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United States General Accounting Office: 
GAO: 

Testimony: 

Before the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, Committee on 
Appropriations, U.S. Senate: 

For Release on Delivery: 
10:30 a.m., EDT:	
Wednesday, April 17, 2002: 

Architect Of The Capitol: 

Management and Accountability Framework Needed to Lead and Execute 
Change: 

Statement for the Record by J. Christopher Mihm: 
Director, Strategic Issues: 

GAO-02-632T: 

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: 

We are pleased to respond to your request that we provide preliminary 
observations from our ongoing general management review of the 
Architect of the Capitol (AOC). As you know, the Senate and House 
Appropriations Committees mandated this review for completion in 
November 2002. At that time we will provide our final observations and 
recommendations. Upon completion of our review, AOC is to develop a 
management improvement plan to address our recommendations. You asked 
us to focus on certain management shortcomings at AOC that needed 
attention—strategic planning, organizational alignment, strategic 
human capital management, financial management, and information 
technology (IT) management. You also asked us to assess two key 
program areas—worker safety and recycling—both to illustrate the 
management issues we are addressing and to help AOC identify best 
practices and areas for improvement in these important programs. We 
plan to explore project management and budgeting, among other issues, 
in greater depth in the next phase of our review. We have briefed AOC 
on the preliminary observations in this statement and the accompanying 
appendix, which provides additional details on the results of our work. 

We have been working constructively with AOC managers to understand 
their complex operating environment and the long-standing challenges 
they must address. Our observations today are based on a review of 
AOC's legislative authority and internal AOC documents, including 
policies and procedures, AOC consultant reports and internal studies 
on AOC management issues, as well as GAO and other reports on best 
practices for management functions and worker safety and health and 
recycling programs. We also interviewed senior- and mid-level AOC 
managers for each of the management functions and programs we reviewed. 

AOC has demonstrated a commitment to change through the management 
improvements it has planned and under way. For example, AOC has: 

* established routine management meetings to help improve 
communication across organizational boundaries; 

* established and implemented basic policies and procedures in human 
capital, such as a performance evaluation system for non-union AOC 
employees up to GS-15; 

* recently drafted a senior executive performance evaluation system—
informed by our human capital policies and flexibilities—and 
established an employee awards program; 

* added to its professional workforce ranks by hiring new 
jurisdictional superintendents and deputy superintendents and budget 
and accounting officers and creating and filling new positions, such 
as chief financial officer (CFO), facilities manager, worker safety 
specialists, and a facilities planning and development manager; 

* reorganized and took actions to improve worker and fire safety 
programs; and; 

* upgraded and filled key recycling program positions. 

AOC is also revisiting its strategic planning efforts, working with a 
consultant to implement best practices for project management, and 
implementing a new financial management system. 

AOC recognizes that because of the nature of the challenges and 
demands it faces, change will not come quickly or easily. AOC 
therefore must ensure that it has the policies, procedures, and people 
in place to effectively implement the needed changes. That is, to 
serve the Congress, central AOC management needs the capability to 
define goals, set priorities, ensure follow through, monitor progress, 
and establish accountability. Our observations today all focus on this 
basic issue—building the capability to lead and execute change. 
Therefore, we believe that as a first priority, AOC should establish a 
management and accountability framework by: 

* demonstrating top leadership commitment to change; 

* identifying long-term, mission-critical goals through a re-
invigorated strategic planning process tied to serving the Congress; 

* developing annual goals and a system for measuring progress; and; 

* establishing individual accountability and commensurate authority 
for achieving results. 

We recognize that this statement outlines a large and complex agenda 
for change at AOC, and that AOC cannot possibly tackle all these 
changes at once. Nonetheless, this agenda provides the broad landscape 
of issues confronting AOC and is therefore important to crafting a 
comprehensive and integrated approach to addressing AOC's challenges 
and setting appropriate priorities, even though by necessity it will 
have to be phased in over time. By drawing on the full potential of 
its management team, AOC can begin to take immediate steps on a number 
of actions, although we recognize that AOC will be able to implement 
some of these actions more quickly than others. Key actions that AOC 
can consider are highlighted in the following sections and detailed in 
appendix I. 

AOC-Wide Communications Strategy Is Needed to Achieve Mission-Critical 
Goals: 

AOC must develop a communications strategy as an integral part of its 
strategic planning and change management initiatives. Such a strategy 
will be important to providing AOC with the customer and employee 
information and perspective it needs to strike a balance between the 
competing priorities it faces and the results it seeks to achieve. In 
building a communications strategy AOC should consider taking the 
following actions: 

* Provide opportunities for routine employee feedback. 

* Develop congressional protocols. 

* Publicize the impact of highly visible projects. 

* Improve accountability reporting. 

* Measure customer satisfaction. 

Strategic Human Capital Management Can Improve Organizational 
Accountability to Mission-Critical Goals: 

Strategic human capital management can transform AOC into a results-
oriented organization by aligning employee performance with AOC goals 
and by providing the tools to better plan its workforce needs. In 1994 
we reported that AOC's personnel management system did not follow many 
generally accepted principles of modern personnel management.[Footnote 
1] In our current review, we found that AOC has made progress in 
establishing a modern personnel system that is meeting the guidelines 
set forth by the AOC Human Resources Act of 1994 and the Congressional 
Accountability Act of 1995.[Footnote 2] AOC has developed basic 
personnel policies and procedures and streamlined certain human 
resource processes, and has continued to add to its professional 
workforce ranks. These efforts are helping AOC to construct a sound 
foundation on which to build a high-performing organization. As AOC 
moves forward with its human capital efforts, it has opportunities to 
make additional important improvements: 

* Develop capacity to collect and analyze workforce data. 

* Identify current and future workforce needs and develop strategies 
to fill gaps. 

* Establish agencywide core and technical competencies. 

* Link proposed senior executive and existing employee performance 
management systems to mission-critical goals. 

AOC Needs to Continue and Expand Efforts to Improve Financial 
Management: 

In recognition of the critical role a chief financial officer (CFO) 
plays in achieving financial accountability and control, AOC 
established a CFO position and, in January 2002, filled the position. 
The new CFO is a member of the Architect's executive council and 
reports directly to the Architect. Organizationally, the CFO is 
responsible for the activities of AOC's Budget Office, Accounting 
Office, and Financial Systems Office. Included among the many 
challenges facing the new CFO are his responsibilities for (1) 
implementing AOC's new financial management system (Momentum), (2) 
implementing applicable accounting and operational policies and 
procedures, and (3) preparing a complete and auditable set of AOC 
financial statements. 

Among his first actions, the new CFO recently hired staff members to 
fill key budget and accounting officer positions, including additional 
accounting staff members with the general ledger accounting experience 
needed to maintain AOC's new general ledger. He has also focused his 
efforts on bringing AOC's new financial management system on-line. 
While these steps are critical and represent the initial steps to 
improving AOC's financial management and budget functions, much work 
remains to be done. The CFO has also recognized or started work on 
other key issues that need to be addressed in the near term. Building 
on the progress already under way, the new CFO needs to take the 
following actions: 

* Ensure effective implementation of new financial management system. 

* Continue and expand ongoing efforts aimed at strengthening AOC's 
budget formulation and execution and financial accounting and 
reporting across AOC. 

* Model AOC efforts on established best practices of leading 
organizations. 

AOC Needs to Adopt an Agencywide Approach to IT Management: 

Our research of private and public sector organizations that have 
effectively leveraged IT shows that these organizations' executives 
have embraced the central role of IT to mission performance. As such, 
they have adopted a corporate or agencywide approach to managing IT 
under the leadership and control of a chief information officer (CIO), 
who is a full participant in senior executive decision making. 
Additionally, these organizations have implemented certain corporate 
IT management controls such as using a portfolio-based approach to IT 
investment decision making, using an enterprise architecture or 
blueprint to guide and constrain IT investments, following disciplined 
IT system acquisition and development management processes, and 
proactively managing the security of IT assets. 

Our preliminary work shows that AOC has yet to adopt such an approach. 
AOC could greatly benefit from an agencywide approach to managing IT 
under the leadership and control of an empowered CIO. Such an approach 
should, at a minimum, include each of the above IT management controls 
as defined in relevant federal guidance and proven best practices. 
AOC's top leadership will need to consider carefully its environment 
and the scope of its IT investments to determine how best to apply 
this guidance and the best practices to its specific situation. The 
following are the key steps that AOC needs to consider as it seeks to 
more effectively leverage use of IT to improve mission performance: 

* Appoint a CIO to manage IT across the agency. 

* Establish and implement a portfolio-based approach to IT investment 
management. 

* Develop, maintain, and use an enterprise architecture consistent 
with federal guidance and recognized best practices. 

* Establish and implement disciplined processes for managing the 
development and acquisition of information systems. 

* Establish and implement an information security program. 

AOC Could Make Worker Safety Program Improvements More Effective by 
Adopting Certain Best Practices: 

Because of the concerns that the Congress and others raised about 
worker safety at AOC, in 2001, the Architect issued a statement that 
safety is his highest organizational priority. To effectively 
implement the Architect's commitment to safety, and consistent with 
best practices for health and safety programs as described in the 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration's guidance and our work, 
AOC must develop comprehensive and reliable data, provide a clear 
understanding of what the program is trying to accomplish, and how it 
will evaluate results. AOC also needs to examine strengthening the 
accountability relationships between the various safety program 
officials. Best practices also indicate that standardized and 
agencywide policies and procedures must be in place—such as procedures 
that encourage employees to report incidents, accidents and unsafe 
conditions (often called hazards), and procedures to investigate 
causes of accidents to identify why accidents occurred. By gathering 
more comprehensive and reliable data, and developing and consistently 
applying policies and procedures for reporting and investigating 
accidents, injuries, and illnesses, AOC can begin to take a more 
strategic approach to addressing safety issues. For example, better 
information about the type and frequency of injuries and the hazards 
that contribute to them could help AOC establish a risk-based approach 
for addressing the most significant worker safety issues that are 
occurring and for allocating resources. Key actions that AOC should 
consider on worker health and safety can be summarized as follows: 

* Develop more comprehensive and reliable data to set goals and to 
track program improvements. 

* Assess accountability relationships of the safety specialists at the 
central and jurisdictional levels to carry out their work. 

* Establish agencywide policies and procedures for reporting, 
investigating, and tracking worker safety incidents, accidents, and 
hazards. 

AOC Needs to Build on Current Efforts by Adopting a Strategic Approach 
to Recycling: 

Programs that separate and collect recyclable materials from the waste 
stream produce numerous benefits. It is estimated that recycling 1 ton 
of paper saves 17 mature trees, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space, 
7,000 gallons of water, 380 gallons of oil, 4,100 kilowatt hours of 
energy, and 60 pounds of air pollutants. AOC is responsible for 
operating recycling programs for much of the Capitol complex.[Footnote 
3] In recent years, AOC, both centrally and at the jurisdiction level, 
has taken steps to improve the overall effectiveness of its recycling 
programs. To maximize the benefits derived from its recycling program, 
AOC must build on the steps it has taken to improve the effectiveness 
of its programs by taking a more strategic approach: 

* Revisit and clarify recycling mission and goals. 

* Develop a performance measurement, monitoring, and evaluation
system that supports accomplishing recycling mission and goals. 

* Reexamine roles and responsibilities of AOC recycling program staff 
members. 

* Implement best practices to improve performance. 

Key Management Options Require Further Exploration: 

Adopting a vigorous approach to strategic planning and holding 
managers and employees accountable for achieving organizationwide 
goals will go a long way toward helping AOC become a high-performing 
organization. However, further measures may be needed; we plan to 
explore other options with AOC and its key congressional customers in 
the next stage of our management review. To strengthen AOC's executive 
decision-making capacity and accountability, we are exploring options 
to better define the roles and responsibilities for certain key 
functions and to clarify some accountability relationships. For 
example, a chief operating officer could be responsible for major long-
term management, cultural transformation, and stewardship 
responsibilities within AOC. Additional options are discussed in 
appendix I. 

We look forward to continuing our constructive relationship with AOC. 
In the worker safety and recycling areas, we will continue to provide 
on-the-spot advice on safety hazards and recycling practices observed 
on our site visits. For example, we identified several safety hazards 
at the Capitol Power Plant. We brought these potential hazards to the 
attention of the acting chief engineer of the plant, who said that he 
would act upon our advice. We also suggested to him that the power 
plant could start a recycling program for its office waste consistent 
with the Botanic Garden's program, which the plant is starting to 
implement. To support management improvements that we are recommending 
or options we plan to explore, we have provided best practices 
guidance and we will, at the invitation of AOC, brief AOC's senior 
managers on best management practices in the public as well as private 
sectors. 

In summary, we recognize that AOC faces long-standing management 
challenges to becoming a high-performing organization, and that it has 
many initiatives under way for improvement. As a first step in 
addressing these challenges, AOC must create a management and 
accountability framework that provides a foundation of mission-
critical goals from which other efforts can flow, and clarifies 
organizational lines of authority and accountability. We will continue 
to work constructively with AOC, this subcommittee, the House 
Committee on Appropriations and its Subcommittee on Legislative, and 
other congressional stakeholders to support this framework, as well as 
to help AOC identify other priorities for improvement. 

[End of section] 

Appendix I: Management and Accountability Framework Needed to Lead and 
Execute Change: 

This appendix discusses our preliminary observations on strategic 
planning, organizational alignment, strategic human capital 
management, financial management, and information technology (IT) 
management. It also discusses two key program areas—worker safety and 
recycling—both to illustrate the management issues we are addressing 
and to help AOC identify best practices and areas for improvement in 
these important programs. 

AOC Facing Longstanding Management Challenges in Complex Operating
Environment: 

AOC's general mission is to maintain and care for the buildings and 
grounds located in the Capitol Hill complex. The historic nature and 
high-profile use of many of these buildings create a complex 
environment in which to carry out this mission. For example, the U.S. 
Capitol building is, at once, a national capitol, museum, office 
building, ceremonial site, meeting center, media base, and tourist 
attraction. In making structural or other physical changes, AOC must 
consider the historical significance and the effect on each of these 
many uses. Further, AOC must perform its duties in an environment that 
requires balancing the divergent needs of congressional leadership, 
committees, individual members of the Congress, congressional staffs, 
and the visiting public. The challenges of operating in this 
environment are compounded by the events of September 11, 2001, and 
their aftermath, especially the October 2001 discovery of anthrax 
bacteria on Capitol Hill, and the resulting need for increased 
security and safety. 

In fiscal year 2002, AOC operated with a budget of $426 million, which 
included $237 million for capital expenditures. Organizationally, AOC 
has a centralized staff that performs administrative functions; what 
AOC refers to as "jurisdictions" handle their own day-to-day 
operations. These jurisdictions include the Senate Office Buildings, 
the House Office Buildings, the U.S. Capitol Buildings, the Library of 
Congress Buildings and Grounds, the Supreme Court Buildings and 
Grounds, the Capitol Grounds, the Capitol Power Plant, and the U.S. 
Botanic Garden. There are over 2,300 employees in AOC; nearly one out 
of every three employees is a member of a union. 

New requirements to meet long-standing labor and safety laws have 
added to the complexity of AOC operations. For example, the 
Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) applied 11 civil 
rights, labor, and workplace laws to AOC as well as other legislative 
branch agencies. In particular, meeting the obligations of labor laws, 
such as the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the Federal Service 
Labor-Management Relations Statute, while overcoming a history of poor 
labor-management relations has been a struggle. CAA also requires AOC 
to meet standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 
1970, which applied new life and fire safety codes, as well as other 
building codes, to the agency. CAA established the Office of 
Compliance (OOC) to enforce the provisions of the act through 
inspections, investigations, and prosecution of potential violations. 
In addition, OOC provides education to employees and employing 
offices, and administers dispute resolution procedures if violations 
are found. 

AOC Has Taken Steps to Begin Addressing Challenges: 

AOC has a number of initiatives completed and under way to begin 
addressing its challenges and improving its performance and customer 
and client satisfaction. The following points highlight some of these 
initiatives. For example, AOC has: 

* established routine management meetings to help improve 
communication across organizational boundaries; 

* established and implemented basic policies and procedures in human 
capital, such as a performance evaluation system for AOC's non-union 
employees up to GS-15; 

* recently drafted a senior executive performance evaluation system—
informed by our human capital policies and flexibilities—and 
established an employee awards program; 

* added to its professional workforce ranks by hiring new 
jurisdictional superintendents and deputy superintendents and budget 
and accounting officers and creating and filling new positions, such 
as chief financial officer (CFO), facilities manager, worker safety 
specialists, and a facilities planning and development manager; 

* reorganized and took actions to improve worker and fire safety 
programs; and; 

* upgraded and filled key recycling program positions. 

AOC is also in the process of: 

* revisiting its strategic planning efforts, 

* working with a consultant to implement best practices for project 
management, and, 

* implementing a new financial management system. 

The initiatives provide important aspects of a needed foundation for 
AOC to address its current and emerging challenges. To be successful, 
AOC needs to continue these efforts and take a number of other steps 
to become a high-performing organization committed to results, service 
quality, and customer satisfaction. 

Building Management and Accountability Framework to Lead and Execute 
Change: 

Key Actions for Management and Accountability Framework: 

* Continue to demonstrate top leadership commitment to change. 

* Identify and implement mission-critical goals for key results 
through strategic planning. 

* Develop annual goals and measure performance. 

* Create clear lines of accountability for achieving results. 

AOC needs to build on its current efforts to create a management and 
accountability framework and establish priorities for action. This 
framework involves (1) continuing to demonstrate top leadership 
commitment to change, (2) integrating and building on existing 
strategic planning efforts to identify and communicate AOC's long-
term, mission-critical goals to external as well as internal 
stakeholders, (3) developing annual goals and measuring performance, 
and (4) creating clear lines of accountability for achieving results, 
including satisfying customers. AOC performs its activities without 
the guidance of an agencywide strategic plan for serving the Congress 
or means to hold individuals accountable for accomplishing its mission-
critical goals. AOC also operates without written standards or 
policies and procedures in critical areas, such as financial 
management, IT management, and facilities management. The absence of 
clearly defined goals and performance measures at AOC hampers the 
Architect's efforts to send clear and consistent messages throughout 
the organization about his priorities and performance expectations. 
Likewise, it hinders the Architect's ability to communicate in a 
transparent way to the Congress what the agency is doing, how well it 
is performing, and where it can improve. 

Demonstrate Top Leadership Commitment to Change: 

One of the most important elements of successful management 
improvement initiatives is the demonstrated, sustained commitment of 
top leaders to change.[Footnote 4] Top leadership involvement and 
clear lines of accountability for making management improvements are 
critical to ensuring that the difficult changes that need to be made 
are effectively implemented throughout the organization. 

In looking at the experiences of leading organizations that were 
successfully pursuing management reforms, we found that top leadership 
practices were critical to making needed changes. For example, 
successful leaders create a set of mission-related processes and 
systems within which to operate, but they give their managers 
extensive authority to pursue organizational goals while using those 
processes and systems. They also integrate the implementation of 
separate organizational improvement efforts into a coherent unified 
effort. The unwavering commitment of top leadership in an agency is 
especially important to overcoming natural resistance to change, 
marshaling the resources needed in many cases to improve management, 
and building and maintaining an organizationwide commitment to new 
ways of doing business. 

Refocus and Integrate Strategic Planning Efforts to Identify and 
Implement Mission-Critical Goals for Key Results: 

Since 1997, AOC and a number of its subsidiary offices and 
jurisdictions have attempted to implement strategic planning 
processes. In 1997, the Architect led the first effort to produce an 
AOC-wide strategic plan that laid out AOC's mission, vision, core 
values, strategic priorities, and goals and objectives. According to 
AOC officials, turnover in key staff and inability to reach agreement 
on how to measure performance led AOC management to discontinue that 
effort. More recently AOC has shifted to a scaled-back approach that 
focuses on tasks to be completed in a number of key priority areas: 
(1) develop a process and establish realistic goals and priorities, 
(2) improving employee support by, for example, improving 
communications, (3) safety, (4) project delivery, and (5) quality 
assurance. Similarly, a number of business units within AOC, such as 
the human resources division, the inspector general, and the House 
Office Buildings jurisdiction have developed their own strategic 
plans, and the Capitol Buildings jurisdiction is developing a new 
master plan for the Capitol, but these plans do not flow directly from 
an AOC-wide plan. According to senior AOC managers, AOC plans to place 
renewed emphasis on organizationwide strategic planning beginning 
immediately. 

We strongly endorse AOC's renewed emphasis on strategic planning. 
However, in revisiting strategic planning, it is crucial that AOC move 
beyond a focus on actions to be completed to a broader focus on the 
mission-critical, long-term goals needed to serve the Congress. These 
long-term goals should also provide the starting point and serve as a 
unifying framework for AOC's various business unit and jurisdictional 
planning efforts. Such an effort would position AOC to answer 
questions such as what fundamental results does AOC want to achieve, 
what are its long-term goals, and what strategies will it employ to 
achieve those goals. 

Because a major focus of AOC's mission is the stewardship of existing 
Capitol complex facilities and the design and construction of new 
ones, another important planning initiative that should flow from a 
strategic plan is a strategic facilities plan, which is the standard 
industry best practice. A strategic facilities plan would capture in 
one document all the preventive maintenance, renovation, and 
construction activities needed to accomplish AOC's facilities goals. 
The document would also show the timetable, staffing, and budget 
needed to implement the plan. In addition, a strategic facilities plan 
would provide AOC an important tool for communicating to its 
congressional stakeholders and others the resources needed to 
accomplish its facilities goals and better illustrate, for example, 
the effect of undertaking new projects on the accomplishment of the 
goals. 

Although a variety of management activities, such as project 
management and budgeting, are needed to develop and support a 
strategic facilities plan, an important first step is to perform a 
condition assessment of all facilities maintained by AOC. According to 
industry guidance,[Footnote 5] organizations use condition assessments 
to identify existing deficiencies they need to address. Although AOC 
has begun to assess the condition of the Capitol building, we 
encourage AOC to complete this assessment and then to begin 
assessments of the remaining buildings as soon as resources are 
available. We plan to explore project management and budgeting in 
greater depth in the next phase of our review. 

Develop Annual Goals and Measure Performance: 

Another key action AOC needs to take is developing annual performance 
goals that provide a connection between the long-term strategic goals 
in the strategic plan and the day-to-day activities of managers and 
staff. Measuring performance allows an organization to track the 
progress it is making toward its goals, gives managers crucial 
information on which to base their organizational and management 
decisions, and creates powerful incentives to influence organizational 
and individual behavior. 

Leading organizations we have studied that were successful in 
measuring their performance generally had applied two practices. 
[Footnote 6] First, they developed measures that were (1) tied to 
program goals and demonstrated the degree to which the desired results 
were achieved, (2) limited to the vital few that were considered 
essential to producing data for decision making, (3) responsive to 
multiple priorities, and (4) responsibility-linked to establish 
accountability for results. Second, the agencies recognized the cost 
and effort involved in gathering and analyzing data and made sure that 
the data they did collect were sufficiently complete, accurate, and 
consistent to be useful in decision making. 

Developing measures that respond to multiple priorities is of 
particular importance for programs operating in dynamic environments 
where mission requirements must be carefully balanced. This is the 
case for AOC where the role of protecting and preserving the historic 
facilities under its control may occasionally conflict with its role 
of providing maintenance and renovation services to occupants who use 
the facilities to conduct congressional business. For example, 
according to AOC officials, following elections, new members of the 
Congress may ask AOC to modify office suites containing historic, 
architectural features. In those cases, AOC must balance the members' 
needs for functional office design with its responsibility for 
protecting the architectural integrity of the rooms. Consequently, 
organizations must weigh their mission requirements and priorities 
against each other to avoid distorting program performance. AOC could 
better gauge its success in this environment by first employing a 
balanced set of measures that encompasses its diverse roles, such as 
maintaining historic facilities and satisfying customers and then 
benchmarking its results both internally—across its jurisdictions—as 
well as against other leading organizations with comparable facility 
management operations. 

Provide Results-Oriented Basis for Individual Accountability and 
Authority to Act: 

The danger to any management reform is that it can become a hollow, 
paper-driven exercise when management improvement initiatives are not 
integrated into the day-to-day activities of the organization. We 
recently testified that a critical success factor for creating a 
results-oriented culture is a performance management system that 
creates a "line of sight" showing how individual employees can 
contribute to overall organizational goals.[Footnote 7] Agencies that 
effectively implement such systems must first align agency leaders' 
performance expectations with organizational goals and then cascade 
performance expectations to other organizational levels. These 
agencies must also seek to ensure that their performance management 
systems are not merely once or twice yearly expectation-setting and 
appraisal tools, but help manage the organizations on a day-to-day 
basis. Thus, an effective performance management system provides a 
vehicle for top leadership to translate its priorities and goals into 
direct and specific commitments that senior managers will be expected 
to meet. 

AOC has taken an important first step in this regard by drafting a set 
of policies and procedures for managing the performance of its senior 
executives.[Footnote 8] Completing and implementing this effort will 
be critical to the success of AOC's strategic planning initiative and 
would be in line with recent executive branch reforms. Five of the six 
critical job elements that form the basis of the senior performance 
management plan are structured around the Office of Personnel 
Management's (OPM) Executive Core qualifications, which OPM encourages 
for government executives. The five critical job elements 
corresponding to OPM's core qualifications are results driven, leading 
change, leading people, business acumen, and building 
coalitions/communications. AOC has added equal employment opportunity 
as a sixth critical job element. 

In particular, AOC's proposed "results driven" job element would 
provide the basis for the results-oriented individual accountability 
that we discuss. The first part of this job element generally deals 
with achieving agency and organizational objectives, while the second 
part requires each senior manager to identify individual areas of 
accountability for the accomplishment of agency goals and objectives. 

One component of AOC's draft senior executive performance management 
system is the use of performance agreements. These agreements provide 
an unparalleled opportunity for AOC to drive the strategic and program 
performance goals it sets directly into daily AOC operations. For 
example, the individual performance agreements of AOC facility 
managers could explicitly reflect AOC-wide goals for service quality, 
worker safety, and customer satisfaction flowing from its strategic 
plan, thus allowing for unambiguous links between organizational goals 
and individual performance, accountability, bonuses, and other rewards. 

We have evaluated the experience of several executive branch agencies 
with the use of performance agreements to align executive performance 
with agency goals and found a number of benefits of direct importance 
to achieving improved performance at AOC: 

* Strengthened alignment of results-oriented goals with daily 
operations: Performance agreements define accountability for specific 
goals and help to align daily operations with agencies' results-
oriented, programmatic goals. 

* Fostered collaboration across organizational boundaries: Performance 
agreements encourage executives to work across traditional 
organizational boundaries or "silos" by focusing on the achievement of 
results-oriented goals. 

* Enhanced opportunities to discuss and routinely use performance 
information to make program improvements: Performance agreements 
facilitate communication about organizational performance, and provide 
opportunities to pinpoint improved performance. 

* Provided results-oriented basis for individual accountability: 
Performance agreements provide results-oriented performance 
information to serve as the basis for executive performance 
evaluations. 

* Maintained continuity of program goals during leadership 
transitions: Performance agreements help to maintain a consistent 
focus on a set of broad programmatic priorities during changes in 
leadership.[Footnote 9] 

A results-oriented approach to accountability with the use of 
performance agreements that are directly tied to AOC goals can serve 
as a basis for considering the authorities and resources managers and 
their teams need in order to achieve results. We have reported that 
high-performing organizations seek to involve and engage employees by 
devolving authority to lower levels of the organizations. Employees 
are more likely to support changes when they have the necessary amount 
of authority and flexibility—along with commensurate accountability 
and incentives—to advance the agency's goals and improve performance. 
Allowing employees to bring their expertise and judgment to bear in 
meeting their responsibilities can help agencies capitalize on their 
employees' talents, leading to more effective and efficient operations 
and improved customer service.[Footnote 10] 

Management and Accountability Framework Provides Context for 
Addressing Other Major Management Challenges: 

The management and accountability framework we have described provides 
a context for addressing other long-standing management challenges AOC 
faces. These include (1) communicating and obtaining buy-in on AOC's 
mission, goals, and strategies from key internal and external 
stakeholders, (2) strategic human capital management, (3) financial 
management, and (4) IT management. 

AOC-Wide Communications Strategy Is Needed to Achieve Mission-Critical 
Goals: 

Key Actions for Communication Strategy: 

* Provide opportunities for routine employee feedback. 

* Develop congressional protocols. 

* Publicize the impact of highly visible projects. 

* Improve accountability reporting. 

* Measure customer satisfaction. 

For successful implementation of strategic planning and change 
management, AOC must develop a communications strategy for its 
internal and external customers. Communications is an integral part of 
striking a better balance between the results AOC is trying to achieve 
and improving its employee and customer communication and 
participation. 

AOC recognizes the need to strengthen its communications and has 
several efforts under way. In a May 2001 discussion among senior 
managers on AOC's planning and priority setting, the senior managers 
discussed the need to broaden and improve internal communications. As 
a result, the Architect implemented a series of regular meetings for 
decision making and routine sharing of information. These meetings 
include regular staff meetings, management council meetings (quarterly 
meetings of AOC's senior managers to address agency business issues 
and priorities), and superintendent meetings (monthly meetings of 
AOC's superintendents who discuss common issues and experiences across 
AOC's jurisdictions). In addition to these routine meetings, we 
believe that AOC could strengthen its internal communications by 
developing a communications strategy that will help AOC's line 
employees understand the connection between what they do on a day-to-
day basis and AOC's goals and expectations, as well as to seek 
employee feedback and develop goals for improvement. One way of 
implementing such a strategy is to conduct routine employee feedback 
surveys and/or focus groups. In addition, AOC could adopt a "lessons 
learned" and internal best practices approach, to encourage and reward 
AOC employees who share and implement best practices across the 
various jurisdictions, teams, and projects. For example, we found that 
the safety specialist for the Capitol Buildings jurisdiction prepares 
a monthly newsletter that provides a summary of the accidents and 
injuries that have occurred in the jurisdiction and provides guidance 
on how to avoid the most prevalent injuries, but the practice had not 
been shared outside the jurisdiction. AOC management should actively 
encourage the sharing of such practices to determine if AOC could 
achieve greater performance by duplicating them in other jurisdictions. 

AOC also must improve its external communications and outreach in a 
number of areas, including (1) developing congressional protocols,
(2) publicizing the impact of highly visible projects, (3) improving 
its accountability reporting, and (4) measuring customer satisfaction 
with its services. As a first step, we would encourage AOC to consider 
developing congressional protocols, which would document agreements 
between the Congress and AOC on what committees and members can expect 
when they request AOC's services. The protocols would ensure that AOC 
deals with its congressional customers using clearly defined, 
consistently applied, and transparent policies and procedures. 
Congressional protocols would also enable AOC to better cope with the 
competing demands for its services by helping the organization set 
priorities for allocating its resources. As you know, working closely 
with the Congress and after careful pilot testing, we implemented 
congressional protocols in 1999. Our experience using them as a 
transparent, documented, and consistent way to set priorities has been 
very positive for us as well as our clients. 

AOC could build on its communication efforts in high profile and other 
key projects that affect the broader community of AOC customers. AOC 
has recently expanded its efforts to keep its external customers—
including the Congress, the Capitol Hill community, the public, and 
the media—routinely informed and educated on the planning, design, and 
construction of some high-visibility projects. For example, AOC hired 
a communications officer and developed a communications plan for the 
construction of the Capitol Visitors Center (CVC). AOC is employing a 
variety of informational tools to achieve its communications goals on 
this project. In addition to developing a Web site, the communications 
officer circulates a weekly summary of the status of construction work 
on the CVC project to AOC's key congressional customers. Because 
maintenance work on the Capitol Dome will also be highly visible, the 
status of this project was recently added to the summary. 

AOC also needs to identify and address expectations gaps in the type 
of information and frequency of accountability reporting that would be 
most useful to its congressional customers. Since 1965, AOC has 
reported semiannually to the Congress on its detailed expenditures, 
such as for salaries and maintenance supplies. As directed by the 
Senate Appropriations Committee, in February 2002, AOC provided the 
committee the first of its quarterly reports indicating the status of 
all ongoing capital projects. One option that we are considering to 
make AOC's accountability reporting more useful is to require AOC to 
notify the Congress if certain predefined, risk-based "reportable 
events" occur that require prompt attention. Reportable events 
notification is not intended to be a substitute for a more 
comprehensive periodic reporting of financial and program performance, 
but rather is to draw attention to specific events needing immediate 
attention. In such an approach, AOC and its congressional customers 
would reach agreement on the type of information needed on key 
projects and on what events would warrant reporting, such as 
percentage of milestones slipped, percentage over budget, or both. 
[Footnote 11] 

AOC's communications strategy should also include tools for gauging 
customer satisfaction with its services. AOC should develop a more 
comprehensive and routine approach to obtaining customer feedback. For 
example, AOC is working on a customer feedback survey for custodial 
services. But we believe AOC could broaden and deepen these efforts to 
address all services provided by its jurisdictions. AOC could also 
learn from the efforts of the chief administrative officer of the 
House of Representatives who told us that he recently hired a 
consulting firm to develop a uniform customer satisfaction survey for 
his customers. Consistent with an effort to develop congressional 
protocols, AOC could also develop protocols for customer service so 
that customers know whom to contact for services and what to expect. 

Strategic Human Capital Management Can Improve Organizational 
Accountability to Mission-Critical Goals: 

Key Actions for Strategic Human Capital Management: 

* Develop capacity to collect and analyze workforce data. 

* Identify current and future workforce needs and develop strategies 
to fill gaps. 

* Establish agencywide core and technical competencies. 

* Link proposed senior executive and existing employee performance 
management systems to mission-critical goals. 

Strategic human capital management can transform AOC into a results-
oriented organization by aligning employee performance with AOC goals 
and by providing the tools to better plan its workforce needs. In 1994 
we reported that AOC's personnel management system did not follow many 
generally accepted principles of modern personnel management.[Footnote 
12] In our current review, we found that AOC has made progress in 
establishing a modern personnel system that is meeting the guidelines 
set forth by the AOC Human Resources Act of 1994 and CAA.[Footnote 13] 
AOC has developed basic personnel policies and procedures and 
streamlined certain human resource processes, and has continued to add 
to its professional workforce ranks. These efforts are helping AOC to 
construct a sound foundation on which to build a high-performing 
organization. 

Specifically, AOC has made the following improvements in its 
management of human capital: 

* Created and administered a formal written, performance appraisal 
system for its General Schedule (up to GS-15) and Wage Grade employees 
(non-union) and, as noted elsewhere, drafted performance appraisal 
policies for its senior executives. 

* Implemented an employee rewards and recognition program (Architect's 
Awards program) and dedicated additional resources to its employee 
training programs. 

* Established (1) procedures intended to produce a competitive merit-
based system for hiring, promoting, and assigning employees, (2) Equal 
Employment Opportunity, Conciliation, and Employee Assistance 
programs, and (3) a position classification system. 

* Streamlined its job recruitment and hiring processes, and is 
currently refining certain personnel action processes. 

* Added to its professional workforce ranks by hiring new 
jurisdictional superintendents and deputy superintendents, and 
creating new positions, such as a CFO, a facilities manager, worker 
safety specialists, and a facilities planning and development manager. 

AOC can build on the progress it has made in human capital management 
by incorporating the principles embodied in our Model of Strategic 
Human Capital Management.[Footnote 14] We designed this model based on 
the human capital practices of leading public and private 
organizations to help agency leaders manage their people and integrate 
human capital considerations into daily decision making to help 
achieve program results. AOC should especially consider applying the 
practices contained in two of the four cornerstones of the model: 
strategic human capital planning and results-oriented organizational 
cultures. 

Collecting and analyzing data are fundamental building blocks for 
measuring the effectiveness of human capital approaches in support of 
the mission and goals of an agency. AOC needs to develop a fact-based, 
electronic approach to its management information systems and data 
sources to allow for accurate and reliable information across a range 
of human capital activities. The ability to gather reliable data will 
greatly enhance AOC's ability to acquire, develop, and retain talent, 
while allowing it to effectively plan for workforce needs. 

Based on mission-critical agency goals, AOC also needs to identify its 
current and future workforce needs and create strategies for filling 
any gaps. As part of this workforce planning effort, AOC should 
conduct an employee skills inventory to determine a baseline and to 
address gaps in skills needed and skills available. This workforce 
analysis will also help AOC to create a succession planning program. 
For instance, if AOC is to develop reliable project cost estimates to 
support budgeting and financial and project management, the designated 
workforce must have the necessary skills to complete these functions. 
AOC would then need to: 

* determine how many project management employees it needs to 
accomplish its project management goals, 

* assess the skills of the employees currently available to do this 
work, 

* determine the gap in the number of skilled employees needed to do 
this work, 

* develop a training and recruitment plan for filling the gap, and, 

* create a succession plan to manage project management employees 
exiting the organization. 

We also suggest that AOC establish agencywide core and technical 
competencies-—reflecting its core values[Footnote 15]-—that would form 
the basis of a best-in-class facilities management environment. The 
competencies would also relate to mission-critical goals that should 
be cascaded throughout AOC in its performance management system. AOC 
competencies can also help to provide the direction for future 
employee selection, promotion, training initiatives, and succession 
planning efforts. For example, AOC's Human Resource Management 
Division (HRMD) has made progress in developing a competency model for 
its own staff. HRMD intends to use this competency model to "reinforce 
its strategic focus" and to outline "the workforce requirements 
necessary to develop a highly competent cadre of HR [human resources] 
staff dedicated and committed to providing high-quality, timely and 
responsive human resources services to managers and employees of the 
AOC."[Footnote 16] Like HRMD, other AOC units need to adopt competency 
models reflecting their own individual needs, thus enabling the agency 
to align its workforce skills and behaviors with the its mission-
critical goals. 

As discussed elsewhere, once AOC has developed mission-critical annual 
goals it should incorporate them into the "results driven" job element 
AOC has proposed as part of its new senior executive performance 
management system. The existing staff-level performance appraisal 
system, Performance Communication and Evaluation System (PCES), 
consists of four evaluation areas: work results, interactions with 
others, judgment, and safety; a fifth evaluation area for supervisors 
is supervision and management. As an interim step, the four evaluation 
areas could be linked to overall agency goals to increase assurance 
that AOC's mission will be met. In the longer term, AOC could 
strengthen individual accountability for achieving organizational 
goals by thoroughly reexamining PCES to incorporate core and technical 
competencies that would be linked to these goals. 

AOC Needs to Continue and Expand Efforts to Improve Financial 
Management: 

Key Actions for Financial Management: 

* Ensure effective implementation of new financial management system. 

* Continue and expand ongoing efforts aimed at strengthening AOC's 
budget formulation and execution and financial accounting and 
reporting across AOC. 

* Model AOC efforts on established best practices of leading 
organizations. 

AOC faces significant challenges in building sound financial 
management and budget functions. Accurate and reliable budget 
formulation and execution and financial accounting and reporting are 
key functions that form the foundation of financial control and 
accountability. Historically, the AOC has lacked reliable budgets for 
both projects and operations and has not prepared auditable financial 
statements. 

In recognition of the critical role a CFO plays in achieving financial 
accountability and control, AOC established a CFO position and, in 
January 2002, filled the position. The new CFO is a member of the 
Architect's executive council and reports directly to the Architect. 
Organizationally, the CFO is responsible for the activities of AOC's 
Budget Office, Accounting Office, and Financial Systems Office. 
Included among the many challenges facing the new CFO are his 
responsibilities for (1) implementing AOC's new financial management 
system (Momentum), (2) implementing applicable accounting and 
operational policies and procedures, and (3) preparing a complete and 
auditable set of AOC financial statements. 

Among his first actions, the new CFO recently hired staff members to 
fill key budget and accounting officer positions, including additional 
accounting staff members with the general ledger accounting experience 
needed to maintain AOC's new general ledger. He has also focused his 
efforts on bringing AOC's new financial management system on-line. 
While these steps are critical and represent the initial steps to 
improving AOC's financial management and budget functions, much work 
remains to be done. The CFO has also recognized or started work on 
other key issues that need to be addressed in the near term, including 
the following: 

* Providing continued training and support for using the new financial 
management system, which began operating AOC-wide on April 2, 2002. 

* Developing procedures and controls to ensure that accurate and 
reliable data are produced by the new financial management system. 

* Addressing systematically recommendations made by the AOC inspector 
general and various consultants for improving internal controls, as we 
recommended during our review. 

* Establishing a credible budget formulation and execution process 
that includes an effective acquisition strategy to develop operating 
and capital budget information and to help ensure reliable project 
cost estimates (including 100 percent design, current working 
estimates, and reliable full-time equivalent information). 

* Developing and implementing policies and procedures needed to 
properly account for and report financial information, especially 
accounting policies needed to properly report and control AOC's assets. 

* Establishing inventory management and control policies and 
procedures that help ensure accurate and useful information, provide 
adequate safeguards over inventory, and facilitate an annual inventory 
and financial reporting. 

* Assessing human capital needs, which includes identifying the skills 
and competencies needed for AOC's financial management workforce and 
providing for continuing training to ensure a financial team with the 
right mix of skills and competencies. 

* Integrating project-related financial information from the new 
financial management system with the related financial information 
maintained in the Project Information Center system to enhance 
completeness and accuracy of financial and budget information on AOC's 
projects. 

The AOC's CFO has endorsed the use of our executive guide on best 
practices in financial management as a road map for these and other 
needed improvements.[Footnote 17] The CFO acknowledges the challenges 
that lie ahead and has established a goal for AOC to prepare auditable 
agencywide financial statements for the first time in fiscal year 
2004. As we continue to review AOC's financial management and budget 
formulation and execution, we plan to look more closely at the 
processes and usefulness of AOC's financial and budget information, as 
well as project cost estimation to complement our assessment of 
project management at AOC. 

AOC Needs to Adopt an Agencywide Approach to IT Management: 

Key Actions for IT Management: 

* Appoint a chief information officer to manage IT across the agency. 

* Establish and implement a portfolio-based approach to IT investment 
management. 

* Develop, maintain, and use an enterprise architecture consistent 
with federal guidance and recognized best practices. 

* Establish and implement disciplined processes for managing the 
development and acquisition of information systems. 

* Establish and implement an information security program. 

IT can be a valuable tool in achieving an organization's mission 
objectives. Accordingly, in fiscal year 2001, AOC obligated about $7.9 
million for IT-related activities. For example, AOC uses the Computer 
Aided Facilities Management System (CAFM) to automate work order 
requests and fulfillment for ongoing maintenance of the Capitol and 
the surrounding grounds. Moreover, the Records Management System 
archives available architectural drawings pertaining to the U.S. 
Capitol, Library of Congress, Botanic Garden, and other buildings. 

Our research of private and public sector organizations that have 
effectively leveraged IT shows that these organizations' executives 
have embraced the central role of IT to mission performance. As such, 
they have adopted a corporate or agencywide approach to managing IT 
under the leadership and control of a chief information officer (CIO), 
who is a full participant in senior executive decision making. 
Additionally, these organizations have implemented certain corporate 
IT management controls such as using a portfolio-based approach to IT 
investment decision making, using an enterprise architecture or 
blueprint to guide and constrain IT investments, following disciplined 
IT system acquisition and development management processes, and 
proactively managing the security of IT assets. 

Our preliminary work shows that AOC has yet to adopt such an approach. 
AOC could greatly benefit from an agencywide approach to managing IT 
under the leadership and control of an empowered CIO. Such an approach 
should, at a minimum, include each of the above IT management controls 
as defined in relevant federal guidance and proven best practices. 
AOC's top leadership will need to consider carefully its environment 
and the scope of its IT investments to determine how best to apply 
this guidance and the best practices to its specific situation. 

CIO. Our research of private and public sector organizations shows 
that instituting an effective CIO organization begins with 
understanding IT's vital role in accomplishing mission objectives and 
positioning the CIO for success.[Footnote 18] It also identified a 
number of practices and strategies that senior managers in leading 
organizations use to establish their CIO positions to effectively meet 
business needs. These include establishing the CIO as a full 
participant in executive decision making; clearly defining the roles, 
responsibilities, and accountabilities of the CIO; matching the CIO 
position to the specific needs of the agency, as determined by the 
agency head based on the agency's mission and strategic plan; and 
ensuring that the CIO has the right technical and management skills to 
meet business needs. 

AOC does not have a CIO or senior-level executive to manage IT across 
the agency. AOC has a director of information resources management who 
is neither a full member of the executive management team nor a 
participant in senior executive decision making. Without a CIO or 
other senior-level executive to manage its IT, AOC's IT does not have 
the substantive leadership, full-time attention, and consistent 
direction to effectively optimize mission performance across the 
agency. 

To address AOC's need for an effective CIO, we recommend that the 
Architect establish a CIO and position the CIO for success by 
implementing the practices referenced in this testimony and further 
discussed in our best practices guide.[Footnote 19] 

Investment Management. Our best practices guide, based on research of 
private and public sector organizations that effectively manage their 
IT investments, outlines a portfolio-based approach to IT investment 
decision making that includes processes, practices, and activities for 
continually and consistently selecting, controlling, and evaluating 
competing IT investment options in a way that promotes the greatest 
value to the strategic interest of the organization.[Footnote 20] The 
first step toward establishing such an approach is putting in place 
foundational, project-level control and selection processes. 

To do this, the organization needs to establish and implement 
processes and practices for (1) operating an IT investment board 
responsible for selecting, controlling, and evaluating IT investments, 
(2) providing effective oversight for ongoing IT projects throughout 
all phases of their life cycles, (3) identifying, tracking, and 
managing IT resources, (4) ensuring that each IT project supports the 
organization's business needs, and (5) establishing criteria for 
selecting new IT proposals. Once the organization has established 
these project-specific control and selection processes, it should move 
to considering each new investment as part of an integrated portfolio 
of investments that collectively contribute to mission goals and 
objectives. To do this, the organization needs to establish and 
implement processes and practices for (1) developing and implementing 
criteria to select investments that will best support the 
organization's strategic goals, objectives, and mission, (2) using 
these criteria to consistently analyze and rank all IT investments, 
(3) ensuring that the optimal IT investment portfolio with manageable 
risks and returns is selected and funded, and (4) overseeing each IT 
investment within the portfolio to ensure that it achieves its cost, 
benefit, schedule, and risk expectations. 

AOC has not implemented a portfolio-based approach to IT investment 
management. The director of information resources management proposed 
a high-level committee structure for selecting IT investments across 
AOC about 2 years ago. The proposed structure included an AOC IT 
Strategy Council, composed of the director and AOC executive 
management, to rank and approve agencywide IT investments, as well as 
an IT Business Planning Committee, composed of both IT and business 
representatives, to evaluate IT projects based on financial, business, 
and risk factors and recommend projects to the IT Strategy Council for 
investment. However, the director stated that AOC leadership has yet 
to adopt the proposal. While the proposal is a positive first step, it 
does not address many of the critical elements of an effective IT 
investment management process, as outlined in our best practices 
guidance. Without an effective investment management process, AOC does 
not know whether its IT investments are commensurate with cost and 
risk and whether they are superior to alternative investment 
alternatives. 

To strengthen its investment management capability, we recommend that 
AOC develop and implement an IT investment management process. In 
doing so, we recommend that the Architect develop a plan for 
developing and implementing the investment management processes we 
describe and that are also outlined in our IT investment management 
guide.[Footnote 21] At a minimum, the plan should specify measurable 
goals and time frames, rank initiatives, and define a management 
structure for directing and controlling the improvements. 

Enterprise Architecture. As defined in federal guidance, and as 
practiced by leading public and private sector organizations, an 
enterprise architecture, or blueprint, guides and constrains IT 
investments and defines, both in logical terms (including business 
functions and applications, work locations, information needs, and 
users and the interrelationships among these variables) and in 
technical terms (including IT hardware, software, data communications, 
and security) how the organization operates today, how it intends to 
operate tomorrow, and a road map for moving from present to future. 
[Footnote 22] This guidance also defines a set of recognized practices 
for developing, implementing, and maintaining an enterprise 
architecture that includes, among other things, developing a clear 
enterprise architecture policy statement, creating a steering 
committee or executive body to oversee the development and maintenance 
of the enterprise architecture, designating a lead individual 
responsible for developing the enterprise architecture, establishing a 
program office with appropriate resources, and selecting a framework 
and tool for developing the architecture. 

AOC does not have an enterprise architecture consistent with federal 
guidance and recognized best practices and does not plan to develop 
one. However, the director of information resources management has some
information that would be useful in developing some elements of such 
an architecture, such as existing network topology maps and server 
hardware and software descriptions. By not having and using a complete 
enterprise architecture, AOC lacks an effective means for promoting 
integration of, and avoiding duplication and inconsistencies in, 
business operations and supporting system investments. 

To develop, implement, and maintain an enterprise architecture, we 
recommend that the Architect implement the practices we discuss, which 
are outlined in the CIO Council's architecture management guide. 

System Acquisition/Development. The use of disciplined processes and 
controls based on well-defined and rigorously enforced policies, 
practices, and procedures for system acquisition and development can 
greatly reduce the risk that IT systems do not perform as intended, 
are delivered late, and cost more than planned. Such processes for 
managing system acquisition/development are defined in various 
published models and guides, such as Carnegie Mellon University's 
Software Engineering Institute's (SEI) Capability Maturity Model.
[Footnote 23] Key processes such as requirements management, risk 
management, test management, and contract oversight and tracking are 
important for ensuring that systems are delivered on time, within 
budget, and perform as intended. Additionally, configuration 
management and quality assurance processes are critical to ensuring 
the integrity of the products and processes used to develop the 
products. 

AOC has not implemented agencywide, disciplined processes for managing 
the development and acquisition of systems. In 1995, AOC's Office of 
Information Resources Management (OIRM) developed its Information 
Systems Life Cycle Directive (ISLC) that defines policies and 
procedures for software development and acquisition. Based on our 
preliminary review, ISLC addresses some, but not all, of the key 
process areas that are considered critical to successful system 
development and acquisition. For example, it defines processes for 
requirements management that include, among other things, the 
definition, documentation, and validation of requirements. ISLC also 
includes processes for test management that include such important 
areas as development of a test methodology, test plan, and test 
environment and documentation and reporting of test results and 
deficiencies. However, it does not include processes for two key 
areas: risk management and contract tracking and oversight. More 
important, ISLC is not being used to guide AOC system development and 
acquisition projects. Without a complete and enforced system 
development and acquisition life cycle process, AOC risks investing in 
systems that do not perform as intended, are delivered late, and cost 
more than planned. 

To strengthen AOC's system acquisition and development controls, we 
recommend that the Architect introduce rigorous and disciplined 
processes for risk management and contractor oversight into OIRM's 
ISLC. We also recommend that the Architect ensure that OIRM's ISLC is 
implemented throughout the agency to guide systems development and 
acquisition projects, as appropriate. 

Information Security. Our research of public and private sector 
organizations recognized as having strong information security 
programs shows that these organizations have implemented information 
security programs that include continual cycles of assessing business 
risks, maintaining policies and controls, promoting awareness, and 
monitoring and evaluating policy and control effectiveness.[Footnote 
24] 

AOC does not have an information security program, although the 
director of information resources management has recently initiated 
some efforts to establish one. For example, the director has 
designated an IT security officer whose responsibilities include 
developing IT security policies, planning and coordinating security 
risk assessments, conducting security training, and evaluating IT 
security effectiveness. Also, the security officer has recently 
completed a risk assessment of AOC's general support system and some 
key intellectual property, and has begun developing policies outlining 
the security officer position's roles and responsibilities as well as 
a security plan to address vulnerabilities identified in the risk 
assessment. 

Nevertheless, several critical areas related to implementing leading 
security management principles, as outlined in our best practices 
guide, warrant attention. For example, AOC has not (1) developed and 
implemented policy and guidance for performing periodic risk 
assessments, (2) provided the security officer the authority and 
resources to implement an agencywide security program, and (3) 
developed policies for such areas as security training and awareness, 
incident response, and program monitoring and evaluation. Without 
effective information security practices in place, financial and 
sensitive information contained in AOC's systems may be at risk of 
inadvertent or deliberate misuse, fraud, improper disclosure, or 
destruction—possibly without detection. 

To strengthen AOC's information systems security, we recommend that 
the Architect follow the steps detailed in our information security 
guide[Footnote 25] to establish an information security program, 
including (1) providing the security officer with the authority and 
resources to implement an agencywide security program, (2) developing 
and implementing policy and guidance for performing periodic risk 
assessments, (3) using the results of the risk assessments to develop 
and implement appropriate controls, (4) developing policies for 
security training and awareness and providing training, and (5) 
monitoring and evaluating policy and control effectiveness. 

AOC Could Make Worker Safety Program Improvements More Effective by 
Adopting Certain Best Practices: 

Key Actions for Worker Safety Program: 

* Develop more comprehensive and reliable data to set goals and to 
track program improvements. 

* Assess accountability relationships of the safety specialists at the 
central and jurisdictional levels to carry out their work. 

* Establish agencywide policies and procedures for reporting, 
investigating, and tracking worker safety incidents, accidents, and 
hazards. 

Because of the concerns that the Congress and others raised about 
worker safety at AOC, in 2001, the Architect issued a statement that 
safety is his highest organizational priority. The maintenance, 
repair, and renovation of the Capitol complex is potentially dangerous 
work that exposes AOC employees to a variety of hazards related to the 
carpentry, electrical, painting, construction, custodial, and other 
work they perform. The types and severity of injuries and illnesses 
AOC employees could face range from injuries to the back, hand, and 
head to more life-threatening accidents. To effectively implement the 
Architect's commitment to safety, and consistent with best practices 
for health and safety programs as described in OSHA guidance and our 
work, AOC must develop comprehensive and reliable data, provide a 
clear understanding of what the program is trying to accomplish, and 
how it will evaluate results. AOC also needs to examine strengthening 
the accountability relationships between the various safety program 
officials. Best practices also indicate that standardized and 
agencywide policies and procedures must be in place—such as procedures 
that encourage employees to report incidents, accidents and unsafe 
conditions (often called hazards), and procedures to investigate 
causes of accidents to identify why accidents occurred. By gathering 
more comprehensive and reliable data, and developing and consistently 
applying policies and procedures for reporting and investigating 
accidents, injuries, and illnesses, AOC can begin to take a more 
strategic approach to addressing safety issues. For example, better 
information about the type and frequency of injuries and the hazards 
that contribute to them could help AOC establish a risk-based approach 
for addressing the most significant worker safety issues that are 
occurring and for allocating resources. 

AOC Has Taken Significant Steps to Address Worker Safety and Health: 

AOC has taken and is in the process of implementing many significant 
steps that demonstrate its commitment to improving worker safety. For 
example, AOC has done the following: 

* Developed a high-level 5-year approach to worker safety and health 
and is developing a 5-year worker safety master plan. This plan will 
be used as a road map for AOC to identify its safety philosophy, 
establish priorities, assign responsibilities, and identify project 
and funding needs. 

* Reorganized its Office of the Executive Officer for Facilities 
Management to increase the emphasis on safety, hired a new facilities 
manager, and increased the staff from 5 to 10 professionals in the 
Safety and Environmental Health Division. 

* Hired eight safety specialists who oversee the safety programs for 
the six jurisdictions and one division—the House and Senate Office 
Buildings, Capitol Buildings, Library of Congress, Capitol Power 
Plant, Botanic Garden, and Construction Management Division. 

* Implemented 11 of 41 pending safety programs that will comply with 
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, 
and are aimed at reducing the risk and rate of illnesses and injuries. 
The programs cover policies such as handling hazardous materials, 
working in confined spaces, using safety equipment, and wearing 
respiratory protection.[Footnote 26] 

* Established safety and health committees at the executive and 
jurisdictional levels. 

* Purchased protective equipment for employees to help reduce many of 
the common work-related injuries. 

* Provided over 13,000 hours of formal training to employees on safety 
and health issues to raise awareness, decrease work-related accidents, 
and maintain a safer work environment. 

* Contracted or is in the process of contracting for outside experts—
including technical assistance from the Public Health Service, Dupont, 
and OSHA through the Office of Compliance—to assist in establishing 
worker safety policies and procedures and best practices and to 
provide additional health and safety training. 

Effective Safety and Health Programs Depend on Establishing Goals and 
Key Policies and Procedures for Reporting and Abating Hazards: 

Implementing the six core components of an effective worker safety 
program, as shown in table 1, is critical for instilling an 
organizational focus on safety and for helping reduce injuries, 
illnesses, and fatalities. Together, these components help an 
organization outline what it is trying to achieve, assess its 
progress, and ensure that it has the proper policies in place. After 
evaluating AOC's worker safety and health program, our analysis 
focused on four of the six components that we believed were the most 
important initially for AOC to address. These four core components of 
an effective worker safety and health program are management 
commitment, employee involvement, identification of problem jobs, and 
analysis and development of controls for problem jobs. In the next 
stage of our review, we plan to assess AOC's education and training 
and medical management components. 

Table 1: Core Components of an Effective Safety and Health Program: 

Component[A]: Management commitment; 
Ways in which the component can be demonstrated: 
* Establish goals for the program, collect reliable data, and evaluate 
results.
* Establish program responsibilities of managers and employees for 
safety and health in the workplace and hold them accountable for 
carrying out those responsibilities.
* Communicate to the staff the program's importance. 

Component[A]: Employee involvement; 
Ways in which the component can be demonstrated: 
* Establish mechanisms to get employees involved in the program, such 
as creating committees or teams to receive information on problem jobs 
or areas.
* Establish procedures for employees to report job-related fatalities, 
injuries, illnesses, incidents, and hazards; ensure that employees are 
not discouraged from reporting accidents, injuries, illnesses, or 
unsafe conditions.
* Establish regular channels of communication with employees regarding 
worker safety issues. 

Component[A]: Identification of problem jobs; 
Ways in which the component can be demonstrated: 
* Follow up on employee reports of injuries, symptoms, or hazards.
* Review injury logs or other data to identify problem areas. 
* Conduct inspections of the workplace to identify hazards causing 
injuries, illnesses, or fatalities. 

Component[A]: Analysis and development of controls for problem jobs; 
Ways in which the component can be demonstrated: 
* Through investigation or other analysis, identify hazards present in 
problem jobs.
* Develop controls for problem jobs by brainstorming with employees or 
other methods. 
* Follow up to ensure that hazards are abated and controls are 
effective. 

Component[A]: Education and training; 
Ways in which the component can be demonstrated: 
* Provide general awareness training to all employees so they can 
recognize hazards and risks, learn
procedures for reporting injuries, and become familiar with the program.
* Provide targeted training to specified groups of employees because 
of the jobs they hold, the hazards they face, or their roles in the 
program. 

Component[A]: Medical management[B]; 
Ways in which the component can be demonstrated: 
* Encourage early reporting of symptoms and ensure that employees do 
not fear reprisal or discrimination.
* Ensure a prompt evaluation by a medical provider.
* Provide employees who have work-related medical conditions with 
restricted or light duty employment. 

[A] Different terminology is often used to describe these components. 
For example, identification of problem jobs is sometimes referred to 
as hazard identification and assessment. Analysis and development of 
controls for problem jobs is sometimes referred to as hazard 
prevention and control. The terms used here are identical to those 
used in our prior work. 

[B] Organizations may have medical management programs without 
necessarily having safety and health programs. 

Sources: OSHA, Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines, 
Issuance of Voluntary Guidelines, Federal Register 54:3904-3916 
(Washington, D.C.: Jan. 26, 1989) and U.S. General Accounting Office, 
Private Sector Ergonomics Programs Yield Positive Results, GAO/HENS-97-
163 (Washington, D.C.: Aug. 27, 1997). 

[End of table] 

Management Commitment: AOC Must Develop Program Goals Based on 
Reliable Data and Strengthen Accountability Relationships: 

Management commitment requires establishing program goals, collecting 
reliable data, and assessing progress towards those goals. It also 
involves establishing program responsibilities of managers and 
employees for safety and health in the workplace and holding them 
accountable for carrying out those responsibilities, and communicating 
to the staff the program's importance. AOC, with the personal 
involvement of the Architect, has communicated to managers and staff 
members that it must become a safer organization and is working on 
changing the organizational culture to focus on safety and health. As 
a clear sign of that commitment, in June 2001 AOC established a goal 
of reducing the rate of worker injuries and illnesses by 10 percent 
per year for 5 years, starting from the fiscal year 2000 rate of 17.9 
per 100 workers. 

AOC is measuring its progress in achieving its injury and illness 
reduction goal using OSHAs published measure of total injuries and 
illnesses, which provides the total number of cases and the rate of 
injuries and illnesses that incur costs under the federal workers' 
compensation program. The OSHA measure is important to show the extent 
to which those injuries and illnesses that could include the most 
severe—that is, those in incurring medical expenses or lost time—are 
increasing or decreasing. According to this measure, both the number 
and rate of these injuries and illnesses at AOC showed an overall 
increase from fiscal years 1997 through 2000.[Footnote 27] In fiscal 
year 2000, according to this measure, the rate of injury and illness 
was 17.9 per 100 workers. Although OSHA has not published these data 
for fiscal year 2001, OSHA officials told us that for AOC both the 
number and rate of injury and illness declined in 2001. At the same 
time, however, AOC has been tracking the total number of injuries and 
illnesses occurring at AOC, regardless of whether the injury or 
illness incurred costs under the federal workers' compensation 
program. These data show a decline in the total number of recorded 
injuries and illnesses from fiscal years 1999 (the first year the data 
were available) through 2001. 

AOC and OSHA's data provide valuable information for AOC. However, 
neither of these data is directly comparable to key measures used in 
the private sector, so AOC has been missing the opportunity to compare 
itself to—and learn from—the application of industry standards. 
According to private sector best practices, organizations should rely 
on a more precise measure of severe injuries and illness than either 
the OSHA or AOC total injury and illness data provide. The private 
sector generally uses a measure called "OSHA recordables," which 
include any work-related injury or illness that requires more than 
first aid or leads to lost time. As a result, tracking OSHA 
recordables allow an organization to identify the most severe injuries 
and illnesses occurring in the workplace. To be more consistent with 
industry standards, in 2001, AOC began to collect on a limited basis 
OSHA recordables, which we believe will help AOC create a more 
accurate picture of its injuries and illnesses. 

At the same time AOC is developing more comprehensive illness and 
injury data, AOC needs to ensure that the data it gathers are 
reliable. For example, although AOC has established policies and 
procedures that require reporting of all workers' compensation claims, 
it does not have policies and procedures in place for reporting the 
more comprehensive data on injuries and illnesses consistent with 
industry best practices. The partnership that the AOC is developing 
with the Office of Compliance and OSHA and the contract with Dupont to 
provide technical assistance in the area of worker safety could help 
AOC make progress on assessing is policies and procedures for 
collecting injury and illness data and help ensure their completeness 
and reliability. 

Management commitment also dictates that an organization put the right 
people in place with the authority to make the program work. As we 
mentioned, AOC reorganized its Executive Office of Facilities 
Management to increase its emphasis on safety. The office includes the 
Safety and Environmental Health Division, which includes the safety 
officer and the central safety specialist positions. This office has 
recently increased its staffing from 5 to 10 safety and health 
professionals. In addition, AOC has hired eight safety specialists for 
six of its jurisdictions and one division. As these safety specialists 
assume their full responsibilities, AOC needs to ensure that it has 
clearly defined their roles, responsibilities, and authorities at the 
central and jurisdictional levels so that they can carry out their 
work. Implementation of the worker safety program occurs at the 
jurisdictional level. In the next stage of our review, we plan to 
explore which of the safety program responsibilities would be best 
carried out by central AOC staff and which would best be carried out 
by the jurisdictional staff. 

Employee Involvement: AOC Should Strengthen Employee Involvement with 
Reporting Incidents, Accidents, or Hazards: 

As noted above, AOC has established mechanisms to get employees 
involved in the worker safety program and has established regular 
channels of communication with employees through the safety and health 
committees and through formal training. Employee involvement also 
includes establishing procedures for employees to use in reporting job-
related incidents, accidents, and hazards, and ensuring that they are 
encouraged to do so. AOC should develop such procedures to encourage 
and reward employees for reporting these situations. For example, AOC 
could develop procedures along with awareness training that clearly 
articulate the steps employees should take to report all job-related 
incidents, accidents, and hazards and ensure they are followed 
consistently. AOC could also recognize employees for following these 
procedures through the Architect's new employee rewards and 
recognition program. Another way to increase employee involvement is 
to have employees serve on teams responsible for identifying and 
ranking problem jobs as well as developing controls for those jobs, 
which several of the jurisdictions have initiated. Finally, AOC should 
hold top managers, frontline supervisors, and employees accountable 
for ensuring that this process is followed. In the next stage of our 
review, we plan to explore these reporting and accountability issues 
further through a series of focus groups with AOC employees. 

Identification, Analysis, and Development of Controls for Problem 
Jobs: AOC Needs Consistent Policies and Procedures for Conducting
Investigations and Abating Hazards: 

Leading organizations systematically seek to identify why injuries, 
illnesses, and accidents occur or why hazards exist and eliminate 
underlying conditions as part of a risk-based approach to creating 
safe and healthy work environments. In that respect, it is vital to 
have adequate processes to investigate problem areas, develop controls 
for those areas, and follow up to ensure that hazards are abated. 
Furthermore, staff members conducting these investigations should have 
the knowledge and authority to remedy the situations. In 1998, the 
Office of Compliance recommended that AOC develop a system to 
routinely investigate accidents or hazardous situations and ensure 
that hazards are corrected. In response, AOC has placed safety 
specialists in several of the jurisdictions, which provides greater 
assurance that an effort is being taken to investigate accidents, 
incidents, or identified hazards. 

However, there is still no consistent AOC-wide system for conducting 
investigations and follow-up to ensure that corrective actions have 
been taken. Such a system is critical to providing AOC with the 
assurance that its efforts are risk-based—targeted directly toward 
identifying and abating those factors leading to the most severe and 
frequent incidents, accidents, and hazards. To illustrate, some of the 
jurisdictions have (1) developed their own investigation procedures, 
(2) involved different staff members in the investigations (e.g., a 
safety specialist in one case, a safety and health committee 
representative in another case), and (3) developed their own forms to 
gather accident or incident data. Another important component is 
follow-up, and we found that only two of the five jurisdiction safety 
specialists we interviewed were tracking resolution of hazards 
identified. AOC has procured a data system—Facility Management 
Assistant—that is to include inspection data and provide risk analysis 
and hazard abatement assessment and follow-up, which we think is a 
positive step.[Footnote 28] According to the director of AOC's Safety 
and Environmental Health Division, this system is expected to be 
operational by July 2002. 

AOC Needs to Build on Current Efforts by Adopting a Strategic Approach 
to Recycling: 

Key Actions for Recycling Program: 

* Revisit and clarify recycling mission and goals. 

* Develop a performance measurement, monitoring, and evaluation system 
that supports accomplishing recycling mission and goals. 

* Reexamine roles and responsibilities of AOC recycling program staff 
members. 

* Implement best practices to improve performance. 

Programs that separate and collect recyclable materials from the waste 
stream produce numerous benefits. It is estimated that recycling 1 ton 
of paper saves 17 mature trees, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space, 
7,000 gallons of water, 380 gallons of oil, 4,100 kilowatt hours of 
energy, and 60 pounds of air pollutants. To maximize the benefits 
derived from its recycling program, AOC must build on the steps it has 
taken to improve the effectiveness of its programs by taking a more 
strategic approach. Such an approach would include revisiting and 
clarifying recycling mission and goals, measuring and monitoring 
performance against goals to gauge and improve program effectiveness, 
and reexamining the roles and responsibilities of the recycling 
program staff to ensure accountability for achieving recycling goals. 
We provide observations on how AOC could improve recycling results by 
replicating its own and others' best practices. 

AOC Has Taken Steps to Improve Effectiveness of Recycling Programs 

AOC is responsible for operating recycling programs for much of the 
Capitol complex.[Footnote 29] In recent years, AOC, both centrally and 
at the jurisdiction level, has taken steps to improve the overall 
effectiveness of its recycling programs. Some of the steps include: 

* formalizing the positions and responsibilities of the AOC resource 
conservation manager and the House and Senate recycling program 
managers to include activities such as planning, policy and program 
development, monitoring, and evaluation of recycling operations; 

* filling the Senate recycling program manager position, which was 
vacant for a number of months; 

* suggesting that the Senate adopt a consultant's recommendation to 
simplify the recycling program to improve participation and increase 
effectiveness; 

* developing a draft set of performance indicators and starting to 
collect data; and; 

* reworking the recycling program for the House Office Buildings 
jurisdiction to increase promotion and education and reequip 
participating offices with new recycling containers. 

Recycling Program Design Depends on Desired Goals: 

There are a variety of environmental and financial benefits to be 
derived from an office recycling program, and program designs will 
differ depending on the goals selected. A typical goal is reducing to 
the extent possible the amount of solid waste sent to landfills 
Another goal is generating as much revenue as possible from the sale 
of the recyclable materials collected. A key to achieving either goal 
is making the recycling program as easy as possible for employees to 
use. Generally, the less sorting, decision making, and walking 
required by individual participants, the more successful the program 
will be. And although the two goals of waste reduction and revenue 
generation are not mutually exclusive, the designs of each would 
differ. 

Specifically, a recycling program with the goal of generating revenue, 
commonly referred to as a source separation program, is more 
complicated, expensive, and difficult to implement than a program 
designed for waste reduction. This is because separating a greater 
variety of recyclable materials at the source requires more resources 
for educating clients and the recycling staff, collecting recyclable 
materials, and monitoring for compliance. The complexity of source 
separation, unfortunately, increases the likelihood of contamination 
of the recyclable materials collected, reducing their value and 
increasing the volume of waste sent to landfills. Given the complexity 
and potential performance problems with a source separation program, 
an organization needs to analyze the costs and benefits of such a 
program compared to other, simpler options to determine whether such a 
program will be cost-effective. 

AOC Needs to Revisit and Clarify Recycling Mission and Goals: 

High levels of contamination have prevented the House and Senate 
recycling programs from achieving either of the two goals. AOC's 
recycling contractor does not pay for high grade (e.g., white copy) 
paper with greater than 5-percent contamination or mixed grade (e.g., 
glossy or colored) paper with greater than 10-percent contamination. 
However, in fiscal year 2001, over 60 percent of about 650 tons of 
recyclable paper collected from Senate Office Buildings and more than 
70 percent of about 1,720 tons of recyclable paper collected from the 
House Office Buildings were contaminated. Although AOC avoided the 
cost of disposing of the waste, the collected materials generated no 
revenue. The recycling contractor may sort and recycle some of this 
contaminated waste, but the rest ultimately will go to a landfill. 

AOC needs to clearly define the overall mission and goals of its 
recycling programs to assess whether it has the right program design, 
organization, and implementation strategies in place to achieve 
desired results. AOC's goals for its recycling programs are unclear. 
The House and the Senate have directed their respective jurisdictions 
to implement source separation recycling programs. Furthermore, the 
position descriptions for the House and Senate recycling program 
managers state that these managers are responsible for, among other 
things, increasing the financial returns of their programs. However, 
other documents we reviewed, such as the position description of the 
AOC resource conservation program manager and a 1999 audit by the AOC 
inspector general, indicate that AOC is also pursuing the goal of 
waste reduction. If AOC's goal is to generate as much revenue as 
possible through a source separation program, then based on the high 
rate of contamination it will need to design a program that is much 
more aggressive in terms of the education, training, and equipment it 
provides to participants and the collection staff. However, if the 
goal is reducing the volume of waste sent to landfills, then AOC 
should implement a simpler program, requiring as little separation as 
possible to increase participation and compliance. 

Cost-benefit analysis could help AOC strike the right balance in its 
recycling program. For example, the recently completed study of the 
Senate's source separation recycling program requested by the Senate 
Appropriations Committee shows that AOC could lower contamination and 
therefore increase revenues by simplifying the program. Not addressed 
in the study is whether this type of program would also reduce the 
amount of waste sent to landfills. 

Furthermore, other than coordination to remove recycling materials at 
the Botanic Garden and—in response to our recent suggestion—the 
Capital Power Plant, AOC has no formal plans to implement a Capitol 
complex-wide recycling program. For example, AOC could expand its 
recycling programs to include waste from its landscaping or 
construction activities. Incorporating these materials into its 
overall recycling program could improve AOC's overall performance in 
reducing waste sent to landfills. 

Consistent with the communication strategy we outline in this 
statement, AOC needs to seek input from its stakeholders to determine 
the most appropriate mission and goals for its recycling program(s). 
Whether the resulting program is Capitol complex-wide or is tailored 
to meet the specific requirements of the House or Senate, AOC needs to 
clarify whether the primary focus of the recycling program is to 
reduce the total amount of waste sent to landfills, to generate a 
desired level of revenue, or both. 

AOC Needs to Develop a Performance Measurement, Monitoring, and 
Evaluation System That Supports Accomplishment of Recycling Mission 
and Goals: 

In response to a Senate Appropriations Committee request for a 
quarterly report on the recycling program in the Senate, AOC has 
proposed a performance measurement system that it will use to monitor 
both the Senate and the House recycling programs. The data and 
indicators they will collect include, among other things, revenue 
generated from the sale of recyclables, customer satisfaction, 
education of participating offices, status of equipping offices with 
recycling containers, rate of office participation, and training of 
recycling collection staffs. 

AOC's proposed performance system is a promising first step. In 
revisiting its program mission, goals, and design, AOC should also 
reexamine and refine this system to improve its usefulness for program 
monitoring and decision making. As discussed elsewhere in this 
statement, AOC's performance measurement system should (1) show the 
degree to which the desired results were achieved, (2) be limited to 
the vital few measures needed for decision making, (3) be responsive 
to multiple priorities, and (4) establish accountability for results. 
Also, as part of its responsibility for handling waste from government 
facilities, including recyclable materials, the General Services 
Administration (GSA) has developed a guide that describes a number of 
steps an agency can take to measure and monitor recycling efforts that 
could be useful to AOC in developing its system.[Footnote 30] These 
steps are listed in table 2. 

Table 2: Ten Steps Identified by GSA for Best Administering a 
Recycling Program: 

Step: 1. Determining the building profile; 
Purpose: To ascertain the types of materials to be recovered in a 
recycling program and identify any special restrictions or 
requirements. 
Example: Does the storage space have sprinklers or will special 
containers be required?	 

Step: 2. Determining the waste stream size; 
Purpose: To manage and reduce a building's waste stream data on the 
total size of the waste	stream are compiled. 
Example: Obtain monthly reports showing the amount of waste hauled. 

Step: 3. Analyzing the waste stream; 
Purpose: To determine the quantity of various types of recyclable 
materials included in the waste stream.	
Example: Develop an estimate of the quantity of recyclable material 
collected daily. 

Step: 4. Determining the amount recycled; 
Purpose: To show how much is being diverted from the waste stream. 
Example: The recycling contractor provides a monthly report showing 
the amounts and types of materials recycled.	 

Step: 5. Tracking the information; 
Purpose: To determine the percentage of the total waste stream 
diverted by recycling. 
Example: Data are entered on a regular basis, for example, monthly, 
and totaled at the end of the fiscal year. 

Step: 6. Reporting the information; 
Purpose: To report status of the program to management and to offices 
participating in the program. 
Example: Reports to offices keep employees informed about how their 
efforts are helping the environment and measuring progress and goals. 
	
Step: 7. Reducing the waste stream; 
Purpose: To determine whether trash includes recyclable materials that 
are improperly discarded and opportunities to recycle other materials 
(e.g., construction debris, discarded/leftover carpeting, or scrap 
metal). 
Example: Meet with office representatives to ascertain their container 
needs and find out what types of waste they generate. 

Step: 8. Assessing the program; 
Purpose: To determine how well the program is working. 
Example: Observe whether employees understand how the program works or 
modifications that might be necessary. 

Step: 9. Educating employees; 
Purpose: To provide employees with reasons for recycling and a 
description of how the program works; to reduce the container 
contamination by giving detailed instructions on what is and is not 
acceptable. 
Example: An environmental team consisting of building management and 
participating offices would promote and educate employees. 

Step: 10. Monitoring and evaluating program; 
Purpose: To be aware of fluctuations in the volume of recycled 
materials collected in an effort to identify the cause and determine 
whether associated waste disposal costs can be reduced. 
Example: Periodically review waste disposal costs and assess whether 
the program implemented has had an impact. 

Source: U.S. General Services Administration, Recycling Program Desk 
Guide (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 2001). 

[End of table] 

AOC's proposed recycling program goals are not linked to a desired 
level of performance and therefore cannot demonstrate the extent to 
which performance is achieved. For example, AOC seeks to decrease 
contamination rates for recyclable materials collected, but does not 
state a goal for a desired level of contamination against which to 
measure progress. As shown in table 2, steps 2 and 3, AOC should 
determine how much waste the Capitol complex generates overall and 
analyze how much of that waste could be recycled. Such information 
could form the basis of AOC's overall waste reduction goals. 
Furthermore, AOC should develop its performance measurement system 
with input from recycling program staff members to ensure that the 
data gathered will be sufficiently complete, accurate, and consistent 
to be useful in decision making. As AOC clarifies its goals and 
performance measures for its recycling program, it will likely 
identify opportunities to reduce the recycling data currently 
collected. 

After establishing an organizational mission and goals and building a 
performance measurement system, the next key step is to put 
performance data to work. As shown in table 2, steps 4 through 8 and 
step 10 provide guidance on ways to monitor and evaluate program 
performance. AOC has proposed a quarterly monitoring system. Such 
monitoring of performance against goals will enable AOC program 
managers to identify where performance is lagging, investigate 
potential causes, and identify actions designed to improve 
performance. AOC should also obtain periodic feedback from its 
customers/stakeholders to obtain their views about the quality of the 
program, ease of participation, and other areas for improvement. AOC 
has proposed a recycling program customer survey as part of its 
performance measurement system. We believe AOC should develop this 
survey as part of an overall communication strategy for external 
stakeholders, as discussed earlier in the statement. 

Reexamine Roles, Responsibilities, and Number of AOC Recycling Program 
Staff Members: 

The roles and responsibilities of AOC's recycling program staff 
members have evolved in recent years, without the guidance of a 
clearly defined mission and goals. In revisiting its recycling program 
mission and goals, AOC should also reexamine the roles and 
responsibilities of its program staff members to ensure that they are 
performing the right jobs with the necessary authority. AOC recently 
changed the responsibilities of its recycling program management 
positions to incorporate a greater focus on program planning and 
evaluation. However, according to these staff members, much of their 
time is spent in day-to-day program implementation activities, leaving 
little time to fulfill their expanded roles. 

The AOC resource conservation manager, originally responsible for only 
the AOC hazardous waste program, currently is responsible for planning 
and developing policies and programs for an AOC-wide approach to waste 
management, analyzing waste removal programs, developing and 
presenting briefing and training materials on agency recycling 
efforts, and serving as the administrator and technical representative 
for the recycling collection contract. However, according to the 
resource conservation manager, about half of her effort is devoted to 
hazardous waste management activities. She has little time and no 
staff to carry out the broad, agencywide planning and evaluation 
activities required by the position. 

In fiscal year 2001, AOC replaced its recycling coordinator position 
with a recycling program manager position in the House and Senate 
jurisdictions. These positions are responsible for working with other 
Capitol complex recycling specialists to carry out agencywide 
recycling, planning and developing recycling policies and programs, 
reviewing program effectiveness and monitoring implementation (e.g., 
compliance inspections), and analyzing the financial returns of waste 
recycling contracts. However, the House recycling program manager told 
us that the current focus is primarily on implementation activities, 
such as program promotion and education and providing recycling 
equipment to offices, limiting the time available to focus on other 
responsibilities, such as program monitoring and evaluation. 

As previously stated, AOC needs to provide a results-oriented basis 
for individual accountability. With respect to recycling, AOC has 
neither established clear goals nor assigned accountability for 
achieving results. Because program implementation occurs in the House 
and Senate jurisdictions, AOC needs to incorporate its desired 
recycling goals into its performance management system and cascade 
those goals down through the jurisdictions to the individuals 
responsible for program implementation. 

In our opinion, overlapping responsibilities for planning, education, 
monitoring, and evaluation between the resource conservation manager 
and jurisdiction recycling program managers raise questions about the 
appropriate number of staff members and mix of responsibilities needed 
to carry out AOC's recycling programs at the central and 
jurisdictional levels. In the next stage of our review, we plan to 
explore with AOC which responsibilities would be best carried out by a 
central AOC staff and which would be best carried out by jurisdiction 
staffs. For example, the focus of the central staff could be on 
planning, developing educational materials, monitoring, and evaluating 
recycling from an AOC-wide perspective. In contrast, the focus of the 
jurisdiction staffs could be on implementation of the recycling 
program, including equipping offices, educating participants, and 
collecting recyclable materials. 

Implementing Best Practices Can Help Improve Performance: 

In addition to addressing strategic program management issues, AOC 
could implement best practices that may provide immediate improvements 
to its recycling program results. For example, AOC could do the 
following: 

* Take advantage of intra-agency best practices by sharing ideas 
across jurisdictions. For example, the House jurisdiction has already 
developed promotional materials that can be shared with the Senate 
jurisdiction to avoid duplication of effort. 

* Expand on House efforts to promote the reuse and sharing of office 
materials by listing available excess materials. 

* Create greater incentives to recycle by providing participants 
feedback on the results of their recycling efforts, such as trees 
saved, landfill space not used, or revenues generated for employee 
programs, such as a day care or fitness center. (See table 2, step 6.) 

* Provide information and solicit feedback using electronic means, 
such as e-mails with links to an AOC recycling Web site. 

* Continue to work with participating offices to select recycling 
containers designed to reduce contamination. For example, AOC could 
make greater use of containers with lids designed to prevent the 
disposal of inappropriate materials (slots for paper, can-shaped 
holes, etc.). 

Key Management Options Require Further Exploration: 

Adopting a vigorous approach to strategic planning and holding 
managers and employees accountable for achieving organizationwide 
goals will go a long way toward helping AOC become a high-performing 
organization. However, further measures may be needed; we plan to 
explore other options with AOC and its key congressional customers in 
the next stage of our management review. These proposed options aim to 
strengthen AOC's executive decision-making capacity and 
accountability, so that the right senior executives are making 
important operating and investment decisions, and that these decisions 
are based on solid financial, budget, and performance information. We 
also plan to explore opportunities for further improving labor-
management relations, worker safety, and project management and 
budgeting at AOC. As we move forward, we will support AOC in exploring 
these management options through on-the-spot advice, best management 
practice briefings for AOC's senior managers, focus groups for AOC's 
employees, and outreach to AOC's labor unions and key congressional 
customers. 

Key Management Options We Plan to Explore with AOC: 

To strengthen AOC's executive decision-making capacity and 
accountability, we are exploring options to better define the roles 
and responsibilities for certain key functions and to clarify some 
accountability relationships. For example, executive-level decisions 
on issues such as major capital investments could be made by an 
executive committee consisting of these top managers, in addition to 
the new CFO. A chief operating officer (COO) could be responsible for 
major long-term management, cultural transformation, and stewardship 
responsibilities within AOC. In March 2002, we testified on the 
potential for creating statutory COOs within major executive branch 
agencies, who could provide the continuity that spans the tenure of 
political leadership and helps ensure that long-term stewardship 
issues are addressed and change management initiatives are 
successfully completed.[Footnote 31] As we discussed above, a CIO 
could lead and manage policies and procedures for making agencywide IT 
investment decisions. In addition, to develop and implement 
congressional protocols and strengthen AOC's communications and 
outreach with its congressional customers, AOC may want to consider 
assigning full-time responsibility for its congressional relations 
functions to a senior manager. We will also assess whether AOC should 
clarify organization lines of authority and accountability to improve 
program management in areas such as worker safety, recycling, and 
facilities and project management. Such comprehensive organizational 
changes should only take place within the context of decisions made by 
AOC as it implements the framework for management and accountability 
that we discuss. 

To support improving AOC's executive decision-making capacity, we will 
continue to review the processes and usefulness of AOC's financial and 
budget information, and explore the use of performance information. In 
the next stage of our review, our analysis of project cost estimation 
will complement an assessment of overcoming challenges to effective 
project management at AOC. 

To improve labor-management relations, we will look at best practices 
in alternative dispute resolution in the workplace and explore the 
relationships between AOC's Equal Employment Opportunity and 
Conciliation Program Office, Employee Advisory Council, and newly 
created Office of the Ombudsperson—formerly the Employee Advocate—and 
the Office of Compliance. We have supported using ombudsmen in dispute 
resolution and believe that this office can be an integral part of an 
organization's human capital management strategy to create a fair, 
equitable, and nondiscriminatory workplace.[Footnote 32] We plan to 
assess the new role of the ombudsperson in AOC and whether it will 
adhere to the standards of practice for ombudsmen established by 
professional organizations. These standards revolve around the core 
principles of independence, neutrality, and confidentiality. 

We Are Helping Assess These Options and Recommending Needed Management 
Improvements: 

We are exploring these management options in several ways. In the 
worker safety and recycling areas, we will continue to provide on-the-
spot advice on safety hazards and recycling practices observed on our 
site visits. For example, we identified several safety hazards at the 
Capitol Power Plant. We brought these potential hazards to the 
attention of the acting chief engineer of the plant, who said that he 
would act upon our advice. We also suggested to him that the power 
plant could start a recycling program for its office waste consistent 
with the Botanic Garden's program, which the plant is starting to 
implement. 

To support management improvements that we are recommending or options 
we plan to explore, we have provided best practices guidance and we 
will, at the invitation of AOC, brief AOC's senior managers on best 
management practices in the public as well as private sectors, 
potentially including the following topics: 

* strategic planning and performance measurement; 

* our congressional protocols and the role of our Congressional 
Relations Office; 

* human capital management, including our guidance on strategic human 
capital management and our human capital policies and procedures; 
[Footnote 33] and; 

* IT management, financial management, and worker safety. 

To identify opportunities to further improve AOC's internal 
communications, we will be holding a series of focus groups with AOC's 
employees to obtain employee feedback on AOC's organizational culture, 
morale, management support, and worker safety issues, and meeting with 
officials from AOC's labor unions. To assess AOC's communications with 
its external customers, we will contact key congressional staffs to 
get feedback on the types of AOC services most important to them, 
their satisfaction with these services, and suggestions for management 
improvements. 

Contact and Acknowledgments: 

For further information about this statement, please contact J. 
Christopher Mihm at (202) 512-6806. Individuals making key 
contributions to this statement included Thomas Beall, Justin Booth, 
Carole Cimitile, Kevin J. Conway, Elizabeth Curda, Deborah Davis, 
Terrell Dorn, Elena Epps, V. Bruce Goddard, Christina Quattrociocchi, 
Benjamin Smith Jr., Lori Rectanus, John Reilly, William Roach, Kris 
Trueblood, Sarah Veale, Michael Volpe, and Daniel Wexler. 

[End of section] 

Footnotes: 

[1] U.S. General Accounting Office, Federal Personnel: Architect of 
the Capitol's Personnel System Needs Improvement, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD-94-121BR] (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 
29, 1994). 

[2] See P.L. 103-283, Sec. 312, Architect of the Capitol Human 
Resources Act. 

[3] AOC operates all aspects of the recycling programs in the House 
and Senate Office Buildings, except for the Ford building, which is 
operated by a custodial contractor. In addition, the House 
jurisdiction picks up recyclable materials collected by the House side 
of the Capitol building, the Botanic Garden, the page dorm (501 1st 
St.), and, most recently, the Capitol Power Plant. On the Senate side 
of the Capitol building, the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms operates the 
recycling program, and AOC transports the materials to its collection 
site in the Hart Office Building. The Supreme Court and the Library of 
Congress operate their own recycling programs. 

[4] U.S. General Accounting Office, Management Reform: Using the 
Results Act and Quality Management to Improve Federal Performance, 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/T-GGD-99-151] (Washington, 
D.C.: July 29, 1999). 

[5] Harvey H. Kaiser, Ph.D., The Facilities Manager's Reference 
(Kingston Mass.: R.S. Means, 1989). 

[6] U.S. General Accounting Office, Executive Guide: Effectively 
Implementing the Government Performance and Results Act, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD-96-118] (Washington, D.C.: June 
1996). 

[7] U.S. General Accounting Office, Managing for Results: Building on 
the Momentum for Strategic Human Capital Reform, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-02-528T] (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 18, 
2002). 

[8] Architect of the Capitol, Managing Senior Management Performance 
for Exempt Employees Serving at the Pleasure of the Architect, Draft. 

[9] U.S. General Accounting Office, Managing for Results: Emerging 
Benefits from Selected Agencies' Use of Performance Agreements, 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-01-115] (Washington, D.C.: 
Oct. 2000). 
	
[10] U.S. General Accounting Office, Management Reform: Elements of 
Successful Improvement Initiatives, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/T-GGD-00-26], (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 
15,1999). 

[11] See U.S. General Accounting Office, District of Columbia: 
Oversight in the Post-Control Board Period, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-01-845T] (Washington, D.C.: June 8, 
2001) for more information on reportable events as an approach to 
assisting congressional oversight and decision making. 

[12] U.S. General Accounting Office, Federal Personnel: Architect of 
the Capitol's Personnel System Needs Improvement, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD-94-121BR] (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 
29, 1994). 

[13] See P.L. 103-283, Sec. 312, Architect of the Capitol Human 
Resources Act. 

[14] U.S. General Accounting Office, A Model of Strategic Human 
Capital Management, Exposure Draft, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-02-373SP] (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 
2002). 

[15] AOC's core values are professionalism, respect and diversity, 
integrity, loyalty, stewardship, teamwork, and creativity. 

[16] Architect of the Capitol, HRMD's Model for Success, Oct. 1999. 

[17] U.S. General Accounting Office, Executive Guide: Creating Value 
Through World-class Financial Management, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/AIMD-00-134] (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 
2000). 

[18] U.S. General Accounting Office, Maximizing the Success of Chief 
Information Officers: Learning From Leading Organizations, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-01-376G] (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 2001). 

[19] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GA0-01-376G]. 

[20] U.S. General Accounting Office, Information Technology Investment 
Management: A Framework for Assessing and Improving Process Maturity, 
version 1, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/AIMD-10.1.23] 
(Washington, D.C.: May 2000). 

[21] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/AIMD-10.1.23]. 

[22] Chief Information Officers Council, A Practical Guide to Federal 
Enterprise Architecture, version 1.0 (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 2001). 

[23] Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute, CMMI for Systems 
Engineering/Software Engineering/Integrated Product and Process 
Development, Continuous Representation, version 1.02 (Pittsburgh, Pa.: 
Nov. 2000). 

[24] U.S. General Accounting Office, Executive Guide: Information 
Security Management, Learning From Leading Organizations, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/AIMD-98-68] (Washington, D.C.: May 
1998) and Information Security Risk Assessment: Practices of Leading 
Organizations, A Supplement to GAO's May 1998 Executive Guide on 
Information Security Management, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/AIMD-00-33] (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 
1999). 

[25] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/AIMD-98-68]. 

[26] AOC has contracted out with the Department of Labor's Public 
Health Service to write these programs at a cost of about $166,000. 
AOC plans to have these 41 programs developed by fiscal year 2004. 

[27] OSHA did not publish these data prior to 1997. 

[28] This system will be integrated with AOC's financial management 
tracking system for processing work orders. 

[29] AOC operates all aspects of the recycling programs in the House 
and Senate Office Buildings, except for the Ford building, which is 
operated by a custodial contractor. In addition, the House 
jurisdiction picks up recyclable materials collected by the House side 
of the Capitol building, the Botanic Garden, the page dorm (501 1st 
St.), and, most recently, the Capitol Power Plant. On the Senate side 
of the Capitol building, the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms operates the 
recycling program, and AOC transports the materials to its collection 
site in the Hart Office Building. The Supreme Court and the Library of 
Congress operate their own recycling programs. 

[30] U.S. General Services Administration, Recycling Program Desk 
Guide (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 2001). 

[31] U.S. General Accounting Office, Managing for Results: Building on 
the Momentum for Strategic Human Capital Reform, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-02-528T] (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 18, 
2002). 

[32] U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: The Role of 
Ombudsmen in Dispute Resolution, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-01-466] (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 13, 
2001). 

[33] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-02-373SP] and U.S. 
General Accounting Office, Human Capital: A Self Assessment Checklist 
for Agency Leaders, Discussion Draft, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD-99-179] (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 
1999). 

[End of section]