General Services Administration Streamlines the Procurement of Construction Services

Abstract

The General Services Administration (GSA) Heartland Region is implementing a best value process (which minimizes time and cost deviations 98% of the time) and which minimizes the need for client's decision making, transfers the risk and control of a project to the vendor, and forces the vendor to manage and minimize the non-technical risk that the vendor does not control. The Performance Information Risk Management System (PIRMS) has been tested by the US Army Medical Command and has minimized over 50% of client project management and risk management transactions, and also minimized cost and time deviations by as much as 70%. The new paradigm uses Deming's concept of managing and minimizing the project deviation instead of meeting minimum standards. The system forces the client's representatives to do quality assurance, and the vendor to do quality control. The mechanism used is a risk management plan and a weekly risk report that creates transparency between buyer and vendor. The system can minimize up to 90% of the government's transactions and activities. The system is a new paradigm for government systems.