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![handle is hein.gao/gaobadgot0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
W.D. ssfurther
PL I
THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL
nECmgON TH E UNITED0 STATEU
WAOHINGTON. D.C. 2054
FILE: B-192317 DATE: October 23, 19718
MATTER OF: Ohio Medical Products
DIGEST:
Failure of equal product offered
in low bid to meet..one of salient
characteristics in brand name or
equal invitation properly resulted
in rejection of bid as nonresponsive.
Invitation for bidsNo. 600 50-78 was issued by the
Long Beach Veterans Adm'iihstrhttion Ho'pital for the pro-
curement of anesthesia mabhines and accessories. Bidders
were advised that the machines were to be [theJ American
Drager Narkomed Modells listed] or equalls] and in accor-
dance with [the] specl'tications on pages 8 & 9 of the
invitation.
The Ohio Medical Prod cts' (Ohio) bid was rejected as
nonresponsive to various tchhical requirements in the in-
vitation. Among other thin,3s, it was determined that the
Ohio anesthesia.ventilator did not have the required maxi-
mum inspiratory pressure of 120cm F20.
Ohio protests the lrejedtion of its bid on the basis
that the action was imprudent fiscally since the Ohio bid
price was approximately one-1:hird less than the contract
awardee's price for pffered products that were in fact
equal,-and were incorectly foun to be othetwise. The
firm n tes that bidders were informed in the invitation
that Information obtained from Drager Catalogs is listed
for descriptive purposes only and is not intended to be
restrictive. Ohio believes that the age'ncy'sninterpreta-
tion of the technical ,requirpmeits was restrictive and ex-
hibited a.-sole-source procurement objective. As regards
the inspiratory pressure, in respondi,*ig to the agency's pro-
test report, Ohio notes that while its. ventilator has a maxi-
mum irspiratory pressure of approximately 60cm H20, a 120cm
H20 pressure is an unusually high requirement for current
anesthesia practice, However, Ohio does have the ability
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