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 Army Military Construction Projects Managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.” This audit aimed to determine why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) had cost increases or schedule delays in Army military construction projects and what actions USACE took to mitigate future cost increases and schedule delays.
“Identifying and sharing lessons learned from military construction projects across USACE districts can enhance the planning and management of future projects, helping to prevent cost increases and schedule delays,” said IG Storch. “Timely completion of the military construction projects examined in this audit is critical to the DoD for the training of future leaders and minimizing disruptions maintaining tactical equipment, and more generally for DoD to accomplish it’s critical mission.”
The report highlights that USACE officials have faced, and continue to face, challenges in planning and managing the four military construction projects that the DoD OIG reviewed across four USACE districts. These challenges resulted from several factors, including building suitable foundations, working with utility providers, and design errors. As a result, USACE incurred $19.6 million in increased contract costs on the four projects, originally valued at $248.5 million. In addition, the USACE experienced schedule delays that ranged from 120 to 847 days for the four projects.
The DoD OIG made 9 recommendations to the USACE Chief of Engineering and Construction, the USACE Baltimore District Commander, and the USACE Seattle District Commander to improve the planning and management of military construction projects. Recommendations included that the USACE Chief of Engineering and Construction review planning and mitigating actions to determine if contracting personnel can use those actions as lessons learned to assist with the planning and management of future military construction projects.
The DoD OIG will monitor progress towards the implementation of these recommendations.