www.va.govReport Summary
Follow-Up Audit of VA’s Major Construction Contract Award and Administration Process
Report Number 08-01084-112, 4/29/2009 | Full Report (PDF)
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a follow-up audit to determine whether the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) implemented the corrective action plans in response to recommendations made in the OIG Audit of Veterans Health Administration Major Construction Contract Award and Administration Process (Report No. 02-02181-79, February 8, 2005). The 2005 OIG report included 12 recommendations that addressed needed improvements in contract award, administration, and project management. The results of our current audit showed that VA addressed 10 of the 12 recommendations through the establishment of a Quality Assurance (QA) program and procedures to resolve significant differences between bid prices and Architecture and Engineering (A/E) estimates. VA still needs to improve project management oversight to reduce contract schedule slippage and to close out projects promptly so that unneeded funds are returned to the reserves account. VA’s QA Service provided oversight over its major construction contracting process in strengthening areas of contract award, administration, and project management by performing field acquisition reviews of high-risk construction activities identified in our prior audit as needing improvement. We made four recommendations that the Executive Director for Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction (OAL&C) implement an effective mechanism to monitor contract schedule slippage and minimize construction contract delays; establish an effective mechanism to ensure the timely close out of major construction contracts and identify unused funds that can be returned to the construction reserve account; develop written QA policies and procedures, and program performance measures addressing all QA Service areas of responsibilities; and develop a formal staffing plan to ensure all QA Service responsibilities are met. The Executive Director for OAL&C concurred with our recommendations; and provided plans to implement acceptable corrective actions.