TITLE:  American Artisan Productions, Inc., B-286239, November 29, 2000
BNUMBER:  B-286239
DATE:  November 29, 2000
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American Artisan Productions, Inc., B-286239, November 29, 2000

Decision

Matter of: American Artisan Productions, Inc.

File: B-286239

Date: November 29, 2000

Arthur L. Friedman for the protester.

Miriam R. Chapman, Esq., Department of the Interior, for the agency.

Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail, Esq., and Christine S. Melody, Esq., Office of
the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision.

DIGEST

Agency reasonably rejected protester's quotation for fabrication of
interpretive exhibits as technically unacceptable where protester failed to
demonstrate experience with the fabrication of one of the key types of
exhibits.

DECISION

American Artisan Productions, Inc. protests the rejection of its quotation
as technically unacceptable under request for quotations (RFQ) No.
401810Q155, issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the
Interior for interpretive support services for its southeast region field
stations.

We deny the protest.

The RFQ, which was issued under the procedures of Federal Acquisition
Regulation Part 12 for the acquisition of commercial items, sought a vendor
to design, fabricate, and install exhibits such as dioramas, interpretive
panels, audio/visual programs, photomurals, and signs at Fish and Wildlife
Service facilities across the southeast. The solicitation contemplated the
award of an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to the vendor
whose quotation was determined most advantageous to the government, price
and other factors considered. Non-price factors, listed in descending order
of importance, consisted of experience, technical requirements, [1] and past
performance; these factors, when combined, were more important than price.
Vendors were instructed to submit with their quotations materials such as
photographs depicting previously completed exhibits. To permit evaluation of
the reasonableness of their prices, vendors were asked to furnish prices for
three sample exhibits: a natural history diorama replicating a wetlands
habitat found in the Okefenokee Swamp; an exhibit panel containing original
illustrations of an eagle flying, an osprey catching a fish, and an
alligator sunning itself, along with 200 words of text; and a sign, with
wording, depicting a swimming manatee and calf.

Three vendors submitted quotations by the July 6, 2000 closing date.
American Artisan's overall price for the three sample items was lowest.
After review, the evaluators determined the protester's quotation
technically unacceptable, finding that American Artisan was lacking in a
demonstrated ability to construct natural history dioramas and aquariums. On
September 5, the contracting officer awarded a contract to Southern Custom
Exhibits.

The protester challenges the agency determination of technical
unacceptability, arguing that it submitted with its quotation exhibits
demonstrating its experience with natural history dioramas and the various
components thereof, such as specimen mounting, plant preservation and
molding, and ground work sculpting. American Artisan further argues that the
RFQ did not adequately apprise vendors of the significance that would be
placed on experience with natural history dioramas in the evaluation.

In reviewing a protest against an agency's evaluation of quotations, we
examine the record to determine whether the agency's judgment was reasonable
and consistent with the stated evaluation criteria and applicable statutes
and regulations. Support Servs., Inc., B-282407, B-282407.2, July 8, 1999,
99-2 CPD para. 30 at 3. As explained below, we find that the agency's evaluation
here was reasonable.

As noted above, the agency concluded that the protester's quotation was
unacceptable because it did not demonstrate experience with natural history
dioramas or aquariums. As a preliminary matter, the protester does not
contend, and we see no evidence in its quotation, that it submitted evidence
of experience with constructing aquariums. With respect to natural history
dioramas, while the protester contends that it did demonstrate such
experience, it does not point to any specific examples in its quotation.
Instead, in its comments on the agency report, the protester lists various
projects it has performed which, it asserts, involved individual elements of
diorama construction. We think that it was reasonable for the evaluators to
distinguish between experience with the fabrication of elements of a
diorama, such as specimen mounting, and experience with the fabrication of a
diorama itself, which involves the incorporation of many distinct elements
into a cohesive whole. In sum, we see no reason to question the agency's
conclusion that the protester failed to show experience with natural history
dioramas or aquariums.

Regarding the protester's argument that the RFQ did not adequately apprise
vendors of the weight that would be given to experience in the construction
of natural history dioramas, the RFQ specifically instructed that:

In order to evaluate offeror's experience on similar projects, offeror shall
provide a list of at least five (5) projects during the past three years,
which best demonstrate the offeror's ability to provide exhibits as required
by Fish and Wildlife Service. . . . Information on experience shall
demonstrate natural history diorama[s] and aquarium[s].

RFQ at 21 (emphasis added). Moreover, we think that the fact that the first
sample task called for the fabrication of a natural history diorama placed
vendors on notice that this was an important category of work to be
performed and that experience with it would therefore be significant in the
evaluation process.

The protest is denied.

Anthony H. Gamboa

Acting General Counsel

Notes

1. The RFQ provided for consideration of the following equally-weighted
subfactors under the technical requirements factor: quality of deliverables,
innovative approaches, multiplicity of tasks, and qualification of
personnel.