Link: GAO Decision
Protestor: Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC
Agency: Department of the Air Force
Disposition: Protest Denied.
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GAO Digest:
Protest challenging an agency’s determination that the awardee’s fixed price was realistic is denied, where the agency compared the awardee’s low price to the government’s cost estimate and concluded that the awardee’s pricing assumptions were realistic and consistent with the firm’s technical approach.
General Counsel P.C. Highlight:
Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC protested the award to Cubic Worldwide Technical Services, Inc. of a contract for flight simulator training services at several air bases in Europe. Raytheon challenged the agency’s price realism analysis and its determination that Cubic’s proposed price was realistic.
The GAO disagreed with Raytheon’s assertion that the agency should have conducted a line-by-line, in-depth comparison of Cubic’s total proposed compensation and the government cost estimate. The GAO also found without merit Raytheon’s argument that Cubic’s proposal indicates that Cubic would not comply with U.K. labor laws. It pointed out that compliance with relevant laws is a matter of contract administration that the GAO will not review.
If an RFP provides that the contract will be performance based, it is the offeror’s responsibility to determine the workforce necessary to perform the contract. An offeror should provide detailed explanations for its proposed staffing approach so as to answer any questions the agency may have as to the offeror’s ability to fulfill the needs of the contract.