Movement of Household Goods: DOD Should Take Additional Steps to Assess Progress toward Achieving Program Goals
Fast Facts
DOD is the largest customer in the nation’s personal property moving and storage industry—accounting for about 15% of all moves (about 400,000 shipments a year). U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) manages the DOD program.
DOD proposed putting a single commercial move manager in charge of moving and storage, in part to address customer complaints.
TRANSCOM plans to award a multi-year contract, and determine, in the contract’s third year, the number and cost of the DOD oversight personnel needed.
We made 3 recommendations, including that TRANSCOM develop a process to track data during the first 3 years of the contract to inform its manpower study.
A person moving boxes onto a moving truck
Highlights
What GAO Found
The U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) has developed cost estimates to assess the cost implications of adjusting the Defense Personal Property Program (DP3), its program to move and store servicemembers' household goods, to incorporate a single move manager approach through the Global Household Goods Contract. However, TRANSCOM may not have accurately calculated some Department of Defense (DOD) costs because of unanswered questions about how tasks related to counseling servicemembers and overseeing contractor performance will be performed. DOD plans to conduct a manpower study in the third year of the contract to determine the number and cost of government personnel required to perform these tasks. However, TRANSCOM does not have a process in place to track data over the initial years of the contract to inform its manpower study, such as the number and associated cost of military service personnel needed to perform contract oversight. We have reported that organizations should determine their personnel requirements by identifying the minimum number and type of personnel needed to fulfill their missions, functions, and tasks by conducting a workforce analysis. Without a way to track key data, DOD risks conducting a manpower study that would result in less than a full understanding of the personnel and cost implications of the move to the Global Household Goods Contract.
TRANSCOM has developed performance metrics for assessing some, but not all, DP3 activities. For example, TRANSCOM has developed indicators for assessing contractor performance, including the timeliness of household goods deliveries under the Global Household Goods Contract. However, TRANSCOM has not developed metrics for other activities that DOD personnel will continue to perform at least partially once the contract is in place, such as servicemember counseling. Further, TRANSCOM has not articulated how existing metrics link to TRANSCOM's program goals that relate to servicemembers' household goods movement and storage experience (see fig.).
Factors Impacting Servicemembers' Household Goods Movement and Storage Experience
Without developing performance metrics for all DP3 activities, and articulating the linkage between metrics and goals, TRANSCOM will have limited ability to assess whether a DP3 incorporating the new contract is an improved program for servicemembers.
Why GAO Did This Study
DOD, through its DP3, arranges for the movement and storage of about 400,000 personal property shipments of servicemembers and their families annually—40 percent of them during peak moving season. DOD has identified problems meeting peak season demand and addressing long-standing quality-of-service issues.
TRANSCOM announced that in April 2020 it would award a Global Household Goods Contract to a single commercial move manager to oversee DP3 activities that relate to the movement and storage-in-transit of household goods.
GAO was asked to evaluate matters related to DOD's plans to implement the Global Household Goods Contract. GAO assessed the extent to which TRANSCOM has (1) determined the cost implications of moving to a DP3 that incorporates the Global Household Goods Contract and (2) developed metrics to assess program activities and that relate to overarching DP3 goals. GAO evaluated TRANSCOM's cost estimates against the GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide and a DOD business case analysis against GAO's Assessment Methodology for Economic Analysis.
Recommendations
GAO makes three recommendations–that DOD collect and track data to more precisely determine DP3's manpower needs and costs, develop performance metrics for DP3 activities not part of the contract, and articulate the linkage between performance metrics and program goals. DOD concurred with all three GAO recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Office of the Secretary of Defense | The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, should ensure that the TRANSCOM Commander, in coordination with the military services and the Coast Guard, develop a process for tracking data during the first 3 years of the Global Household Goods Contract to inform its planned manpower study during the third year of the contract to more precisely determine DP3 manpower needs and associated costs. (Recommendation 1) |
DOD concurred with our recommendation in 2020 and stated that DOD will use DP3 Reform Workshops to develop and recommend DOD-wide manpower and resourcing standards for DP3 operations, including developing processes for tracking data to inform its planned manpower study. DOD has since taken actions to implement our recommendation. Specifically, DOD has developed a process for tracking data during the first 3 years of the Global Household Goods Contract (GHC). For example, DOD provided documentation showing that it plans to collect more than 30 data elements from manual and electronic sources, such as from the military services' call center phone systems and manual collection logs, during domestic phase-in of the GHC during both peak and non-peak season. These actions meet the intent of our recommendation. By tracking key manpower data associated with the GHC implementation, DOD is better positioned to fully understand the personnel and cost implications of the transition to a DP3 that incorporates the GHC.
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| Office of the Secretary of Defense | The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, should ensure that the TRANSCOM Commander develop performance metrics for those DP3 activities that will not be a part of the Global Household Goods Contract, such as servicemember counseling and claims resolution that will, at least in part, continue to be performed by the military services. (Recommendation 2) |
In response to our recommendation, DOD has developed performance metrics for those DP3 activities that will not be a part of the Global Household Goods Contract and will, at least in part, continue to be performed by the military services. For example, DOD has established performance metrics and acceptable quality level thresholds for government-provided servicemember counseling (95 percent customer satisfaction) and claims adjudication (90 percent within 45 days). Moreover, DOD stated that it will incorporate these metrics into existing governance processes to ensure senior leaders routinely review these metrics for relevance and consistency with policy. We believe these actions meet the intent of our recommendation .
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| Office of the Secretary of Defense | The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, should ensure that the TRANSCOM Commander articulate the linkage, where appropriate, between DP3 performance metrics, including Global Household Goods Contract performance indicators, and overarching program goals. (Recommendation 3) |
In response to our recommendation, DOD has linked a number of DP3 performance metrics, including Global Household Goods Contract performance indicators, to the overarching program goals of quality, capacity, accountability, responsibility, and cost. For example, DOD has explicitly linked the government-provided servicemember counseling and claims adjudication performance metrics to the quality and responsibility program goals, the physical quality assurance inspection performance metric to the quality and accountability program goals, and the invoice certification performance metric to the responsibility and cost program goals. We believe these actions meet the intent of our recommendation.
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