Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
2/20/2015
West Valley Demonstration Project cleanup contractor CH2M Hill B&W West Valley earned about 60 percent, or $175,000, of its available award fee for the second half of Fiscal Year 2014, according to a fee determination scorecard the Department of Energy released this week. CHBWV’s score was slightly better than what it received for the first half of FY 2014, when it earned about 53 percent of the available award fee. Project management challenges raised in previous DOE fee determinations continue to be an issue for the contractor. “The issues in the area of Project Management are still one extenuating factor that must be weighed in making a final fee determination,” the most recent scorecard states. “Based solely upon the results to date the determination for Award Fee would be $150,000. However, taking into consideration the excellent rating in Safety, Health and Quality and the significant effort CHBWV is making to try to improve Project Management, DOE concluded the Award Fee evaluation resulted in an Award Fee of $175,000.”
CHBWV took over the contract in August 2011 for the major D&D project at the former reprocessing facility in western New York state, which includes plans to eventually demolish the site’s main plant. In the latest fee period, the contractor earned its lowest mark in the project management category, receiving a “satisfactory” rating. DOE’s main concerns were “significant weaknesses” in the implementation of the Earned Value Management System Description that resulted in CHBWV failing to achieve EVMS certification, according to the scorecard. Review of its EVMS certification led to 35 corrective action requests and five continuous improvement opportunities. “The contract requires CHBWV to obtain EVMS Certification within 12 months of the contract award date. The number of CAR’s, after almost three years since contract award, further confirms the concern that there are major compliance issues, especially in the areas of scheduling and change control,” the scorecard states.
After receiving low marks in project management in previous fee determinations, CHBWV brought on additional employees last year to focus on planning and project management. “CHBWV began to make positive changes in their schedule traceability to synchronize field work schedules with the performance measurement baseline,” the latest fee determination states, also noting “excellent partnering efforts in the area of project management.” The contractor did not respond to request for comment this week.
Contractor Earns ‘Good’ for Business Mgmt., ‘Very Good’ for Reg. Strategy
CHBWV received a “good” rating in business management, with DOE noting cost savings and timely submission of documents but calling for improvements in cyber security and personnel management. It earned a “very good” rating in environmental and regulatory strategy, with DOE noting that the contractor obtained several necessary permits.
The highest marks went to safety, health and quality management, for which CHBWV received an “excellent” rating. “Factors positively influencing the rating include attainment of one million safe work hours; effective use of ‘step backs,’ fact finding meetings, and response to off-normal events or changed conditions to control the escalation of potential hazards; continued excellent coordination and partnering efforts; and excellent demonstration of commitment to safety excellence,” the scorecard states.
