DEFENSE INFRASTRUCTURE: DOD Needs to Determine and Use the Most Economical Building Materials and Methods When Acquiring New Permanent Facilities

Abstract

The Army set goals to reduce its estimated construction costs by 15 percent and building timelines by 30 percent, but it did not monitor goal achievement and thus did not know to what extent the goals had been met or whether changes made to its military construction program resulted in actual reductions in facility costs. GAO's review of selected project information showed that the Army did reduce the estimated cost of some facility construction projects and shortened building timelines during fiscal years 2007 through 2009, but it did not meet its overall stated goals. For example, GAO found that the average building timeline for one key measurement (design start to ready for occupancy) was reduced by about 11 percent -- an improvement, but less than the 30 percent goal. The Army discontinued the numerical goals in fiscal year 2010, and Army officials stated that, although the specific goals might not have been achieved, they believed that the Army's efforts were successful in dampening the escalation of Army facilities' costs and would continue to help ensure cost-effective and timely facilities in future years.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA520916

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Army Facilities
  • Business Administration
  • Climate Change Adaptation
  • Construction
  • Construction Materials
  • Cost Estimates
  • Department Of Defense
  • Energy Conservation
  • Environment
  • Environmental Protection
  • Fire Resistant Materials
  • Infrastructure
  • Management Personnel
  • Materials
  • Military Facilities
  • United States
  • United States Government

Readers

  • Facility/Structural Engineering.
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Systems Analysis and Design