Syneren Technologies Corporation (1305M220QNWWG0040)

B-418541.2,B-418541.3 Sep 25, 2020 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Syneren Technologies Corporation, a woman-owned small business (WOSB) of Arlington, Virginia, challenges the issuance of a task order to Dowless & Associates, Inc., a WOSB of Arlington, Virginia, by the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service (NWS), under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 1305M220QNWWG0040, issued under the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) for engineering services. The protester argues that the agency erred in its evaluation of quotations in several respects. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  Syneren Technologies Corporation File:  B-418541.2; B-418541.3 Date:  September 25, 2020 Jon D. Levin, Esq., W. Brad English, Esq., and Emily J. Chancey, Maynard Cooper & Gale, PC, for the protester. Isaias Alba, IV, Esq., Lauren R. Brier, Esq., and Timothy F. Valley, Esq., Piliero Mazza PLLC, for Dowless & Associates, Inc., the intervenor. Rebecca Bailey Jacobsen, Esq., and James Rhodes, Esq., Department of Commerce, for the agency. Michael Willems, Esq., and Edward Goldstein, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest alleging that agency misevaluated proposals and made an unreasonable source selection decision is denied where the record shows that the agency’s evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the terms of the solicitation. DECISION Syneren Technologies Corporation, a woman-owned small business (WOSB) of Arlington, Virginia, challenges the issuance of a task order to Dowless & Associates, Inc., a WOSB of Arlington, Virginia, by the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service (NWS), under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 1305M220QNWWG0040, issued under the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) for engineering services.  The protester argues that the agency erred in its evaluation of quotations in several respects. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On December 17, 2019, the agency issued the RFQ to WOSBs holding contracts under the Professional Services FSS Category No. 871 4, Professional Engineering Services.  Agency Report (AR), Tab 1, RFQ at 1-2.  The solicitation contemplated the award of a single time-and-materials task order on the basis of a best-value tradeoff between price and non-price factors.  Id. at 4.  The solicitation provided for the evaluation of quotations under three evaluation factors, listed in descending order of importance:  (1) technical approach; (2) past performance; and (3) price.  Id.  Relevant to this protest, the procurement represents a follow-on effort related to an existing task order, but the scope of work for this procurement is significantly narrower than the scope of work under the incumbent task order.  Supp. Memorandum of Law (MOL) at 2-4.  For the challenged procurement, the agency modified its procurement strategy to separate several requirements currently provided under the existing task order into different contract vehicles.  MOL at 19.  Specifically, the prior task order provided support for the agency’s upper-air observing systems (UAOS), automated surface observing systems (ASOS), and Cooperative Observer Program (COOP), among other things, but the challenged task order only provides support for UAOS.  Supp. MOL at 2-4. To fulfill the UAOS requirements, the RFQ required vendors to propose 5 positions with specific skillsets at 1880 hours per year.  RFQ at 24-25.  With the incumbent contract ending, the RFQ emphasized the need for vendors to recruit and retain incumbent personnel, indicating that incumbent capture was a government priority.  Id. at 26.  The RFQ also required vendors to address the following areas in their technical approach:  (1) incumbent capture methodology; (2) phase-in strategy and approach to performing the work without disrupting or compromising effective and efficient operations; (3) the overall approach to ensure timely and accurate reporting; and (4) any risks associated with the approach and proposed mitigation methods, along with the proposed objective criteria that can be used to determine if each milestone has been achieved.  Id. at 3 On January 10, 2020, the agency received two quotations in response to the RFQ, one from the protester and one from the intervenor.  MOL at 4.  The agency evaluated the quotations as follows:   Syneren Dowless Technical Approach Acceptable Good Past Performance Outstanding Acceptable Price $3,458,275.60 $3,053,376.85   AR, Tab 9, Best-Value Determination at 2. On the basis of this evaluation, the agency concluded that Dowless represented the best value to the government because, while Syneren had superior past performance, Dowless offered a technically superior quotation at a significantly lower price.  Id.