Architect of the Capitol: Management and Accountability Framework
Needed to Lead and Execute Change (17-APR-02, GAO-02-632T).
This testimony discusses management shortcomings at the Architect
of the Capitol (AOC) in such areas as strategic planning,
organizational alignment, strategic human capital, financial
management, and information technology. AOC has demonstrated a
commitment to change through ongoing management improvements. It
is also revisiting its strategic planning efforts, working with a
consultant to implement best practices, and implementing a new
financial management system. AOC recognizes that change will not
come quickly or easily. AOC must ensure that it has the policies,
procedures, and people in place to effectively implement the
needed changes. GAO believes that AOC must ensure top leadership
commitment to change; identify long-term, mission-critical goals
through a re-invigorated strategic planning process tied to
serving the Congress; develop annual goals and a system for
measuring progress; and establish individual accountability and
commensurate authority for achieving results.
-------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
REPORTNUM: GAO-02-632T
ACCNO: A03089
TITLE: Architect of the Capitol: Management and Accountability
Framework Needed to Lead and Execute Change
DATE: 04/17/2002
SUBJECT: Accountability
Best practices
Federal agency reorganization
Financial management
General management reviews
Human resources utilization
Information resources management
Internal controls
Strategic planning
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GAO-02-632T
A
Test i mony Before the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, Committee on
Appropriations, U. S. Senate
For Release on Delivery 10: 30 a. m., EDT
ARCHITECT OF THE Wednesday, April 17, 2002
CAPITOL Management and Accountability Framework Needed to Lead and Execute
Change
Statement for the Record by J. Christopher Mihm Director, Strategic Issues
GAO- 02- 632T
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: We are pleased to respond to
your request that we provide preliminary observations from our ongoing
general management review of the Architect of the Capitol (AOC). As you
know, the Senate and House Appropriations Committees mandated this review
for completion in November 2002. At that time we will provide our final
observations and
recommendations. Upon completion of our review, AOC is to develop a
management improvement plan to address our recommendations. You asked us to
focus on certain management shortcomings at AOC that needed attention-
strategic planning, organizational alignment, strategic
human capital management, financial management, and information technology
(IT) management. You also asked us to assess two key program areas- worker
safety and recycling- both to illustrate the management issues we are
addressing and to help AOC identify best practices and areas
for improvement in these important programs. We plan to explore project
management and budgeting, among other issues, in greater depth in the next
phase of our review. We have briefed AOC on the preliminary observations in
this statement and the accompanying appendix, which provides additional
details on the results of our work.
We have been working constructively with AOC managers to understand their
complex operating environment and the long- standing challenges they must
address. Our observations today are based on a review of AOC?s legislative
authority and internal AOC documents, including policies and
procedures, AOC consultant reports and internal studies on AOC management
issues, as well as GAO and other reports on best practices for management
functions and worker safety and health and recycling
programs. We also interviewed senior- and mid- level AOC managers for each
of the management functions and programs we reviewed.
AOC has demonstrated a commitment to change through the management
improvements it has planned and under way. For example, AOC has
established routine management meetings to help improve communication
across organizational boundaries;
established and implemented basic policies and procedures in human
capital, such as a performance evaluation system for non- union AOC
employees up to GS- 15;
recently drafted a senior executive performance evaluation system-
informed by our human capital policies and flexibilities- and established an
employee awards program;
added to its professional workforce ranks by hiring new jurisdictional
superintendents and deputy superintendents and budget and accounting
officers and creating and filling new positions, such as chief financial
officer (CFO), facilities manager, worker safety specialists, and a
facilities planning and development manager;
reorganized and took actions to improve worker and fire safety programs;
and
upgraded and filled key recycling program positions. AOC is also
revisiting its strategic planning efforts, working with a consultant to
implement best practices for project management, and implementing a new
financial management system. AOC recognizes that because of the nature of
the challenges and demands
it faces, change will not come quickly or easily. AOC therefore must ensure
that it has the policies, procedures, and people in place to effectively
implement the needed changes. That is, to serve the Congress, central AOC
management needs the capability to define goals, set priorities, ensure
follow through, monitor progress, and establish accountability. Our
observations today all focus on this basic issue- building the capability to
lead and execute change. Therefore, we believe that as a first priority, AOC
should establish a management and accountability framework by
demonstrating top leadership commitment to change;
identifying long- term, mission- critical goals through a re- invigorated
strategic planning process tied to serving the Congress;
developing annual goals and a system for measuring progress; and
establishing individual accountability and commensurate authority for
achieving results. We recognize that this statement outlines a large and
complex agenda for change at AOC, and that AOC cannot possibly tackle all
these changes at once. Nonetheless, this agenda provides the broad landscape
of issues
confronting AOC and is therefore important to crafting a comprehensive and
integrated approach to addressing AOC?s challenges and setting appropriate
priorities, even though by necessity it will have to be phased in
over time. By drawing on the full potential of its management team, AOC can
begin to take immediate steps on a number of actions, although we recognize
that AOC will be able to implement some of these actions more quickly than
others. Key actions that AOC can consider are highlighted in the following
sections and detailed in appendix I.
AOC- Wide AOC must develop a communications strategy as an integral part of
its Communications
strategic planning and change management initiatives. Such a strategy will
be important to providing AOC with the customer and employee Strategy Is
Needed to
information and perspective it needs to strike a balance between the Achieve
MissionCritical competing priorities it faces and the results it seeks to
achieve. In building
Goals a communications strategy AOC should consider taking the following
actions:
Provide opportunities for routine employee feedback.
Develop congressional protocols.
Publicize the impact of highly visible projects.
Improve accountability reporting.
Measure customer satisfaction. Strategic Human
Strategic human capital management can transform AOC into a resultsoriented
Capital Management
organization by aligning employee performance with AOC goals and by
providing the tools to better plan its workforce needs. In 1994 we Can
Improve
reported that AOC?s personnel management system did not follow many
Organizational generally accepted principles of modern personnel management.
1 In our Accountability to
current review, we found that AOC has made progress in establishing a modern
personnel system that is meeting the guidelines set forth by the
Mission- Critical Goals AOC Human Resources Act of 1994 and the
Congressional Accountability
1 U. S. General Accounting Office, Federal Personnel: Architect of the
Capitol?s Personnel System Needs Improvement, GAO/ GGD- 94- 121BR
(Washington, D. C.: Apr. 29, 1994).
Act of 1995. 2 AOC has developed basic personnel policies and procedures and
streamlined certain human resource processes, and has continued to add to
its professional workforce ranks. These efforts are helping AOC to construct
a sound foundation on which to build a high- performing organization. As AOC
moves forward with its human capital efforts, it has opportunities to make
additional important improvements:
Develop capacity to collect and analyze workforce data.
Identify current and future workforce needs and develop strategies to fill
gaps.
Establish agencywide core and technical competencies.
Link proposed senior executive and existing employee performance
management systems to mission- critical goals.
AOC Needs to In recognition of the critical role a chief financial officer
(CFO) plays in Continue and Expand achieving financial accountability and
control, AOC established a CFO position and, in January 2002, filled the
position. The new CFO is a Efforts to Improve
member of the Architect?s executive council and reports directly to the
Financial Management Architect. Organizationally, the CFO is responsible for
the activities of AOC?s Budget Office, Accounting Office, and Financial
Systems Office. Included among the many challenges facing the new CFO are
his responsibilities for (1) implementing AOC?s new financial management
system (Momentum), (2) implementing applicable accounting and operational
policies and procedures, and (3) preparing a complete and auditable set of
AOC financial statements.
Among his first actions, the new CFO recently hired staff members to fill
key budget and accounting officer positions, including additional accounting
staff members with the general ledger accounting experience needed to
maintain AOC?s new general ledger. He has also focused his efforts on
bringing AOC?s new financial management system on- line. While these steps
are critical and represent the initial steps to improving AOC?s
financial management and budget functions, much work remains to be done. The
CFO has also recognized or started work on other key issues 2 See P. L. 103-
283, Sec. 312, Architect of the Capitol Human Resources Act.
that need to be addressed in the near term. Building on the progress already
under way, the new CFO needs to take the following actions:
Ensure effective implementation of new financial management system.
Continue and expand ongoing efforts aimed at strengthening AOC?s budget
formulation and execution and financial accounting and reporting across AOC.
Model AOC efforts on established best practices of leading organizations.
AOC Needs to Adopt Our research of private and public sector organizations
that have
an Agencywide effectively leveraged IT shows that these organizations'
executives have
embraced the central role of IT to mission performance. As such, they have
Approach to IT
adopted a corporate or agencywide approach to managing IT under the
Management
leadership and control of a chief information officer (CIO), who is a full
participant in senior executive decision making. Additionally, these
organizations have implemented certain corporate IT management controls such
as using a portfolio- based approach to IT investment decision making, using
an enterprise architecture or blueprint to guide and constrain IT
investments, following disciplined IT system acquisition and development
management processes, and proactively managing the security of IT assets.
Our preliminary work shows that AOC has yet to adopt such an approach. AOC
could greatly benefit from an agencywide approach to managing IT under the
leadership and control of an empowered CIO. Such an approach should, at a
minimum, include each of the above IT management controls as defined in
relevant federal guidance and proven best practices. AOC?s
top leadership will need to consider carefully its environment and the scope
of its IT investments to determine how best to apply this guidance and the
best practices to its specific situation. The following are the key steps
that AOC needs to consider as it seeks to more effectively leverage use of
IT to improve mission performance: Appoint a CIO to manage IT across the
agency.
Establish and implement a portfolio- based approach to IT investment
management.
Develop, maintain, and use an enterprise architecture consistent with
federal guidance and recognized best practices.
Establish and implement disciplined processes for managing the development
and acquisition of information systems.
Establish and implement an information security program. AOC Could Make
Because of the concerns that the Congress and others raised about worker
Worker Safety Program
safety at AOC, in 2001, the Architect issued a statement that safety is his
highest organizational priority. To effectively implement the Architect?s
Improvements More
commitment to safety, and consistent with best practices for health and
Effective by Adopting safety programs as described in the Occupational
Safety and Health
Certain Best Practices Administration?s guidance and our work, AOC must
develop
comprehensive and reliable data, provide a clear understanding of what the
program is trying to accomplish, and how it will evaluate results. AOC also
needs to examine strengthening the accountability relationships between the
various safety program officials. Best practices also indicate that
standardized and agencywide policies and procedures must be in place-
such as procedures that encourage employees to report incidents, accidents
and unsafe conditions (often called hazards), and procedures to investigate
causes of accidents to identify why accidents occurred. By gathering more
comprehensive and reliable data, and developing and consistently applying
policies and procedures for reporting and investigating accidents, injuries,
and illnesses, AOC can begin to take a more strategic approach to addressing
safety issues. For example, better information about the type and frequency
of injuries and the hazards that contribute to them could help AOC establish
a risk- based approach for addressing the most significant worker safety
issues that are occurring and for allocating resources. Key actions that AOC
should consider on worker health and safety can be summarized as follows:
Develop more comprehensive and reliable data to set goals and to track
program improvements.
Assess accountability relationships of the safety specialists at the
central and jurisdictional levels to carry out their work. Establish
agencywide policies and procedures for reporting,
investigating, and tracking worker safety incidents, accidents, and hazards.
AOC Needs to Build on Programs that separate and collect recyclable
materials from the waste
Current Efforts by stream produce numerous benefits. It is estimated that
recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill
space, 7,000 gallons
Adopting a Strategic of water, 380 gallons of oil, 4,100 kilowatt hours of
energy, and 60 pounds of Approach to Recycling
air pollutants. AOC is responsible for operating recycling programs for much
of the Capitol complex. 3 In recent years, AOC, both centrally and at the
jurisdiction level, has taken steps to improve the overall effectiveness of
its recycling programs. To maximize the benefits derived from its recycling
program, AOC must build on the steps it has taken to improve the
effectiveness of its programs by taking a more strategic approach:
Revisit and clarify recycling mission and goals.
Develop a performance measurement, monitoring, and evaluation system that
supports accomplishing recycling mission and goals.
Reexamine roles and responsibilities of AOC recycling program staff
members.
Implement best practices to improve performance. Key Management
Adopting a vigorous approach to strategic planning and holding managers
Options Require and employees accountable for achieving organizationwide
goals will go a long way toward helping AOC become a high- performing
organization.
Further Exploration However, further measures may be needed; we plan to
explore other
options with AOC and its key congressional customers in the next stage of
our management review. To strengthen AOC?s executive decision- making
capacity and accountability, we are exploring options to better define the
roles and responsibilities for certain key functions and to clarify some
accountability relationships. For example, a chief operating officer could
be responsible for major long- term management, cultural transformation,
3 AOC operates all aspects of the recycling programs in the House and Senate
Office Buildings, except for the Ford building, which is operated by a
custodial contractor. In addition, the House jurisdiction picks up
recyclable materials collected by the House side of the Capitol building,
the Botanic Garden, the page dorm (501 1st St.), and, most recently, the
Capitol Power Plant. On the Senate side of the Capitol building, the Senate
Sergeant- atArms operates the recycling program, and AOC transports the
materials to its collection site in the Hart Office Building. The Supreme
Court and the Library of Congress operate their own recycling programs.
and stewardship responsibilities within AOC. Additional options are
discussed in appendix I. We look forward to continuing our constructive
relationship with AOC. In the worker safety and recycling areas, we will
continue to provide on- thespot
advice on safety hazards and recycling practices observed on our site
visits. For example, we identified several safety hazards at the Capitol
Power Plant. We brought these potential hazards to the attention of the
acting chief engineer of the plant, who said that he would act upon our
advice. We also suggested to him that the power plant could start a
recycling program for its office waste consistent with the Botanic Garden?s
program, which the plant is starting to implement. To support management
improvements that we are recommending or options we plan to explore,
we have provided best practices guidance and we will, at the invitation of
AOC, brief AOC?s senior managers on best management practices in the public
as well as private sectors.
In summary, we recognize that AOC faces long- standing management challenges
to becoming a high- performing organization, and that it has many
initiatives under way for improvement. As a first step in addressing
these challenges, AOC must create a management and accountability framework
that provides a foundation of mission- critical goals from which other
efforts can flow, and clarifies organizational lines of authority and
accountability. We will continue to work constructively with AOC, this
subcommittee, the House Committee on Appropriations and its Subcommittee on
Legislative, and other congressional stakeholders to support this framework,
as well as to help AOC identify other priorities for
improvement.
Appendi xes Management and Accountability Framework
Appendi Appendi xes x I
Needed to Lead and Execute Change This appendix discusses our preliminary
observations on strategic planning, organizational alignment, strategic
human capital management, financial management, and information technology
(IT) management. It also discusses two key program areas- worker safety and
recycling- both to illustrate the management issues we are addressing and to
help AOC identify best practices and areas for improvement in these
important programs.
AOC Facing Longstanding AOC?s general mission is to maintain and care for
the buildings and grounds Management
located in the Capitol Hill complex. The historic nature and high- profile
use of many of these buildings create a complex environment in which to
Challenges in Complex carry out this mission. For example, the U. S. Capitol
building is, at once, a Operating national capitol, museum, office building,
ceremonial site, meeting center,
Environment media base, and tourist attraction. In making structural or
other physical
changes, AOC must consider the historical significance and the effect on
each of these many uses. Further, AOC must perform its duties in an
environment that requires balancing the divergent needs of congressional
leadership, committees, individual members of the Congress,
congressional staffs, and the visiting public. The challenges of operating
in this environment are compounded by the events of September 11, 2001, and
their aftermath, especially the October 2001 discovery of anthrax bacteria
on Capitol Hill, and the resulting need for increased security and safety.
In fiscal year 2002, AOC operated with a budget of $426 million, which
included $237 million for capital expenditures. Organizationally, AOC has a
centralized staff that performs administrative functions; what AOC refers to
as ?jurisdictions? handle their own day- to- day operations. These
jurisdictions include the Senate Office Buildings, the House Office
Buildings, the U. S. Capitol Buildings, the Library of Congress Buildings
and Grounds, the Supreme Court Buildings and Grounds, the Capitol Grounds,
the Capitol Power Plant, and the U. S. Botanic Garden. There are over 2,300
employees in AOC; nearly one out of every three employees is a member of a
union. New requirements to meet long- standing labor and safety laws have
added
to the complexity of AOC operations. For example, the Congressional
Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) applied 11 civil rights, labor, and
workplace laws to AOC as well as other legislative branch agencies. In
particular, meeting the obligations of labor laws, such as the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 and the Federal Service Labor- Management Relations
Statute, while overcoming a history of poor labor- management
relations has been a struggle. CAA also requires AOC to meet standards set
by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which applied new life
and fire safety codes, as well as other building codes, to the agency. CAA
established the Office of Compliance (OOC) to enforce the provisions of the
act through inspections, investigations, and prosecution of potential
violations. In addition, OOC provides education to employees and employing
offices, and administers dispute resolution procedures if violations are
found.
AOC Has Taken Steps AOC has a number of initiatives completed and under way
to begin
to Begin Addressing addressing its challenges and improving its performance
and customer and
client satisfaction. The following points highlight some of these
initiatives. Challenges
For example, AOC has
established routine management meetings to help improve communication
across organizational boundaries;
established and implemented basic policies and procedures in human
capital, such as a performance evaluation system for AOC?s non- union
employees up to GS- 15;
recently drafted a senior executive performance evaluation system-
informed by our human capital policies and flexibilities- and established an
employee awards program;
added to its professional workforce ranks by hiring new jurisdictional
superintendents and deputy superintendents and budget and accounting
officers and creating and filling new positions, such as chief financial
officer (CFO), facilities manager, worker safety specialists, and a
facilities planning and development manager;
reorganized and took actions to improve worker and fire safety programs;
and
upgraded and filled key recycling program positions. AOC is also in the
process of
revisiting its strategic planning efforts,
working with a consultant to implement best practices for project
management, and
implementing a new financial management system. The initiatives provide
important aspects of a needed foundation for AOC to address its current and
emerging challenges. To be successful, AOC needs to continue these efforts
and take a number of other steps to become a high- performing organization
committed to results, service quality, and customer satisfaction.
Building Management and Accountability Framework to Lead
Key Actions for Management and Accountability Framework
and Execute Change
Continue to demonstrate top leadership commitment to change. Identify and
implement mission- critical goals for key results through strategic
planning.
Develop annual goals and measure performance. Create clear lines of
accountability for achieving results.
AOC needs to build on its current efforts to create a management and
accountability framework and establish priorities for action. This framework
involves (1) continuing to demonstrate top leadership commitment to change,
(2) integrating and building on existing strategic planning efforts to
identify and communicate AOC?s long- term, missioncritical
goals to external as well as internal stakeholders, (3) developing annual
goals and measuring performance, and (4) creating clear lines of
accountability for achieving results, including satisfying customers. AOC
performs its activities without the guidance of an agencywide strategic plan
for serving the Congress or means to hold individuals accountable for
accomplishing its mission- critical goals. AOC also operates without written
standards or policies and procedures in critical areas, such as financial
management, IT management, and facilities management. The
absence of clearly defined goals and performance measures at AOC hampers the
Architect?s efforts to send clear and consistent messages
throughout the organization about his priorities and performance
expectations. Likewise, it hinders the Architect?s ability to communicate in
a transparent way to the Congress what the agency is doing, how well it is
performing, and where it can improve.
Demonstrate Top One of the most important elements of successful management
Leadership Commitment to improvement initiatives is the demonstrated,
sustained commitment of top
leaders to change. 4 Top leadership involvement and clear lines of Change
accountability for making management improvements are critical to ensuring
that the difficult changes that need to be made are effectively implemented
throughout the organization.
In looking at the experiences of leading organizations that were
successfully pursuing management reforms, we found that top leadership
practices were critical to making needed changes. For example, successful
leaders create a set of mission- related processes and systems within which
to operate, but they give their managers extensive authority to pursue
organizational goals while using those processes and systems. They also
integrate the implementation of separate organizational improvement efforts
into a coherent unified effort. The unwavering commitment of top
leadership in an agency is especially important to overcoming natural
resistance to change, marshaling the resources needed in many cases to
improve management, and building and maintaining an organizationwide
commitment to new ways of doing business. Refocus and Integrate Since 1997,
AOC and a number of its subsidiary offices and jurisdictions Strategic
Planning Efforts to have attempted to implement strategic planning
processes. In 1997, the Identify and Implement
Architect led the first effort to produce an AOC- wide strategic plan that
laid Mission- Critical Goals for out AOC?s mission, vision, core values,
strategic priorities, and goals and objectives. According to AOC officials,
turnover in key staff and inability to Key Results
reach agreement on how to measure performance led AOC management to
discontinue that effort. More recently AOC has shifted to a scaled- back
approach that focuses on tasks to be completed in a number of key priority
areas: (1) develop a process and establish realistic goals and priorities,
(2) improving employee support by, for example, improving 4 U. S. General
Accounting Office, Management Reform: Using the Results Act and Quality
Management to Improve Federal Performance, GAO/ T- GGD- 99- 151 (Washington,
D. C.: July 29, 1999).
communications, (3) safety, (4) project delivery, and (5) quality assurance.
Similarly, a number of business units within AOC, such as the human
resources division, the inspector general, and the House Office Buildings
jurisdiction have developed their own strategic plans, and the Capitol
Buildings jurisdiction is developing a new master plan for the Capitol, but
these plans do not flow directly from an AOC- wide plan. According to senior
AOC managers, AOC plans to place renewed emphasis on organizationwide
strategic planning beginning immediately. We strongly endorse AOC?s renewed
emphasis on strategic planning.
However, in revisiting strategic planning, it is crucial that AOC move
beyond a focus on actions to be completed to a broader focus on the mission-
critical, long- term goals needed to serve the Congress. These longterm
goals should also provide the starting point and serve as a unifying
framework for AOC?s various business unit and jurisdictional planning
efforts. Such an effort would position AOC to answer questions such as
what fundamental results does AOC want to achieve, what are its long- term
goals, and what strategies will it employ to achieve those goals.
Because a major focus of AOC?s mission is the stewardship of existing
Capitol complex facilities and the design and construction of new ones,
another important planning initiative that should flow from a strategic plan
is a strategic facilities plan, which is the standard industry best
practice. A strategic facilities plan would capture in one document all the
preventive maintenance, renovation, and construction activities needed to
accomplish AOC?s facilities goals. The document would also show the
timetable, staffing, and budget needed to implement the plan. In addition, a
strategic facilities plan would provide AOC an important tool for
communicating to its congressional stakeholders and others the resources
needed to accomplish its facilities goals and better illustrate, for
example, the effect of undertaking new projects on the accomplishment of the
goals.
Although a variety of management activities, such as project management and
budgeting, are needed to develop and support a strategic facilities plan, an
important first step is to perform a condition assessment of all facilities
maintained by AOC. According to industry guidance, 5 organizations use
condition assessments to identify existing deficiencies they need to
address. Although AOC has begun to assess the condition of the Capitol 5
Harvey H. Kaiser, Ph. D., The Facilities Manager?s Reference (Kingston
Mass.: R. S. Means, 1989).
building, we encourage AOC to complete this assessment and then to begin
assessments of the remaining buildings as soon as resources are available.
We plan to explore project management and budgeting in greater depth in the
next phase of our review.
Develop Annual Goals and Another key action AOC needs to take is developing
annual performance
Measure Performance goals that provide a connection between the long- term
strategic goals in the strategic plan and the day- to- day activities of
managers and staff. Measuring performance allows an organization to track
the progress it is
making toward its goals, gives managers crucial information on which to base
their organizational and management decisions, and creates powerful
incentives to influence organizational and individual behavior. Leading
organizations we have studied that were successful in measuring their
performance generally had applied two practices. 6 First, they developed
measures that were (1) tied to program goals and demonstrated the degree to
which the desired results were achieved, (2) limited to the
vital few that were considered essential to producing data for decision
making, (3) responsive to multiple priorities, and (4) responsibility-
linked to establish accountability for results. Second, the agencies
recognized the
cost and effort involved in gathering and analyzing data and made sure that
the data they did collect were sufficiently complete, accurate, and
consistent to be useful in decision making. Developing measures that respond
to multiple priorities is of particular importance for programs operating in
dynamic environments where mission requirements must be carefully balanced.
This is the case for AOC where the role of protecting and preserving the
historic facilities under its control may occasionally conflict with its
role of providing maintenance and renovation services to occupants who use
the facilities to conduct congressional business. For example, according to
AOC officials, following elections, new members of the Congress may ask AOC
to modify office suites containing historic, architectural features. In
those cases,
AOC must balance the members? needs for functional office design with its
responsibility for protecting the architectural integrity of the rooms.
Consequently, organizations must weigh their mission requirements and 6 U.
S. General Accounting Office, Executive Guide: Effectively Implementing the
Government Performance and Results Act, GAO/ GGD- 96- 118 (Washington, D.
C.: June 1996).
priorities against each other to avoid distorting program performance. AOC
could better gauge its success in this environment by first employing a
balanced set of measures that encompasses its diverse roles, such as
maintaining historic facilities and satisfying customers and then
benchmarking its results both internally- across its jurisdictions- as well
as against other leading organizations with comparable facility management
operations. Provide Results- Oriented The danger to any management reform is
that it can become a hollow, Basis for Individual paper- driven exercise
when management improvement initiatives are not Accountability and
integrated into the day- to- day activities of the organization. We recently
Authority to Act
testified that a critical success factor for creating a results- oriented
culture is a performance management system that creates a ?line of sight?
showing how individual employees can contribute to overall organizational
goals. 7 Agencies that effectively implement such systems must first align
agency leaders? performance expectations with organizational goals and then
cascade performance expectations to other organizational levels. These
agencies must also seek to ensure that their performance management systems
are not merely once or twice yearly expectation- setting and
appraisal tools, but help manage the organizations on a day- to- day basis.
Thus, an effective performance management system provides a vehicle for top
leadership to translate its priorities and goals into direct and specific
commitments that senior managers will be expected to meet. AOC has taken an
important first step in this regard by drafting a set of policies and
procedures for managing the performance of its senior executives. 8
Completing and implementing this effort will be critical to the success of
AOC?s strategic planning initiative and would be in line with recent
executive branch reforms. Five of the six critical job elements that form
the basis of the senior performance management plan are structured around
the Office of Personnel Management?s (OPM) Executive Core qualifications,
which OPM encourages for government executives. The five
critical job elements corresponding to OPM?s core qualifications are results
driven, leading change, leading people, business acumen, and building 7 U.
S. General Accounting Office, Managing for Results: Building on the Momentum
for
Strategic Human Capital Reform, GAO- 02- 528T (Washington, D. C.: Mar. 18,
2002). 8 Architect of the Capitol, Managing Senior Management Performance
for Exempt Employees Serving at the Pleasure of the Architect, Draft.
coalitions/ communications. AOC has added equal employment opportunity as a
sixth critical job element.
In particular, AOC?s proposed ?results driven? job element would provide the
basis for the results- oriented individual accountability that we discuss.
The first part of this job element generally deals with achieving agency and
organizational objectives, while the second part requires each senior
manager to identify individual areas of accountability for the
accomplishment of agency goals and objectives. One component of AOC?s draft
senior executive performance management system is the use of performance
agreements. These agreements provide an unparalleled opportunity for AOC to
drive the strategic and program performance goals it sets directly into
daily AOC operations. For example, the individual performance agreements of
AOC facility managers could explicitly reflect AOC- wide goals for service
quality, worker safety, and customer satisfaction flowing from its strategic
plan, thus allowing for unambiguous links between organizational goals and
individual performance, accountability, bonuses, and other rewards.
We have evaluated the experience of several executive branch agencies with
the use of performance agreements to align executive performance with agency
goals and found a number of benefits of direct importance to achieving
improved performance at AOC:
Strengthened alignment of results- oriented goals with daily operations:
Performance agreements define accountability for specific goals and help to
align daily operations with agencies' results- oriented, programmatic goals.
Fostered collaboration across organizational boundaries: Performance
agreements encourage executives to work across traditional organizational
boundaries or "silos" by focusing on the achievement of results- oriented
goals.
Enhanced opportunities to discuss and routinely use performance
information to make program improvements: Performance agreements facilitate
communication about organizational performance, and provide opportunities to
pinpoint improved
performance.
Provided results- oriented basis for individual accountability:
Performance agreements provide results- oriented performance information to
serve as the basis for executive performance evaluations.
Maintained continuity of program goals during leadership transitions:
Performance agreements help to maintain a consistent focus on a set of broad
programmatic priorities during changes in leadership. 9
A results- oriented approach to accountability with the use of performance
agreements that are directly tied to AOC goals can serve as a basis for
considering the authorities and resources managers and their teams need in
order to achieve results. We have reported that high- performing
organizations seek to involve and engage employees by devolving authority to
lower levels of the organizations. Employees are more likely to support
changes when they have the necessary amount of authority and flexibility-
along with commensurate accountability and incentives- to advance the
agency?s goals and improve performance. Allowing employees to bring their
expertise and judgment to bear in meeting their responsibilities can help
agencies capitalize on their employees? talents, leading to more effective
and efficient operations and improved customer
service. 10 Management and The management and accountability framework we
have described Accountability
provides a context for addressing other long- standing management challenges
AOC faces. These include (1) communicating and obtaining Framework Provides
buy- in on AOC?s mission, goals, and strategies from key internal and
Context for Addressing
external stakeholders, (2) strategic human capital management, Other Major
(3) financial management, and (4) IT management.
Management Challenges
9 U. S. General Accounting Office, Managing for Results: Emerging Benefits
from Selected Agencies? Use of Performance Agreements, GAO- 01- 115
(Washington, D. C.: Oct. 2000). 10 U. S. General Accounting Office,
Management Reform: Elements of Successful Improvement Initiatives, GAO/ T-
GGD- 00- 26, (Washington, D. C.: Oct. 15, 1999).
AOC- Wide Communications Strategy Is Needed to Achieve Mission- Critical Key
Actions for Communication Strategy
Goals
Provide opportunities for routine employee feedback. Develop congressional
protocols. Publicize the impact of highly visible projects. Improve
accountability reporting. Measure customer satisfaction.
For successful implementation of strategic planning and change management,
AOC must develop a communications strategy for its internal and external
customers. Communications is an integral part of striking a better balance
between the results AOC is trying to achieve and improving its employee and
customer communication and participation.
AOC recognizes the need to strengthen its communications and has several
efforts under way. In a May 2001 discussion among senior managers on AOC?s
planning and priority setting, the senior managers discussed the need to
broaden and improve internal communications. As a result, the Architect
implemented a series of regular meetings for decision making and routine
sharing of information. These meetings include regular staff meetings,
management council meetings (quarterly meetings of AOC?s
senior managers to address agency business issues and priorities), and
superintendent meetings (monthly meetings of AOC?s superintendents who
discuss common issues and experiences across AOC?s jurisdictions). In
addition to these routine meetings, we believe that AOC could strengthen
its internal communications by developing a communications strategy that
will help AOC?s line employees understand the connection between what they
do on a day- to- day basis and AOC?s goals and expectations, as well as to
seek employee feedback and develop goals for improvement. One way of
implementing such a strategy is to conduct routine employee feedback
surveys and/ or focus groups. In addition, AOC could adopt a ?lessons
learned? and internal best practices approach, to encourage and reward AOC
employees who share and implement best practices across the various
jurisdictions, teams, and projects. For example, we found that the
safety specialist for the Capitol Buildings jurisdiction prepares a monthly
newsletter that provides a summary of the accidents and injuries that have
occurred in the jurisdiction and provides guidance on how to avoid the most
prevalent injuries, but the practice had not been shared outside the
jurisdiction. AOC management should actively encourage the sharing of such
practices to determine if AOC could achieve greater performance by
duplicating them in other jurisdictions.
AOC also must improve its external communications and outreach in a number
of areas, including (1) developing congressional protocols, (2) publicizing
the impact of highly visible projects, (3) improving its accountability
reporting, and (4) measuring customer satisfaction with its services. As a
first step, we would encourage AOC to consider developing congressional
protocols, which would document agreements between the Congress and AOC on
what committees and members can expect when they request AOC?s services. The
protocols would ensure that AOC deals with its congressional customers using
clearly defined, consistently applied, and transparent policies and
procedures. Congressional protocols would also enable AOC to better cope
with the competing demands for its
services by helping the organization set priorities for allocating its
resources. As you know, working closely with the Congress and after careful
pilot testing, we implemented congressional protocols in 1999. Our
experience using them as a transparent, documented, and consistent way to
set priorities has been very positive for us as well as our clients.
AOC could build on its communication efforts in high profile and other key
projects that affect the broader community of AOC customers. AOC has
recently expanded its efforts to keep its external customers- including the
Congress, the Capitol Hill community, the public, and the media- routinely
informed and educated on the planning, design, and construction of some
high- visibility projects. For example, AOC hired a communications officer
and developed a communications plan for the construction of the Capitol
Visitors Center (CVC). AOC is employing a variety of informational tools
to achieve its communications goals on this project. In addition to
developing a Web site, the communications officer circulates a weekly
summary of the status of construction work on the CVC project to AOC?s
key congressional customers. Because maintenance work on the Capitol Dome
will also be highly visible, the status of this project was recently added
to the summary. AOC also needs to identify and address expectations gaps in
the type of information and frequency of accountability reporting that would
be most
useful to its congressional customers. Since 1965, AOC has reported
semiannually to the Congress on its detailed expenditures, such as for
salaries and maintenance supplies. As directed by the Senate Appropriations
Committee, in February 2002, AOC provided the committee
the first of its quarterly reports indicating the status of all ongoing
capital projects. One option that we are considering to make AOC?s
accountability reporting more useful is to require AOC to notify the
Congress if certain predefined, risk- based ?reportable events? occur that
require prompt attention. Reportable events notification is not intended to
be a substitute for a more comprehensive periodic reporting of financial and
program performance, but rather is to draw attention to specific events
needing
immediate attention. In such an approach, AOC and its congressional
customers would reach agreement on the type of information needed on key
projects and on what events would warrant reporting, such as percentage of
milestones slipped, percentage over budget, or both. 11
AOC?s communications strategy should also include tools for gauging customer
satisfaction with its services. AOC should develop a more comprehensive and
routine approach to obtaining customer feedback. For example, AOC is working
on a customer feedback survey for custodial services. But we believe AOC
could broaden and deepen these efforts to address all services provided by
its jurisdictions. AOC could also learn from the efforts of the chief
administrative officer of the House of Representatives who told us that he
recently hired a consulting firm to
develop a uniform customer satisfaction survey for his customers. Consistent
with an effort to develop congressional protocols, AOC could also develop
protocols for customer service so that customers know whom to contact for
services and what to expect.
11 See U. S. General Accounting Office, District of Columbia: Oversight in
the Post- Control Board Period, GAO- 01- 845T (Washington, D. C.: June 8,
2001) for more information on reportable events as an approach to assisting
congressional oversight and decision making.
Strategic Human Capital Management Can Improve Organizational
Key Actions for Strategic Human Capital Management
Accountability to MissionCritical Goals
Develop capacity to collect and analyze workforce data. Identify current and
future workforce needs and develop strategies to fill gaps.
Establish agencywide core and technical competencies. Link proposed senior
executive and existing employee performance management systems to mission-
critical goals.
Strategic human capital management can transform AOC into a resultsoriented
organization by aligning employee performance with AOC goals and by
providing the tools to better plan its workforce needs. In 1994 we reported
that AOC?s personnel management system did not follow many generally
accepted principles of modern personnel management. 12 In our current
review, we found that AOC has made progress in establishing a
modern personnel system that is meeting the guidelines set forth by the AOC
Human Resources Act of 1994 and CAA. 13 AOC has developed basic personnel
policies and procedures and streamlined certain human resource processes,
and has continued to add to its professional workforce ranks.
These efforts are helping AOC to construct a sound foundation on which to
build a high- performing organization. Specifically, AOC has made the
following improvements in its management of human capital:
Created and administered a formal written, performance appraisal system
for its General Schedule (up to GS- 15) and Wage Grade employees (non-
union) and, as noted elsewhere, drafted performance appraisal policies for
its senior executives.
12 U. S. General Accounting Office, Federal Personnel: Architect of the
Capitol?s Personnel System Needs Improvement, GAO/ GGD- 94- 121BR
(Washington, D. C.: Apr. 29, 1994). 13 See P. L. 103- 283, Sec. 312,
Architect of the Capitol Human Resources Act.
Implemented an employee rewards and recognition program (Architect?s
Awards program) and dedicated additional resources to its employee training
programs.
Established (1) procedures intended to produce a competitive meritbased
system for hiring, promoting, and assigning employees, (2) Equal Employment
Opportunity, Conciliation, and Employee Assistance programs, and (3) a
position classification system.
Streamlined its job recruitment and hiring processes, and is currently
refining certain personnel action processes.
Added to its professional workforce ranks by hiring new jurisdictional
superintendents and deputy superintendents, and creating new positions, such
as a CFO, a facilities manager, worker safety specialists,
and a facilities planning and development manager. AOC can build on the
progress it has made in human capital management by incorporating the
principles embodied in our Model of Strategic Human Capital Management. 14
We designed this model based on the human capital practices of leading
public and private organizations to help agency leaders manage their people
and integrate human capital considerations into daily decision making to
help achieve program results. AOC should especially consider applying the
practices contained in two of the four cornerstones of the model: strategic
human capital planning and resultsoriented organizational cultures.
Collecting and analyzing data are fundamental building blocks for measuring
the effectiveness of human capital approaches in support of the mission and
goals of an agency. AOC needs to develop a fact- based,
electronic approach to its management information systems and data sources
to allow for accurate and reliable information across a range of human
capital activities. The ability to gather reliable data will greatly enhance
AOC?s ability to acquire, develop, and retain talent, while allowing it to
effectively plan for workforce needs.
Based on mission- critical agency goals, AOC also needs to identify its
current and future workforce needs and create strategies for filling any
14 U. S. General Accounting Office, A Model of Strategic Human Capital
Management, Exposure Draft, GAO- 02- 373SP (Washington, D. C.: Mar. 2002).
gaps. As part of this workforce planning effort, AOC should conduct an
employee skills inventory to determine a baseline and to address gaps in
skills needed and skills available. This workforce analysis will also help
AOC to create a succession planning program. For instance, if AOC is to
develop reliable project cost estimates to support budgeting and financial
and project management, the designated workforce must have the necessary
skills to complete these functions. AOC would then need to
determine how many project management employees it needs to accomplish its
project management goals,
assess the skills of the employees currently available to do this work,
determine the gap in the number of skilled employees needed to do this
work,
develop a training and recruitment plan for filling the gap, and
create a succession plan to manage project management employees exiting
the organization.
We also suggest that AOC establish agencywide core and technical
competencies- reflecting its core values 15 -that would form the basis of a
best- in- class facilities management environment. The competencies would
also relate to mission- critical goals that should be cascaded throughout
AOC in its performance management system. AOC competencies can also
help to provide the direction for future employee selection, promotion,
training initiatives, and succession planning efforts. For example, AOC?s
Human Resource Management Division (HRMD) has made progress in developing a
competency model for its own staff. HRMD intends to use this competency
model to ?reinforce its strategic focus? and to outline ?the workforce
requirements necessary to develop a highly competent cadre of HR [human
resources] staff dedicated and committed to providing highquality,
timely and responsive human resources services to managers and employees of
the AOC.? 16 Like HRMD, other AOC units need to adopt competency models
reflecting their own individual needs, thus enabling
15 AOC?s core values are professionalism, respect and diversity, integrity,
loyalty, stewardship, teamwork, and creativity. 16 Architect of the Capitol,
HRMD?s Model for Success, Oct. 1999.
the agency to align its workforce skills and behaviors with the its
missioncritical goals.
As discussed elsewhere, once AOC has developed mission- critical annual
goals it should incorporate them into the ?results driven? job element AOC
has proposed as part of its new senior executive performance management
system. The existing staff- level performance appraisal system,
Performance Communication and Evaluation System (PCES), consists of four
evaluation areas: work results, interactions with others, judgment, and
safety; a fifth evaluation area for supervisors is supervision and
management. As an interim step, the four evaluation areas could be linked to
overall agency goals to increase assurance that AOC?s mission will be met.
In the longer term, AOC could strengthen individual accountability for
achieving organizational goals by thoroughly reexaminating PCES to
incorporate core and technical competencies that would be linked to these
goals.
AOC Needs to Continue and Expand Efforts to Improve Financial Management
Key Actions for Financial Management
Ensure effective implementation of new financial management system.
Continue and expand ongoing efforts aimed at strengthening AOC?s budget
formulation and execution and financial accounting and reporting across AOC.
Model AOC efforts on established best practices of leading organizations.
AOC faces significant challenges in building sound financial management and
budget functions. Accurate and reliable budget formulation and execution and
financial accounting and reporting are key functions that form the
foundation of financial control and accountability. Historically, the AOC
has lacked reliable budgets for both projects and operations and has not
prepared auditable financial statements.
In recognition of the critical role a CFO plays in achieving financial
accountability and control, AOC established a CFO position and, in January
2002, filled the position. The new CFO is a member of the Architect?s
executive council and reports directly to the Architect. Organizationally,
the CFO is responsible for the activities of AOC?s Budget Office,
Accounting Office, and Financial Systems Office. Included among the many
challenges facing the new CFO are his responsibilities for (1) implementing
AOC?s new financial management system (Momentum), (2) implementing
applicable accounting and operational policies and procedures, and (3)
preparing a complete and auditable set of AOC financial statements.
Among his first actions, the new CFO recently hired staff members to fill
key budget and accounting officer positions, including additional accounting
staff members with the general ledger accounting experience needed to
maintain AOC?s new general ledger. He has also focused his efforts on
bringing AOC?s new financial management system on- line. While these steps
are critical and represent the initial steps to improving AOC?s
financial management and budget functions, much work remains to be done. The
CFO has also recognized or started work on other key issues that need to be
addressed in the near term, including the following:
Providing continued training and support for using the new financial
management system, which began operating AOC- wide on April 2, 2002.
Developing procedures and controls to ensure that accurate and reliable
data are produced by the new financial management system.
Addressing systematically recommendations made by the AOC inspector
general and various consultants for improving internal controls, as we
recommended during our review.
Establishing a credible budget formulation and execution process that
includes an effective acquisition strategy to develop operating and capital
budget information and to help ensure reliable project cost estimates
(including 100 percent design, current working estimates, and reliable full-
time equivalent information).
Developing and implementing policies and procedures needed to properly
account for and report financial information, especially accounting policies
needed to properly report and control AOC?s assets.
Establishing inventory management and control policies and procedures that
help ensure accurate and useful information, provide adequate safeguards
over inventory, and facilitate an annual inventory and financial reporting.
Assessing human capital needs, which includes identifying the skills and
competencies needed for AOC?s financial management workforce and providing
for continuing training to ensure a financial team with the right mix of
skills and competencies.
Integrating project- related financial information from the new financial
management system with the related financial information maintained in the
Project Information Center system to enhance completeness and accuracy of
financial and budget information on AOC?s projects. The AOC?s CFO has
endorsed the use of our executive guide on best practices in financial
management as a road map for these and other needed improvements. 17 The CFO
acknowledges the challenges that lie
ahead and has established a goal for AOC to prepare auditable agencywide
financial statements for the first time in fiscal year 2004. As we continue
to review AOC?s financial management and budget formulation and
execution, we plan to look more closely at the processes and usefulness of
AOC?s financial and budget information, as well as project cost estimation
to complement our assessment of project management at AOC.
17 U. S. General Accounting Office, Executive Guide: Creating Value Through
World- class Financial Management, GAO/ AIMD- 00- 134 (Washington, D. C.:
Apr. 2000).
AOC Needs to Adopt an Agencywide Approach to IT Management
Key Actions for IT Management
Appoint a chief information officer to manage IT across the agency.
Establish and implement a portfolio- based approach to IT investment
management.
Develop, maintain, and use an enterprise architecture consistent with
federal guidance and recognized best practices.
Establish and implement disciplined processes for managing the development
and acquisition of information systems.
Establish and implement an information security program.
IT can be a valuable tool in achieving an organization's mission objectives.
Accordingly, in fiscal year 2001, AOC obligated about $7.9 million for
ITrelated activities. For example, AOC uses the Computer Aided Facilities
Management System (CAFM) to automate work order requests and fulfillment for
ongoing maintenance of the Capitol and the surrounding grounds. Moreover,
the Records Management System archives available architectural drawings
pertaining to the U. S. Capitol, Library of Congress,
Botanic Garden, and other buildings. Our research of private and public
sector organizations that have effectively leveraged IT shows that these
organizations' executives have embraced the central role of IT to mission
performance. As such, they have adopted a corporate or agencywide approach
to managing IT under the leadership and control of a chief information
officer (CIO), who is a full participant in senior executive decision
making. Additionally, these
organizations have implemented certain corporate IT management controls such
as using a portfolio- based approach to IT investment decision making, using
an enterprise architecture or blueprint to guide and constrain IT
investments, following disciplined IT system acquisition and development
management processes, and proactively managing the security of IT assets.
Our preliminary work shows that AOC has yet to adopt such an approach. AOC
could greatly benefit from an agencywide approach to managing IT
under the leadership and control of an empowered CIO. Such an approach
should, at a minimum, include each of the above IT management controls as
defined in relevant federal guidance and proven best practices. AOC?s top
leadership will need to consider carefully its environment and the scope of
its IT investments to determine how best to apply this guidance and the best
practices to its specific situation.
CIO. Our research of private and public sector organizations shows that
instituting an effective CIO organization begins with understanding IT?s
vital role in accomplishing mission objectives and positioning the CIO for
success. 18 It also identified a number of practices and strategies that
senior managers in leading organizations use to establish their CIO
positions to effectively meet business needs. These include establishing the
CIO as a full participant in executive decision making; clearly defining the
roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities of the CIO; matching the CIO
position to the specific needs of the agency, as determined by the agency
head based on the agency?s mission and strategic plan; and ensuring that the
CIO has the right technical and management skills to meet business needs.
AOC does not have a CIO or senior- level executive to manage IT across the
agency. AOC has a director of information resources management who is
neither a full member of the executive management team nor a participant in
senior executive decision making. Without a CIO or other senior- level
executive to manage its IT, AOC?s IT does not have the substantive
leadership, full- time attention, and consistent direction to effectively
optimize mission performance across the agency. To address AOC?s need for an
effective CIO, we recommend that the Architect establish a CIO and position
the CIO for success by implementing the practices referenced in this
testimony and further discussed in our best practices guide. 19
Investment Management. Our best practices guide, based on research of
private and public sector organizations that effectively manage their IT
investments, outlines a portfolio- based approach to IT investment decision
making that includes processes, practices, and activities for continually
18 U. S. General Accounting Office, Maximizing the Success of Chief
Information Officers: Learning From Leading Organizations, GAO- 01- 376G
(Washington, D. C.: Feb. 2001). 19 GAO- 01- 376G.
and consistently selecting, controlling, and evaluating competing IT
investment options in a way that promotes the greatest value to the
strategic interest of the organization. 20 The first step toward
establishing such an approach is putting in place foundational, project-
level control and selection processes. To do this, the organization needs to
establish and implement processes
and practices for (1) operating an IT investment board responsible for
selecting, controlling, and evaluating IT investments, (2) providing
effective oversight for ongoing IT projects throughout all phases of their
life cycles, (3) identifying, tracking, and managing IT resources,
(4) ensuring that each IT project supports the organization?s business
needs, and (5) establishing criteria for selecting new IT proposals. Once
the organization has established these project- specific control and
selection processes, it should move to considering each new investment as
part of an integrated portfolio of investments that collectively contribute
to
mission goals and objectives. To do this, the organization needs to
establish and implement processes and practices for (1) developing and
implementing criteria to select investments that will best support the
organization?s strategic goals, objectives, and mission, (2) using these
criteria to consistently analyze and rank all IT investments, (3) ensuring
that the optimal IT investment portfolio with manageable risks and returns
is selected and funded, and (4) overseeing each IT investment within the
portfolio to ensure that it achieves its cost, benefit, schedule, and risk
expectations.
AOC has not implemented a portfolio- based approach to IT investment
management. The director of information resources management proposed a
high- level committee structure for selecting IT investments across AOC
about 2 years ago. The proposed structure included an AOC IT Strategy
Council, composed of the director and AOC executive management, to rank and
approve agencywide IT investments, as well as an IT Business Planning
Committee, composed of both IT and business representatives, to evaluate IT
projects based on financial, business, and risk factors and recommend
projects to the IT Strategy Council for investment. However, the director
stated that AOC leadership has yet to
adopt the proposal. While the proposal is a positive first step, it does not
20 U. S. General Accounting Office, Information Technology Investment
Management: A Framework for Assessing and Improving Process Maturity,
version 1, GAO/ AIMD- 10. 1. 23 (Washington, D. C.: May 2000).
address many of the critical elements of an effective IT investment
management process, as outlined in our best practices guidance. Without an
effective investment management process, AOC does not know whether its IT
investments are commensurate with cost and risk and whether they are
superior to alternative investment alternatives. To strengthen its
investment management capability, we recommend that AOC develop and
implement an IT investment management process. In doing so, we recommend
that the Architect develop a plan for developing and implementing the
investment management processes we describe and that are also outlined in
our IT investment management guide. 21 At a minimum, the plan should specify
measurable goals and time frames, rank initiatives, and define a management
structure for directing and controlling the improvements.
Enterprise Architecture. As defined in federal guidance, and as practiced by
leading public and private sector organizations, an enterprise architecture,
or blueprint, guides and constrains IT investments and defines, both in
logical terms (including business functions and applications, work
locations, information needs, and users and the interrelationships among
these variables) and in technical terms (including IT hardware, software,
data communications, and security) how the
organization operates today, how it intends to operate tomorrow, and a road
map for moving from present to future. 22 This guidance also defines a set
of recognized practices for developing, implementing, and maintaining an
enterprise architecture that includes, among other things, developing a
clear enterprise architecture policy statement, creating a steering
committee or executive body to oversee the development and maintenance
of the enterprise architecture, designating a lead individual responsible
for developing the enterprise architecture, establishing a program office
with appropriate resources, and selecting a framework and tool for
developing the architecture.
AOC does not have an enterprise architecture consistent with federal
guidance and recognized best practices and does not plan to develop one.
However, the director of information resources management has some
21 GAO/ AIMD- 10. 1. 23. 22 Chief Information Officers Council, A Practical
Guide to Federal Enterprise Architecture, version 1.0 (Washington, D. C.:
Feb. 2001).
information that would be useful in developing some elements of such an
architecture, such as existing network topology maps and server hardware and
software descriptions. By not having and using a complete enterprise
architecture, AOC lacks an effective means for promoting integration of, and
avoiding duplication and inconsistencies in, business operations and
supporting system investments.
To develop, implement, and maintain an enterprise architecture, we recommend
that the Architect implement the practices we discuss, which are outlined in
the CIO Council?s architecture management guide.
System Acquisition/ Development. The use of disciplined processes and
controls based on well- defined and rigorously enforced policies, practices,
and procedures for system acquisition and development can greatly reduce the
risk that IT systems do not perform as intended, are delivered late, and
cost more than planned. Such processes for managing system acquisition/
development are defined in various published models and guides, such as
Carnegie Mellon University?s Software Engineering Institute?s (SEI)
Capability Maturity Model SM . 23 Key processes such as requirements
management, risk management, test management, and
contract oversight and tracking are important for ensuring that systems are
delivered on time, within budget, and perform as intended. Additionally,
configuration management and quality assurance processes are critical to
ensuring the integrity of the products and processes used to develop the
products. AOC has not implemented agencywide, disciplined processes for
managing the development and acquisition of systems. In 1995, AOC?s Office
of Information Resources Management (OIRM) developed its Information
Systems Life Cycle Directive (ISLC) that defines policies and procedures for
software development and acquisition. Based on our preliminary review, ISLC
addresses some, but not all, of the key process areas that are considered
critical to successful system development and acquisition. For example, it
defines processes for requirements management that include, among other
things, the definition, documentation, and validation of requirements. ISLC
also includes processes for test management that include such important
areas as development of a test methodology, test 23 Carnegie Mellon Software
Engineering Institute, CMMI SM for Systems Engineering/ Software
Engineering/ Integrated Product and Process Development, Continuous
Representation, version 1. 02 (Pittsburgh, Pa.: Nov. 2000).
plan, and test environment and documentation and reporting of test results
and deficiencies. However, it does not include processes for two key areas:
risk management and contract tracking and oversight. More important,
ISLC is not being used to guide AOC system development and acquisition
projects. Without a complete and enforced system development and acquisition
life cycle process, AOC risks investing in systems that do not perform as
intended, are delivered late, and cost more than planned.
To strengthen AOC?s system acquisition and development controls, we
recommend that the Architect introduce rigorous and disciplined processes
for risk management and contractor oversight into OIRM?s ISLC. We also
recommend that the Architect ensure that OIRM?s ISLC is implemented
throughout the agency to guide systems development and
acquisition projects, as appropriate.
Information Security. Our research of public and private sector
organizations recognized as having strong information security programs
shows that these organizations have implemented information security
programs that include continual cycles of assessing business risks,
maintaining policies and controls, promoting awareness, and monitoring and
evaluating policy and control effectiveness. 24 AOC does not have an
information security program, although the director of information resources
management has recently initiated some efforts to establish one. For
example, the director has designated an IT security officer whose
responsibilities include developing IT security policies, planning and
coordinating security risk assessments, conducting security training, and
evaluating IT security effectiveness. Also, the security officer
has recently completed a risk assessment of AOC?s general support system and
some key intellectual property, and has begun developing policies outlining
the security officer position?s roles and responsibilities as well as a
security plan to address vulnerabilities identified in the risk assessment.
Nevertheless, several critical areas related to implementing leading
security management principles, as outlined in our best practices guide,
warrant attention. For example, AOC has not (1) developed and
24 U. S. General Accounting Office, Executive Guide: Information Security
Management, Learning From Leading Organizations, GAO/ AIMD- 98- 68
(Washington, D. C.: May 1998) and Information Security Risk Assessment:
Practices of Leading Organizations, A Supplement to GAO?s May 1998 Executive
Guide on Information Security Management,
GAO/ AIMD- 00- 33 (Washington, D. C.: Nov. 1999).
implemented policy and guidance for performing periodic risk assessments,
(2) provided the security officer the authority and resources to implement
an agencywide security program, and (3) developed policies for such areas as
security training and awareness, incident response, and program monitoring
and evaluation. Without effective information security practices in place,
financial and sensitive information contained in AOC?s
systems may be at risk of inadvertent or deliberate misuse, fraud, improper
disclosure, or destruction- possibly without detection. To strengthen AOC?s
information systems security, we recommend that the Architect follow the
steps detailed in our information security guide 25 to establish an
information security program, including (1) providing the security officer
with the authority and resources to implement an
agencywide security program, (2) developing and implementing policy and
guidance for performing periodic risk assessments, (3) using the results of
the risk assessments to develop and implement appropriate controls, (4)
developing policies for security training and awareness and providing
training, and (5) monitoring and evaluating policy and control
effectiveness. AOC Could Make Worker Safety Program Improvements More Key
Actions for Worker Safety Program
Effective by Adopting Certain Best Practices
Develop more comprehensive and reliable data to set goals and to track
program improvements.
Assess accountability relationships of the safety specialists at the central
and jurisdictional levels to carry out their work.
Establish agencywide policies and procedures for reporting, investigating,
and tracking worker safety incidents, accidents, and hazards.
Because of the concerns that the Congress and others raised about worker
safety at AOC, in 2001, the Architect issued a statement that safety is his
25 GAO/ AIMD- 98- 68.
highest organizational priority. The maintenance, repair, and renovation of
the Capitol complex is potentially dangerous work that exposes AOC employees
to a variety of hazards related to the carpentry, electrical, painting,
construction, custodial, and other work they perform. The types and severity
of injuries and illnesses AOC employees could face range from injuries to
the back, hand, and head to more life- threatening accidents. To effectively
implement the Architect?s commitment to safety, and consistent with best
practices for health and safety programs as described in OSHA
guidance and our work, AOC must develop comprehensive and reliable data,
provide a clear understanding of what the program is trying to accomplish,
and how it will evaluate results. AOC also needs to examine strengthening
the accountability relationships between the various safety program
officials. Best practices also indicate that standardized and agencywide
policies and procedures must be in place- such as procedures that encourage
employees to report incidents, accidents and unsafe conditions (often called
hazards), and procedures to investigate causes of accidents to identify why
accidents occurred. By gathering more comprehensive and reliable data, and
developing and consistently applying
policies and procedures for reporting and investigating accidents, injuries,
and illnesses, AOC can begin to take a more strategic approach to addressing
safety issues. For example, better information about the type and frequency
of injuries and the hazards that contribute to them could help AOC establish
a risk- based approach for addressing the most significant worker safety
issues that are occurring and for allocating resources.
AOC Has Taken Significant Steps AOC has taken and is in the process of
implementing many significant steps to Address Worker Safety and that
demonstrate its commitment to improving worker safety. For Health
example, AOC has done the following:
Developed a high- level 5- year approach to worker safety and health and
is developing a 5- year worker safety master plan. This plan will be used as
a road map for AOC to identify its safety philosophy, establish priorities,
assign responsibilities, and identify project and funding needs.
Reorganized its Office of the Executive Officer for Facilities Management
to increase the emphasis on safety, hired a new facilities manager, and
increased the staff from 5 to 10 professionals in the Safety
and Environmental Health Division.
Hired eight safety specialists who oversee the safety programs for the six
jurisdictions and one division- the House and Senate Office Buildings,
Capitol Buildings, Library of Congress, Capitol Power Plant, Botanic Garden,
and Construction Management Division.
Implemented 11 of 41 pending safety programs that will comply with the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, and are
aimed at reducing the risk and rate of illnesses and injuries. The programs
cover policies such as handling hazardous materials, working in confined
spaces, using safety equipment, and wearing respiratory protection. 26
Established safety and health committees at the executive and
jurisdictional levels.
Purchased protective equipment for employees to help reduce many of the
common work- related injuries.
Provided over 13,000 hours of formal training to employees on safety and
health issues to raise awareness, decrease work- related accidents, and
maintain a safer work environment. Contracted or is in the process of
contracting for outside experts-
including technical assistance from the Public Health Service, Dupont, and
OSHA through the Office of Compliance- to assist in establishing worker
safety policies and procedures and best practices and to provide
additional health and safety training. Effective Safety and Health
Implementing the six core components of an effective worker safety Programs
Depend on program, as shown in table 1, is critical for instilling an
organizational focus Establishing Goals and Key
on safety and for helping reduce injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.
Together, Policies and Procedures for these components help an organization
outline what it is trying to achieve, Reporting and Abating Hazards
assess its progress, and ensure that it has the proper policies in place.
After evaluating AOC?s worker safety and health program, our analysis
focused on four of the six components that we believed were the most
important initially for AOC to address. These four core components of an
effective
worker safety and health program are management commitment, employee 26 AOC
has contracted out with the Department of Labor?s Public Health Service to
write these programs at a cost of about $166, 000. AOC plans to have these
41 programs developed by fiscal year 2004.
involvement, identification of problem jobs, and analysis and development of
controls for problem jobs. In the next stage of our review, we plan to
assess AOC?s education and training and medical management components.
Table 1: Core Components of an Effective Safety and Health Program Component
a Ways in which the component can be demonstrated
Management commitment Establish goals for the program, collect reliable
data, and evaluate results. Establish program responsibilities of managers
and employees for safety and health in the workplace and hold them
accountable for carrying out those responsibilities.
Communicate to the staff the program?s importance. Employee involvement
Establish mechanisms to get employees involved in the program, such as
creating committees or teams to
receive information on problem jobs or areas. Establish procedures for
employees to report job- related fatalities, injuries, illnesses, incidents,
and hazards; ensure that employees are not discouraged from reporting
accidents, injuries, illnesses, or unsafe conditions.
Establish regular channels of communication with employees regarding worker
safety issues. Identification of problem Follow up on employee reports of
injuries, symptoms, or hazards. jobs Review injury logs or other data to
identify problem areas.
Conduct inspections of the workplace to identify hazards causing injuries,
illnesses, or fatalities. Analysis and development
Through investigation or other analysis, identify hazards present in problem
jobs. of controls for problem jobs Develop controls for problem jobs by
brainstorming with employees or other methods.
Follow up to ensure that hazards are abated and controls are effective.
Education and training Provide general awareness training to all employees
so they can recognize hazards and risks, learn
procedures for reporting injuries, and become familiar with the program.
Provide targeted training to specified groups of employees because of the
jobs they hold, the hazards they face, or their roles in the program.
Medical management b Encourage early reporting of symptoms and ensure that
employees do not fear reprisal or discrimination. Ensure a prompt evaluation
by a medical provider. Provide employees who have work- related medical
conditions with restricted or light duty employment.
a Different terminology is often used to describe these components. For
example, identification of problem jobs is sometimes referred to as hazard
identification and assessment. Analysis and development of controls for
problem jobs is sometimes referred to as hazard prevention and control. The
terms used here are identical to those used in our prior work. b
Organizations may have medical management programs without necessarily
having safety and health programs.
Sources: OSHA, Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines, Issuance of
Voluntary Guidelines, Federal Register 54: 3904- 3916 (Washington, D. C.:
Jan. 26, 1989) and U. S. General Accounting Office, Private Sector
Ergonomics Programs Yield Positive Results, GAO/ HEHS- 97- 163 (Washington,
D. C.: Aug. 27, 1997).
Management Commitment: AOC Management commitment requires establishing
program goals, collecting Must Develop Program Goals reliable data, and
assessing progress towards those goals. It also involves Based on Reliable
Data and establishing program responsibilities of managers and employees for
safety Strengthen Accountability
and health in the workplace and holding them accountable for carrying out
Relationships those responsibilities, and communicating to the staff the
program?s importance. AOC, with the personal involvement of the Architect,
has communicated to managers and staff members that it must become a safer
organization and is working on changing the organizational culture to focus
on safety and health. As a clear sign of that commitment, in June 2001 AOC
established a goal of reducing the rate of worker injuries and illnesses by
10 percent per year for 5 years, starting from the fiscal year 2000 rate of
17. 9 per 100 workers. AOC is measuring its progress in achieving its injury
and illness reduction goal using OSHA?s published measure of total injuries
and illnesses, which provides the total number of cases and the rate of
injuries and illnesses that incur costs under the federal workers?
compensation program. The OSHA
measure is important to show the extent to which those injuries and
illnesses that could include the most severe- that is, those in incurring
medical expenses or lost time- are increasing or decreasing. According to
this measure, both the number and rate of these injuries and illnesses at
AOC showed an overall increase from fiscal years 1997 through 2000. 27 In
fiscal year 2000, according to this measure, the rate of injury and illness
was 17. 9 per 100 workers. Although OSHA has not published these data for
fiscal year 2001, OSHA officials told us that for AOC both the number and
rate of injury and illness declined in 2001. At the same time, however, AOC
has been tracking the total number of injuries and illnesses occurring at
AOC, regardless of whether the injury or illness incurred costs under the
federal workers? compensation program. These data show a decline in the
total number of recorded injuries and illnesses from fiscal years 1999 (the
first year the data were available) through 2001.
AOC and OSHA?s data provide valuable information for AOC. However, neither
of these data is directly comparable to key measures used in the private
sector, so AOC has been missing the opportunity to compare itself to- and
learn from- the application of industry standards. According to private
sector best practices, organizations should rely on a more precise measure
of severe injuries and illness than either the OSHA or AOC total
injury and illness data provide. The private sector generally uses a measure
27 OSHA did not publish these data prior to 1997.
called ?OSHA recordables,? which include any work- related injury or illness
that requires more than first aid or leads to lost time. As a result,
tracking OSHA recordables allow an organization to identify the most severe
injuries and illnesses occurring in the workplace. To be more consistent
with industry standards, in 2001, AOC began to collect on a limited basis
OSHA recordables, which we believe will help AOC create a
more accurate picture of its injuries and illnesses. At the same time AOC is
developing more comprehensive illness and injury data, AOC needs to ensure
that the data it gathers are reliable. For example, although AOC has
established policies and procedures that require reporting of all workers?
compensation claims, it does not have policies and procedures in place for
reporting the more comprehensive data on injuries and illnesses consistent
with industry best practices. The partnership that the AOC is developing
with the Office of Compliance and
OSHA and the contract with Dupont to provide technical assistance in the
area of worker safety could help AOC make progress on assessing is policies
and procedures for collecting injury and illness data and help ensure their
completeness and reliability.
Management commitment also dictates that an organization put the right
people in place with the authority to make the program work. As we
mentioned, AOC reorganized its Executive Office of Facilities Management to
increase its emphasis on safety. The office includes the Safety and
Environmental Health Division, which includes the safety officer and the
central safety specialist positions. This office has recently increased its
staffing from 5 to 10 safety and health professionals. In addition, AOC has
hired eight safety specialists for six of its jurisdictions and one
division. As these safety specialists assume their full responsibilities,
AOC needs to ensure that it has clearly defined their roles,
responsibilities, and
authorities at the central and jurisdictional levels so that they can carry
out their work. Implementation of the worker safety program occurs at the
jurisdictional level. In the next stage of our review, we plan to explore
which of the safety program responsibilities would be best carried out by
central AOC staff and which would best be carried out by the jurisdictional
staff. Employee Involvement: AOC As noted above, AOC has established
mechanisms to get employees
Should Strengthen Employee involved in the worker safety program and has
established regular channels Involvement with Reporting
of communication with employees through the safety and health Incidents,
Accidents, or Hazards committees and through formal training. Employee
involvement also includes establishing procedures for employees to use in
reporting job-
related incidents, accidents, and hazards, and ensuring that they are
encouraged to do so. AOC should develop such procedures to encourage and
reward employees for reporting these situations. For example, AOC could
develop procedures along with awareness training that clearly articulate the
steps employees should take to report all job- related incidents, accidents,
and hazards and ensure they are followed consistently. AOC could also
recognize employees for following these procedures through the Architect?s
new employee rewards and recognition program. Another way to increase
employee involvement is to have employees serve on teams responsible for
identifying and ranking problem jobs as well as developing controls for
those jobs, which several of the
jurisdictions have initiated. Finally, AOC should hold top managers,
frontline supervisors, and employees accountable for ensuring that this
process is followed. In the next stage of our review, we plan to explore
these reporting and accountability issues further through a series of focus
groups with AOC employees. Identification, Analysis, and
Leading organizations systematically seek to identify why injuries,
Development of Controls for
illnesses, and accidents occur or why hazards exist and eliminate Problem
Jobs: AOC Needs
underlying conditions as part of a risk- based approach to creating safe and
Consistent Policies and
healthy work environments. In that respect, it is vital to have adequate
Procedures for Conducting processes to investigate problem areas, develop
controls for those areas, Investigations and Abating
and follow up to ensure that hazards are abated. Furthermore, staff Hazards
members conducting these investigations should have the knowledge and
authority to remedy the situations. In 1998, the Office of Compliance
recommended that AOC develop a system to routinely investigate accidents or
hazardous situations and ensure that hazards are corrected. In response, AOC
has placed safety specialists in several of the
jurisdictions, which provides greater assurance that an effort is being
taken to investigate accidents, incidents, or identified hazards.
However, there is still no consistent AOC- wide system for conducting
investigations and follow- up to ensure that corrective actions have been
taken. Such a system is critical to providing AOC with the assurance that
its efforts are risk- based- targeted directly toward identifying and
abating those factors leading to the most severe and frequent incidents,
accidents, and hazards. To illustrate, some of the jurisdictions have (1)
developed their own investigation procedures, (2) involved different staff
members in the investigations (e. g., a safety specialist in one case, a
safety and health committee representative in another case), and (3)
developed their own forms to gather accident or incident data. Another
important component is follow- up, and we found that only two of the five
jurisdiction safety
specialists we interviewed were tracking resolution of hazards identified.
AOC has procured a data system- Facility Management Assistant- that is to
include inspection data and provide risk analysis and hazard abatement
assessment and follow- up, which we think is a positive step. 28 According
to the director of AOC?s Safety and Environmental Health Division, this
system is expected to be operational by July 2002. AOC Needs to Build on
Current Efforts by Adopting a Strategic Approach to
Key Actions for Recycling Program
Recycling
Revisit and clarify recycling mission and goals. Develop a performance
measurement, monitoring, and evaluation system that supports accomplishing
recycling mission and goals.
Reexamine roles and responsibilities of AOC recycling program staff members.
Implement best practices to improve performance.
Programs that separate and collect recyclable materials from the waste
stream produce numerous benefits. It is estimated that recycling 1 ton of
paper saves 17 mature trees, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space, 7,000
gallons
of water, 380 gallons of oil, 4,100 kilowatt hours of energy, and 60 pounds
of air pollutants. To maximize the benefits derived from its recycling
program, AOC must build on the steps it has taken to improve the
effectiveness of its programs by taking a more strategic approach. Such an
approach would include revisiting and clarifying recycling mission and
goals, measuring and monitoring performance against goals to gauge and
improve program effectiveness, and reexamining the roles and
responsibilities of the recycling program staff to ensure accountability for
achieving recycling goals. We provide observations on how AOC could improve
recycling results by replicating its own and others? best practices.
28 This system will be integrated with AOC?s financial management tracking
system for processing work orders.
AOC Has Taken Steps to Improve AOC is responsible for operating recycling
programs for much of the
Effectiveness of Recycling Capitol complex. 29 In recent years, AOC, both
centrally and at the
Programs jurisdiction level, has taken steps to improve the overall
effectiveness of its recycling programs. Some of the steps include
formalizing the positions and responsibilities of the AOC resource
conservation manager and the House and Senate recycling program managers to
include activities such as planning, policy and program development,
monitoring, and evaluation of recycling operations;
filling the Senate recycling program manager position, which was vacant
for a number of months;
suggesting that the Senate adopt a consultant?s recommendation to simplify
the recycling program to improve participation and increase effectiveness;
developing a draft set of performance indicators and starting to collect
data; and
reworking the recycling program for the House Office Buildings
jurisdiction to increase promotion and education and reequip participating
offices with new recycling containers.
Recycling Program Design There are a variety of environmental and financial
benefits to be derived
Depends on Desired Goals from an office recycling program, and program
designs will differ
depending on the goals selected. A typical goal is reducing to the extent
possible the amount of solid waste sent to landfills. Another goal is
generating as much revenue as possible from the sale of the recyclable
materials collected. A key to achieving either goal is making the recycling
program as easy as possible for employees to use. Generally, the less
sorting, decision making, and walking required by individual participants,
the more successful the program will be. And although the two goals of 29
AOC operates all aspects of the recycling programs in the House and Senate
Office Buildings, except for the Ford building, which is operated by a
custodial contractor. In addition, the House jurisdiction picks up
recyclable materials collected by the House side of the Capitol building,
the Botanic Garden, the page dorm (501 1st St.), and, most recently, the
Capitol Power Plant. On the Senate side of the Capitol building, the Senate
Sergeant- atArms operates the recycling program, and AOC transports the
materials to its collection site in the Hart Office Building. The Supreme
Court and the Library of Congress operate their own recycling programs.
waste reduction and revenue generation are not mutually exclusive, the
designs of each would differ.
Specifically, a recycling program with the goal of generating revenue,
commonly referred to as a source separation program, is more complicated,
expensive, and difficult to implement than a program designed for waste
reduction. This is because separating a greater variety of recyclable
materials at the source requires more resources for educating
clients and the recycling staff, collecting recyclable materials, and
monitoring for compliance. The complexity of source separation,
unfortunately, increases the likelihood of contamination of the recyclable
materials collected, reducing their value and increasing the volume of
waste sent to landfills. Given the complexity and potential performance
problems with a source separation program, an organization needs to analyze
the costs and benefits of such a program compared to other, simpler options
to determine whether such a program will be costeffective.
AOC Needs to Revisit and Clarify High levels of contamination have prevented
the House and Senate Recycling Mission and Goals
recycling programs from achieving either of the two goals. AOC?s recycling
contractor does not pay for high grade (e. g., white copy) paper with
greater than 5- percent contamination or mixed grade (e. g., glossy or
colored)
paper with greater than 10- percent contamination. However, in fiscal year
2001, over 60 percent of about 650 tons of recyclable paper collected from
Senate Office Buildings and more than 70 percent of about 1,720 tons of
recyclable paper collected from the House Office Buildings were
contaminated. Although AOC avoided the cost of disposing of the waste, the
collected materials generated no revenue. The recycling contractor
may sort and recycle some of this contaminated waste, but the rest
ultimately will go to a landfill. AOC needs to clearly define the overall
mission and goals of its recycling programs to assess whether it has the
right program design, organization, and implementation strategies in place
to achieve desired results. AOC?s goals for its recycling programs are
unclear. The House and the Senate have directed their respective
jurisdictions to implement source separation
recycling programs. Furthermore, the position descriptions for the House and
Senate recycling program managers state that these managers are responsible
for, among other things, increasing the financial returns of their programs.
However, other documents we reviewed, such as the position
description of the AOC resource conservation program manager and a 1999
audit by the AOC inspector general, indicate that AOC is also pursuing the
goal of waste reduction. If AOC?s goal is to generate as much revenue as
possible through a source separation program, then based on the high rate of
contamination it will need to design a program that is much more aggressive
in terms of the education, training, and equipment it provides to
participants and the collection staff. However, if the goal is reducing the
volume of waste sent to landfills, then AOC should implement a simpler
program, requiring as little separation as possible to increase
participation and compliance.
Cost- benefit analysis could help AOC strike the right balance in its
recycling program. For example, the recently completed study of the Senate?s
source separation recycling program requested by the Senate Appropriations
Committee shows that AOC could lower contamination and therefore increase
revenues by simplifying the program. Not addressed in the study is whether
this type of program would also reduce the amount of
waste sent to landfills. Furthermore, other than coordination to remove
recycling materials at the Botanic Garden and- in response to our recent
suggestion- the Capital Power Plant, AOC has no formal plans to implement a
Capitol complexwide
recycling program. For example, AOC could expand its recycling programs to
include waste from its landscaping or construction activities. Incorporating
these materials into its overall recycling program could
improve AOC?s overall performance in reducing waste sent to landfills.
Consistent with the communication strategy we outline in this statement, AOC
needs to seek input from its stakeholders to determine the most appropriate
mission and goals for its recycling program( s). Whether the resulting
program is Capitol complex- wide or is tailored to meet the specific
requirements of the House or Senate, AOC needs to clarify whether the
primary focus of the recycling program is to reduce the total amount of
waste sent to landfills, to generate a desired level of revenue, or both.
AOC Needs to Develop a In response to a Senate Appropriations Committee
request for a quarterly
Performance Measurement, report on the recycling program in the Senate, AOC
has proposed a
Monitoring, and Evaluation performance measurement system that it will use
to monitor both the System That Supports
Senate and the House recycling programs. The data and indicators they
Accomplishment of Recycling will collect include, among other things,
revenue generated from the sale of Mission and Goals recyclables, customer
satisfaction, education of participating offices, status of equipping
offices with recycling containers, rate of office participation, and
training of recycling collection staffs.
AOC?s proposed performance system is a promising first step. In revisiting
its program mission, goals, and design, AOC should also reexamine and refine
this system to improve its usefulness for program monitoring and decision
making. As discussed elsewhere in this statement, AOC?s performance
measurement system should (1) show the degree to which the desired results
were achieved, (2) be limited to the vital few measures needed for decision
making, (3) be responsive to multiple priorities, and (4) establish
accountability for results. Also, as part of its responsibility for handling
waste from government facilities, including recyclable materials, the
General Services Administration (GSA) has developed a guide that describes a
number of steps an agency can take to measure and monitor recycling efforts
that could be useful to AOC in developing its system. 30 These steps are
listed in table 2.
Table 2: Ten Steps Identified by GSA for Best Administering a Recycling
Program Steps Purpose and example
1. Determining the building profile Purpose: To ascertain the types of
materials to be recovered in a recycling program and identify any special
restrictions or requirements. Example: Does the storage space have
sprinklers or will special containers be required? 2. Determining the waste
stream size Purpose: To manage and reduce a building?s waste stream data on
the total size of the waste
stream are compiled. Example: Obtain monthly reports showing the amount of
waste hauled.
3. Analyzing the waste stream Purpose: To determine the quantity of various
types of recyclable materials included in the waste stream. Example: Develop
an estimate of the quantity of recyclable material collected daily. 4.
Determining the amount recycled Purpose: To show how much is being diverted
from the waste stream.
Example: The recycling contractor provides a monthly report showing the
amounts and types of materials recycled.
5. Tracking the information Purpose: To determine the percentage of the
total waste stream diverted by recycling. Example: Data are entered on a
regular basis, for example, monthly, and totaled at the end of the fiscal
year.
6. Reporting the information Purpose: To report status of the program to
management and to offices participating in the program. Example: Reports to
offices keep employees informed about how their efforts are helping the
environment and measuring progress and goals.
30 U. S. General Services Administration, Recycling Program Desk Guide
(Washington, D. C.: Mar. 2001).
(Continued From Previous Page)
Steps Purpose and example
7. Reducing the waste stream Purpose: To determine whether trash includes
recyclable materials that are improperly discarded and opportunities to
recycle other materials (e. g., construction debris, discarded/ leftover
carpeting, or scrap metal). Example: Meet with office representatives to
ascertain their container needs and find out what types of waste they
generate. 8. Assessing the program Purpose: To determine how well the
program is working. Example: Observe whether employees understand how the
program works or modifications that might be necessary. 9. Educating
employees Purpose: To provide employees with reasons for recycling and a
description of how the
program works; to reduce the container contamination by giving detailed
instructions on what is and is not acceptable. Example: An environmental
team consisting of building management and participating offices would
promote and educate employees.
10. Monitoring and evaluating program Purpose: To be aware of fluctuations
in the volume of recycled materials collected in an effort to identify the
cause and determine whether associated waste disposal costs can be reduced.
Example: Periodically review waste disposal costs and assess whether the
program implemented has had an impact.
Source: U. S. General Services Administration, Recycling Program Desk Guide
(Washington, D. C.: Mar. 2001).
AOC?s proposed recycling program goals are not linked to a desired level of
performance and therefore cannot demonstrate the extent to which performance
is achieved. For example, AOC seeks to decrease contamination rates for
recyclable materials collected, but does not state a
goal for a desired level of contamination against which to measure progress.
As shown in table 2, steps 2 and 3, AOC should determine how much waste the
Capitol complex generates overall and analyze how much of that waste could
be recycled. Such information could form the basis of AOC?s overall waste
reduction goals. Furthermore, AOC should develop its performance measurement
system with input from recycling program staff members to ensure that the
data gathered will be sufficiently complete, accurate, and consistent to be
useful in decision making. As AOC clarifies
its goals and performance measures for its recycling program, it will likely
identify opportunities to reduce the recycling data currently collected.
After establishing an organizational mission and goals and building a
performance measurement system, the next key step is to put performance data
to work. As shown in table 2, steps 4 through 8 and step 10 provide guidance
on ways to monitor and evaluate program performance. AOC has
proposed a quarterly monitoring system. Such monitoring of performance
against goals will enable AOC program managers to identify where performance
is lagging, investigate potential causes, and identify actions designed to
improve performance. AOC should also obtain periodic
feedback from its customers/ stakeholders to obtain their views about the
quality of the program, ease of participation, and other areas for
improvement. AOC has proposed a recycling program customer survey as part of
its performance measurement system. We believe AOC should develop this
survey as part of an overall communication strategy for external
stakeholders, as discussed earlier in the statement.
Reexamine Roles, The roles and responsibilities of AOC?s recycling program
staff members Responsibilities, and Number of
have evolved in recent years, without the guidance of a clearly defined AOC
Recycling Program Staff
mission and goals. In revisiting its recycling program mission and goals,
Members
AOC should also reexamine the roles and responsibilities of its program
staff members to ensure that they are performing the right jobs with the
necessary authority. AOC recently changed the responsibilities of its
recycling program management positions to incorporate a greater focus on
program planning and evaluation. However, according to these staff members,
much of their time is spent in day- to- day program implementation
activities, leaving little time to fulfill their expanded roles. The AOC
resource conservation manager, originally responsible for only the AOC
hazardous waste program, currently is responsible for planning and
developing policies and programs for an AOC- wide approach to waste
management, analyzing waste removal programs, developing and presenting
briefing and training materials on agency recycling efforts, and serving as
the administrator and technical representative for the recycling collection
contract. However, according to the resource conservation manager, about
half of her effort is devoted to hazardous waste management activities. She
has little time and no staff to carry out the broad, agencywide planning and
evaluation activities required by the position.
In fiscal year 2001, AOC replaced its recycling coordinator position with a
recycling program manager position in the House and Senate jurisdictions.
These positions are responsible for working with other Capitol complex
recycling specialists to carry out agencywide recycling, planning and
developing recycling policies and programs, reviewing program effectiveness
and monitoring implementation (e. g., compliance inspections), and analyzing
the financial returns of waste recycling contracts. However, the House
recycling program manager told us that the current focus is primarily on
implementation activities, such as program promotion and education and
providing recycling equipment to offices, limiting the time available to
focus on other responsibilities, such as program monitoring and evaluation.
As previously stated, AOC needs to provide a results- oriented basis for
individual accountability. With respect to recycling, AOC has neither
established clear goals nor assigned accountability for achieving results.
Because program implementation occurs in the House and Senate jurisdictions,
AOC needs to incorporate its desired recycling goals into its
performance management system and cascade those goals down through the
jurisdictions to the individuals responsible for program implementation.
In our opinion, overlapping responsibilities for planning, education,
monitoring, and evaluation between the resource conservation manager and
jurisdiction recycling program managers raise questions about the
appropriate number of staff members and mix of responsibilities needed to
carry out AOC?s recycling programs at the central and jurisdictional levels.
In the next stage of our review, we plan to explore with AOC which
responsibilities would be best carried out by a central AOC staff and which
would be best carried out by jurisdiction staffs. For example, the focus of
the central staff could be on planning, developing educational materials,
monitoring, and evaluating recycling from an AOC- wide perspective. In
contrast, the focus of the jurisdiction staffs could be on implementation of
the recycling program, including equipping offices, educating participants,
and collecting recyclable materials.
Implementing Best Practices Can In addition to addressing strategic program
management issues, AOC could Help Improve Performance
implement best practices that may provide immediate improvements to its
recycling program results. For example, AOC could do the following:
Take advantage of intra- agency best practices by sharing ideas across
jurisdictions. For example, the House jurisdiction has already developed
promotional materials that can be shared with the Senate jurisdiction to
avoid duplication of effort.
Expand on House efforts to promote the reuse and sharing of office
materials by listing available excess materials.
Create greater incentives to recycle by providing participants feedback on
the results of their recycling efforts, such as trees saved, landfill space
not used, or revenues generated for employee programs, such as a day care or
fitness center. (See table 2, step 6.)
Provide information and solicit feedback using electronic means, such as
e- mails with links to an AOC recycling Web site.
Continue to work with participating offices to select recycling containers
designed to reduce contamination. For example, AOC could make greater use of
containers with lids designed to prevent the disposal of inappropriate
materials (slots for paper, can- shaped holes, etc.).
Key Management Adopting a vigorous approach to strategic planning and
holding managers Options Require
and employees accountable for achieving organizationwide goals will go a
long way toward helping AOC become a high- performing organization. Further
Exploration
However, further measures may be needed; we plan to explore other options
with AOC and its key congressional customers in the next stage of our
management review. These proposed options aim to strengthen AOC?s executive
decision- making capacity and accountability, so that the right senior
executives are making important operating and investment decisions, and that
these decisions are based on solid financial, budget, and
performance information. We also plan to explore opportunities for further
improving labor- management relations, worker safety, and project management
and budgeting at AOC. As we move forward, we will support AOC in exploring
these management options through on- the- spot advice, best management
practice briefings for AOC?s senior managers, focus
groups for AOC?s employees, and outreach to AOC?s labor unions and key
congressional customers. Key Management Options
To strengthen AOC?s executive decision- making capacity and We Plan to
Explore with
accountability, we are exploring options to better define the roles and AOC
responsibilities for certain key functions and to clarify some
accountability relationships. For example, executive- level decisions on
issues such as major capital investments could be made by an executive
committee consisting of these top managers, in addition to the new CFO. A
chief operating officer (COO) could be responsible for major long- term
management, cultural transformation, and stewardship responsibilities within
AOC. In March 2002, we testified on the potential for creating statutory
COOs within major executive branch agencies, who could provide the
continuity that spans the tenure of political leadership and helps ensure
that long- term stewardship issues are addressed and change
management initiatives are successfully completed. 31 As we discussed above,
a CIO could lead and manage policies and procedures for making agencywide IT
investment decisions. In addition, to develop and implement congressional
protocols and strengthen AOC?s communications and outreach with its
congressional customers, AOC may want to consider
assigning full- time responsibility for its congressional relations
functions to a senior manager. We will also assess whether AOC should
clarify organization lines of authority and accountability to improve
program management in areas such as worker safety, recycling, and facilities
and project management. Such comprehensive organizational changes should
only take place within the context of decisions made by AOC as it implements
the framework for management and accountability that we discuss.
To support improving AOC?s executive decision- making capacity, we will
continue to review the processes and usefulness of AOC?s financial and
budget information, and explore the use of performance information. In the
next stage of our review, our analysis of project cost estimation will
complement an assessment of overcoming challenges to effective project
management at AOC. To improve labor- management relations, we will look at
best practices in alternative dispute resolution in the workplace and
explore the relationships between AOC?s Equal Employment Opportunity and
Conciliation Program Office, Employee Advisory Council, and newly created
Office of the Ombudsperson- formerly the Employee Advocate- and the Office
of Compliance. We have supported using ombudsmen in dispute resolution and
believe that this office can be an integral part of an
organization?s human capital management strategy to create a fair,
equitable, and nondiscriminatory workplace. 32 We plan to assess the new
role of the ombudsperson in AOC and whether it will adhere to the standards
of practice for ombudsmen established by professional organizations. These
standards revolve around the core principles of independence, neutrality,
and confidentiality. 31 U. S. General Accounting Office, Managing for
Results: Building on the Momentum for Strategic Human Capital Reform, GAO-
02- 528T (Washington, D. C.: Mar. 18, 2002).
32 U. S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: The Role of Ombudsmen in
Dispute Resolution, GAO- 01- 466 (Washington, D. C.: Apr. 13, 2001).
We Are Helping Assess We are exploring these management options in several
ways. In the
These Options and worker safety and recycling areas, we will continue to
provide on- the- spot Recommending Needed
advice on safety hazards and recycling practices observed on our site
visits. Management Improvements For example, we identified several safety
hazards at the Capitol Power Plant. We brought these potential hazards to
the attention of the acting
chief engineer of the plant, who said that he would act upon our advice. We
also suggested to him that the power plant could start a recycling program
for its office waste consistent with the Botanic Garden?s program, which the
plant is starting to implement. To support management improvements that we
are recommending or options we plan to explore, we have provided best
practices guidance and we will, at the invitation of AOC, brief AOC?s senior
managers on best management practices in the public as well as private
sectors, potentially including the following topics:
strategic planning and performance measurement;
our congressional protocols and the role of our Congressional Relations
Office;
human capital management, including our guidance on strategic human
capital management and our human capital policies and procedures; 33 and
IT management, financial management, and worker safety. To identify
opportunities to further improve AOC?s internal communications, we will be
holding a series of focus groups with AOC?s employees to obtain employee
feedback on AOC?s organizational culture, morale, management support, and
worker safety issues, and meeting with officials from AOC?s labor unions. To
assess AOC?s communications with
its external customers, we will contact key congressional staffs to get
feedback on the types of AOC services most important to them, their
satisfaction with these services, and suggestions for management
improvements.
33 GAO- 02- 373SP and U. S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: A Self
Assessment Checklist for Agency Leaders, Discussion Draft, GAO/ GGD- 99- 179
(Washington, D. C.: Sept. 1999).
Contact and For further information about this statement, please contact J.
Christopher
Acknowledgments Mihm at (202) 512- 6806. Individuals making key
contributions to this statement included Thomas Beall, Justin Booth, Carole
Cimitile, Kevin J.
Conway, Elizabeth Curda, Deborah Davis, Terrell Dorn, Elena Epps, V. Bruce
Goddard, Christina Quattrociocchi, Benjamin Smith Jr., Lori Rectanus, John
Reilly, William Roach, Kris Trueblood, Sarah Veale, Michael Volpe, and
Daniel Wexler.
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