Starlight Corporation (FA449721R0014)

B-420267.3,B-420267.4 Mar 14, 2022 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Starlight Corporation, a small business, of Carlsbad, California, protests the Department of the Air Force's award of a contract to Empire Aircraft Services, Inc. (Empire), a small business, of Summerville, South Carolina, under request for proposals (RFP) No. FA449721R0014, for aircraft wash and corrosion control services at Dover Air Force Base (AFB), Delaware. Starlight contends that the agency's past performance evaluation was not in accordance with the solicitation's evaluation criteria and was otherwise unreasonable. We sustain 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:  Starlight Corporation File:  B‑420267.3; B‑420267.4 Date:  March 14, 2022 Kristin Zachman, Esq., Bailey & Bailey, PC, for the protester. Brian A. Darst, Esq., for Empire Aircraft Services Inc., the intervenor. Lieutenant Colonel Keric Clanahan, and Erika Whelan Retta, Esq., Department of the Air Force, for the agency. Sarah T. Zaffina, Esq., and Jennifer D. Westfall‑McGrail, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging the agency’s past performance evaluation is sustained where the agency failed to adequately document its relevancy evaluation of offerors’ past performance information and improperly reduced one of the protester’s ratings on a past performance questionnaire. DECISION Starlight Corporation, a small business, of Carlsbad, California, protests the Department of the Air Force’s award of a contract to Empire Aircraft Services, Inc. (Empire), a small business, of Summerville, South Carolina, under request for proposals (RFP) No. FA449721R0014, for aircraft wash and corrosion control services at Dover Air Force Base (AFB), Delaware.  Starlight contends that the agency’s past performance evaluation was not in accordance with the solicitation’s evaluation criteria and was otherwise unreasonable.  We sustain the protest. BACKGROUND On June 30, 2021, the Air Force issued the solicitation as a small business set‑aside for tow, wash, de‑paneling, lubrication, and cleaning services for C‑5 and C‑17 aircraft at Dover AFB pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 15 procedures.  Agency Report (AR), Tab 1, Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 4; AR, Tab 8, RFP attach. 1, Performance Work Statement (PWS) at 4‑15.[1]  The solicitation advised that the agency planned to award a single, fixed-price contract with a 1-year base period and four 1‑year option periods.  AR, Tab 5, RFP at 4, 69.  As relevant here, the solicitation provided that among technically acceptable offers, a tradeoff may be made between past performance and price, with past performance significantly more important than price.  AR, Tab 13, RFP attach. 5, Evaluation Criteria at 1.  Under past performance, the agency would evaluate the recency, relevance, and quality of past performance information provided in the offeror’s proposal and independently obtained from other sources.  Id. at 1‑2.  The RFP defined recent past performance as contracts performed in the five years prior to the date the RFP was issued.  Id. at 2.  The solicitation defined relevant past performance “as efforts similar in scope, complexity, dollar value, and extent of subcontracting/teaming” and provided that efforts would be rated as either relevant or not relevant.  Id.  With regard to the quality of the past performance, the agency would gather information on how well the offeror performed past contracts to “determine the quality of the offeror’s performance, general trends, and usefulness of the information.”  Id.  The agency would incorporate the evaluation of recency, relevance, and quality into a past performance confidence assessment rating.[2]  Id. Four offerors, including Starlight, the incumbent contractor for these services, and Empire, submitted proposals.  AR, Tab 59a, Source Selection Evaluation Board (SSEB) Initial Rept.