Protest challenging the agency’s evaluation of the awardee’s experience is denied, where the solicitation did not prohibit the agency from considering the experience of individual personnel during the evaluation of corporate experience.
Normandeau Associates Inc. protested the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ award of a contract for fish counting and related services to Four Peaks Environmental Science and Data Solutions, arguing that the agency should have found the awardee’s proposal unacceptable under the solicitation’s experience related factors.
Normandeau argued that the agency improperly considered the experience of Four Peaks’ personnel under the technical and management experience factors, because the solicitation stated the agency would evaluate the experience of the offeror. According to Normandeau, the RFP’s use of the phrase “Offeror’s experience” limited the agency to consideration of Four Peaks’ direct organizational experience without regard to the experience of its personnel.
During the evaluation, the agency found that Four Peaks did not identify direct organizational experience performing adult fish counting. However, some of Four Peaks’ proposed key staff had adult fish counting experience as well as experience with 24-hour operations of activities similar to fish counting (smolt monitoring). Under the management experience factor, the agency found that Four Peaks’ proposed key staff had experience managing personnel levels and training personnel in fish identification and counting methods. Overall, the agency concluded that Four Peaks met the minimum requirements.
GAO rejected the protester’s contention that the agency was not allowed to consider the experience of Four Peaks’ personnel. The solicitation generally provided that the agency would consider the offeror’s experience, but did not include any further limitation regarding the consideration of an offeror’s personnel, or a provision establishing that the agency would separately consider the experience of personnel or subcontractors. The general reference to the offeror afforded the agency the discretion to consider the experience of an offeror’s personnel or subcontractors, in addition to the experience of the offeror as an organization.
Normandeau Associates Inc. is represented by Kenneth A. Martin of The Martin Law Firm, PLLC. Four Peaks Environmental Science and Data Solutions is represented by Brent Finley of Finley Legal, PLLC. The government is represented by Theresa Hampson and Zachary Jacobson, Department of the Army. GAO attorneys Heather Self and Edward Goldstein participated in the preparation of the decision.
