Sumaria Systems, Inc. (FA8622-20-R-8244)

B-418796 Sep 09, 2020 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Sumaria Systems, Inc., of Danvers, Massachusetts, protests the provisions of fair opportunity proposal request (FOPR) No. FA8622-20-R-8244, issued by the Department of the Air Force pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 16.5, to provide support services for F-15 aircraft. Sumaria asserts that the solicitation's source selection methodology fails to consider price and that the evaluation criteria are otherwise unreasonable. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. The entire decision has now been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  Sumaria Systems, Inc. File:  B-418796 Date:  September 9, 2020 James Y. Boland, Esq., and Michael T. Francel, Esq., Venable LLP, for the protester. Col. Patricia S. Wiegman-Lenz, Alexis J. Bernstein, Esq., Danielle A. Runyan, Esq., Lawrence M. Anderson, Esq., Josephine Farinelli, Esq., Edward S. Fisher, Esq., and Capt. David J. Ely, Department of the Air Force, for the agency. Glenn G. Wolcott, Esq., John Sorrenti, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Terms of solicitation, issued pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 16.5, that provide for award of a task order to the highest technically rated offeror with a fair and reasonable price are consistent with applicable law and regulation. 2.  Protester’s complaints regarding the evaluation criteria to be used to determine the highest technically rated offeror fail to provide a basis for sustaining the protest. DECISION   Sumaria Systems, Inc., of Danvers, Massachusetts, protests the provisions of fair opportunity proposal request (FOPR) No. FA8622-20-R-8244, issued by the Department of the Air Force pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 16.5, to provide support services for F-15 aircraft.  Sumaria asserts that the solicitation’s source selection methodology fails to consider price and that the evaluation criteria are otherwise unreasonable.  We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On May 5, 2020, the Air Force issued the FOPR to small businesses holding indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts under the General Services Administration’s “One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services” (OASIS) program.[1]  The FOPR contemplates the award of a single cost‑plus-fixed-fee task order[2] for a 1-year base period and four 1-year option periods, and seeks proposals to provide services supporting the Air Force’s mission to “design, develop, integrate, test, produce, deploy, modernize, sustain and support” the F-15 aircraft for the United States and for U.S. foreign military sales (FMS) partners worldwide.[3]  FOPR at 19.  The FOPR identifies various engineering, professional, and administrative support services (EPASS) the contractor will be required to perform;[4] provides labor hour estimates, by labor category, for which offerors must propose direct and indirect rates; and estimates the value of the task order to be $270 million.  The closing date for submission of proposals was June 5, 2020.  The solicitation provides that award will be made to the highest technically rated offeror (HTRO) with a realistic and reasonable price, and establishes two evaluation factors: technical and cost/price.  FOPR at 3, 158-59.  With regard to evaluation under the technical factor, the solicitation establishes a point-scoring system based on objectively verifiable criteria that measure the extent of an offeror’s prior experience and the quality of its past performance.[5]  The solicitation explains that the criteria are intended to “maximize the objectivity of determining the HTRO,” noting that an offeror with an extensive and positive past performance history “presents a lower risk of unsuccessful performance,” while an offeror with a more limited or less positive performance history “presents a higher risk of unsuccessful performance.”  Id. at 167. With regard to cost/price, offerors will be required to provide direct and indirect rates associated with the various labor categories and levels of effort identified in the solicitation.  The FOPR provides that the agency will evaluate cost/price on the basis of reasonableness, realism, and balance, using the techniques identified in FAR 15.404-1.  Id. at 179-81.  In performing the cost/price evaluation, the agency will establish a most probable cost (MPC) for the labor categories identified in the solicitation based on a survey of data that “may include, but is not limited to:  General Schedule (GS), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Economic Research Institute (ERI), Salary.com, in-house subject matter experts, and historical data . . . along with data from the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA).”  Id.