Inspector General Robert P. Storch announced today that the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) released the “Audit of Cost Increases and Schedule Delays of Military Construction Projects Managed by Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command.”
This audit aimed to determine why the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) had cost increases or schedule delays of Navy and Marine Corps military construction projects and what actions NAVFAC took to mitigate future cost increases and schedule delays. In conjunction with this project, later this year the DoD OIG will also release a report on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ management of military construction projects.
“Finishing military construction projects within budget and on schedule is critical to fulfilling the DoD’s mission requirements and being good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” said IG Storch. “The DoD can minimize cost overruns and schedule delays by adopting strategies for improved project planning and design and applying lessons learned and best practices from previous military construction projects.”
The DoD OIG found that NAVFAC officials have faced, and continue to face, challenges in planning and managing five military construction projects totaling $327.5 million across four Component Commands. These challenges resulted from several factors, including inaccurate information in the solicitation and design specifications and unexpected cost growth. As a result, NAVFAC officials had $63.3 million in cost increases over award amounts, and schedule delays ranged from 383 days to 1,563 days for the five projects reviewed.
The DoD OIG made recommendations to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Infrastructure Modernization and Resilience and the NAVFAC Commander to improve the planning and execution of military construction projects.
The DoD OIG will monitor progress toward the implementation of these recommendations.