The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has ruled in favor of the Navy’s decision to award a $62 million nuclear submarine maintenance support services contract to KMS Solutions LLC, rejecting a protest filed by incumbent contractor Patrona Corp.
Patrona, based in Washington, D.C., had argued that the Navy had improperly evaluated various strengths in its proposal, which should have led to an award in its favor. However, after a thorough review, the GAO determined there was no basis to sustain the protest.
In its April 18 decision, the GAO stated, “A protester’s disagreement with the agency’s judgment, without more, is insufficient to establish that an evaluation was unreasonable.” The ruling reaffirmed that the Navy’s evaluation process was fair, in line with the SeaPort Next Generation contract vehicle’s guidelines, and focused on technical factors, past performance, and cost.
Despite Patrona’s proposal being approximately $4.5 million lower than KMS Solutions’ in total evaluated cost, the GAO upheld the Navy’s decision, noting that Patrona was scored lower on most other evaluation factors. Patrona’s argument that the Navy failed to consider key aspects of its proposal, including responses to solicitation questions and its incumbent experience, was also rejected.
The GAO emphasized that Patrona’s protest, at its core, was a request for the GAO to substitute the Navy’s judgment with its own, which it declined to do. Additionally, Patrona’s claims regarding the evaluation of its management and personnel approaches, as well as past performance, were found to be unsupported by the solicitation requirements.
The decision highlights that the Navy was aware of both the strengths and shortcomings of Patrona’s key personnel proposal and reasonably concluded that it did not merit additional strengths.
The protest, filed under the matter of Patrona Corp., file number B-423282, is now officially dismissed, and the $62M Sub Maintenance contract award to KMS Solutions will proceed.
