Kenneth Fletcher
NS&D Monitor
4/25/2014

The Department of Energy could potentially save more than $2.3 million over the next three years by increasing efficiency  in acquisition and management of mobile devices such as phones, tablets and air cards, according to a DOE Inspector General report released this week. The IG’s review covered 10 sites in Fiscal Year 2012, and it found ways to save costs at eight of those locations. It noted that some devices that were activated were not used the entire year, some employee stipends for use of personal phones were not used in the most efficient manner and many sites did not consolidate multiple contracts to increase leveraging. DOE management concurred with the report’s recommendations and said in a response to the report that corrective actions are underway.

The Department did not always develop or implement effective policies to cover use of mobile devices, the IG said. “For instance, although many sites monitored overall costs, they  had not monitored usage to determine whether there was a continuing need for mobile devices,” the report states. “In addition, sites had not developed and implemented policies and procedures to ensure that employees who received stipends actually incurred additional costs as a result of using personal devices for business purposes. Sites also had not always conducted adequate cost-benefit  analyses related to stipend initiatives, a factor that may have contributed to higher than necessary payments to contractor employees. Furthermore, programs and sites had taken a fragmented approach to procurement and administration of mobile devices rather than using a centralized coordinated approach. This practice resulted in potentially costly and duplicative acquisition and  maintenance functions and varying prices paid for the same products and services.”