Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed work-load, productivity, quality, capacity, and financial indicators at the Air Force's Air Logistics Centers (ALC). GAO noted that: (1) comparisons of performance indicators are of limited value because ALC have different missions, work loads, and facilities; (2) universally accepted standardized procedures for comparable and reliable cost accounting, performance measurement reporting, and capacity measurement have not yet been developed; (3) in 1990, the Department of Defense (DOD) began to develop the Depot Maintenance Performance Measurement System to collect data on performance indicators for depot-level maintenance activities, but the system has not been approved; (4) the number of direct labor hours expended provided a better indication of ALC work load; (5) DOD has had difficulty developing consistent and reliable data on ALC work-force productivity or productivity improvements that ALC work forces have achieved; (6) data collected on customers' complaints about the quality of depot repair work was not a valid indicator of quality differentials among the centers; and (7) information regarding depot capacity showed that the Air Force depot maintenance system has large amounts of excess capacity.