Wilson 5 Service Company, Inc. (47PN0424Q0003)

B-422670 Sep 25, 2024 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Wilson 5 Service Company, Inc. (Wilson 5), a small business of Kittery, Maine protests the terms of request for quotations (RFQ) No. 47PN0424Q0003, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA), Public Buildings Service for complete facilities maintenance at 17 locations throughout the state of Georgia. The protester asserts that the solicitation is unduly restrictive of competition where it provides that quotations will be viewed as having an unfavorable aspect if they do not demonstrate prior experience at multiple facilities under one contract or performance of similar services where there is a geographical distance of 200 miles between at least two facilities. The protester also alleges that the solicitation's evaluation scheme limits competition because the most important evaluation factor, management plan, is not evaluated until the second phase. We sustain the protest in part and deny it in part. View Decision Decision Matter of: Wilson 5 Service Company, Inc. File: B-422670 Date: September 25, 2024 James S. DelSordo, Apollo Contract Management, for the protester. Alexander J. Falciani, Esq., General Services Administration, for the agency. Janis R. Millete, Esq., and John Sorrenti, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest that the solicitation is unduly restrictive of competition where the solicitation provides that the agency will automatically assess an unfavorable aspect to a quotation if a vendor’s prior experience examples do not meet certain criteria is sustained where the agency has not provided a reasonable basis or explanation for why vendors will be penalized if their prior experience does not meet these criteria. 2. Protest that the solicitation’s two-phase evaluation scheme limits competition where the most important evaluation factor is not considered until phase two is denied where the agency reasonably explained why the two-phase scheme is necessary to meet its needs. DECISION Wilson 5 Service Company, Inc. (Wilson 5), a small business of Kittery, Maine protests the terms of request for quotations (RFQ) No. 47PN0424Q0003, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA), Public Buildings Service for complete facilities maintenance at 17 locations throughout the state of Georgia. The protester asserts that the solicitation is unduly restrictive of competition where it provides that quotations will be viewed as having an unfavorable aspect if they do not demonstrate prior experience at multiple facilities under one contract or performance of similar services where there is a geographical distance of 200 miles between at least two facilities. The protester also alleges that the solicitation’s evaluation scheme limits competition because the most important evaluation factor, management plan, is not evaluated until the second phase. We sustain the protest in part and deny it in part. BACKGROUND GSA issued the request for quotations (RFQ) as a small business set-aside on April 20, 2024, using the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) section 8.405-3 and seeking quotations to provide complete facilities maintenance (CFM) services in 17 locations throughout the state of Georgia.[1] Agency Report (AR), Exh. 6, RFQ amend. 0009 at 3-4; COS at 1.[2] The procurement is for facilities engineering, operations and maintenance, custodial services, elevator maintenance, and related services at each location. AR, Exh. 3, Performance Work Statement (PWS) at 23. The protester states that it has contracted with GSA for over 30 years and serves as the incumbent contractor, providing CFM services at four Georgia locations, in Augusta, Dublin, Statesboro, and Brunswick. Protest at 4. The RFQ anticipates the establishment of a single blanket purchase agreement (BPA), with a 1-year base period and up to nine 1-year option periods. RFQ at 4. The RFQ advised that award would be based on a best-value tradeoff determination, considering in addition to price, the following non-price factors listed in descending order of importance: (1) management plan; (2) prior experience; (3) past performance; and (4) small business socioeconomic category designation. Id. at 11. The non-price factors, when combined, are considered more important than price. Id. GSA will conduct the competition in two phases. Id. at 11-12. As relevant here, in the first phase, the agency will evaluate vendors’ prior experience, past performance, small business socioeconomic category designation, and a portion of its pricing information. Id. After the phase one evaluation, GSA will notify vendors whose quotations have been evaluated as a low probability of success and high overall risk, however those vendors will not be deemed ineligible for award or eliminated from further review. Id. at 13.