Contracting Done Right
ITT Systems Employees in Iraq Team Up With U.S.
Military to Provide Local Children with School Supplies
Bringing Job Growth to Rural Virginia: CGI’s
Southwest Virginia Technology Center of Excellence
Recycling, Reusing and Going Green: BAE Systems
Helps Government Save Millions
From Paper to Paperless: Transforming the
Nation’s Financial Aid Process
IBM and US State Department Lead Telemedicine
Project in Pakistan
Modernizing America’s Child Welfare Data
Collection System
Simulation Training Saves Lives on the
Battlefield
Reducing the Gap between Cancer Research and
Treatment
The Re-Greening of Iraq: How
Government-Contractor Collaboration Helped Restore Critical
Wetlands
High-Flying, High-Tech Fire-Fighting Machines
Save Forests, Lives and Money
The Clean-up at Rocky Flats: Billions Saved in a
Government/Contractor Partnership
ITT Systems Employees in Iraq Team Up With U.S.
Military to Provide Local Children with School Supplies
For safety reasons, ITT Corporation employees working on the
Global Maintenance and Supply Services (GMASS) program at Joint Base
Balad, Iraq can’t freely venture outside of the military base
where they maintain and upgrade vehicles, but that doesn’t keep
them from equipping local Iraqi children to succeed in school.
ITT Systems Division staff at Balad organized a fundraising
competition, with a pizza party going to the winning team, as part of an
effort to purchase backpacks and school supplies. In just two weeks,
they raised $3,700 to purchase colorful school backpacks and partnered
with the U.S. Army’s 1-402nd Field Support Brigade and 37th
Engineer Battalion to provide paper, pencils, paints, a toy and some
candy to fill the backpacks.
Once the materials were purchased, ITT employees, working during
their off-duty hours, stuffed the packs with the supplies and turned
them over to U.S. Army personnel at Joint Base Balad for distribution to
children at a school about 10km from the base. Since the ITT Balad
team ended up exceeding their original fundraising goal, they are
already working to prepare a second batch of supplies for schoolchildren
in another local Iraqi town.
“Hopefully our efforts will help the military build relations
in the surrounding area, encourage the local children, and make the area
safer for soldiers, civilians and Iraqis in the long run,” said
ITT Systems Program Manager Jeff Meo.
Bringing Job Growth to Rural Virginia: CGI’s Southwest
Virginia Technology Center of Excellence
When he was campaigning for president, candidate Barack Obama made a
stop in Lebanon, Virginia to talk about creating more high technology
jobs. He singled out CGI, a global information technology and business
process services provider, for bringing over 300 high tech jobs to a
rural area of the state.
Encouraged in part by Virginia’s
business-friendly orientation and the state’s aggressive effort to
build out high-speed broadband technology, CGI decided to locate one of
its 13 Centers of Excellence in Lebanon.
The Center expands CGI’s capacity to provide its government and
private sector clients with a broad range of IT services at competitive
rates. Locating a center in a rural area provided the additional benefit
of spurring economic development in a region anxious to attract
employers.
CGI, which has operations in 16 countries, has its U.S. headquarters
in Fairfax, VA. The company is a leader in IT and business processes
that reduce costs, improve efficiency and help clients solve difficult
business challenges. In deciding to locate in Russell County, VA, the
company recognized the availability of a well educated, skilled
workforce and its proximity to leading universities and colleges in the
region. “With the Southwest Virginia Center, we were able to
address a long-standing economic and social issue across the
US—the exodus of jobs as well as young people from smaller, rural
communities in favor of larger, metropolitan cities,” says Donna
Morea, President, CGI United States.
The CGI Center started with 17 employees in 2006 and now employs 306,
thanks in large part to the ability to recruit from local colleges and
universities. And CGI recently announced that it will add 100 new jobs
in Lebanon in the coming year. In its Lebanon facility, with high end
information technology jobs, CGI is now supporting 13 clients—the
U.S. government, state and local governments, and global commercial
sector clients—with systems design, development, testing and
integration services.
The results for CGI, its clients and Russell County have been
positive all around. As a result the company is actively seeking other
locations in the U.S. where it can partner with state and local
governments to bring job growth and technology advancements to rural
America. “It’s a win-win situation for CGI and the
localities,” says Donna Morea.
“Our presence in a region brings job growth, gives local
graduates an opportunity to stay and work in their home towns and allows
CGI to offer our clients flexible, affordable delivery options on U.S.
soil.”
Although it is no short commute from either Richmond or Capitol Hill,
Lebanon has seen its fair share of visitors and dignitaries who were
interested in seeing the facility and the work CGI does first hand. In
addition to President Obama’s visit, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA)
and Governor Tim Kaine (D-VA) attended at the ribbon cutting event in
2007. Both spoke about the importance of creative public-private
partnerships to drive economic development in rural America.
Recycling, Reusing and Going Green: BAE Systems Helps Government
Save Millions
With $235,000 in seed money, one man’s plan for recycling and
reusing outdated equipment at a munitions plant has turned into a $2.5
million return on investment for the Army.
Built during World War II, the Holston Army Ammunition plant in
Kingsport, Tenn., manufactures explosives for the military. Within the
plant are outdated pieces of equipment and machinery and hazardous
materials that required safe disposal.
Eric Fugate, the plant manager and an employee of BAE Systems,
which operates the plant for the
Army, had an idea. Knowing the value of the stainless steel, copper and
silver that comprise the various pieces of old unused equipment, Fugate
developed a plan to use the value of the metals to carry out a
self-funded demolition project. The project would ultimately improve
business performance, dispose of redundant equipment and remove
hazardous materials—all at no net cost to the government.
When Fugate presented his plan to the senior
government civilian, Commander’s Representative Bob Ragan, Ragan
immediately saw the potential and jumped at the opportunity to get the
project briefed to his higher headquarters. “This idea was pure
thinking outside-the-box, especially in light of the current funding
stream that plants like Holston live with on a daily basis. Truly BAE is
looking out for their customer,” said Ragan.
“I just kept the Army’s long-term needs in mind.
Sometimes we can help show them a better way to accomplish their
mission. Doing what our customers need, and saving money while doing it,
is what we should all try to do. After all, I’m a taxpayer
too,” Fugate said.
Fugate presented his plan to the Army, which provided $235,000 in
initial seed money. This funding was required in part to remove the
asbestos from a portion of the plant. The valuable metals contained in
the equipment were then removed and sold to generate the money to pay
for the demolition work.
Fugate’s out-of-the-box idea is coming to fruition. The
disposal of the redundant equipment is on schedule and will be completed
over the next 18 to 24 months and will generate more than $2.5 million
from the sale of the valuable metals.
From Paper to Paperless: Transforming the
Nation’s Financial Aid Process
Each year, the U.S. Department of
Education's Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) administers programs
that disburse more than $70 billion in financial aid to help students
pay for college. Just a decade ago, the 13 million students applying for
federal student aid had to use a cumbersome, complicated and sometimes
confounding paper-based process. Now, with help from Vangent, a
leading global information management company, FSA has a modern, almost
paperless system—making life easier for students, cutting costs,
streamlining a cumbersome process, and increasing efficiency and
accuracy.
When FSA turned to Vangent as a private sector partner, it got
results. The online system they designed, built, and continue to
operate allows students and parents to apply for federal student aid via
a secure, user-friendly web site, thereby nearly eliminating the
complex, paper-based form that required considerable time to complete
and a costly, labor-intensive data collection system to process.
Much like the security for filing taxes online, the web site,
commonly referred to as FAFSA on the Web, allows for secure transmission
of data directly from the applicant’s computer to FSA’s
Central Processing System, also designed by Vangent. FAFSA is the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid. This new system calculates the
student applicant’s eligibility for federal aid in as little as 24
hours, compared to the 7 days under the paper-based system.
Electronic applications now account for more than 98 percent of all
applications—substantially decreasing FSA’s processing and
printing costs. The site has won numerous awards and
accolades—including the Excellence.gov and the E-Gov Pioneer
awards, and Government Executive and Federal Computer
Week gave it similar praise.
FAFSA on the Web consistently has received American Customer
Satisfaction Index (ACSI) ratings in the mid-80 percent range, which are
generally higher than other sites measured in the E-Gov index. The FAFSA
on the Web ACSI rating for 2008 is currently 84. The ACSI is a uniform
and independent measure of customer experience.
In a March 2008 letter from the U.S. Department of Education, Vangent
was cited as an important partner in the first step for students
and families applying for financial aid. “This application process
is critical to ensure that students and families receive financial aid
in a timely, efficient, and accurate manner,” DoEd said.
“Vangent again played an invaluable role in this peak-processing
season.” The department commended the company “for the
outstanding teamwork with our Federal Student Aid resources and the
other contractors who play a critical role in the application
process.”
In addition, Vangent has continually improved the website to reduce
operational costs for FSA. For example, it has combined a technical help
desk with a general information contact center serving the same
population; the cross-trained telephone and correspondence staff;
implemented workstation and equipment sharing; streamlined
correspondence processes; and cut the amount of time required to
generate correspondence.
For more information about Vangent, please visit www.vangent.com.
IBM and US State Department Lead
Telemedicine Project in Pakistan
Sick patients in remote Pakistani villages can now get high quality
medical services that were previously lacking or absent via an
Internet-based program provided by the U.S. Department of State and IBM,
its private sector partner. The Pakistan Telemedicine Project provides
an extensive array of healthcare consultation and education via the
Internet. The subject areas include: pre-operative planning and
follow-up; cardiac assessment; ophthalmology, dermatology, radiology,
infectious disease, and pre-natal evaluations; and medical triage for
traumas and acute illnesses.
Watch a YouTube video about the
project here.
Moving information instead of people is the objective of this
cutting-edge program. “Pakistan is the sixth most populous country
in the world – a nation of 173 million people,” said
internationally recognized telemedicine expert and surgeon, Dr. Asif
Zafar, of the Holy Family Hospital. “The goal of this project is
to highlight technology’s ability to overcome a significant
healthcare imbalance—more than 75 percent of the population lives
in rural areas but only 22 percent of the doctors work there.”
The partnership combines an Internet-access portal providing
interactive collaboration tools such as secure email, voice and video
conferencing on a secure telemedicine network with advanced medical
peripheral devices including portable ultrasound, digital cameras, EKG,
stethoscope and X-ray machine.
“With the proliferation and fusion of information,
telecommunications and medical technologies, we can bring advanced
healthcare services to people in remote geographies with compassion,
efficiency and affordability,” said Dan Pelino, General Manager,
IBM Global Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry. “The Pakistan
Telemedicine Project brings together the strengths of both public and
private partners to provide a global blueprint – one that can be
replicated to enhance the lives of people worldwide by providing quality
healthcare at the point of need.”
The new system leverages the low-cost, ubiquitous power of the
Internet to connect hub hospitals to what the team hopes will be an
increasing number of spoke facilities. In turn, the system can access
and engage the help of medical experts working at some of the most elite
medical institutions in Pakistan and around the world. The system
can also be used for other applications, such as on-line education.
“The Department of State, through the Pakistan Telemedicine
Project, is demonstrating the transformative power of telecommunications
technology under the U.S. Government’s Digital Freedom Initiative,
which seeks to encourage the spread of technology to the developing
world,” said Ferial Saeed, Deputy U.S. Coordinator & Office
Director for International Communications & Information Policy.
“Telecommunications technology not only underpins global economic
growth and development but also can be used to promote both good
government and good governance – from online medical and
educational initiatives that deliver services and opportunities to
people and places too often overlooked, to e-government programs that
increase the public trust. Under this public-private partnership, we
hope to demonstrate how technology and Internet-based connectivity can
significantly improve the quality of life for people in remote
locations.”
The Public-Private Partnership members are:
U.S. Department of State: www.state.gov/e/eeb/cip/
IBM: www.ibm.com
Wateen Telecom: www.wateen.com
Medweb: www.medweb.com
USAID: www.usaid.gov
Motorola: www.motorola.com/us
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Center, U.S. Department of Defense:
www.tatrc.org
Embassy of Pakistan, Washington, D.C.: www.pakistan-embassy.org/
Holy Family Hospital
District Attock Hospital
Modernizing America’s Child Welfare
Data Collection System
Keeping track of the services received by the more than 500,000
children in America’s child welfare system is a daunting task. So
too is the state-by-state assessment and evaluation process--the Child
and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs)--which is conducted by the
Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. Until recently, the data collection system had been
paper-based, which made data analysis tedious, time-consuming, and
difficult.
Under a contract with the Children’s Bureau, JBS International,
Inc., an award-winning, women-owned business based in Bethesda,
Maryland, converted the outmoded paper-based system to an automated,
state-of-the-art data management system. The new automated system
enables HHS reviewers working on site in each state to collect and
upload raw review data instantly to a central server. Further, the
system presents the data in user-friendly formats and generates
automated reports that the Children’s Bureau uses to analyze the
results.
For this work, JBS received an award from HHS’s Assistant
Secretary, who noted the process that JBS developed “greatly
improved the accuracy, consistency, and usefulness of the review
information in all states.”
The new system greatly enhances the federal government’s
ability to help states improve the safety, permanency, and well-being of
children and families in their child welfare programs. Analysis of the
results provides an opportunity for states to improve the future
outcomes of the children in their care and the services available to
them and their families.
“Knowing that our work is improving the delivery of vital
services to children in need is personally and professionally
gratifying,” said Jerri Shaw, President of JBS. “As a
company with expertise in social and health policy programs and the
application of information technology, designing this system for the
Children’s Bureau was a perfect fit.”
JBS’s new comprehensive information and learning system is
Web-based and provides a single source for information on reviews and
e-training as well as updates, tutorials, video, and information on the
history and context of the CFSR process. The new web portal also enables
participants to learn about and practice using the data management
system before participating in a review. The password-protected portal
was developed in collaboration with the Children’s Bureau and
JBS’s child welfare, training, and curriculum professionals;
information technology staff; and content editors.
Simulation Training Saves Lives on
the Battlefield
One of the major
challenges the U.S. Army faces in Afghanistan and Iraq is
reducing the number of soldiers dying on the battlefield. To reduce the
mortality
rate, the Army needed to obtain a standardized,
state-of-the-art simulation training program not just for medics, but
for any soldier who could give critical first aid to comrades wounded in
the immediate aftermath of a roadside bombing, an ambush or full-scale
battle.
CSC, a world leader in applying
information technology to solve critical problems, was awarded a
competitive three-year, GSA indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity
contract to run the Army’s Medical Simulation Training Centers
(MTSC). For the Army, CSC created a comprehensive program that provides
training, lesson planning, and development of course materials;
cognitive and psychomotor assessment skills for professional and
non-professional certifications; and simulated war scenarios as
realistic as life. In May 2008, as a team member of the
Raytheon-led Warfighter Training Alliance on the Warfighter FOCUS
contract, CSC was awarded a 10-year fixed-price award fee and time and
materials contract to continue its support to the MSTCs until April
2017.
According to
Military Simulation &
Training magazine, the
Army hopes to reduce the “died of wounds” rate 70 to 90
percent through the MSTC program. U.S. Army
War College researcher Col. Richard Thomas said, “An important
contributor to improved survivability is the enhanced training for Army
combat medics in caring for trauma victims. It is the skills of a combat
medic (or other ‘first responder’) that determine the
outcome for most of the wounded.” In his report, “Ensuring
Good Medicine in Bad Places,” Thomas notes that during Operation
Iraqi Freedom one in every eight injured troops (9 percent) died of
wounds, compared with one in four (24 percent) during Korea, Vietnam,
and the first Gulf War, and one in three during World War
II.
For soldiers to take the
training seriously and learn to operate under fire, the simulation
scenarios demanded authenticity. The CSC team worked with the U.S. Army
reviewing the objectives and strategies of a broad range of training
courses, helping draft recommended equipment and supply lists, and
integrating 29 pre-programmed injury scenario modules that mimic the
physiological effects produced in actual traumatic injuries, metabolic
dysfunctions, and disease processes.
In managing the operation of
more than 20 Army training centers, CSC also helps prepare soldiers
psychologically to operate in potentially overwhelming situations by
creating environments in which trainees encounter the sounds, smoke,
smells and casualties of battle. The casualties—represented by
highly sophisticated mannequins that blink, breathe, scream, lose arms
and legs, bleed and potentially die if they do not receive the correct
medical interventions—wear the same uniforms and equipment that
soldiers do.
Additionally, trainees must contend with hostile and friendly
force engagements and come under fire from snipers and insurgents
through live simulation conducted by both Army and CSC instructors using
mock weapons. Trainees also confront simulated dismembered body parts
designed to distract and psychologically throw them into situations
which they may never have encountered before. They come upon damaged
helicopters and transport vehicles—helping them develop
life-saving psychomotor skills such as extricating casualties and
providing medical care to patients in those platforms.
The MSTC courses include
classroom lectures, a medical psychomotor skills laboratory, and
simulation training. In the classes, each student serves all roles: as
medical provider, team leader, and combatant support. CSC captures and
edits actual video footage of the trainees, enabling them to critique
each other and themselves, not only as the health-care provider but also
as team member.
Between November 2005 and
August 2008, approximately 50,000 students graduated from the
CSC-operated sites; and estimates project between 2,400 and 3,000
soldier trainees will graduate annually from each MSTC site.
In addition, employees from the Air Force,
Navy, Marine Corps, Coast
Guard, US Marshalls Service,
National Park Service, civilian firefighters, and law enforcement have
been trained in the centers and are benefitting from the
training.
Reducing the Gap between Cancer
Research and Treatment
A
breakthrough project is creating a community of experts and
organizations to share critical information on cancer research which
many believe has the potential to help transform cancer into a chronic,
manageable disease within a decade. The project was funded by the
National Cancer Institute (NCI) and is managed by Booz Allen Hamilton, a
leader in healthcare consulting for the federal government.
The effort—called the cancer
Biomedical Informatics Grid, or caBIG—is a virtual infrastructure
that connects data, research tools, standards, scientists, and
organizations to form "a World Wide Web of research" that is
accelerating all aspects of cancer prevention, detection, and care by
reducing technical and collaborative barriers.
The caBIG project is creating a "pathway for a new model in
biomedicine," said Kenneth Buetow, director of the NCI's Center for
Bioinformatics. The project earned the 2006 Computerworld Honors 21st
Century Achievement Award for Science. As noted in the Computerworld
Honors Program Case Study: "caBIG has been supported by the NCI as a key
enabler of its vision to eliminate suffering and death due to
cancer."
Launched in 2003 as part of a multi-year National Institutes of
Health contract with Booz Allen, caBIG was developed in collaboration
with 50 NCI cancer centers and 30 other organizations. Booz Allen serves
as the contractor/program manager for the project and is assisting these
cancer centers—including Sloan-Kettering and the Mayo
Clinic—in implementing technologies that revolutionize research
and strengthen collaboration and advances in the health arena.
"caBIG promises to reduce the gap between research and treatment,"
says Chalk Dawson, Booz Allen's principal on the project. Data
sets and information will be available to anyone in biomedical research,
and caBIG infrastructure and tools have wide utility beyond
cancer. Clinical data and technology enable collaborative science,
which is changing the paradigm of how clinical research is
conducted—and Booz Allen is on the cutting edge of it.
caBIG is already extending to a wider community, including the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration and pharmaceutical companies, further benefiting
cancer patients and accelerating research to substantially reduce the
suffering associated with the disease.
The Re-Greening of Iraq: How
Government-Contractor Collaboration Helped Restore Critical
Wetlands
The Iraq
Marshlands Restoration Program (IMRP) is an example of what U.S.
government engagement can achieve, even in the most demanding of
circumstances, when backed by appropriate contractor expertise and
committed host-country institutions.
The marshlands of southern Iraq were once a
major flyway for billions of birds, a source of fish and dairy products
for much of Iraq, and a natural filter for the waters of the Persian
Gulf. But the wetlands were heavily drained as retaliation for their
inhabitants' uprising against Saddam Hussein following the Gulf War.
When Allied forces entered Iraq in 2003, the marshes were only 7 percent
of their original size and the area's population had dwindled from
500,000 to 125,000.
In 2003, the international development firm DAI began work on the
USAID-funded project, which aimed to tackle the environmental and
developmental challenges facing the marshes and their people. Over the
three-year contract, the program:
- Trained provincial government employees and university staff skilled
in and able to apply the fundamentals of marsh restoration and wetland
management;
- Identified committed provincial government employees who will carry
forward agricultural and livestock efforts and a cadre of veterinary
graduates, previously unemployed, who have experience working with
livestock directly in marsh villages;
- Created ownership by the Marsh Arab tribes, as evidenced by their
adoption of program interventions, particularly in agriculture,
livestock, and public health; and
- Demonstrated the potential of a complex, multidisciplinary USAID
program led and operated exclusively by Iraqis in-country, and cited by
the Department of State as a model for others in sustainable
development.
At the national level, IMRP developed the first hydrologic model for
the Tigris and Euphrates river basin, established a marshlands
monitoring system, re-established water and soil laboratories in the
Ministry of Water Resources in Baghdad and at the University of Basra,
and helped the government articulate a comprehensive marsh restoration
policy. At the regional level, it worked in five priority areas:
integrated marsh management, agriculture, livestock and dairy, fishing,
and primary health care. To cite a few examples of IMRP's quantifiable
achievements, the program:
- Increased cultivated land for sorghum and barley from 4,860 hectares
to 21,590 hectares;
- Planted eight nurseries with over 1,500 palm seedlings;
- Served 21,000 patients through two health clinics;
- Restocked 300,000 fish fingerlings; and
- Treated 9,972 animals through veterinary extension services.
Even during the most dangerous
periods in the South, the IMRP team actively fulfilled its mandate,
never ceasing its operations or its visits to the marshlands from Basra,
despite great personal risk.
At its 2007 annual meeting, the American Anthropological Association
awarded DAI's Peter Reiss and his team its prestigious Lourdes Arizpe
Award, an honor that, in the association's words, "combines a practical
component (results) with a knowledge-based component (advancement of
knowledge)."
Today in southern Iraq, the majestic wetlands are returning. Fish
have been restocked, and date palms, barley, and sorghum flourish.
Approximately 58 percent of the marshes have been re-flooded, and
wildlife has begun to return. And work in the marshlands continues.
Iraqi scientists have taken over some of the program activities and are
continuing the effort to bring the marshes back to life.
High-Flying, High-Tech Fire-Fighting
Machines Save Forests, Lives and Money
In May 2007, America's wild fire season in Florida was off to an
early and destructive start. And Firewatch, the U.S. Forest Service's
practical and highly successful fire-fighting technology, was on the
front lines helping to limit damage and save lives.
Firewatch uses rehabilitated Army helicopters equipped with
cutting-edge technology to fight wildfires. Firewatch has saved numerous
lives and prevented millions of dollars in damage—making it one of
the federal government's most successful and cost effective programs.
This high-tech Department of Agriculture program relies on helicopters
that are specially equipped to provide aerial support to local, state,
and federal firefighters. Each helicopter is configured with
electro-optical sensors that see through smoke and haze, infrared
detectors to expose the smallest hotspots, and data links that relay
real-time video and topographical maps to firefighters on the ground and
in command and control centers.
DynCorp International supports the Firewatch program by providing
pilots and global mapping technicians, and maintaining and fueling the
helicopters. U.S. Forestry Service Air Tactical Officer Stan Kubota, who
works closely with the Firewatch crew, points out: "It allows us to
maneuver troops into place and get ahead of the fire and be in place to
stop it." The combination of technologies used by the Firewatch
program allows crews to "see hotspots the size of a quarter from 8,000
feet in the air," says John Browning, who works for DynCorp as the
Firewatch program director.
By identifying the precise location of spot fires, the Firewatch crew
can save firefighters on the ground hours—if not days—of
searching for small fires which can turn into major disasters that
endanger lives and property.
"In wind driven fires it is difficult for ground crews to see where
the fire is burning. Aerial views are helpful, but when smoke is thick,
only the infrared technology can identify exactly where the fire is,"
Kubota says. "We can detect spot fires before they threaten the lives of
crews or become large fires."
The mapping ability Firewatch provides not only gives commanders
crucial information, but gets it to them much faster than before,
veteran Forest Service pilot Morgan Mills, who helped develop Firewatch,
told the San Diego Union Tribune.
"To map a fire without airborne capability, you've got to walk a
person around it," Mills told the paper. "That can take a long
time—maybe hours, maybe half a day, maybe two days." Now that
information can be in commanders' hands within 15 minutes, Mills
said.
Once the small fires are located, precise GPS
coordinates are then relayed to ground crews in real time. With
Firewatch, instead of dousing acres of land with water or fire-retardant
in hopes of suppressing a fire, crews can pinpoint exactly where the
drop should be made, saving thousands of dollars and crucial time.
The annual fire season has started in Florida. It will work its way
west and north, before coming down the west coast to end with the
Southern California fires in late Fall. Firewatch helicopters and crews
are in high demand. Last year, Firewatch logged 800 flight hours. "We
get stretched pretty thin. People are realizing we have this capability
and the need for our infrared and video downloading capability is a top
request," said Browning. "Each region really needs its own
helicopter."
In January, a Blue Ribbon Commission appointed by California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger to study the state's current fire services
concluded that new technologies such as those employed in the Firewatch
program saved millions of dollars. "Fires are kept smaller and less
destructive, which means significant cost savings to the state for
fighting the fires and to residents for loss of life and property," the
commission's 2008 report stated.
Firewatch is an example of a government-industry partnership that
saves lives, saves money, and protects sensitive environments. It's the
kind of "win-win" program that merits far closer attention—and
even more support.
The Clean-up at Rocky Flats: Billions Saved
in a Government/Contractor Partnership
Last June the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it had
certified the clean-up of the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant
in Colorado. This was a major step forward in converting a significant
part of the previously contaminated nuclear bomb production facility to
a wildlife refuge. The conversion had been authorized by Congress in
2001 as part of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Act. The clean up was
completed nearly decades ahead of schedule with a cost avoidance of
billions of dollars.
The massive clean-up and restoration work, which included removal of
buildings, removal of contaminated soil, transfer of plutonium to other
facilities was managed by the U.S. Department of Energy; the project was
carried out by a team led by contractor, CH2M Hill. In announcing the
clean-up in 2006 the Department of Energy (DOE) said that they and CH2M
Hill, "successfully partnered in a 10-year effort to complete the
largest, most complex environmental cleanup project in United States
history and converted an environmental liability into a community asset,
completing the project nearly fifty years and $30 billion below initial
estimates." As DOE's Rocky Flats Project Manager, Frazer Lockhart, put
it, "this is what happens when you get the best of government working
with the best of industry."
In recognizing the successful clean-up, the Project Management
Institute (PMI), the world's leading not-for-profit association for the
project management profession, awarded its 2006 Project of the Year to
DOE's Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site. In commenting on the
award, Lockhart said that "Kaiser-Hill (now CH2M Hill) performed a
first-class job for the government, and the public-private partnership
between DOE and Kaiser-Hill paved the way for our success...We faced
countless challenges on this first-of-its-kind project and this award is
a tribute our joint efforts." Lockhart and his team also received a
Service to America Medal from the Partnership for Public Service in
recognition of their great success.
Finally, as Assistant Energy Secretary James Rispoli commented at a
Senate hearing on the clean-up, "This contract (which included financial
incentives for speed and performance) was clearly the flagship in being
innovative in this approach." Thus, the combination of innovation,
hard-work, collaboration and efficiency succeeded in getting an
extraordinarily challenging job done.
Subscribe
to e-newsletter
» Contact us
» Site map
» Home
