GOV’T ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE HITS DOE, NNSA ON COST ESTIMATING

摘要

Problems on major construction projects at the Departmentnof Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administrationnare likely to continue until the agency strengthens its cost estimating practices, Government AccountabilitynOffice Natural Resources and Environment Director DavidnTrimble told a Senate panel this week. Citing major costnand schedule delays on projects like the Uranium ProcessingnFacility, Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement-nNuclear Facility and the Waste Treatment Plant,nTrimble suggested to the Senate Armed Services StrategicnForces Subcommittee that part of the problem stems fromnthe lack of a DOE cost estimating policy for capitalnprojects. He also said that DOE’s project managementnorder doesn’t meet cost-estimating best practices, andnNNSA and DOE cost estimating guidance falls short of thenGAO’s best practices in that area. Both NNSA and EMnremain on the GAO’s High-Risk List for projects exceedingn$750 million earlier this year, and Trimble noted in hisnwritten testimony that seven EM and NNSA projects hadnexperienced increases of $16.5 billion from their originalnestimates, with more cost increases anticipated.