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Taking
Care of Business: General Services Administration Transforms To Head Off
Competition
By Dawn Marie Yankeelov
As the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has moved to become more
competitive, its clients, federal agencies, have reaped the benefits of
efficiency, growth in ebusiness, and improved customer care. GSA billed
federal clients more than $13.3 billion in services and supplies last year,
a 1.5% increase over the previous year. GSA influences the management of
Federal assets valued at $500 billion. The agency also acts as a catalyst
for nearly $66 billion in Federal spending—more than one-fifth of the
Federal government’s total procurement dollars.
Still the primary source for Federal agencies’ buying power, but no longer
a mandate, GSA has effectively used the Internet since 1996 and
belt-tightening approaches where necessary. GSA continues to be the
one-stop shop for space, products, services, technology, and policy
leadership in Federal government circles.
“In the past four-and-a-half years, GSA has met the changing environment
with a pioneering spirit. GSA has become an agency with a vision, one that
will lead the Federal government to provide the smartest, fastest, cheapest
and best service possible to all Americans. I’m proud to have been a part
of this transformation,” said former GSA Administrator David J. Barram in
the GSA 2000 Annual Report. Evidence of the success of this overall
transformation can be found in recognition by the private sector. In
September 2000, citizens and President Clinton celebrated the launch of
FirstGov.gov, the portal to all Federal Web sites, where the public can find
every online resource offered by the Federal Government. In the years
ahead, GSA will lead the team that maintains FirstGov.
For more traditional business practices, GSA garnered a major
private-sector award in November 2000 for its “Linking Budget to
Performance” program that has spurred GSA employees to cut building
operating costs to 15 percent below comparable expenses in the private
sector. GSA acquires space for Federal agencies throughout the United
States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The “Linking Budget to
Performance” initiative netted $400 million in new revenues and savings,
since 1988 for GSA. The International Development Research Council (IDRC)
Global Innovator’s Award is given for practices that apply new ideas to
corporate real estate and workplace management, and this was the second IDRC
award in two years.
Few in government have not had to work with GSA to procure everything from
telecommunications services to toilet paper, real estate to all forms of
government training, historic preservation to recycling, and now every
manner of IT consulting and services.
In recent years, the agency has placed a priority on web-based activity to
help connect buyers and sellers, in addition to making available organized,
searchable policy, and other relevant data. Recognized as one of the
world’s largest online ordering and tracking systems, GSA AdvantageTM lets
Federal employees order more than a million items using a purchase order
number or a charge card, (also provided by GSA). In 2000, GSA also launched
Buyers.gov as a web-based government business and auction exchange, and
SmallBizMall.gov, the first Federal website dedicated to ordering from small
and disadvantaged IT businesses. Since April 2000, more than 1,200 orders
worth more than $200 million have been from smallbizmall.gov alone. GSA
also hosts WOMENBIZ.gov, a gateway for women-owned businesses selling to the
government.
In 2001, GSA will see a new administration under President Bush, but
continuity in its mission and purpose will continue, said Acting
Administrator Thurman M. Davis, Sr.
The GSA Inaugural Committee will be actively involved in all transitional
activities by providing direct services, logistical assistance and special
services in support of the Presidential Inauguration which includes
management planning, financial, budgetary, inventory control, governmental
procurement, and contractual expertise.
Primary Goals of GSA
GSA’s Mission: We provide policy leadership and expert solutions in
services, space, and products, at the best value, to enable Federal
employees to accomplish their missions.
GSA’s mission has not changed in 50 years, however the environment in which
the agency operates has changed dramatically, according to Acting
Administrator Thurman Davis. He has been at GSA since 1963, excluding a
five-year stint in consulting, and believes that GSA will see additional
competition from outside vendors selling to government in the next four
years. Bring it on, is his attitude. GSA will survive and thrive,
according to the foundations in place, he said in a recent interview. “In
the 1960’s we were a mandatory source of supply, a monopoly within the
federal government, but in the last 10 years that has changed. We have had
to focus to maintain and develop market share,” Davis said. He cited the
aggressive pricing deals that GSA has secured for telephone service, and
travel, as examples—less than one cent per minute for telephone service and
up to 69% discounts for travel.
GSA was created in 1949 to be a central logistics and supply organization
for all federal agencies with the objective of wisely spending taxpayer
dollars. In the last seven years, an emphasis was placed on being as
competitive as the private sector with less personnel GSA workforce has seen
seven years of downsizing to about 14,333 employees in 1999—23% fewer
personnel than 1993.
GSA’s 5 strategic goals for the next three years were revealed in September
2000, and Acting Administrator Thurman Davis indicated they set the focus
for the next decade.
GSA Strategic Goals:
1. Promote Responsible Asset Management. GSA will conserve government
resources, and the assets in its care, and provide policies and best
practices for Government wide asset management.
2. Compete Effectively for the Federal Market. GSA will be the preferred
provider of space, products, services, technology, and telecommunications
for all Federal agencies by efficiently and economically delivering
consistently high quality and best value.
3. Excel at Customer Service. GSA will thrill its customers and agency
partners by developing and delivering creative solutions to meet their needs
for space, products, and services, technology, and telecommunications, and
policy guidance; and make it easy for citizens to obtain information from
the Government.
4. Meet Federal, Social and Environmental Objectives. GSA will fulfill the
intent of socioeconomic laws and Executive Orders and help our customers do
so as well, by making the Federal workplace more family-friendly;
considering the environment in our business decisions and using natural
resources in a sustainable manner.
5. Anticipate Future Workplace Needs. GSA will design, develop, and model
future Federal work environments with state-of-the-art technology,
innovation, and best practices in use of space, furniture, equipment,
telecommunications, contracts and other tools.
Asset Management in the Millennium
Asset Management for GSA means maintaining a real estate portfolio of
almost 350 million square feet. This distinction makes GSA the largest
public real estate organization in the United States, with over 8,300 leased
and owned facilities that house more than one million Federal workers in
1,600 communities across the country. With 40 percent of the market share
for Federal office space, GSA operates like a business.
In fact, asset management remains the biggest service provided to more than
100 Federal agencies. Nearly $5.6 billion in rent was collected in 2000,
and more than $938 million was spent on renovations and structural
changes. GSA coordinates space, furnishings and supplies for all 1,380
State and District offices for Senators and Members of Congress. As part of
a $3.7 billion decade-long courthouse construction project, GSA completed
five new courthouse buildings, and renovated in the last year.
Acting Administrator Thurman Davis said that there will continue to be a
strong emphasis on preserving and updating federal buildings, since now more
than 50 percent of the government’s total inventory is more than 50 years
old. Focus has been placed on updating buildings to make them safer,
including the removal of carbon tetra chlorides, and nonpotable water
sources. “In the Second World War, many of the skylights were painted out
and atriums filled in. We are restoring many structures to their original
design. This includes original painting schemes, and original lighting
fixtures.”
Historic Preservation
GSA preserves and maintains more than 400 historic properties in the
government’s inventory, and conserves 17,000 works of art for future
generations.
Thee are several distinct programs in this area that server in the proper
maintenance and conservation of historic buildings and fine arts. In the
Historic Federal Buildings program, many of the properties are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. Some structures are leased, based on
available space functionality, and others are reworked keeping the
architectural integrity and appeal where possible. The Fine Arts Collection
program oversees the 17,000 paintings, sculpture and architectural or
environmental works of art graphics dating from the 1850s. Not only past
works of art, but current works from living American Artists are also placed
in federal buildings via the Art-In-Architecture program, which began in
1963. More than 200 works of art are actively being displayed today.
Physical Security Warrants Spending
Davis indicated that focus has gone to security measures within older
federal buildings, due to the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in
Oklahoma in 1995. “The challenge will continue to be to provide adequate
security. These buildings belong to the American people,” he said.
Federal Building Security Committees have recommended more than 8,000
security equipment and structural enhancements since then. GSA has been
able to make improvements that include:
* A secure messaging system for the exchange of sensitive intelligence
information
* Security design criteria for the construction of new facilities
* Medical and psychological standards and a testing program for GSA law
enforcement and security officers
GSA’s own Federal Protective Service has become more proactive in its
stance against crime prevention and threat reduction. Since the Oklahoma
bombing, GSA has tripled spending on security to about $250 million annually
and has doubled the number of uniformed FPS Police Officers to about 528,
with another 6,000 contract guards.
The Statute of Liberty which sees 24,000 visitors a day in the summer,
became a focal point in 2000 with regards to perimeter security and GSA was
able to work with the Park Police for three months to secure an appropriate
survey and risk analysis to evaluate threats and vulnerabilities.
In addition to security concerns, adding appropriate workspaces, insuring
that historic properties will be structurally sound for years to come, and
wiring up for current technology are also critical to the success of GSA’s
asset management.
Compete Effectively for the Federal Market
Beyond managing all the properties of the federal government, GSA has had
to get serious about partnering with the private sector to secure
competitive pricing across the board for everything from office supplies to
information technology. Acting Administrator Davis indicated that there
will continue to be tremendous competition in those two particular arenas.
“We must thrill our customers. We have to do something that makes them
return to us. We must be on time or ahead of time in our delivery. Just
meeting a federal agency’s requirements, is not enough,” Davis admitted.
GSA officials say they met or exceeded the goals set last year in the GSA
performance plan.
Select achievements include:
* Reducing the cost of supply and procurement programs by 16% from $2.85
per $100 sales to $2.38, exceeding the 2000 target by 28 cents per $100
* Maintaining savings of 45% to 48% over commercial rates for shipping
small packages, household goods and freight.
* Keeping the annual increase in transportation fleets on a cost-per-mile
basis at or below the inflation rate
* Achieving a 27% savings on the government-wide purchase of 4-cylinder
sedans, exceeding the savings goal by 7%
According the GSA annual report, there is still work to be done in getting
more than 50% of Schedules contracts accessible to customers through the GSA
online ordering system, GSA Advantage.
GSA Moves to Excel at Customer Service
While GSA wrestles with how to provide quick turnaround and appropriate
help tied to online support for its agency clients, GSA is managing to grow
under its business model. GSA’s Supply and Procurement business programs
save money and shortens lead times by delivering $13.3 billion in products
and services this past year. This represents an increase in business of 21
percent from $12.7 billion in 1999.
Acting Administrator Davis indicated that he felt the GSA workforce would
make or break the agency’s ability to compete in the years ahead. “We need
a high-caliber workforce on the ground. Many people do not realize that
more than 55% of our staff is currently eligible for retirement.”
He indicated that like most private sector corporations, an increasing
emphasis has been placed on customer service with a workforce that has been
flat in its growth. “We are working on better performance measures and
better retention,” he said. He cited the agency’s commitment to its online
university
GSA Online University
GSA Online University is an internet-based tool that enables Federal
employees to learn at any time.
GSA employees have access to more than 300 courses at no upfront cost to
them and they can take a class at anytime anywhere. Non-GSA Federal
Employees can enter GovLearn, take a tour of the GSA Online University, and
view a demo course.
While online learning can take GSA’s workforce into the millennium, it is
all manner of IT services and electronic transactions that will bolster GSA
position in the Federal Government community.
Federal Supply Schedules and E-government
The sale of information technology is one of the key driving factors behind
GSA Schedules. IT-related sales showed an increase to $14.3 billion in
2000, a 25% increase since 1999. Federal customers can acquire more than 4
million products and services directly from commercial suppliers, through
the GSA Schedules contracts. Now GSA clients can use the Schedules E-library
to research products and services covered.
Ecommerce remains a high priority for all federal agencies and GSA is
moving quickly to put all its business product and services in a web-based
environment. Solutions development “centers of expertise” have been created
to leverage IT solutions. These centers aggregate the following:
· 13 Client Support Centers that work directly with Federal Agency
clients. They support, issue, and manage tasks related to IT.
· Four Solutions Development Centers award and administer IT
contracts for other agencies and the Client Support Centers.
In addition to direct online ordering activity, GSA’s Federal Technology
Service (FTS) formed a partnership with the Interagency Management Council
to develop strategy and requirements that leverage the government’s buying
power and evolving technology for comprehensive end-to-end
telecommunications services. Long-distance rates are now well below
commercial prices and allows agencies to choose providers, Davis said. FTS
is a $6 billion-a-year information technology and telecommunications support
program. Now offering other services, including IT security and digital
certificates.
GSA has been proactive in awarding three contracts for digital signature
certificates under the Access Certificates for Electronic Services (ACES)
contract. The Department of Veterans Affairs obtained 100,000 certificates
that it will distribute to veterans, allowing them to access education
benefits and other sensitive information on the web.
GSA develops and maintains government-wide systems and databases, including
the Foundation Information for Real Property Management, the Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance, the Federal Procurement Data System, and the
Acquisition Reform Network. The agency provides continuity and focus for
developing new policies and promoting the use of effective electronic
commerce government. GSA is also working with agencies to develop
nationwide systems that make it easier to distribute $500 billion worth of
benefits to citizens. Last year, GSA spent many man hours assisting in the
development of common requirements for smart cards in the Federal
government.
Virus protection policy laid down by GSA assisted in managing computer
security incidents particularly during the “I Love You” virus incident.
Inquiries of more than 40,000 reports a day were dealt with by the Federal
Computer Incident Response Capability (FEDCIRC), a partnership of
computer-incident response teams.
Last year GSA opened an online wireless store in partnership with a leading
retailer of telecom services and products. The one-stop approach allows the
customer to research the latest developments in wireless technologies and
then compare purchase decisions. This feature is linked to GSA Advantage,
the primary online procurement site for GSA.
Meeting Social, Federal and Environmental Objectives
And while GSA paces itself in the technology arena, there remains
environmental and social objectives that are mission critical to federal
employees. One of the largest socioeconomic issues remains child care
expenses.
Child Care Efforts for Federal Workers
A significant achievement in workplace improvement is the growth of on-site
childcare. GSA operates 114 centers for customer agencies across the
country. Its accreditation rate is 88 percent—10 times that of the private
sector. Childcare is an extension of GSA’s property management
responsibilities and fits in with GSA’s mission to build a world class
workforce.
Acting Administrator Davis said that GSA wants to be known as
“family-friendly”, as well as “workforce-friendly.” “The emphasis continues
to be working with minorities, and woman-owned businesses as vendors. In
addition, we are putting the spotlight on the cities where are federal
workers are located by partnering with these cities to help within the
community. We may, for example, participate in a downtown initiative to be
a good neighbor,” he said.
The “Adaptable Workplace Laboratory”
GSA has participated in several modeling approaches for research purposes,
in order to be prepared with strategies for the federal office of the
future, and even the mobile or home-based federal worker. GSA has taken
steps to partner with private companies and universities to design and test
future Federal work environments. Together with the Building Owners and
Managers Association and Carnegie Mellon University, an “adaptable workplace
laboratory” has been set up. The lab tests employee productivity and
organizational behavior. The research is being conducted with the National
Institutes for Standards in Technology and the Carnegie Mellon Institute for
Building Diagnostics in the cities of Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington,
D.C. “Teleworking is being encouraged as a concept. We want GSA employees
to work where they need to work and we encourage teleworking as a
possibility. We are also trying to identify and work on cultural issues as
well,” Davis said.
A new GSA consulting program called E-Connected Intelligent Remote Office (EIRO)
allows federal workers in remote locations to interact more productively
with customer program managers with wireless services and products.
Planet GSA Develops Recycling Strategy
Alongside workforce issues, GSA strives to offer environmental protection
and recycling or reallocating supplies and property, such as computers. The
agency fosters a number of “Planet GSA” goals for recycling, for oil-based
products like paints, carpeting, and building materials, for recycling
paper, and other environmentally-safe chemicals. The resounding theme for
GSA is “Drive green, Save Green, Build Green.” Acting Administrator Davis
said, “GSA has become more protective of our environment in recent years,
although we have for years lead the way in recycling programs.”
GSA oversees the donation of supplies and computers to more than 70,000
tax-supported organizations, including schools, day care centers, hospitals,
homeless shelters, senior citizen organizations, vocational training
facilities, as well as fire and police departments. The actual dollar
amounts of the items that GSA helps dispose of and recycle is
staggering—more than $29 million among state and federal buyers. Last year
this included moving four SR-71 Blackbird spy aircraft from the Air Force to
NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, CA. Not all properties are
of that magnitude. GSA also helped Cabrillo High School in Lompac, CA, get
musical instruments—six cornets, six trumpets, soprano, and alto saxophones,
baritone horns, gongs, and chimes worth $25,000 for $1.300 from the
California State Agency for Surplus Property. The band went on the win
first prize in a local competition, shortly thereafter.
Sales of surplus property to the public are posted at the www.gsa.gov
website.
Egovernment Policy-Making
While GSA continues to be widely known as the procurement agency, its
policy leadership continues to be its highest level of influence inside the
Federal Government. Its expertise in online ordering has assisted many
agencies in developing their ecommerce strategies. GSA has also contributed
heavily to trials with multi-purpose smart cards. The Navy, for example,
uses smart cards for sailors to draw their pay and make purchases.
GSA is also noted for its leadership of interagency committees that
guarantee government will be consistent and coordinated in its efforts.
With GSA support, agencies are able to locate the right funds to set the
stage for growth in ecommerce and other internet activities.
Another successful interagency pilot program developed a single point of
entry for government contracting with GSA support at Fedbizopps.gov. This
was an upgrade for the Commerce Business Daily, long used by private
industry to do business with the Federal government.
Outside e-government, GSA continues to influence a number of wide-reaching
programs, such as the National grants program, by automating how the $300
billion is dispersed. In 2001 alone, GSA will bring agencies together to
identify the need for automation, raise the necessary seed money, develop
standards, and conduct pilot tests prior to a rollout effort.
Acting Administrator Davis said, “We will be the expert that is consulted
by other agencies. We are pushing the use of technology and we will be the
integrator for the services that need to be provided. We are also placing
emphasis on projects like firstgov.gov that make government more comfortable
for people to deal with.” The federal government phone books called “Blue
Pages” now offer subject listings as part of an adjunct reorganization
project to simplify the ability for getting to the right agency or service
personnel.
He said that GSA is best positioned to provide the information technology
services and other related technical support that agencies will need to move
forward.
“I have no doubt that we will see competitors to GSA in upcoming years. We
will need to work competitively and we will retain our advantage because of
it,” said Davis.
He places his hopes on the GSA workforce. “I believe that our future is in
the hands of the quality of our workforce—the stronger, the more skillful
and the more knowledgeable, the better off we will be. The individual GSA
employee will be seen as the contact for our integrated team. They will
serve as the face of GSA.” |
