Defense Management and NASA Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1995-97 (Letter
Report, 03/01/95, GAO/IAP-95-6).
GAO provided information on its Defense Management and National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issue area plan, focusing on
opportunities to save money, achieve management efficiencies, and
improve results.
GAO plans to: (1) assess the base closure and realignment process; (2)
identify opportunities for savings from consolidating or eliminating
infrastructure activities; (3) monitor inventory reduction efforts; (4)
identify proven management practices and assess how the Department of
Defense (DOD) can best apply these practices to DOD operations; (5)
monitor DOD management of high-risk areas; (6) evaluate DOD ability to
properly manage its new environment; (7) identify unfunded liabilities
in future year budgets; (8) identify issues in disposing of chemical
weapons; (9) assess NASA efforts to improve its management; (10)
evaluate whether NASA has developed an appropriate infrastructure to
support its projected roles and missions; and (11) determine whether
NASA is using the resources available for space and aeronautical
research and development through joint agreements with others.
--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------
REPORTNUM: IAP-95-6
TITLE: Defense Management and NASA Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years
1995-97
DATE: 03/01/95
SUBJECT: Reductions in force
Cost control
Defense budgets
Aerospace industry
Aerospace research
Military bases
Centralization
Defense operations
Space exploration
IDENTIFIER: CIM
DOD Corporate Information Management Initiative
Defense Business Operations Fund
NASA Earth Observing System
Space Transportation System
NASA Space Station Program
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Cover
================================================================ COVER
National Security and International Affairs Division
March 1995
DEFENSE MANAGEMENT AND NASA ISSUE
AREA PLAN - FISCAL YEARS 1995-97
GAO/IAP-95-6
Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV
NASA -
DOD -
FOREWORD
============================================================ Chapter 0
The Defense Management and NASA issue area is one of the General
Accounting Office's 35 issue areas. Relying heavily on input from
congressional committees, as well as industry, academia, agency
officials and other experts, GAO develops issue area plans to ensure
that our resources are focused on the most important concerns of the
Congress.
GAO serves as a source of timely, accurate information and unbiased
analysis for decisionmakers in the Congress and executive agencies.
For each issue area, GAO's strategic plan describes the significance
of the issues, our objectives, and the focus of our work. Our work
includes such products as reports, briefings, and testimonies.
Defense and NASA managers face many challenges as they strive to
streamline operations, control cost growth in high interest programs,
manage existing infrastructures, and accomplish their missions.
GAO's overall strategy for Defense Management and NASA issues is to
identify innovative, efficient, and cost effective approaches to
redesigning Department of Defense (DOD) and National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) management and infrastructure. Our work
focuses on encouraging the reengineering and streamlining of Defense
and NASA operations through new processes and best management
practices. Our goal is to identify opportunities to save money,
achieve management efficiencies, and improve results. The principal
issues in the Defense Management and NASA area include
�opportunities for additional savings from consolidating or
eliminating infrastructure activities;
�the base closure process, recommendations, lessons learned, and
barriers to transitioning military bases to civilian use;
�best management practices of public and private sector entities that
can be applied to DOD operations;
�unfunded liabilities facing DOD in such areas as environmental
cleanup and chemical weapons disposal;
� progress in implementing such DOD initiatives as the Corporate
Information Management and the Defense Business Operation Fund;
�opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of NASA
space and aeronautical programs and the usefulness of their results;
and
�cooperative efforts between NASA and other domestic and
international entities to enhance the resources available for space
and aeronautical research and development.
In the pages that follow, we describe our objectives and planned work
on these issues.
Because unanticipated events may affect this plan, GAO's planning
process allows for updating the plan and responding to new emerging
issues. If you have any questions or suggestions about this plan,
please call me at (202) 512-8412.
David R. Warren
Director, Defense Management and NASA Issues
CONTENTS
============================================================ Chapter 1
FOREWORD
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:1
1
TABLE I: KEY ISSUES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:2
4
TABLE II: PLANNED MAJOR WORK
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3
6
TABLE III: GAO CONTACTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:4
7
TABLE I: KEY ISSUES
============================================================ Chapter 2
Issue Significance
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
Infrastructure management: Is DOD Infrastructure costs accounted for $160
efficiently and effectively managing billion (59 percent) of DOD's fiscal
military and civilian elements of its year 1994 budget. The Congress relies
infrastructure? on GAO to provide a detailed analysis
of the base closure and realignment
process and recommendations. DOD
anticipates operational savings and
efficiencies will be achieved in the
base closure process. DOD believes that
additional infrastructure savings and
efficiencies could be achieved by
consolidating more functions.
Best management practices: What best DOD believes that improving management
management practices of public and practices and strengthening incentives
private sector entities can be applied would reduce its variable
to DOD operations? infrastructure costs. DOD must increase
privatization and change its existing
management practices and procedures to
overcome longstanding problems and to
decrease costs, particularly in the
areas of inventory management and
installation support activities.
Program management: Does DOD's DOD must streamline procedures and
management approach achieve manage its cost growth of programs,
efficiencies and allow it to maintain such as environmental compliance and
control over its operations, including chemical weapons disposal, to maintain
the management of high-interest its force structure and readiness. DOD
programs? has stewardship of 25 million acres of
land with more than 18,000 sites that
need to be cleaned up. Cleanup
requirements include fuels, solvents,
hazardous and nuclear waste, unexploded
bombs and shells, and chemical weapons.
Technology development efforts are
needed to meet DOD's widespread
environmental needs and chemical
weapons disposal requirements.
NASA and space operations: What NASA's budget is unlikely to grow for
opportunities exist to improve the the foreseeable future. In such an
management of space and aeronautical environment, NASA needs to make its
programs and the usefulness of their projects affordable by identifying and
results? implementing more efficient management
practices, developing a more efficient
infrastructure, and improving its
oversight of contractors. NASA should
also extend the influence of its space
and aeronautical spending through
domestic and international arrangements
that share development cost and risk
with others and make its research
results more relevant and available to
other sectors of the U.S. economy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Objectives Focus of work
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
--Assess the base closure and �Base closure and realignment process,
realignment process, recommendations, procedures, recommendations, and
and transition to civilian use. results
�Savings and efficiencies of base
--Identify opportunities for additional closures
savings from consolidating or �Barriers to transitioning closed
eliminating infrastructure activities. bases
�Infrastructure programs and costs
--Monitor inventory reduction efforts. affected by changes in force structure
�The need for and costs of mandated
infrastructure activities and
functions
�Inventory trends, levels, and goals
--Identify proven operational and �Private sector's management practices,
management practices that achieve concepts, and techniques to achieve
economies, efficiencies, and savings; operational improvements and
and asses how efficiencies
DOD can best use them. �Management practices, concepts, and
techniques to change DOD's culture and
--Monitor DOD's management of high- to achieve operational improvements and
risk areas. efficiencies
�DOD's management of high-risk
programs
--Evaluate the ability of DOD to �DOD's management initiatives to re-
efficiently and effectively manage its engineer, restructure, and streamline
new environment. operations
�DOD's initiatives to streamline
--Identify areas that represent procedures and to maintain control over
unfunded liabilities in future year CIM and DBOF
budgets. �Issues relating to funding, treaty
ratification, environment, storage, and
--Identify issues in disposing of disposal of biological and chemical
chemical weapons. munitions
--Assess NASA's efforts to improve the �Management of major programs (space
efficiency and effectiveness of its transportation system, space station,
program, project, and procurement and earth observing system)
management. �Efficiency of government-wide space
research and operations
--Evaluate whether NASA has developed �Effectiveness of NASA procurement
an appropriate infrastructure to reform
support projected roles and missions. �Adequacy of budgetary and personnel
resources
--Determine whether NASA is enhancing �Effectiveness of efforts to enhance
the resources available for space and resources through arrangements with
aeronautical research and development other domestic and international
through appropriate joint arrangements entities
with others. �Efficiency and cost of NASA's
infrastructure
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE II: PLANNED MAJOR WORK
============================================================ Chapter 3
Issue Planned major job starts
------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------
Infrastructure --Review the 1995 base closure process
management --Evaluate transition of military bases
--Assess public versus private depot maintenance
--Evaluate reducing secondary inventory
--Evaluate cost of base closures
--Assess DFAS reengineering
--Assess TRANSCOM reengineering
--Review DOD infrastructure programs and costs
--Assess DPS versus GPO or private sector printing
Best management --Review best practices effectiveness
practices --Evaluate benchmarking
--Review aircraft repairables
--Review tracked-vehicle repairables
--Evaluate disposal and reutilization systems
--Evaluate best practices methodology
--Assess targets of opportunity
Program management --Review CIM
--Evaluate compliance with environmental cleanup
standards
--Assess DOD's pollution prevention
--Review DBOF mechanism and customer impact
--Review chemical weapons disposal program
NASA and space --Evaluate space program infrastructure requirements
operations --Assess the adequacy of NASA's program and project
management cycle
--Review effectiveness of space technology transfer
--Review NASA's management of personnel downsizing
--Evaluate effectiveness of cost controls in the
space station program
--Review application of best management practices by
NASA
--Evaluate shuttle operations and management
--Review international cooperation initiatives
--Review life-cycle costs of the space station and
earth observing system
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE III: GAO CONTACTS
============================================================ Chapter 4
DIRECTOR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.1
David R. Warren (202) 512-8412
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.2
James F. Wiggins (202) 512-8412
ASSISTANT DIRECTORS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.3
Uldis Adamsons
Francis P. Degnan Jr.
Julia C. Denman
Lee A. Edwards
James E. Hatcher
Barry W. Holman
Thomas J. Howard
George A. Jahnigen
John J. Klotz
Kenneth R. Knouse
Clementine H. Rasberry
Foy D. Wicker
*** End of document. ***