NOVA Dine, LLC (HC1028-20-R-0060)

B-420454,B-420454.2 Apr 15, 2022 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights NOVA Dine, LLC, a small business located in Scottsdale, Arizona, protests the award of a contract to Competitive Range Solutions, LLC (CRS), a small business located in Chicago, Illinois, under request for proposals (RFP) No. HC-1028-20-R-0060, issued by the Department of Defense, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), for the Technologies Refreshment and Implementation-Global Solution Management (TRI-GSM) program. The protester argues that the agency conducted an unreasonable and unequal technical evaluation, engaged in misleading discussions on cost, improperly evaluated past performance, and made a flawed source selection determination. We deny 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: NOVA Dine, LLC File: B-420454; B-420454.2 Date: April 15, 2022 Thomas Mason, Esq., Francis E. Purcell, Jr., Esq., Joseph Berger, Esq., and Mona Adabi, Esq., Thompson Hine LLP, for the protester. Cherie J. Owen, Esq., William O’Reilly, Esq., and Issac D. Schabes, Esq., Crowell & Moring LLP; Daniel J. Strouse, Esq., Cordatis LLP; and Matthew Schoonover, Esq., Schoonover & Moriarty LLC, for Competitive Range Solutions, LLC, the intervenor. Colleen A. Eagan, Esq., and Vera A. Strebel, Esq., Defense Information Systems Agency, for the agency. Alexander O. Levine, Esq., and Kenneth E. Patton, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest alleging that agency engaged in misleading discussions that led the protester to increase its proposed direct labor rates is denied where the agency accurately identified its concerns and where the protester made its own independent business judgment to raise rates rather than justify its proposed rates. 2. Protest challenging agency’s assessment of the relevancy of awardee’s past performance is denied where the agency’s evaluation was reasonable and where the protester has not demonstrated that any errors caused it competitive prejudice. 3. Protest challenging agency’s technical evaluation is denied where the agency’s evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation evaluation criteria, and where the agency’s different evaluation judgments were reasonably explained by differences in the offerors’ proposals. DECISION NOVA Dine, LLC, a small business located in Scottsdale, Arizona, protests the award of a contract to Competitive Range Solutions, LLC (CRS), a small business located in Chicago, Illinois, under request for proposals (RFP) No. HC-1028-20-R-0060, issued by the Department of Defense, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), for the Technologies Refreshment and Implementation-Global Solution Management (TRI-GSM) program. The protester argues that the agency conducted an unreasonable and unequal technical evaluation, engaged in misleading discussions on cost, improperly evaluated past performance, and made a flawed source selection determination. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On September 14, 2020, the agency issued the solicitation seeking proposals for a single-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract. The selected contractor will provide for technologies refreshment, implementation, integration and transition to operations activities supporting existing and future Department of Defense Information Network (DODIN)/Defense Information Systems Network (DISN) networking capabilities. Agency Report (AR), Tab 1, RFP at 2. The solicitation informed offerors that orders placed under the TRI-GSM IDIQ could be fixed-price, fixed-price-incentive-fee, cost-reimbursable, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, and cost-plus-award-fee. Id. at 3-4. Along with the award of the IDIQ contract, the solicitation anticipated the award of two task orders, one for technologies refreshment of the DODIN/DISN infrastructure and the second for implementation of the DODIN/DISN infrastructure. Id. at 2. The solicitation contemplated the evaluation of the following factors: cost/price, technical/management, and past performance. AR, Tab 1y, RFP Section M at 2-3. Technical/management was to be more important than past performance and both these factors, when combined, were significantly more important than cost/price. Id. The technical/management factor included four equally rated subfactors: task order (TO) 0001 (technologies refreshment), TO 0002 (implementation), innovation and efficiency, and management approach. Id. at 3-4. As relevant here, for the management approach subfactor, offerors were to submit a draft task order management plan for each task order that addressed the offeror’s plans for management, coordination, and synchronization. Id.