Unico Mechanical Corporation (140R3020R0025 )

B-419250 Oct 29, 2020 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Unico Mechanical Corp., a small business of Benicia, California, protests the award of a contract to Marine Diving Solutions, LLC, of Centennial, Colorado, under request for proposals (RFP) No. 140R3020R0025, issued by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation for replacement of the intake tower cylinder gate stem assemblies at Hoover Dam. Unico challenges the agency's evaluation of proposals, the agency's affirmative responsibility determination for the awardee, and contends that it was improper for the agency to make award without establishing a competitive range and conducting discussions. We dismiss the protest in part and deny the protest in part. View Decision Decision Matter of:  Unico Mechanical Corp. File:  B-419250 Date:  October 29, 2020 Randy Potter, Unico Mechanical Corp., for the protester. Sheryl Rakestraw, Esq., Department of the Interior, for the agency. Heather Self, Esq. and Peter Tran, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of this decision. DIGEST 1.  Protest alleging that the awardee’s pricing is unrealistically low is dismissed because the solicitation did not provide for a price realism evaluation. 2.  Protest that agency improperly evaluated the protester’s proposal as deficient is denied because the evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation. 3.  Protester is not an interested party to raise additional challenges to the agency’s evaluation of proposals or the agency’s affirmative responsibility determination when protester would not be in line for award because the agency reasonably determined that the protester’s proposal was deficient and, therefore, ineligible for award. DECISION   Unico Mechanical Corp., a small business of Benicia, California, protests the award of a contract to Marine Diving Solutions, LLC, of Centennial, Colorado, under request for proposals (RFP) No. 140R3020R0025, issued by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation for replacement of the intake tower cylinder gate stem assemblies at Hoover Dam.  Unico challenges the agency’s evaluation of proposals, the agency’s affirmative responsibility determination for the awardee, and contends that it was improper for the agency to make award without establishing a competitive range and conducting discussions. We dismiss the protest in part and deny the protest in part.   BACKGROUND On July 17, 2020, the agency issued the solicitation seeking proposals to replace the gate stem assemblies of up to four of the intake towers at Hoover Dam with corrosion-resistant stem assemblies.  RFP at Foreword, Standard Form 33.  The solicitation contemplated award of a single fixed-price indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity type contract to the responsible offeror whose proposal was considered most advantageous to the government based upon consideration of price and non-price factors.  Id. at Foreword, L-4, M-1.  The solicitation established four non-price evaluation factors that were “relatively equal to each other”:  (1) experience; (2) technical capability/facilities; (3) design and/or specification alternative(s) (if applicable); and (4) past performance.  RFP at M-1.  The solicitation provided that the four non-price factors combined were significantly more important than price.  Id.  The solicitation further provided that proposed prices would be evaluated for reasonableness and to check for “any instances of unbalanced pricing.”  Id. at M-1, M-2.  The solicitation advised offerors that the agency would make its source selection decision in accordance with the procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 15.  RFP at L-10.  Also, as relevant here, for evaluation factor 2, technical capability/facilities, the solicitation established a 15-page limit for offerors to address the required elements.  Id. at L-15, L-16.  Further, the solicitation cautioned that the agency intended to make award on the basis of initial proposals without conducting discussions.  Id. at Foreword, L-10. The solicitation closed on August 25, and both Unico and the awardee submitted timely proposals.  RFP amend. No.