More Troubles at Los Alamos
The management of Los Alamos National Laboratory is being questioned again. See the story in today's Washington Post by my colleague Dana Hedgpeth.
The lab, one of the largest science centers in the world, came under fire not long ago for lax security after investigators discovered more than 1,000 pages of classified documents and computer storage devices in a personal trailer occupied by a subcontractor who once worked as an archivist at the lab.
Now the inspector general at the Department of Energy -- which has responsibility for Los Alamos -- is alleging that a contractor working under a deal worth up to nearly $800 million has systematically charged the government more for work than its estimates.
The report by IG Gregory H. Friedman says that KSL Services Joint Venture, which provides an array of maintenance and other services, charged the government more than its estimates about 75 percent of the time, "often by significant amounts."
Auditors found that the lab's work control system, known as PassPort, allowed charges to be added without the knowledge of lab officials. Such work, labeled "Other Costs" in the system, added up to $41 million last year.
"The Department of Energy, directly or indirectly, paid or will pay all of these charges, the source being taxpayer-provided funds," the Oct. 25 report said.
KSL Services Joint Venture was formed by Kellogg Brown and Root Inc., Shaw Infrastructure Inc., and Los Alamos Technical Associates Inc.
"The Office of Inspector General received multiple complaints alleging irregularities by KSL in cost estimating and charging of work orders. It was alleged that actual costs frequently exceeded estimated costs and that KSL often mischarged labor and materials," the report said. "Our work substantiated the allegations."
By Robert O'Harrow | October 30, 2007; 6:59 AM ET ffrdc
Guess the Director is going to DC to be on CSPAN again.
ReplyDeleteNo secret here...
ReplyDeleteBelieve there have been one or more comments on this a few months back by various bloggers...
Also interesting to note the LASO Chief who received this report (and denied it was still a problem) was was a muckety muck at JCNNM (KSL's predecessor) just a few short years ago.
Finally, LANL internal audit has taken quite a few looks at this area and never quite seemed to pin it down...
Now tell me the labor unions don't have a stranglehold on everyone in making this problem continually disappear..
Seems to me that the contract with KSL should specify some performance objectives, including some that relate to accuracy of estimates.
ReplyDeleteWasn't this done? Would seem to be a basic contract issue to me. Don't tell me our contracting office personnel are incompetent too?
I do not know details here, but it is routine for government contracts at state and national levels to run over budget.
ReplyDeleteThe standard cause is that the government officials are not accountable for making accurate descriptions of the project initially nor are they responsible for the increased costs that their inaccurate descriptions and constant changes cost the taxpayers.
The standard way that this scenario plays out is that the government blames the contractor for changes that the government itself is responsible for.
Any contractor who has worked with government agencies knows this dance and has danced it for years:
The Blame Game Samba
Eventually, the blaming goes away and things continue as usual. The dance does not change because it can't. The government is not a company and therefore not accountable in any simple way.
It's bad enough that KSL charges more than its estimates, but what is worse is because of LANL's purchasing rules, we have no choice except to use KSL for almost everything. The estimates are too high and the actual charges then exceed the overly high estimates.
ReplyDeleteThere's no competition because purchasing has decided that nothing can be bid out to private contractors. Purchasing is forcing everyone to use KSL rather than allowing competition. Since LANS took over, this has become more of a hardline for almost anything that an outside entity could do on a small contract with LANL.
In part the reason LANL costs are so high is because contracts for small jobs cost less than doing the work in house, but LANS is determined to stifle all outside contracting because it gives them the opportunity to RIF employees, thus appearing to save the taxpayers money.
LANS propagates the Big Lie about how much more small contracts costs and then supports the big lie by allowing purchasing to charge the LANL contracting entity an extra 10% without telling the contracting entity what is happening.
Both KSL and LANL/LANS are crooked, KSL from the outside, LANL/LANS from the inside.
Trying to keep KSL from ripping off LANL is like playing a game of Whack-a-Mole. You shut down one of their little games to defraud LANL with false charges and the next week KSL finds another way to rip off the lab.
ReplyDeleteCase in point, LANL fire alarm testing. The alarms seem to get tested about once a month, usually after hours (which means overtime pay, I suppose). The game here is to send out far too many people to test the alarms. As of late, you'll frequently find large groups relaxing around the alarm box, engaging in small talk and dragging the testing out for hours longer than necessary. Last week I counted six workers hanging around the fire alarm box in my small office area, most of them doing nothing but exercising their jaws. Six workers, likely on overtime, probably each costing LANL over $150 or more per hour. It was a job that could have been done in less than an hour by two qualified workers. LANL was probably charged around $1800 for something that should have cost less than $200.
This stuff goes on all the time at LANL, yet LANS doesn't seem to care about it. Mike needs to leave his office in the Emerald Palace every once in a while and witness with his own eyes whats goes on at LANL regarding KSL work. I cannot understand why LANS re-hired KSL for the facilities contract given their lousy track record.
Wait, I'm confused. Didn't Kevin Roark tell us all that basically the problem is under control, don't worry?
ReplyDeleteAlso, from 12:18's comment: "I cannot understand why LANS re-hired KSL for the facilities contract given their lousy track record." Substitute "DOE" for "LANS", and "UC" for "KSL" and then read the sentence aloud.
The name of the game is corruption, baby.
Shaw (the 'S' in KSL) is a company that was found to be ripping off the government for hundreds of millions down in New Orleans after the FEMA Katrina fiasco. They got a no-bid contract for the work using political connections:
ReplyDelete----------
Abuse could push Katrina costs to $2 billion - MSNBC, Dec 26, '06
GAO says its initial estimate of $1 billion in waste was ‘likely understated'
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15587326/
-----------
If you read the article, you'll noticed that Bechtel also shared in the huge Katrina rip-off booty.
Looks like Halliburton KBR found a like-minded friend for their little KSL venture.
Bechtel, Shaw, KBR... LANL is now run by a bunch of the biggest rip-off rouges in America.
Is this why we can't afford TP or to have the trash emptied! Great!
ReplyDelete"The Office of Inspector General received multiple complaints alleging irregularities by KSL in cost estimating and charging of work orders. It was alleged that actual costs frequently exceeded estimated costs and that KSL often mischarged labor and materials," the report said. "Our work substantiated the allegations."
ReplyDeleteWe needeth to knoweth the sourceth of these "multiple complaints." How elseth may weeth fix saideth problems? Just giveth me and my betheren a chance. Giveth us the names. And off with their heads!!
--Sir Richard of LANS
If LANS has been caught with their fingers in the cookie jar is Congress going to demand they be fired?
ReplyDeleteIf LANS goes away what happens to the poor slobs who bet on TCP1?
If LANS has been caught with their fingers in the cookie jar is Congress going to demand they be fired?
ReplyDeleteStupid question.
If LANS goes away what happens to the poor slobs who bet on TCP1?
Good question.
1:54 PM
ReplyDeleteI am one of those who complained to the IG after I complained to my GL (more times than I count) and he complained to his DL(FWO) who ignored/swept it under the rug (more times than he could count). Lots of folks posting to this blog have said that this type of stuff has been going on since Zia days.Maybe but not like KSL....KSL has raised it to a level that is ...the only word I can come up with is criminal. People from both KSL and LANS should go to prison. This not a union thing.This is not a craft thing. This is not a Facility coordinator, engineering, programatic or facility thing. It is a senior level KSL and senior level LANS/LANL/MSS/FM/FWO thing. KSL should fired along with a few current LANS managers. This stuff has been going on for a long time, lots of folks have reported it and were ignored. I suspect this will blow over just like everthing else and every other time
We need a lean six sigma black belt to fix all this.
ReplyDeleteActually some fucking true leadership wouldn't hurt either. Our new management team should be screaming from the rafters at how appauled they are by this and use this as an opportunity to fire KSL once and for all. Instead, they are being quoted as saying "no problem". I am convinced by our management's pathetic repsonse only means Mikey and company are getting paid to allow KSL to continue. I am surprised that they haven't blamed the LANL workforce for this. It is always our fault anyhow.
ReplyDeleteThat fact that LANS is comfortable with KSL's scams at the lab says a lot, doesn't it?
ReplyDeletePoster 8:03 PM also has it about right. Some of the LANL facilities managers appear to be in cahoots with KSL in facilitating many of these scams. A criminal investigation needs to begin.
Question for Kevin Roark: If there's "no problem" because we've already fixed the system, why is the Lab doing another audit of KSL financials?
ReplyDeleteThere are quite a few former employees of ZIA (and its predecessors) now working in LANL Facilities Management Groups.
ReplyDelete"Question for Kevin Roark: If there's "no problem" because we've already fixed the system, why is the Lab doing another audit of KSL financials?"
ReplyDeleteThe fox is going to audit the missing chickens? Bwaaahaaaahaa!