A Decision Model for Merging Base Operations: Outsourcing Pest Management on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling

Abstract

Should pest management be outsourced on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling? The researchers of this report argue the cost to outsource may be significantly greater, possibly five times greater, than completing the requirement in-house with federal employees. To in-source and outsource a service requirement for the federal government is sometimes transactional, but when either in-sourcing or outsourcing supports a long-term installation function and impacts mission support, greater analysis is needed before making the decision to outsource. In accordance with congressional legislation, on October 1, 2010, Bolling Air Force Base and Naval Support Facility Anacostia merged to form Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB). The installation occupies over 900 acres and requires an extensive pesticide treatment plan. Currently, the level of service for pesticide treatment is different on Bolling than it is on Anacostia. Bolling is staffed with three full-time civil service entomologists who provide effective pesticide treatment for the 136 buildings and 359 acres of land area Bolling occupies. Anacostia has 74 buildings and 607 acres of land area in which only two buildings are fully treated under an existing regional contract. The researchers goal in producing this report is to help the decision-maker choose the best course of action among the following alternatives to meet the expanded pest treatment requirement on JBAB. The following is a list of possible actions explored in the report: absorb the larger requirement into current in-house capacity; outsource the entire pest management and herbicide requirement to a private contractor for all of JBAB; utilize contract services to meet the additional requirement (utilizing hybrid-type contract, which means using in-house employees augmented with contracted services from an existing regional contract); or hire additional in-house personnel. The final product the researchers produce is a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to estimate the cost of each alternative. Qualitative factors are identified and built into the CBA to form a more robust conclusion. The end state of this research is that any decision-maker can use the framework in this report and apply it to other management issues or decision uncertainties. When the choice to in-source or outsource an installation function or service requirement exists, in these challenging economic times, it is now more important than ever to find the choice with the least costs and most benefits.