Travel Process Reengineering: DOD Faces Challenges in Using Industry Practices to Reduce Costs

DOD has established milestones for implementation of travel reengineering task force recommendations. The milestones are in various stages of completion. For example, DOD completed its 27 pilot tests of the new concept of operations by March 1997, subsequently analyzed the test results against a baseline of old manual processes, and reported the results to Congress in June 1997. Work on random audits of reengineered travel processes is ongoing. A government-wide conference on statistical sampling helped support development of random audit procedures. The Request for Proposals for a new commercial off-the-shelf Defense Travel System was released in June 1997, with DTS contract award for Defense Travel Region 6 expected this December.

DOD began pilots in 1995 to test the new travel processing concept of operations, gather baseline data and demonstrate costs and benefits of new processes, and help identify requirements for a new Defense Travel System. The 27 pilots were completed by March 31, 1997. Legislative changes identified via the pilots, and needed to support travel process reengineering, were included in the FY 1997 DOD Authorization Act. DOD is working with IRS to get a waiver for electronic retention of receipts. Pilot efforts have also helped ensure that adequate controls, such as software edit checks and random audits, are in place. A report on overall pilot test results was submitted to Congress in June 1997.

DOD has instituted performance indicators to monitor travel reengineering progress. Indicators include time and cost to process travel orders and customer satisfaction surveys--all measured against a current baseline. The indicators were used in the pilot tests to validate the travel reengineering concept of operations and to help develop a solicitation for the new Defense Travel System. Pilot test results reported to Congress in June 1997 showed a 48-percent decrease in both average cycle time and travel process steps, a 63-percent decrease in average voucher processing time, and a 56-percent decrease in average processing costs. Customer satisfaction increased by close to 100 percent on many indicators, showing endorsement of the travel reengineering concept of operations.

Officials of DOD's Reengineering Travel Transition Organization indicated that Defense has provided sustained commitment to the travel process reengineering initiative and that their organization continues to have the resources and authority necessary to carry out its mandate. Initially approved by the Deputy Secretary, the reengineering initiative remains a high-visibility program under the direction of the Comptroller, who has the authority to change any policy, procedure, process, or regulation within Defense to achieve streamlining objectives. The Comptroller has made the effort one of his highest priorities and has ensured that the transition organization has the financial, staff, and contractor resources necessary to accomplish its objectives.

An 0-8 steering group, including representatives at the two-star general level, continues to meet on an as-needed basis to discuss digital signature and other issues associated with the travel reengineering effort. An 0-6 working group, including representation at the GS-15 level, also continues to meet weekly to coordinate pilots and the efforts of other issue-specific teams of which they form part. The Reengineering Travel Transition Office, charged with implementing the travel reengineering effort, continues to lead training on various aspects of new travel management processes, such as use of the government credit card. A teaching package for chain training on new travel processes has been installed in the services. Further, a video on travel processing at the pilot test sites and a course on conducting random audits have both been completed.