Improved Processes for Facility Management at the U.S. Immigration andNaturalization Service

摘要

In support of its challenging mission, the INS owns and leases, either directlyor through the General Services Administration, facilities at more than 600 sites nationwide. The buildings are widely dispersed and may be located in a remote border area or in a city. Furthermore, they range from single, mobile, highway checkpoints to large complexes that house service processing centers, Border Patrol stations, and ports of entry. Finally, the buildings have varied uses. For instance, some are commercial office space, while others resemble prisons and police stations. Managing those facilities, both owned and leased, is a complex undertaking. Not only must INS's facility management (FM) staff keep track of the entire inventory of INS buildings, making sure that they are properly operated and maintained, but it must also plan and oversee each new construction or repair and alteration project. Facility management at INS has been confounded by underfunding in the past and, more recently, by a renewed focus on immigration-related issues that is straining INS facilities, as well as by an outdated and ineffective FM system. INS needs a comprehensive, up-to-date FM system to ensure that it can meet its facility needs well into the future. Toward that end, the Logistics Management Institute identified a number of changes that INS should make that will enable it to capitalize on private-industry successes while preserving the effective parts of its existing system.