Skip to main content

B-170806, APR 26, 1971

B-170806 Apr 26, 1971
Jump To:
Skip to Highlights

Highlights

SINCE THE SPECIFICATIONS AS TO WHETHER THE SPOT SEWING WAS TO BE DONE WITH A SINGLE FILAMENT STITCH OR WHIP SEW WERE MISLEADING. SPENCE: REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER OF FEBRUARY 4. RECEIPT IS ALSO ACKNOWLEDGED OF A LETTER DATED MARCH 31. UFORMA NOW REQUESTS RELIEF ON THE BASIS OF AN ALLEGED MISTAKE IN BID UPON WHICH THE SUBJECT CONTRACT WAS BASED. THE CONTRACT WAS AWARDED TO UFORMA ON APRIL 9. 000 SETS OF A FORM ENTITLED "REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF SCHOOL ATTENDANCE" WHICH WAS FOR THE USE OF THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION. THE CONTRACTOR STATED THAT IT WAS A MISINTERPRETATION OF THE SEWING REQUIREMENTS ON ITS PART. THAT IT DID NOT HAVE THE EQUIPMENT REQUIRED FOR SPOT SEWING. NOTIFIED UFORMA THAT IT WAS IN DEFAULT.

View Decision

B-170806, APR 26, 1971

CONTRACTS - DAMAGES - MISLEADING SPECIFICATIONS ADVISING THAT UFORMA, INC., SHOULD NOT BE CHARGED WITH THE EXCESS COSTS INCURRED BY THE GOVERNMENT IN PROCURING FORMS FROM ANOTHER FIRM AFTER DEFAULT ON A CONTRACT FOR 150,000 SETS OF FORMS ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. SINCE THE SPECIFICATIONS AS TO WHETHER THE SPOT SEWING WAS TO BE DONE WITH A SINGLE FILAMENT STITCH OR WHIP SEW WERE MISLEADING. UFORMA SHOULD NOT BE CHARGED THE EXCESS COSTS.

TO MR. SPENCE:

REFERENCE IS MADE TO YOUR LETTER OF FEBRUARY 4, 1971, REPORTING ON THE REQUEST OF UFORMA, INC., FOR RECONSIDERATION OF DECISION B-170806, NOVEMBER 10, 1970, TO YOU, WHICH DENIED ITS REQUEST FOR RELIEF FROM AN ASSESSMENT OF EXCESS COSTS IN THE AMOUNT OF $820.50 ON ACCOUNT OF ITS DEFAULT UNDER A CONTRACT (JACKET NO. 378-283) WITH THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE (GPO). RECEIPT IS ALSO ACKNOWLEDGED OF A LETTER DATED MARCH 31, 1971, WITH ENCLOSURES, FROM THE ACTING MANAGER, PRINTING PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT.

UFORMA NOW REQUESTS RELIEF ON THE BASIS OF AN ALLEGED MISTAKE IN BID UPON WHICH THE SUBJECT CONTRACT WAS BASED.

THE CONTRACT WAS AWARDED TO UFORMA ON APRIL 9, 1970, IN THE AMOUNT OF $3,661.50 FOR THE PRODUCTION OF 150,000 SETS OF A FORM ENTITLED "REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF SCHOOL ATTENDANCE" WHICH WAS FOR THE USE OF THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION. AFTER AWARD, GPO FORWARDED A SAMPLE OF THE SEWING REQUIRED FOR BINDING ON THE JOB TO THE CONTRACTOR. BY LETTER DATED APRIL 13, 1970, THE CONTRACTOR ADVISED THE PROCUREMENT OFFICE THAT AFTER INSPECTING THE SAMPLE, IT COULD NOT PRODUCE THE TYPE OF SEWING (SPOT SEWING) REQUIRED. THE CONTRACTOR STATED THAT IT WAS A MISINTERPRETATION OF THE SEWING REQUIREMENTS ON ITS PART, AND THAT IT DID NOT HAVE THE EQUIPMENT REQUIRED FOR SPOT SEWING. THE CONTRACTOR RETURNED ALL COPY AND MATERIAL WITH THE LETTER.

IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, THE PROCUREMENT OFFICE, BY LETTER DATED APRIL 17, 1970, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STANDARD GOVERNMENT DEFAULT CLAUSE IN ARTICLE 18 OF GPO CONTRACT TERMS NO. 1, NOTIFIED UFORMA THAT IT WAS IN DEFAULT. THE CONTRACTOR WAS ALSO ADVISED THAT AFTER REPROCUREMENT OF THE WORK SPECIFIED ALL COSTS IN EXCESS OF ITS QUOTATION WOULD BE RECOVERED FROM IT AS DEFAULTING CONTRACTOR. TO SATISFY THE NEEDS OF THE GOVERNMENT, THE REQUIREMENT WAS PURCHASED FROM THE SECOND LOW BIDDER, DUPLEX PRODUCTS, INC., ON PURCHASE ORDER 58328 IN THE AMOUNT OF $4,482. ON JUNE 19, 1970, A BILL IN THE AMOUNT OF $820.50 WAS SENT TO UFORMA AS EXCESS COSTS REPRESENTING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ITS QUOTATION AND THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE REQUIREMENT FROM DUPLEX.

IT IS NOTED THAT THE THIRD LOW BIDDER, THE ONLY OTHER BIDDER ON THE PROCUREMENT, WAS NONRESPONSIVE IN THAT IT QUALIFIED ITS BID AS TO THE JOINING (SPOT SEWING) REQUIREMENT.

IN REGARD TO THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE SEWING REQUIREMENT, THE ACTING MANAGER, PRINTING PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT, STATED IN LETTER OF MARCH 31, 1971, AS FOLLOWS:

"COMMERCIAL STANDARD FOR SPOT-SEWING (OR CONTINUOUS SEWING) IS ACCOMPLISHED WITH A SINGLE (COTTON, LINEN, OR SYNTHETIC, ETC.) FILAMENT. CONVERSELY THE SPOT-SEW REQUIREMENT OF SUBJECT FORMS IS A CUSTOM DEVELOPMENT WHICH IT WOULD BE VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO ADEQUATELY DESCRIBE IN A WRITTEN SPECIFICATION. IT IS TANTAMOUNT TO MULTIPLE FILAMENT STITCH (WHIP-SEW) SIMILAR TO THE TYPE EMPLOYED IN HAND-SEWN BUTTONHOLES OF GARMENTS.

"I RECENTLY LEARNED THAT THE CUSTOM-TYPE SEWING OF SUBJECT FORMS WAS DEVELOPED BY DUPLEX PRODUCTS BY DIRECT-DEALING WITH THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION. ALTHOUGH THIS IS NOT CONSIDERED TO BE A PROPRIETARY ITEM PER SE, I FEEL DUPLEX IS THE ONLY COMPANY WITH INFORMATION AS TO EXACTLY WHAT TYPE OF SEWING WAS REQUIRED. SINCE ITS DEVELOPMENT, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, NO OTHER COMPANY HAS EVER PRODUCED THIS TYPE OF JOINING. OTHER COMPANIES HAVE BID BUT IN EACH CASE THE BIDDERS QUALIFIED THE JOINING REQUIREMENT WITH THE RESULT THAT THEY HAD TO BE DECLARED NON RESPONSIVE."

WITH RESPECT TO THE METHOD OF JOINING, THE SPECIFICATIONS PROVIDED: "CRIMP PARTS AND CARBONS AT LEFT AND CRIMP PARTS ONLY AT RIGHT. SPOT SEW IN TWO PLACES ON THE LEFT (PARTS AND CARBONS), 3" FROM TOP EDGE & 8" FROM TOP EDGE." NO MENTION IS MADE IN THE SPECIFICATIONS AS TO WHETHER THE SPOT SEWING IS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH A SINGLE FILAMENT STITCH WHICH IS REPORTED TO BE THE COMMERCIAL STANDARD, OR WHETHER IT SHOULD BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH A MULTIPLE FILAMENT STITCH (WHIP-SEW).

WE ARE OF THE OPINION THAT THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SPECIFICATIONS WERE DRAWN UP WAS TO SOME DEGREE MISLEADING AND SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE MISINTERPRETATION. IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES, UFORMA SHOULD NOT BE CHARGED THE EXCESS COSTS INCURRED BY THE GOVERNMENT IN PROCURING THE REQUIRED FORMS FROM DUPLEX PRODUCTS, INC. B-147585, NOVEMBER 29, 1961.

GAO Contacts

Office of Public Affairs