quality | The Contracting Education Academy

March 19, 2013 By AMK

Pentagon’s internal feud over contract auditing takes a new twist

The ongoing dispute over the quality of work at the Defense Contract Audit Agency took a new turn on Thursday with the release of a Defense Inspector General’s Office report criticizing the professional judgment used in DCAA assignments dating back to 2010 and earlier.

The March 7 report — which the deputy IG acknowledged was delayed for two years while the office’s staff focused more on DCAA hotlines than audits — covered quality assurance reviews on 50 DCAA reports completed in the first half of fiscal 2010.

“DCAA did not exercise professional judgment in performing 37 (74 percent) of the assignments reviewed,” the IG team concluded. “The abundance of non-compliances with standards identified in the 37 assignments evidenced the need for improvements in the area of competence at DCAA.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2013/03/pentagons-internal-feud-over-contract-auditing-takes-new-twist/61772/?oref=govexec_today_nl

November 22, 2010 By AMK

FEMA didn’t award contracts on merit, report says

The Federal Emergency Management Agency may have violated federal law by trying to distribute contract dollars equally among three firms, rather than selecting the most qualified candidate, according to a new report commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security.

In the report dated October but released earlier this month, independent public accounting firm Foxx & Co. found that FEMA may not be complying with the Brooks Act, which requires that the government select engineering and architectural firms based on competency, qualifications and experience. Additionally, the report said that FEMA neither established performance standards for its contractors nor evaluated their performance.

The agency in 2006 awarded contracts to three companies to provide technical assistance, such as engineering services or environmental expertise, to government or nonprofit groups that had received disaster response funding. Irving, Tex.-based Fluor, Arlington-based Emergency Response Program Management Consultants and Gaithersburg-based Nationwide Infrastructure Support Technical Assistance Consultants were all selected to receive future task orders over a five-year period.

Auditors reviewed nine different task orders awarded to the contractors for services provided in response to hurricanes Gustav and Ike in Texas and Louisiana and flooding in Iowa, all in 2008. The contractors received more than $165 million for their work on the disasters, according to the report.

Though the base contract awards complied with the Brooks Act, the audit found no documentation to indicate FEMA had discussions with the three firms before awarding a given task order.

“Without an evaluation of qualifications, questions arise whether FEMA may be using a less qualified contractor to do the work,” the report said. “In addition, a contractor may have already been in place at a disaster location, been more qualified and familiar with the community and issues, and thus could have been a better resource and responded more quickly.”

Auditors recommended the agency seek the Justice Department’s opinion, but FEMA said it is working with the Homeland Security general counsel’s office, which will go to the Justice Department if necessary.

The report also called for FEMA to establish performance expectations and assess contractor performance. FEMA is now developing an evaluation worksheet, a draft of which was distributed to regional divisions in August for their review.

“Without performance expectations or adequate monitoring or evaluations, there is no assurance that the federal government and the state and local entities are receiving the expected . . . contractor services,” auditors added.

Indeed, the report finds that in three task orders it examined, FEMA employees reported having trouble getting the needed technical assistance from the contractor. The report contends that the lack of established expectations and evaluations means the government cannot determine whether it received a fair return on its investment.

– By Marjorie Censer – The Washington Post – Monday, November 22, 2010; page 10

September 15, 2010 By AMK

Precision machine parts manufacturer gains ISO certification with Georgia Tech assistance

When Don Smith began working as sales manager for Precision Products, Inc. in Tunnel Hill, Ga., the company primarily made high precision extrusion parts for the carpet industry. With the downturn in the economy, it was essential to diversify Precision’s customer base.

“As we started diversifying outside of the carpet industry into industries such as automotive, medical, industrial textiles, aerospace and power generation, it became obvious that we were going to have to separate ourselves from the average mom and pop machine shop,” he recalled. “Although most customers don’t demand that machine shops be ISO 9001 certified, it seemed to me that our shop was so close already with all of our process standards, procedures and organization.”

ISO 9001 is an international quality management system that certifies the application of formalized business processes. The standard takes a systematic approach to managing the organization’s processes and ensuring a consistent product that meets customer expectations. Because limited resources and lack of time are often the major challenges to implementing ISO, Smith sought assistance from Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI²) and a former colleague, Craig Cochran.

Cochran, a quality specialist with EI², first began working with Rich Graham, director of operations, at Precision Products in January of 2009. He conducted a gap audit to identify areas of improvement, and helped the team develop an implementation plan. He trained the staff at Precision in quality issues and internal auditing, helped them meet project milestones and reviewed all company documentation.

“After Craig’s initial visit, we started building our database of procedures and our quality manual,” Graham said. “Craig came six or eight times over the next 10 months, each time identifying a new set of weaknesses. Late in the fall, he conducted a pre-assessment audit and had a few minor findings but said we could pass then.”

In December 2009, Precision Products received its ISO 9001 certification, 11 months after starting the entire process. In her report, the auditor noted that all of the company’s 35 employees were knowledgeable about the quality initiative and that the shop was one of the cleanest she had ever seen. The certification is especially important to Precision Products in this difficult economy.

“Having ISO has not only instilled some discipline and procedures into our plant to ensure that what we make is the same every time, but it also raises our awareness with a customer that this place is for real. ISO isn’t just a quality tool, it’s a marketing tool,” Smith noted. “What we’re really selling to our customers is machine uptime, innovation and service. They’re now getting all of those things and a quality part made in an ISO shop.”

Since 2008, Precision Products has added numerous new customers and has increased sales by 30 percent. According to Smith, the ISO certification gets Precision’s foot in the door with multinational, billion dollar companies. The company is also planning to add employees and expand the facility space in the near future.

“ISO certification was like training for a marathon; it was tough and a long way, but we were very prepared with Georgia Tech’s assistance,” said Graham. “With Craig’s preparation, there was nothing left for the auditors to find. It went very smoothly for us.”

David Davis founded Precision Products, Inc. 17 years ago to make high precision extrusion parts for the carpet industry. Today, the family-owned business makes original equipment manufacturer (OEM) replacement parts for industries as varied as textile, food and beverage, automotive, medical, aerospace, military and power generation, in addition to reverse engineering parts.

“Precision Parts worked hard to develop a concise, streamlined management system that would match their no-nonsense way of doing business. They achieved this by first determining their biggest risks, and then building controls around the management of these risks,” Cochran said. “Where there were no risks, the company relies on the experience and skills of their machinists.”

About Enterprise Innovation Institute:

The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute helps companies, entrepreneurs, economic developers and communities improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. It is one of the most comprehensive university-based programs of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization and economic development in the nation.

Research News & Publications Office

Enterprise Innovation Institute

Georgia Institute of Technology

75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314

Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA

Media Relations Contacts: Nancy Fullbright (912-963-2509 ); E-mail: (nancy.fullbright@innovate.gatech.edu) or John Toon (404-894-6986 ); E-mail (john.toon@innovate.gatech.edu).

Writer: Nancy Fullbright

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