VA averts construction shutdown at troubled Denver hospital - turning the corner yet?

I know Sir, but I think that this is in the right direction for the VA, to use some inside resources, that are already provided within the government, and not with outside contractors. Especially with the huge multimillion dollar jobs.

I for one think contractors are more efficient then the government but that would be because I am a stinky contractor. Yet, USACE and their contractors have a better record at completing these large projects and in any case the VA system is failing. They need to concentrate on their core services and let someone else manage the construction contracts.

A MESSAGE TO EMPLOYEES FROM THE DEPUTY SECRETARY

VA Major Construction Policy

Over the past year, the considerable cost overruns and delays associated with building the Denver Replacement Medical Center have cast doubt on the prospect of completing the project and raised difficult questions about the future of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) construction program.

Let me be clear - the Department’s main priority regarding the Denver project is to complete the facility without further delay, and to do that while delivering the best possible value to taxpayers given the difficult circumstances. Our collective commitment to completing this project has never wavered, and current VA medical facilities and programs in the area continue to ensure that Veterans and their families are served.

Congress has provided enough funding for the Denver project to continue until the end of September. We are actively working with Congress to secure the remainder of the funds and the increased authorization necessary to complete the construction in Aurora in a manner that will best serve the Veterans in the Rocky Mountain region and the American taxpayers.

REFORMS

In addition to designating the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as VA’s construction agent for the Denver hospital, VA engaged USACE to evaluate four of the Department’s major construction projects. The goal of this evaluation was to identify program weaknesses and opportunities for improvement in the management and execution of our construction projects. As part of their program evaluation, USACE issued reports on four of our recent major construction projects: the Denver Replacement Medical Center; the Orlando VA Medical Center; the Las Vegas VA Medical Center; and the New Orleans VA Medical Center. A link to the evaluation reports can be found at TAB 1 at the end of this message.

USACE noted numerous strengths in VA’s program and highlighted the quality and commitment of the project staff. At the same time, they identified a fundamental need for a change in VA culture to drive discipline into the major construction program. VA has historically struggled to balance getting state of the art medical facilities with completing projects in a timely way. In our pursuit of delivering the best medical facility for our Veterans, we allowed scope and cost growth to extend beyond the terms agreed to with Congress. While VA must always strive to do right by our Veterans, we must also be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, which is why the Department is committed to both investing in proper requirements identification and the discipline necessary to maintain the integrity of those requirements. VA agrees with this assessment and has issued the attached policy (TAB 2) that identifies roles and responsibilities within VA for the development of needs, requirements, and control of design and construction to assure alignment of the project delivery team.

USACE provided a diagnostic summary of the four major construction projects. This summary can be found in TAB 3, and summarizes their evaluation of all four major construction projects and includes a number of recommendations. While we are committed to aggressively fixing the weaknesses USACE identified, it is worth noting that the USACE identified four times as many VA strengths as compared to weaknesses. VA agrees with the USACE findings and will implement the recommendations included in the reports’ Diagnostic Summary.

LOOKING AHEAD

While we will implement the various recommendations made by USACE, it is important to point out that we have not waited for these reports to take action, but have instead made significant process improvements over the last 2 years to enhance our ability to execute and manage major construction projects.

I have confidence that the improvements we have already made, the improvements recommended by USACE that we will make, and the clear delineation of responsibility and accountability inside VA, will ensure that we deliver projects that are high quality, on time, and on budget – doing right by Veterans and being good stewards of taxpayer dollars.

Sloan D. Gibson

LINKS TO REPORTS (links didn't come along with my cut and paste, sorry)



1 – USACE Evaluation Reports (Denver, New Orleans, Orlando, Las Vegas)

2 – VA Policy Directive on Major Construction Programs

3 – USACE Diagnostic Summary


PLEASE PRODUCE LOCALLY FOR ALL THOSE WHO DO NOT ROUTINELY ACCESS EMAIL DUE TO THEIR SPECIALTIES.

Very interesting

Completely Agree! I think that with two government agencies with eyes on such big budget projects. The likelihood (not saying that it wouldn't happen at all) would go down. Plus, it would keep the USACE busy too.

We can only hope!