Encl (1) to COMDTINST 16010.8
Goal 7: Ensure that the Coast Guard epitomizes the best in quality
management practices and performance.
Goal 8: Pursue and exploit new technologies to achieve gains in
productivity and enhance mission performance.
Management Issues
In order for the Coast Guard to provide the internal efficiency necessary
to achieve its outcome goals, certain management issues must be addressed.
Streamlining: The Coast Guard has been at the forefront in Federal
FY99 Operating Expenses request contains nearly million in recurring
savings, resulting in part from the last phase of the National
Streamlining Plan. Further savings and efficiencies must be predicated on
additional investments to save.
Recapitalization: Replacing aging, maintenance-intensive ships, planes,
and shore infrastructure is critical to sustaining operational capability,
implementing Presidential Initiatives, and providing taxpayers with highly
efficient service. In a recent comprehensive study, the GAO wrote about
reduced levels of AC&I funding and the resultant project deferrals: "A
deferral can also represent a source of increased expenditures for
operations because of the higher maintenance costs involved with aging
equipment. The continued use of aging capital equipment may also place
other limitations on the level of services that can be provided." The
FY1999 AC&I request is critical to the recapitalization effort.
Year 2000 Compliance: The Year 2000 problem affects maritime safety, law
personnel, logistics, and financial applications. We have taken a very
proactive response in dealing with the issue in order to maintain
effective services.
The Coast Guard has developed a Year 2000 Management Plan which
outlines the federal "best practices" approach. It provides strategic
guidance for all information technology that faces Y2K problems, and
outlines the timelines for managing the efforts in a five phase
approach - awareness, assessment, renovation, testing, and
implementation.
The Coast Guard has created a Y2K database to capture all systems and
applications that are affected. The database identifies systems that
are critical to accomplishing the Coast Guard's missions.
The Coast Guard is concerned that suppliers of critical parts and
supplies may fail due to their own Y2K problems. To protect against
inadequate on-hand supplies which may prevent mission execution, the
Coast Guard is developing contingency plans for ensuring adequate
on-hand stocks through the Year 2000.
The Coast Guard is following a strict compliance reporting system that
requires program managers and product owners of Y2K-affected
mission-critical systems to repair or replace them and then certify
when each item becomes Y2K-compliant.
Fixing the problem within the Coast Guard is expected to cost about
.6 million.
For FY99, the Coast Guard is advancing the implementation phase for all
mission-critical systems to coincide with the Office of Management and
Budget's goal target date of March 1999.
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