Lynwood Machine & Engineering, Inc.

A firm protested a Defense National Stockpile Center (DNSC) contract award for the weighing, banding, crimping, and relocation of approximately 34,000 metric tons of lead, contending that DNSC's evaluation of its past performance was improper. GAO found that: (1) in evaluating past performance, DNSC properly considered the performance record of an offerer other than the one submitting the quotation since the company submitting the quotation intended to rely heavily on the other offer0r's personnel in performing the job; (2) DNSC is not required to contact all of an offer0r's references, but must act reasonably in determining which ones to contact and which not to contact; (3) DNSC was not required to conduct discussions with the protester to allow it an opportunity to clarify its past performance information; (4) DNSC properly considered information concerning an offeror's past performance obtained from a source not identified by the offeror in its quotation; and (5) since DNSC is not required to hold discussions or otherwise communicate with offerors regarding past performance information, and the contracting officer has no reason to question the validity of the information furnished by the offeror's references, he or she can reasonably rely on the information furnished without seeking to verify it or permitting the protester an opportunity to rebut it. Accordingly, the protest was denied.