Ranger American of Puerto Rico, Inc. (70FBR220R00000007)

B-418616 Jul 02, 2020 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Ranger American of Puerto Rico, Inc., of San Juan, Puerto Rico, protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. 70FBR220R00000007, issued by the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for security guard and patrol services to be performed in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The protester, a large business, contends that the agency improperly issued the solicitation as a total small business set-aside. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  Ranger American of Puerto Rico, Inc. File:  B-418616 Date:  July 2, 2020 Jonathan D. Shaffer, Esq., Mary Pat Buckenmeyer, Esq., and Todd M. Garland, Esq., Smith Pachter McWhorter PLC, for the protester. Matthew Lane, Esq., Department of Homeland Security, for the agency. Kasia Dourney, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging an agency’s decision to set aside the procurement for small businesses is denied where the agency had a reasonable expectation that proposals would be received from at least two responsible small business concerns, and award would be made at a fair market price. DECISION   Ranger American of Puerto Rico, Inc., of San Juan, Puerto Rico, protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. 70FBR220R00000007, issued by the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for security guard and patrol services to be performed in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.  The protester, a large business, contends that the agency improperly issued the solicitation as a total small business set-aside. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The RFP, issued on February 22, 2020, sought proposals for armed security guard services at sites and facilities within a declared disaster area in Puerto Rico.[1]  Agency Report (AR), Tab E, att. 1 to the RFP, Statement of Work (SOW) at 1.  The solicitation was set aside for small business concerns and anticipated award of a labor-hour contract, for a base period of 90 days with three 60-day option periods,on a lowest-priced, technically acceptable basis.[2]  AR, Tab D, RFP at 1; COS ¶¶ 11-12. The RFP was issued pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) parts 12 and 13, utilizing the guard level II security personnel labor category.  COS ¶ 9.  The solicitation was assigned North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 561612, Security Guards and Patrol Services.[3]  RFP at 5. Prior to issuing the RFP, the agency conducted market research.  First, the agency reviewed the acquisition history for armed security guard services under DR-4473, and acquisition history for similar services related to a previous major disaster declaration in Puerto Rico, under DR-4339.  COS ¶ 4; AR, Tab L, Market Research Report.  Further, the agency reviewed a 2017 market research report for level II armed security guard services prepared by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); consulted experienced security managers and subject matter experts for prior procurements; and conducted searches for small business companies providing similar services in the databases maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA), as well as searches on Dun & Bradstreet and Google.  Id.  As a result of its market research efforts, the agency identified four small business concerns that performed the services sought by the RFP.[4]  COS ¶ 5; AR, Tab L, Market Research Report at 4.  In addition, the contract specialist for the procurement conducted a search of the System for Award Management’s (SAM) database, for small businesses registered under NAICS code 561612 in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and identified at least four more small businesses that the agency expected would be capable of performing the work.  COS ¶ 6. Based on the market research, which established that there were eight small businesses capable of performing the requirement, the contracting officer determined that the solicitation should be set aside for small business concerns.[5]  COS ¶ 7.  The RFP was issued on beta.SAM.gov, the single, government-wide point of entry, as a small-business set-aside.  On March 1, 2020, Ranger filed an agency-level protest, challenging FEMA’s set-aside determination.  By the March 2 closing date, FEMA received ten proposals, eight of which were determined to be from eligible small businesses, based upon the SAM representations and certifications under NAICS code 561612.[6]  COS ¶ 14; AR, Tab N, Proposal Checklist.  On March 18, FEMA dismissed Ranger’s agency-level protest.  This protest followed. DISCUSSION Ranger argues that the agency decision to set the procurement aside for small business concerns was improper because there is no reasonable basis to expect proposals from at least two responsi...