Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)

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Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation (DLHWC)

CHAPTER 9-500 — QUARTERLY REVIEW AND ANALYSIS

1. Purpose and Scope. At the beginning of each fiscal year the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) issues Operational Planning Instructions for all Programs in OWCP. They contain the general management objectives of OWCP and specific instructions and workload goals for each Program for the fiscal year. The progress of Programs in achieving these objectives is tracked through a system of management reports on a quarterly basis according to established procedures contained in OWCP's Procedure Manual. This process is known as Quarterly Review and Analysis (QR&A). This Chapter provides general instructions for the completion and submission of the Longshore Program's QR&A reports. It incorporates and augments procedures contained in the OWCP Procedure Manual, Chapter 4-400.
2. Definitions.
   1. Plan Figures. These are workload output goals and performance standard levels established in the annual program operational plan.
   2. Deviations. Deviations from plan are actual variances from plan. A significant deviation, in the case of Output and Inventories is defined as any negative variance in excess of 10%. The Timeliness standards as presented in the program plans must be met, with no allowable variance, for the district office to be considered to have met its performance goals. For discussion purposes, all timeliness standards will be analyzed on a cumulative as well as a quarterly basis. However, the district will be considered to have met standard for the planning year if the cumulative statistics equal or exceed the goal. When quarterly statistics begin to equal or exceed the goal while the cumulative statistics do not, it should be taken as an indication that the district office's corrective actions are having a positive effect.
   3. Corrective Actions. A corrective action is defined as a positive measure planned to remedy a performance shortfall, and which describes the course of action to accomplish a particular goal according to a specified timeframe. These are positive steps taken to remedy deviations from plan.
   4. Management Conference Calls. These calls are made between National and regional offices to assess and reach agreement on problem areas and corrective actions concerning the program operational plan. Calls are scheduled after each quarter's preliminary date has been reviewed and analyzed by the NO.
   5. Preliminary Data. These are statistics obtained from automated and manual reports about the program operational plan's output and performance goals. The reports containing preliminary data are submitted to the NO by the DO shortly after the close of each quarter.
3. QR&A Reports and Forms.
   1. The LS-3 and LS-3s Reports and the Workload and Performance Standards Report (see PM 9-200, 9-300 and 9-400, respectively) are the sources for the preliminary statistical data.
   2. QR&A Corrective Action Report (Exhibit 22, PM 10-300). In the QR&A process this is a written confirmation of a corrective action agreed upon during conference calls.
   3. AR-10 Accountability Review Corrective Action Report (Exhibit 54, PM 10-200, see also PM 9-600, Accountability Reviews). When a DO has been the subject of an Accountability Review, an AR-10 must be included with the QR&A submission until all recommendations for corrective actions resulting from the Review have been completed.
   4. Summary of District Office Operations Report (Exhibit 23, PM 10-300). This includes comments from District Directors (DD) about the general condition of the DO, problems encountered in meeting program goals and an appraisal of the quality of DO work.
   5. QR&A Feedback Report (Exhibit 24, PM 10-300). This is an assessment by the NO of a DO's corrective action report.