The Department of Energy needs better information to determine if non-major projects – those under $750 million – are meeting performance targets, GAO has said.
It said that of the 71 non-major projects that Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM), and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), completed or had under way from fiscal 2008 to 2012, 21 met or are expected to meet their performance targets for scope, cost, and completion dates.
These projects included a $22 million EM project to expand an existing waste disposal facility at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee and a $199 million NNSA project to equip a radiological laboratory and office building at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, according to GAO-13-129.
It said another 23 projects did not meet or were not expected to meet one or more of their three performance targets for scope, cost, and completion dates. Of the remaining 27 projects, many had insufficiently documented performance targets for scope, cost, or completion dates, making it difficult to determine whether they met their performance targets, GAO said.
Further, it said EM and NNSA often did not follow DoE requirements for documenting these performance targets, making it more difficult to independently assess project performance.
EM and NNSA agreed with recommendations to clearly define, document, and track the scope, cost, and completion date targets for each of their non-major projects and that EM clearly identify critical occupations and skills in its workforce plans.
