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New case studies highlight the importance of federal program management

Nearly three years after being signed into law, the Program Management Improvement and Accountability Act (PMIAA) exists to address an urgent need within the U.S. federal government.

In October 2019, PMI and the Partnership for Public Service hosted “Delivering on Your Mission: What PMIAA Means for Effective Execution,” a timely event focused on how the PMIAA can help improve federal project and program management capabilities and performance.

With agencies and their program management improvement officers (PMIOs) tasked with delivering complex and diverse streams of benefits to citizens — from disaster relief to Social Security payments to investments in medical research, new technologies and state-of-the-art defense system — strong project and program management capabilities and practices can improve outcomes and drive effective execution throughout the federal government.

“PMIAA has the potential to transform how federal agencies deliver their missions,” said Tina Sung, vice president with the Partnership for Public Service. “It was clear during our recent event that PMIOs from across government are committed to meeting the spirit of this law, implementing it effectively and using it to amplify their agencies’ impact.”

At the event, PMI released a capstone report, “PMIAA: Strengthening the Government Delivery Foundation,” and a series of case studies highlighting how agencies and PMIOs are leveraging resources and partners inside and outside of government to help accelerate, validate and accomplish their missions.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/opinions/2019/11/08/new-case-studies-highlight-the-importance-of-federal-program-management/

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Why federal IT projects fail (and how to ensure success)

In any business, it’s not uncommon to have several projects taking place at the same time, forcing organizations and their employees to play a delicate balancing act. For federal agencies and contractors, it is even more critical to appropriately juggle their projects due to the missions they are supporting.

These numerous tasks, large and small, are essential to the federal government’s efforts in aligning with and working towards their missions. Federal agencies prioritize specific initiatives, allocating resources and talent to ensure their projects are successful and their goals are met. Much blood, sweat, tears and taxpayer money is put into these projects, and yet, one in three IT projects is canceled before it’s completed.

That seems like a stunning figure. How can this be true? What goes wrong along the way for a third of every project started to be cut back?

As it turns out, projects are often derailed from the beginning. In fact, the most common problem is the lack of immediate action to get these projects back on track, allowing problems to grow until they become too large and too far gone for project managers and their teams to resolve.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/ideas/2019/03/why-federal-it-projects-fail-and-how-ensure-success/155435/

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Our popular Construction Contracting course begins Feb. 25th — Make plans now to attend

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech is offering the four and a half day Defense Acquisition University course, CON 244: Construction Contracting, beginning February 25, 2019.

The course focuses on government contracting issues unique to the construction field.  Topics include: acquisition planning, contract performance management, funding, environmental concerns, construction contract language, construction contracting in a commercial setting, the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute (formerly known as the Davis-Bacon Act), the design/build strategy, schedule delay analysis, constructive changes, acceleration,  construction contract quality management, and much more.

To register for this course, please visit: https://pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-244-construction-contracting.

Who Should Attend 

Contracting officers, contract specialists, contracting officer representatives, program/project managers, small business specialists, and industry contracting personnel.

How You Will Benefit

Attendees learn how to:

  • Apply federal acquisition laws and regulations, Department of Defense and other agency supplemental regulations, agency policies and procedures, and best practices in soliciting, awarding and administering construction contracts.
  • Contrast typical support requirements with a federal Construction Acquisition Plan in accordance with FAR Parts 7 and 36, DFARS Parts 207 and 236, and agency supplements, policies and procedures.
  • Develop a construction solicitation package in accordance with the FAR, agency supplements, and agency policy/procedures.
  • Evaluate, using appropriate procedures, construction offerors and the contract awardee.
  • Determine the applicable construction contract administration (compliance) approach, using the FAR, DFARS, DoD regulation/guidelines, and other relevant agency supplements, procedures and best practices.
  • Formulate the remedy and appropriate clause for a changed construction condition in accordance with federal and DoD acquisition and other agency laws, regulations, and best practices.
  • Document appropriate actions necessary to verify and authorize construction progress payments and construction contract closeout.
Act Now

Plan to join your colleagues in attending this thorough and engaging examination of the federal construction contracting process.  Complete registration details are right here.

Credit

Students successfully completing this 4.5-day course receive 32 Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) from the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and 3.2 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Added Benefits

You’ll learn in a small group setting at Georgia Tech’s world-class Global Learning Center.  You’ll receive expert instruction, a printed student guide to be used back on the job, valuable handouts, and exclusive electronic resources.  A complimentary breakfast is provided each morning, along with snacks throughout each day.

Registration

For more information, cost, and the registration link, go right here: https://pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-244-construction-contracting.

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Learn all about federal construction contracting the week of Oct. 29th

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech is offering the four and a half day Defense Acquisition University course, CON 244: Construction Contracting, beginning October 29, 2018.

The course focuses on government contracting issues unique to the construction field.  Topics include: acquisition planning, contract performance management, funding, environmental concerns, construction contract language, construction contracting in a commercial setting, the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute (formerly referred to as the Davis-Bacon Act), the design/build strategy, schedule delay analysis, constructive changes, acceleration,  construction contract quality management, and much more.

To register for this course, please visit: https://pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-244-construction-contracting.

Who Should Attend 

Contracting officers, contract specialists, contracting officer representatives, program/project managers, small business specialists, and industry contracting personnel.

How You Will Benefit

Attendees learn how to:

  • Apply federal acquisition laws and regulations, Department of Defense and other agency supplemental regulations, agency policies and procedures, and best practices in soliciting, awarding and administering construction contracts.
  • Contrast typical support requirements with a federal Construction Acquisition Plan in accordance with FAR Parts 7 and 36, DFARS Parts 207 and 236, and agency supplements, policies and procedures.
  • Develop a construction solicitation package in accordance with the FAR, agency supplements, and agency policy/procedures.
  • Evaluate, using appropriate procedures, construction offerors and the contract awardee.
  • Determine the applicable construction contract administration (compliance) approach, using the FAR, DFARS, DoD regulation/guidelines, and other relevant agency supplements, procedures and best practices.
  • Formulate the remedy and appropriate clause for a changed construction condition in accordance with federal and DoD acquisition and other agency laws, regulations, and best practices.
  • Document appropriate actions necessary to verify and authorize construction progress payments and construction contract closeout.
Act Now

Plan to join your colleagues in attending this thorough and engaging examination of the federal construction contracting process.  Complete registration details are right here.

Credit

Students successfully completing this 4.5-day course receive 32 Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) from the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and 3.2 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Added Benefits

You’ll learn in a small group setting at Georgia Tech’s world-class Global Learning Center.  You’ll receive expert instruction, a printed student guide to be used back on the job, valuable handouts, and exclusive electronic resources.  A complimentary breakfast is provided each morning, along with snacks throughout each day.

Registration

For more information, cost, and the registration link, go right here: https://pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-244-construction-contracting.

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Lax oversight of VA project caused $17.7M overrun, construction collapse

The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs issued a report that found both a contractor and VA hospital officials demonstrated “shoddy planning” and poor oversight of an $8.7 million generator project that is $17.5 million over budget.

The VA in June 2014 hired Florida-based BCI Construction for $8.7 million to install a generator system and accompanying structure to house the unit at the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center in Muskogee, Oklahoma. According to the inspector general, the VA did not submit an excavation plan for approval before beginning work. Subsequently, a hillside and parking lot collapsed, and the damage will cost $17.5 million to fix.

Photos show noticeable deterioration of parking lot before collapse. (photos by VA Medical Center employee)

In addition to supervisory and procedural errors, the inspector general also found that BCI’s worksite to be unsafe. Safety inspections were sporadic, and 49 safety violations were never reported to the government contracting officer, which is a violation of VA policy.

The inspector general recommended requiring contracting officer representatives are qualified and follow VA regulations and mandating that employees follow safety inspection guidelines. The current Muskogee hospital director, hired after the collapse, said the facility has implemented the recommendations.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/report-lax-oversight-of-va-project-caused-177m-overrun-construction-col/520242/

Read the article in The Oklahoman newspaper on this subject at: http://newsok.com/article/5588662/construction-collapse-at-muskogee-va-hospital-will-cost-17.5-million-to-repair-and-was-the-result-of-poor-planning-federal-report-finds

Read the VA’s full OIG report at: https://www.oversight.gov/sites/default/files/oig-reports/VAOIG-15-04678-114.pdf

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