Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
1/24/2014
While West Valley Demonstration Project cleanup contractor CH2M Hill B&W West Valley, LLC, earned about 46 percent of total award fee available in Fiscal Year 2013, it has made notable improvements since its first year on the job, Department of Energy West Valley Director Bryan Bower told WC Monitor this week. CHBWV took over work in August 2011, and only earned one-sixth of its available fee the first year on the job at the small New York site. But overall, the contractor has done fairly well in its most recent evaluation, Bower said. “If you look at how they did on the last evaluation period, they actually got two very goods, a good and a satisfactory. That’s a pretty high bar to meet,” he said.
During the period from Aug. 29, 2012 through Feb. 28, 2013, the contractor earned $100,000 out of $327,427 in available award fee, about 31 percent, according to information recently posted by the Department of Energy. Improvements since its first year on the job led it to earn more than it would have otherwise. DOE’s evaluation for the first half of the fiscal year would have resulted in the contractor earning $65,485.40 in fee, but the fee determining official boosted that after taking into account mitigating factors in areas including project management, safety culture and use of corporate reachback. The contractor also improved in the second half of the year, earning $200,000 between March and August 2013 out of $331,178 available.
Must Exceed Expectations to Earn Award Fee
Bower explained that CHBWV must exceed expectations to earn the bulk of its award fee. “We are emphasizing and focusing on developing a system that motivates the contractor to the best possible performance so that as you go from the various rating categories, from unsatisfactory to the satisfactory to the good to the very good to the excellent, the portion of the fee available gets higher and higher as you work your way up through that,” he said. “So it’s not linear… As you move from each depth the percentage of the fee available becomes higher. We are really striving for that very good and excellent performance, so that’s where we have set the larger portion of the fee.” CHBWV did not respond to request for comment this week.
‘Just Not There Yet’ On Project Management
The contractor has gotten its lowest marks in project management, with is mainly due to integration of field schedules and baseline schedules. However, CHBWV is also getting better in that area, Bower said. “That’s the one area where it’s certainly not a lack of effort. I don’t want to portray it as they’re not trying, but they’re not there yet.,” he said. “But we’re measuring performance, we’re measuring effort, and the CHBWV team is really striving to get there. It’s been a difficult challenge for them, and I see some real positive developments and I hope they continue in that area, but they’re just not there yet.”
In the evaluation for the first half of FY’13, CHBWV scored highest in the safety and health and environmental and regulatory strategy categories, earning a “very good” rating. For the quality, business and project management categories, CHBWV was rated “good.” Several issues were noted in the project management category. While the contractor submitted its risk management plan and improved coordination across projects, several internal baseline changes did not follow its Earned Value Management System Description. “CHBWV rescheduled work planned in the past and moved this work into the future creating the impression of marked improvement in earned value performance work; however, CHBWV’s EVMS prohibits this practice,” the scorecard states.
For the latest assessment period between March and August, in the project management category CHBWV earned a “satisfactory” mark, its lowest rating out of the four categories assessed. CHBWV earned its highest marks, or “very good” ratings, in safety, health and quality management, and Environmental and Regulatory Strategy. In the safety and health category, DOE noted in the scorecard “successful implementation” of the contractor’s Integrated Safety Management System, “notable Quality Assurance and Emergency Management performance,” as well as “interactive senior management field presence,” and “commendable” support at the 01-14 building demolition. On environmental and regulatory, DOE noted CHBWV’s efforts in public relations and regulator communications, delivery of documents, and response to DOE concerns on internal coordination.
