TITLE:  Inventory Accounting Service, B-286814, February 7, 2001
BNUMBER:  B-286814
DATE:  February 7, 2001
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Inventory Accounting Service, B-286814, February 7, 2001

Decision

Matter of: Inventory Accounting Service

File: B-286814

Date: February 7, 2001

Darcy V. Hennessy, Esq., Moore Hennessy & Freeman, for the protester.

Maj. David Newsome, Jr., and Col. Michael R. Neds, Department of the Army,
for the agency.

Paul E. Jordan, Esq., and John M. Melody, Esq., Office of the General
Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision.

DIGEST

In solicitation for rental and maintenance of washers and dryers,
requirement that, throughout contract term, the machines be no more than 2
or 3 years old, is not unduly restrictive where, based on agency's
experience, machines reaching these ages malfunction more frequently than
newer machines.

DECISION

Inventory Accounting Service (IAS) protests the specifications in invitation
for bids (IFB) No. DABT10-00-B-0008 issued by the Department of the Army for
rental and maintenance of washers and dryers at Fort Benning, Georgia. IAS
asserts that the requirement that machines be no more than 2 or 3 years old
is not necessary to meet the agency's needs.

We deny the protest.

The IFB contemplated the award of an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity
type contract for a period of 1 base year, with 4 option years, to provide,
install, and maintain washers and dryers at various locations at Fort
Benning. The IFB provided for an annual estimated quantity of 1,010 washers
and 915 dryers, with 388 washers and 403 dryers to be located in the Sand
Hill Basic Training Area. The IFB specified that all machines installed in
the Sand Hill area must be no more than 2 years old from the date of their
purchase as new, and that all other machines must be no more than 3 years
old. IFB sect. C-2.d, e. The IFB also provided that, once a machine attained the
specified age, it must be replaced with a conforming machine within 30 days
of its anniversary date. Id. These requirements are based on the Army's
experience that machines older than specified require too many service calls
and result in too much downtime.

IAS asserts that the age limitation and replacement requirements overstate
the agency's needs and that the Army has not shown that the age of the
machines is reasonably related to the service call and downtime problems. In
this regard, IAS concedes that machines that are more than 2 years old have
a higher rate of service calls, but argues that all machines require
periodic repairs. Protest at 4. Instead of age limitations and replacements,
IAS maintains that it would be more cost effective simply to educate
soldiers on the proper use of machines and to rely on the contract
provisions making the contractor responsible for maintaining and repairing
the machines.

The determination of the government's needs and the best method of
accommodating them is primarily the responsibility of the procuring agency,
since its contracting officials are most familiar with the conditions under
which supplies, equipment, and services have been employed in the past and
will be utilized in the future. DGS Contract Servs., Inc., B-249845.2, Dec.
23, 1992, 92-2 CPD para. 435 at 2; Westbrook Indus. Inc., B-248854, Sept. 28,
1992, 92-2 CPD para. 213 at 2. Where a protester challenges a specification as
unduly restrictive, it is the agency's responsibility to establish that the
specification is reasonably necessary to meet its needs. CardioMetrix,
B-259736, Apr. 28, 1995, 95-1 CPD para. 223 at 3. The adequacy of the agency's
justification is ascertained through examining whether the agency's
explanation is reasonable, that is, whether it can withstand logical
scrutiny. Keeson, Inc.; Ingram Demolition, Inc., B-245625, B-245655, Jan.
24, 1992, 92-1 CPD para. 108 at 4. Here, we find that the Army has demonstrated
a reasonable basis for the age limitation and replacement requirements.

The Army instituted the 3-year age limitation/replacement requirement in
order to reduce the amount of downtime associated with malfunctioning or
inoperable washers and dryers. Since 1992, the Army has required contractors
(including IAS in its incumbent contract) to supply machines not older than
3 years of age in all locations at Fort Benning. Contracting Officer's
Statement at 1. As noted by the agency, this determination was based on a
review of the number of service call orders issued during performance of a
prior 3-year contract. When that determination was protested, the Army
responded with the following information in support of the 3-year
limitation: 687 orders were issued in 1990, 1,416 in 1991 (an increase of
more than 100 percent over 1990), and 1,206 during the first 7ï¿½ months of
1992 (a rate of increase of approximately 30 percent over 1991). DGS
Contract Servs., Inc., supra, at 2-3. The record shows that the rate of
machine deterioration has not improved. For example, during IAS's second
performance year, there were 1,157 service calls to repair the 1,788
machines at Fort Benning. Contracting Officer's Statement at 2. Accordingly,
we reiterate, as we found in DGS, that the 3-year limitation is a reasonable
means of minimizing the breakdowns that obviously occur with increasing
frequency as the machines get older.

Likewise, the 2-year age limitation/replacement requirement for the Sand
Hill area is reasonably based on the increase in service calls and downtime
for those machines. [1] Specifically, while approximately 42 percent of the
Fort Benning machines were located in the Sand Hill area, they accounted for
more than 66 percent of the service orders for repairs. Contracting
Officer's Statement at 3. The difference is attributable to the expansion of
the Sand Hill training mission, which significantly increased the demand for
the machines. In this regard, in November 1998, the Sand Hill area went from
housing a single training brigade that cycled approximately 18,000 trainees
per year, to housing an additional training brigade that cycled
approximately 12,700 trainees per year. Id. at 3. More than 30,000 soldiers
are present and living in the barracks for their entire training periods and
use the laundry facilities at a much greater frequency than their
counterparts in non-training units. [2] Id. at 2. In addition, the tight
training schedules in the Sand Hill area reduce the time available for
troops to spend laundering their uniforms and other clothing, which makes
the demand for operational equipment even greater. Id. at 3. Beyond this
direct impact, machine downtime adversely affected soldier morale and
welfare; the numerous soldier complaints made the machines' condition a
matter of concern to the command structure. Id. In our view, based on the
Army's experience that newer machines need fewer repairs and result in less
downtime, its legitimate need for sufficient operational machines, and the
related issue of soldier morale, the agency reasonably added the 2-year age
limitation/replacement requirements for the Sand Hill machines. See JLS
Rentals, B-219662, Nov. 20, 1985, 85-2 CPD para. 570 at 3 (it is reasonable for
agency to require that leased washers and dryers be no more than 2 years old
at the beginning of the contract period and at the beginning of each option
period, where limiting the age of machines will alleviate downtime).

Our conclusion is not changed by IAS's assertion that many of the service
calls were not the contractor's responsibility, that is, that they were
"false calls," due to abuse of machines or plumbing/electrical problems that
were the agency's responsibility. [3] The service records fully support the
agency's analysis even when false calls are not considered. For example,
from September 1999 through August 2000, excluding false calls, there were
646 service calls--an average of 1 call for 82 percent of the 787 machines
in the Sand Hill area. Contracting Officer's Statement at 2. In contrast,
there were only 308 service calls--an average of 1 call for less than 31
percent of the remaining 1,001 machines at Fort Benning. Id. Indeed, the
protester's own records show (for a 2-month period) that, excluding false
calls, 82 of 102 service calls were made for the Sand Hill area, while only
20 were made for the remainder of Fort Benning, and the majority of them
were for machines that were more than 2 years old. Protest, exh. B, at 6.
Moreover, it is not simply the number of calls that is relevant, but also
the type of repairs required and the downtime associated with them. In this
regard, while IAS attributes most of the Sand Hill service calls to abuse by
the soldiers, the record shows that the Sand Hill machines required 170 pump
replacements, 91 motor replacements, and 52 transmission replacements, the
majority of which were made on machines over 2 years old. [4] Agency Report,
Tabs N-Y. It is plain from the agency's records that machines 2 or more
years old, and especially those in use in the Sand Hill area, have required
more frequent and more major repairs than those located elsewhere at Fort
Benning.

IAS's assertion that there is a better method (i.e., repair old machines and
instruct trainees on proper machine use) of accomplishing the agency's
objectives does not establish an overstatement of needs or a restriction on
competition; an agency's judgment as to the best approach of meeting its
needs is not subject to this type of objection. AT&T Corp., B-270841 et al.,
May 1, 1996, 96-1 CPD para. 237 at 8. Finally, IAS does not assert, and there is
nothing in the record indicating, that IAS cannot meet the Army's age
limitation and replacement requirements. Rather, IAS's objections seem
centered primarily on the fact that it would not be able to offer older
machines, including those it has provided under its incumbent contract.
However, the government is not required to perpetuate a competitive
advantage that an offeror may enjoy as the result of a prior government
contract, Robertson and Penn, Inc., B-226992, June 9, 1987, 87-1 CPD para. 582
at 3 n.2, and need not otherwise shape its requirements to account for an
offeror's particular business circumstances or competitive posture.

The protest is denied.

Anthony H. Gamboa

Acting General Counsel

Notes

1. In fact, because of the condition of machines in the Sand Hill area, the
Army did not exercise the last option year under IAS's contract.

2. According to the Army, soldiers in non-training units are in and out on
leave, pass, and temporary duty which results in lower usage rates for
machines in those areas.

3. "False calls" are service calls attributable to negligence or abuse by
government personnel or to defects or malfunctions in the building's
electrical or plumbing systems. IFB sect. C-4.b.

4. In this regard, we find unpersuasive IAS's argument that pump and motor
repairs are attributable to "abuse." Comments at 2. The mere possibility
that overloading a machine could wear out its pump, which in turn could
spill water onto the motor and burn it out, stretches what we think is the
common understanding of the term "abuse." In any case, nothing in the record
establishes that all motor/pump replacements resulted from this scenario.