Open Recommendations

1.  We recommend that the NOAA Administrator ensure that OMAO monitors and annually reports on acquisition status, program accomplishments, operations, maintenance, and planned actions for the coming year. It should also identify year-over-year changes to aircraft service life and planned retirements, major repairs or service life extensions, updated condition assessments, and new validated observational collection capability requirements. 

2. We recommend that the NOAA Administrator ensure that OMAO develops comprehensive mitigation plans to offset a likely gap in both hurricane hunter missions that includes major maintenance work packages, cost estimates, and required scheduling to ensure that the WP-3Ds remain mission-ready until the C-130Js are mission ready.

3. We recommend that the NOAA Administrator ensure that Program-level management controls are designed and documented for its G550 and C-130J programs, in accordance with Department policy and guidance. 

4. ​​​​We recommend that the NOAA Administrator ensure that OMAO or another appropriate office conducts cost-benefit and business case analyses for using tailored acquisitions support (e.g., from the U.S. Navy or U.S. Air Force) to bolster NOAA’s ability to execute complex and challenging aircraft acquisitions.

5. We recommend that the NOAA Administrator ensure that NOAA develops and implements a program oversight structure that can perform rigorous and continuous evaluation of program risks, opportunities, and progress against established benchmarks for complex and technically challenging acquisitions. 

6. We recommend that the NOAA Administrator ensure that NOAA conducts a detailed root cause analysis and lessons-learned review of the G550 program to identify opportunities for improvement in the management and oversight of the second G550 acquisition and the C-130J program. 

7.  We recommend that the NOAA Administrator ensure that NOAA develops and implements systems engineering policy and processes in accordance with best practices and applicable guidance.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations update Management Directive 11.6 to ensure roles and responsibilities are clearly defined.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations develop procedures to ensure all current NRC staff performing grant-related functions have appropriate authority or delegation letters that fully cover their grant roles and responsibilities.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations develop relevant training and a plan to ensure grant staff know their roles and responsibilities.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations develop a process to ensure the timely deobligation of funds for grants past their period of performance.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations validate the completeness of grant files past their period of performance and deobligate the more than $321,000 in funds specified in this report, or provide documentation to the OIG to justify not deobligating the funds.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations validate the completeness of grant files past their period of performance and deobligate the more than $920,000 specified in this report, or provide documentation to the OIG to justify not deobligating the funds.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations implement a policy that requires periodic reviews to ensure compliance with 2 C.F.R. Part 200 requirements related to the allowability of costs.

The OIG recommends that the Executive Director for Operations train SBCR staff to ensure they are aware of the communication and documentation requirements related to grant periodic reviews.

Enroll all GPO-issued devices in a Mobile Device Management system capable of controlling application installations, limited to only approved applications, and enforcing policy compliance.

While the current annual GPO Cybersecurity Awareness Training highlights the risks of downloading mobile applications, the OIG recommends that the annual training include more information about or greater emphasis on the prohibition of downloading personal or non-GPO software on GPO-issued mobile devices.

Current GPO IT policy strictly prohibits application downloads. GPO should consider updating IT policies to more clearly define the scope of acceptable and prohibited uses, including establishing a “whitelist” of approved applications. The updated policy should better delineate reasonable personal use, use while off-duty, and the consequences for violations, to include loss of network access or mobile phone use.

Review the planned savings projections for the Boise Regional Processing and Distribution Center, determine where efficiencies were not achieved, and adjust savings projections of future initiatives, as needed.

Review mail processing operations to determine the cause of decreased efficiency and make adjustments as necessary.

We recommend that the Executive Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Field Operations develop and implement a plan to deploy and install the large-scale non-intrusive inspection systems identified in this report.

Rec. A.1.b: The DoD OIG recommended that the Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Marianas review the number and frequency of assessments that performance assessment representatives are required to conduct and document. The review should ensure assessment requirements provide sufficient contract oversight and are reasonable and obtainable. Based on the review, make appropriate adjustments to either the staffing or the assessment requirements, as deemed necessary.

Rec. A.1.c: The DoD OIG recommended that the Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Marianas assess the risk of not conducting contractor oversight during future National Emergencies and develop and implement contingency plans, as necessary. For the contingency plans deemed necessary, technical personnel should include the contingency plans in the Performance Assessment Plans and the requirement to document the approval to implement the alternate method.

Rec. A.1.d: The DoD OIG recommended that the Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Mariana conduct a personnel staffing study to determine the need for the administration and oversight of facility support contracts.

Rec. A.1.e: The DoD OIG recommended that the Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Mariana develop and implement an alternate method in Performance Assessment Plans and Functional Assessment Plans to assess contractor performance when staff availability is limited and the requirement to document the approval to implement the alternate method, as needed.