August 31, 1999

Thompson letter on GPRA - DOE Attachment 2

OPEN GAO RECOMMENDATIONS ON DOE

MAJOR MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS

DOE HAS HAD DIFFICULTY COMPLETING LARGE PROJECTS

Problem description: DOE has had difficulty completing large projects on time and within budget. From 1980 through 1996, DOE terminated 31 of 80 major system acquisitions (mission-critical projects costing over $100 million) after expenditures of over $10 billion. Of the 15 completed projects, most were behind schedule and over budget.

GAO Report No. and Date	Recommendation
RCED-98-208 July 17, 1998	The Secretary of Energy should designate the Department’s most ambitious acquisitions of supercomputer systems—such as those in the Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative program—as strategic systems warranting oversight at the highest departmental level.

DOE’S TRANSITION TO EXTERNAL REGULATION IS SLOW

Problem description: With few exceptions, DOE’s facilities are not licensed or inspected by independent regulators to help ensure safe operations. The department’s own advisory committee concluded that "Widespread environmental contamination at DOE facilities and the immense costs associated with their cleanup provide clear evidence that self-regulation has failed." While DOE agreed to external regulation in these areas, its commitment appears to be lagging.

GAO Report No. and Date	Recommendation
RCED-98-163 May 21, 1998	Given DOE’s wavering position on external regulation and the limitations in its pilots, the Secretary of Energy should clarify the Department’s position on the external regulation of worker safety and nuclear facility safety at DOE’s facilities.
RCED-98-163 May 21, 1998	Given DOE’s wavering position on external regulation and the limitations in its pilots, the Secretary of Energy should develop a strategy to implement the external regulation of worker safety and nuclear facility safety that is consistent with the Department’s position. This strategy should include specific goals, objectives, and milestones and show how the information from the pilot projects, and other techniques, will meet the strategy’s goals and objectives.

DOE’S ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE ALLOWS CHALLENGES TO GO UNCORRECTED

Problem description: DOE’s ineffective organizational structure blurs accountability, allowing problems to go undetected and remain uncorrected.

GAO Report No. and Date	Recommendation
RCED-95-10 Jan. 27, 1995	The Secretary of Energy should evaluate alternatives for managing the laboratories that more fully support clear missions, achieve results by linking the laboratories’ activities to DOE missions, and maximize the laboratories’ resources. Such a strategy could start by addressing the many management issues raised in this report and should be consistent with DOE’s major efforts to reform contract management. The strategy must also support goals for DOE and the laboratories to comply with environment, safety, and health initiatives.
RCED-95-10 Jan. 27, 1995	The Secretary should strengthen the Office of Laboratory Management by providing it with sufficient resources and authority to facilitate cooperation with the laboratories and resolution of management issues across all DOE program areas.
RCED-97-18 Dec. 10, 1996	The Secretary of Energy should require that a mandatory standard contract clause be included in all management and operating contracts that gives DOE the exclusive authority to set contract goals and incentives that support the strategic plans and missions of the Department.
RCED-98-68 Apr. 17, 1998	The Secretary of Energy should ensure the timely and cost-effective resolution of the wide range of issues surrounding pit storage, including ensuring that the plan being developed by DOE addresses such key items as a clear definition of responsibility and accountability for program activities.
RCED-98-80 Mar. 13, 1998	The Secretary of Energy should develop a comprehensive vadose zone strategy for the Hanford site that addresses cleaning up the high-level waste tank farms and the cribs, ponds, trenches, and other waste sites. The strategy should define leadership roles within DOE and its contractors. The overall leadership for this program should be clearly defined, with measurable performance goals and accountability for meeting the goals established at the outset.
RCED-98-94 Apr. 14, 1998	The Secretary of Energy should review the Department’s organizational structure and seek opportunities to better align the organization with its strategic plan’s business lines.
RCED-98-197 Sept. 10, 1998	To ensure the timely and effective implementation of recommendations from many past laboratory advisory groups, the Secretary of Energy should develop a comprehensive strategy with objectives, milestones, DOE offices and laboratories responsible for implementation actions, performance measures that will be used to assess success in meeting implementation objectives, a tracking system to monitor progress, and regular progress reports on the status of implementation.

DOE’S STAFF LACK TECHNICAL AND MANAGEMENT SKILLS

Problem description: DOE’s staff lack technical and management skills needed to oversee complex operations. At an Idaho facility, DOE turned to a private contractor, in part, because it lacked the in-house expertise needed to evaluate technical cleanup proposals. At the Hanford site, where DOE entered into a multibillion-dollar fixed-price contract for the next 20 years, DOE has no experts in fixed-price contracting. Finding enough staff with the necessary skills presents a serious challenge to DOE, particularly in light of recent downsizing initiatives.

GAO Report No. and Date	Recommendation
RCED-99-13 Oct. 8, 1998	The Secretary of Energy should take immediate action to fully implement the Department’s management and oversight plan for the Hanford tank waste project, including ensuring that (1) the oversight team is fully staffed with the expertise required and (2) adequate funding is available to provide the site support services called for in the contract.
RCED-99-56 Feb. 12, 1999	To improve the process for setting the training budget, the Secretary of Energy should require the completion of (1) annual training plans and (2) individual development plans for all Departmental employees, as required by a DOE order.
RCED-99-56 Feb. 12, 1999	To improve the process for setting the training budget, the Secretary of Energy should require the expeditious completion of a comprehensive occupational training needs assessment throughout the Department. Where the assessment process cannot be expedited, the priorities should be set for the order in which occupational groups will be assessed.
RCED-99-56 Feb. 12, 1999	To reduce spending on DOE training, the Secretary of Energy should require the establishment of criteria for what type of non-mandatory training is appropriate and a review and elimination of non-mandatory training courses given across DOE that do not meet those criteria.
RCED-99-56 Feb. 12, 1999	To reduce spending on DOE training, the Secretary of Energy should require the standardization of the development and delivery of training that has general application across DOE.
RCED-99-56 Feb. 12, 1999	To implement DOE’s new training plan, the Secretary of Energy should require that the plan include an identification of the steps necessary to improve contractor training performance. At a minimum, those steps should include (1) establishing departmental guidance on the development, monitoring, and evaluation of contractor training programs and budgets; (2) incorporating a standard set of performance measures regarding training into its performance-based contracts; and (3) clarifying the roles and responsibilities for the oversight of contractor training performance Department-wide.