Federal Reports

The Agency needs to improve its oversight of long-standing contractors, like CGI Federal, to improve operations and be a better steward of taxpayer dollars.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the November 2020 general election, the Postal Service’s Cleveland Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) experienced earlier than normal Peak Season mail, including package volume. This management alert responds to media and mailer concerns indicating that drivers experienced excessive wait times for drop shipments at the Cleveland P&DC. Our objective was to assess the efficiency of processing drop shipments at the Cleveland P&DC in the Northern Ohio District.

What We Looked AtTo enhance safety, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the aviation industry use data to proactively detect risks and implement mitigation strategies before accidents and incidents occur. Since 2007, FAA’s Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) program has drawn together a wide variety of safety data and information across Government and industry to identify emerging, systemic safety issues. In 2013, we reported that FAA had made progress implementing ASIAS, but the system lacked advanced capabilities, and aviation safety inspectors’ access to ASIAS confidential data remained limited. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 directed our office to perform a follow-up review to assess FAA’s progress in improving ASIAS. Our objectives were to assess FAA’s (1) progress with implementing ASIAS and plans to improve the system, including its predictive capabilities, and (2) efforts to more widely disseminate results of ASIAS data analyses. What We FoundFAA has made progress in implementing ASIAS since our 2013 review, but work remains to improve the program. For example, by September 2020, ASIAS grew to include data from 41 airlines, which according to FAA represents 99 percent of air carrier operations. However, FAA has not yet established a robust process for prioritizing analysis requests. Also, the Agency plans to make incremental enhancements to ASIAS, but the Agency does not expect to fully integrate predictive capabilities until 2025. In addition, while FAA provides some ASIAS information to aviation safety inspectors, the Agency does not provide access to national trend information that could improve their safety oversight. Further, inspectors do not widely use non-confidential ASIAS data for air carrier oversight due to the lack of guidance and the existing availability of similar data through other FAA databases. Our RecommendationsWe made three recommendations to improve FAA’s ability to better prioritize ASIAS efforts, provide improved data to aviation inspectors, and communicate the intended use and benefits of non-confidential ASIAS data. FAA concurred with all three recommendations and provided appropriate actions and completion dates.

What OIG Evaluated: 

National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped modernization projects were executed on schedule, within budget, and in accordance with technical requirements and best practices. 

What OIG Found: 

We found the Library had a:                                                                     
- Lack of Policies and Consistent Processes for Tracking Actual Costs Through the Life of a Project for all National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped IT  Modernization Initiative Projects 
- Lack of Consistent Risk Monitoring by National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped for the Braille eReader and Digital Talking Book Machine  Projects  
- Lack of Life Cycle Cost Estimates by National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped for the Braille eReader and Digital Talking Book Machine Projects 
- Lack of Consistent Work Breakdown Structure  and Earned Value Management  Procedures 
- Lack of Consistent Project Status Reporting 
- Lack of Integrated Master Schedule and Inconsistent Processes for Updating Individual Project Schedules 
- Lack of Consideration for All Pertinent Elements of Scheduling

What OIG Recommends: 
- The Financial Services Directorate in consultation with Chief Information Officer Project Management Office, continue efforts to align actual cost tracking practices with the Government accountability Office Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide, as previously recommended by the OIG. Until such time that Financial Services Directorate can implement actual cost tracking practices that are aligned  Government accountability Office  Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide Library- wide, we recommend that Financial Services Directorate implement cost accounting procedures to close the gap while the ideal solution is being designed. For example, Financial Services Directorate can issue policies and procedures on cost identification and collection/recording, as well as using manual solutions and templates, in the interim, after conducting a cost/benefit analysis and risk assessment. 
- The National Library Service require the  IT Modernization Initiative project managers to leverage existing actual cost tracking practices, with consultation and review by Chief Information Officer Project Management Office  and Financial Services Directorate, to identify and track all actual project costs and update cost trackers on all applicable National Library Service IT Modernization Initiative projects on a minimum standard frequency, in line with evolving requirements.
- National Library Service and the Chief Information Officer designate an individual to perform scheduled internal/self-assessments and compliance reviews over the actual cost trackers for each project. 
- Require National Library Service project managers to develop and maintain formal risk registers for each National Library Service IT Modernization Initiative project in accordance with Library of Congress Directive 5-310.1, Project Management Life Cycle , to track identified risks with a minimum standard frequency for periodically updating identified risks and resolutions. 
- Monitor compliance with Library of Congress Directive 5-310.1, as described  above, and perform scheduled internal/self-assessments and compliance reviews over the procedures.
- Implement Office of the Chief Information Officer Project Management Offices formal cost estimating and assessment checklist that contains the  Government accountability Office  Cost Estimating and Assessment Guides best practices for project managers to follow when developing, executing, and maintaining project costs.
- Continue efforts to implement earned value management  in accordance with  Government accountability Office  best practices and with consideration for project size requirements.
- The Chief Information Officer implement policies and procedures to close the gap while the ideal solution is being designed. For example, the Office of the Chief Information Officer can issue policies and procedures on how to develop work breakdown structures and take steps toward calculating earned value management within a timely manner at the beginning of the project, based on project size requirements, with reassessment on a regular and recurring basis.
- Require the IT Modernization Initiative project managers to leverage existing  work breakdown structure and earned value management procedures, with consultation and review by the Project Management Office to create a work breakdown structure with the OCIO's evolving requirements.
- Designate an individual to perform scheduled internal/self-assessments and compliance reviews over the work breakdown structure and earned value management for each applicable project.
- Require project managers to follow Library of Congress Directive 5-310.1, Project Management Life Cycle and leverage Office of the Chief Information Officer Project Management Officer project status report templates for each  IT Modernization Initiative project in order to document the possible impacts to the project schedule, cost estimates, and performance due to items discussed during weekly status meetings/reports, as well as require project managers to update the project schedule and cost estimates based on the impacts identified in the status report.
- Monitor compliance with Library of Congress Directive 5-310.1 and perform scheduled internal/self-assessments and compliance reviews over the procedures.
- Identify project dependencies within the  IT Modernization Initiative projects (Braille eReader, BARD, Stop Gap Player, Smart Speaker, and Smart Phone) and among any other Library-wide IT modernization efforts. If Library-wide IT modernization dependencies exist, we recommend the Chief Information Officer create a Library-wide IT modernization integrated master schedule. If no other dependencies exist outside of the  IT Modernization Initiative projects, we recommend the National Library Service, with consultation with the Office of the Chief Information Officer, create an National Library Service IT Modernization Initiative integrated master schedule.
- Require project managers to follow Library of Congress Directive 5-310.1, Project Management Life Cycle , to update individual project schedules on a regular and recurring basis for each  IT Modernization Initiative project and communicate individual project schedule changes to the owner of the applicable IMS to be created.
- Monitor compliance with Library of Congress Directive 5-310.1 and perform scheduled internal/self-assessments and compliance reviews over the procedures.
- Implement the project schedule management processes that Chief Information Officer Project Management Office will develop to align with PMBOK Knowledge Area Project Time Management and the Government accountability Office Schedule Assessment Guide, and that the National Library Service perform scheduled internal/self-assessments and compliance reviews over the procedures.