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Telecommunications Management: More Effort Needed by Interior and the Forest Service to Achieve Savings

AIMD-97-67 Published: May 08, 1997. Publicly Released: Jun 09, 1997.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed efforts by the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service to reduce costs by consolidating their telecommunications services, focusing on whether Interior: (1) has consolidated and optimized telecommunications services to eliminate unnecessary services and maximize savings; and (2) and the Forest Service are sharing telecommunications services where they can.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Interior In order to help bring about significant potential savings from consolidated and shared telecommunications resources, the Secretary of the Interior should direct, and hold accountable, the Department's acting Chief Information Officer (CIO) to immediately establish and fully implement among Interior's bureaus, a departmentwide program for systematically identifying and acting on all opportunities to consolidate and optimize telecommunications resources, including voice, data, video, and radio equipment and services, where it is cost-effective to do so. At a minimum, the acting CIO should determine and maintain a current list of department field locations that are collocated and the extent to which telecommunications resources and services can be shared.
Closed – Implemented
Interior completed work on the Interior Site Information System (ISIS) in 1999. The system, which maintains an inventory of all departmental locations and telecommunications assets and capabilities, assists bureaus and offices with identifying telecommunications resources sharing opportunities. In addition, ISIS is being used by Interior's FTS 2001 contractor to plan the department's transition from FTS 2000 to FTS 2001 and to identify where new services can be shared at Interior sites and at sites where Interior bureaus are collocated with other federal agencies.
Department of the Interior In order to help bring about significant potential savings from consolidated and shared telecommunications resources, the Secretary of the Interior should direct, and hold accountable, the Department's acting CIO to immediately establish and fully implement among Interior's bureaus, a departmentwide program for systematically identifying and acting on all opportunities to consolidate and optimize telecommunications resources, including voice, data, video, and radio equipment and services, where it is cost-effective to do so. At a minimum, the acting CIO should direct and ensure that all Interior bureaus and offices establish and maintain up-to-date and complete inventories of their telecommunications resources and services at collocated sites.
Closed – Implemented
Interior began work on a departmentwide inventory system and issued a departmental Information Resources Management (IRM) Bulletin on December 16, 1997, to provide interim telecommunications recordkeeping and sharing guidance. In 1999, Interior completed work on its Site Information System (ISIS), which maintains an inventory of all departmental locations, their telecommunications assets and capabilities.
Department of the Interior In order to help bring about significant potential savings from consolidated and shared telecommunications resources, the Secretary of the Interior should direct, and hold accountable, the Department's acting CIO to immediately establish and fully implement among Interior's bureaus, a departmentwide program for systematically identifying and acting on all opportunities to consolidate and optimize telecommunications resources, including voice, data, video, and radio equipment and services, where it is cost-effective to do so. At a minimum, the acting CIO should direct and ensure that all Interior bureaus and offices review and analyze telecommunications bills at regular intervals, using a cost-effective approach to ensure that all charges are appropriate and services needed.
Closed – Implemented
Billing procedures and analysis techniques were reviewed departmentwide in September 1997. IRM Bulletin 1997-006, issued in December 1997, defined telecommunications manager billing and ordering responsibilities. These and other related actions led to $10.5 million in reductions in Interior's FY 1997 telecommunications costs. Interior also contracted for audits of commercial bills at its largest bureau-managed facilities and is analyzing and verifying Interior-assigned FTS 2000 telephone numbers on a nationwide basis.
Department of the Interior In order to help bring about significant potential savings from consolidated and shared telecommunications resources, the Secretary of the Interior should direct, and hold accountable, the Department's acting CIO to immediately establish and fully implement among Interior's bureaus, a departmentwide program for systematically identifying and acting on all opportunities to consolidate and optimize telecommunications resources, including voice, data, video, and radio equipment and services, where it is cost-effective to do so. At a minimum, the acting CIO should identify potential savings opportunities at these sites using inventories and telecommunications tools, such as USDA's network analysis model.
Closed – Implemented
The agency agreed with the recommendation. A project team evaluated and selected USDA's network analysis tool for use at Interior. USDA also provided Interior an analysis that identified where potential savings may be achieved by consolidating and optimizing FTS 2000 services. However, due to the change of service under the pending transition to FTS 2001, these Interior telecommunications savings opportunities may no longer be cost-beneficial to implement. Instead, Interior is providing this information to MCI-Worldcom-the contractor handling Interior's FTS 2001 transition-to ensure that its transition plan provides for optimized service aggregation and access sharing where appropriate.
Department of the Interior In order to help bring about significant potential savings from consolidated and shared telecommunications resources, the Secretary of the Interior should direct, and hold accountable, the Department's acting CIO to immediately establish and fully implement among Interior's bureaus, a departmentwide program for systematically identifying and acting on all opportunities to consolidate and optimize telecommunications resources, including voice, data, video, and radio equipment and services, where it is cost-effective to do so. At a minimum, the acting CIO should monitor these activities and follow up as needed to ensure that all identified savings opportunities are acted upon.
Closed – Implemented
In response to GAO's recommendations, Interior's CIO office regularly monitors the status of all improvement projects and follows up to ensure that improvements and associated savings opportunities are being acted on. In addition, the CIO's office provides the CIO with ongoing briefings on the results.
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior should direct, and hold accountable, each of the Department's assistant secretaries to cooperate with the acting CIO and immediately establish and fully implement bureauwide programs for similarly identifying and acting on all opportunities to consolidate and optimize telecommunications resources within each bureau, using the steps discussed.
Closed – Implemented
Interior's Information Technology Steering Committee, which is composed of the Assistant Secretaries, Bureau Directors, and other key departmental officials, was given responsibility for overseeing and monitoring the department's telecommunications management improvement program. As a result, Interior achieved significant cost reductions in FTS 2000 and other services totaling more than $10 million annually.
Other Interior's acting CIO should report to the Secretary of the Interior every 6 months on the progress of these efforts and savings achieved.
Closed – Implemented
Interior's CIO began providing reports to the Secretary on December 1, 1997 on the results of the department's work implementing GAO's recommendations. In the CIO's May 28, 1998 report, the CIO stated that additional reports will be provided semiannually until all action on the recommendations is completed.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that their respective acting CIOs are responsible and accountable for implementing the 1995 joint sharing agreement. At a minimum, the acting CIOs should determine where Interior and USDA field sites are collocated and the extent to which services are shared.
Closed – Implemented
In response to the recommendations, a new memorandum of understanding on shared telecommunications services was executed in January 1998 by Interior's bureaus and the CIO with the CIOs of the USDA and the Forest Service. It provided for the joint optimization and consolidation of telephone services and data networks. Under this agreement, Interior and USDA determined where they had collocated field offices and started assessing the extent to which these offices shared FTS 2000 services. While initial results of these assessments showed some potential savings opportunities, progress was delayed by the Year 2000 computing problem. Currently, Interior and USDA are working with MCI-Worldcom-the contractor handling the FTS 2001 transition for both departments-to ensure that their transition plans provide for optimized service aggregation and access sharing.
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that their respective acting CIOs are responsible and accountable for implementing the 1995 joint sharing agreement. At a minimum, the acting CIOs should determine where Interior and USDA field sites are collocated and the extent to which services are shared.
Closed – Implemented
A new memorandum of understanding on shared telecommunications services was executed in January 1998 by Interior's bureaus and the CIO with the CIOs of the USDA and the Forest Service. It provided for the joint optimization and consolidation of telephone services and data networks. Under this agreement, Interior and USDA determined where they had collocated field offices and started assessing the extent to which these offices shared FTS 2000 services. While initial results of these assessments showed some potential savings opportunities, progress was delayed by the Year 2000 computing problem. Currently, Interior and USDA are working with MCI-Worldcom-the contractor handling the FTS 2001 transition for both departments-to ensure that their transition plans provide for optimized service aggregation and access sharing.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that their respective acting CIOs are responsible and accountable for implementing the 1995 joint sharing agreement. At a minimum, the acting CIOs should identify potential savings opportunities for all telecommunications equipment and services at these sites using the information specified above and telecommunications tools such as USDA's network analysis model.
Closed – Implemented
In response to the recommendations, a new memorandum of understanding on shared telecommunications services was executed in January 1998 by Interior's bureaus and the CIO with the CIOs of the USDA and the Forest Service. Under this agreement, Interior and USDA determined where they had collocated field offices and started assessing the extent to which these offices shared FTS 2000 services. While initial results of these assessments showed some potential savings opportunities, progress was delayed by the Year 2000 computing problem. Currently, Interior and USDA are working with MCI-Worldcom-the contractor handling the FTS 2001 transition for both departments-to ensure that their transition plans provide for optimized service aggregation and access sharing.
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that their respective acting CIOs are responsible and accountable for implementing the 1995 joint sharing agreement. At a minimum, the acting CIOs should identify potential savings opportunities for all telecommunications equipment and services at these sites using the information specified above and telecommunications tools such as USDA's network analysis model.
Closed – Implemented
A new memorandum of understanding on shared telecommunications services was executed in January 1998 by Interior's bureaus and the CIO with the CIOs of the USDA and the Forest Service. Under this agreement, Interior and USDA determined where they had collocated field offices and started assessing the extent to which these offices shared FTS 2000 services. While initial results of these assessments showed some potential savings opportunities, progress was delayed by the Year 2000 computing problem. Currently, Interior and USDA are working with MCI-Worldcom-the contractor handling the FTS 2001 transition for both departments-to ensure that their transition plans provide for optimized service aggregation and access sharing.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that their respective acting CIOs are responsible and accountable for implementing the 1995 joint sharing agreement. At a minimum, the acting CIOs should stop further radio system purchases, except those necessary for meeting immediate technology needs that are critical to ongoing operations, until both departments jointly determine and document where radio equipment and services can be cost-effectively shared and savings achieved.
Closed – Implemented
In response to GAO's recommendations, USDA placed a moratorium on the purchase of Forest Service radio systems on July 21, 1997. Likewise, following GAO's report, Interior issued a policy (IRM bulletin 1998-02) requiring that radio sharing analyses are performed to ensure that all radio sharing opportunities are considered prior to the acquisition of new radio systems. With respect to opportunities for sharing existing radio systems, Interior reported that it identified 134 potential sharing opportunities. This information has been forwarded to USDA's Forest Service for its review and will be the subject of a joint Interior/USDA radio communications workshop.
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that their respective acting CIOs are responsible and accountable for implementing the 1995 joint sharing agreement. At a minimum, the acting CIOs should stop further radio system purchases, except those necessary for meeting immediate technology needs that are critical to ongoing operations, until both departments jointly determine and document where radio equipment and services can be cost-effectively shared and savings achieved.
Closed – Implemented
USDA placed a moratorium on the purchase of Forest Service radio systems on July 21, 1997. Likewise, following GAO's report, Interior issued a policy (IRM bulletin 1998-02) requiring that radio sharing analyses are performed to ensure that all radio sharing opportunities are considered prior to the acquisition of new radio systems. With respect to opportunities for sharing existing radio systems, Interior reported that it identified 134 potential sharing opportunities. This information has been forwarded to USDA's Forest Service for its review and will be the subject of a joint Interior/USDA radio communications workshop.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that their respective acting CIOs are responsible and accountable for implementing the 1995 joint sharing agreement. At a minimum, the acting CIOs should monitor these activities and followup where needed to ensure that all identified savings opportunities are acted upon.
Closed – Implemented
In response to the recommendations, a new memorandum of understanding on shared telecommunications services was executed in January 1998 by Interior's bureaus and the CIO with the CIOs of the USDA and the Forest Service. Under this agreement, Interior's and USDA's CIOs determined collocated field offices and identified potential savings opportunities at these sites. However, progress was delayed by the Year 2000 computing problem. Currently, Interior and USDA are working with MCI-Worldcom-the contractor handling the FTS 2001 transition for both departments-to ensure that their transition plans provide for optimized service aggregation and access sharing.
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture should ensure that their respective acting CIOs are responsible and accountable for implementing the 1995 joint sharing agreement. At a minimum, the acting CIOs should monitor these activities and followup where needed to ensure that all identified savings opportunities are acted upon.
Closed – Implemented
A new memorandum of understanding on shared telecommunications services was executed in January 1998 by Interior's bureaus and the CIO with the CIOs of the USDA and the Forest Service. Under this agreement, Interior's and USDA's CIOs determined collocated field offices and identified potential savings opportunities at these sites. However, progress was delayed by the Year 2000 computing problem. Currently, Interior and USDA are working with MCI-Worldcom-the contractor handling the FTS 2001 transition for both departments-to ensure that their transition plans provide for optimized service aggregation and access sharing.

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Cost controlCost effectiveness analysisData transmissionFederal procurementInformation resources managementInteragency relationsTelecommunicationsTelecommunications equipmentRadioFederal telecommunications system