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B-184141 1 (1975-09-18)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadcmb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: '.THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL DECISION OF THE UNITED STATES WASHINGTON, D.C 20548 FILE: B-184141 DATE: September 18, 1975 MATTER OF: Holt Brothers-Energy Division DIGEST: 1. VA's reliance on Federal Construction Council's recommenda- tions .for specification requirements for diesel engine gen- erators is reasonable in absence of proof that recommendations are invalid or obsolete and in light of continuing efforts by Council to update recommendations for generator engines to function as emergency power sources. 2. Preclusion of possible supplier from offering its product because of specification requirement does not render specifi- cation unduly restrictive of competition if specification reflects legitimate needs of Government. Holt Brothers - Energy Division (Holt) has protested as unduly restrictive the specifications of invitation for bids (IFB) 12-75, issued by the Veterans Administration (VA) for the supply of a diesel engine generator to be used to supply emergency power at a hospital. The specifications for the diesel engine which drives the gen- erator prescribe certain maximum limits for the brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) of various types of engines. Holt contends that the BMEP limitations set forth in the IFB are anachronistic, do not reflect the current state of the art in diesel engine design, and only serve to restrict competition to one manufacturer. Holt main- tains that the requirement should be readvertised under specifications in which the maximum BMEP is significantly raised or from which the standard of BMEP is entirely removed. The VA reports that its Office of Construction does not have staff engineers with the specialized knowledge and experience in the design and application of diesel engines which would be required if the VA were to develop its own specification requirements. In addition, there is no industry-wide body which sets standards for generator diesel engines. Accordingly, the VA has adopted the recom- mendations of the Building Research Advisory Board, Federal Construc- tion Council, in setting specification requirements to meet its needs, - 1 -

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