on May 23, 2019, seeking pest management services at the VA Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi.  Agency’s Request for Dismissal, exh. 1, RFQ, at 2.  The procurement was set aside for SDVOSBs, and conducted utilizing the simplified acquisition procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 13.5.  Id. at 41.  Award was to be made on a lowest-priced, technically acceptable basis, using three technical capability subfactors:  relevant experience, contractor personnel/staff qualifications, and past performance.  Id. at 42. Four vendors submitted quotations by the June 26 closing date, including PM and CDS.  The VA evaluated PM’s quotation and found that it was technically acceptable and offered the lowest price.  Agency’s Request for Dismissal, exh. 2, Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 2.  As part of the responsibility determination, the contracting officer “review[ed] . . .