Protest Against Alleged Solicitation Defects

A company protested that a solicitation for a multiyear requirements contract contained deficiencies. The protest was denied with respect to the following: the agency's use of estimated needs instead of precise actual needs was not objectionable; the agency was not required to adjust the cancellation ceiling after the first year's estimated quantities are reduced or to furnish production equipment to prospective offerers to overcome the incumbent's competitive advantage; responsibility provisions for certain personnel requirements were not conflicting; the agency was not required to furnish a cost estimate of spare parts for which the contractor investment would be minimal; and the use of an evaluation factor reflecting the cost of changing contractors was not improper. The protest was sustained with respect to the following: the agency must comply with regulations implementing the Service Contract Act (SCA) where the Department of Labor determined that SCA applied to the contract and the determination was not contrary to law; and there was no legal basis for the use of negotiation procedures in lieu of small business restricted advertising. The appropriate SCA provisions should be incorporated into the solicitation and the requirement should be resolicited in the form of small business restricted advertising.