ES, IG-98-035, NASA General-Purpose Vehicles Acquisition and Use

NASA GENERAL-PURPOSE VEHICLES
ACQUISITION AND USE
IG-98-035

Executive Summary

Background
NASA Centers maintain fleets of general-purpose vehicles to meet NASA and basic contractor transportation needs. These fleets consist of both General Services Administration (GSA) leased and NASA-owned vehicles. Congress has passed several laws to ensure the proper management and use of Government vehicle fleets.

Objectives
The overall objective of the audit was to evaluate the effectiveness of NASA's Government vehicle program. Specifically, we determined whether:

the four NASA Centers we reviewed appropriately sized their vehicle fleets to meet Agency needs;
NASA Centers procured and maintained vehicles for the Agency in the most economical manner; and
alternative means were available to meet mission requirements.
We conducted our audit at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Lewis Research Center (LeRC), and George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Additional information on the objectives, scope, and methodology is in Appendix A.

Results of Audit
Center vehicle fleet managers were customer oriented and generally very effective in meeting the staff's vehicle needs. Results from our vehicle user questionnaire showed that users were generally satisfied with both the quality of the equipment and the service provided (see Appendix B). All four Centers, however, had excess vehicles. Further, two Centers continue to purchase and maintain vehicles, rather than lease vehicles through GSA. NASA can save from about $900,000 to $1.7 million annually by disposing of underutilized vehicles. The Agency may also be able to save from $390,000 to $1.9 million annually by converting owned vehicles to GSA leases.
During the audit, we issued a report to MSFC and a management letter to GSFC. The report ⁽¹⁾ discussed the need for management at MSFC to reduce the number of contractor vehicle maintenance staff. Management subsequently eliminated four contractor maintenance positions, which resulted in an estimated annual savings of $163,000. The letter ⁽²⁾ discussed reducing GSFC contract costs by eliminating contractor tracking and reporting of the use of 16 commercially leased vehicles. Management subsequently agreed to delete the vehicle reporting requirement from the contract and to discontinue reporting these vehicles in the annual Agency Report of Motor Vehicle Data.

Recommendations
NASA Centers should reduce costs by identifying and eliminating underutilized general-purpose vehicles and acquire and maintain vehicles in the most economical manner.

Management's Response
Management concurred with all recommendations and will take actions to eliminate underutilized vehicles and convert to leasing when beneficial to NASA. We consider planned actions responsive to the intent of the recommendations.

FOOTNOTES

1. Rapid Action Report No. IG-97-036, "MSFC Vehicle Fleet Conversion: Additional Savings Possible," September 9, 1997.

2. Management Letter No. M-IG-97-013, "Observations Regarding Reporting of Vehicle Utilization Data for Commercial Leases," September 30, 1997.

Background	NASA Centers maintain fleets of general-purpose vehicles to meet NASA and basic contractor transportation needs. These fleets consist of both General Services Administration (GSA) leased and NASA-owned vehicles. Congress has passed several laws to ensure the proper management and use of Government vehicle fleets.
Objectives	The overall objective of the audit was to evaluate the effectiveness of NASA's Government vehicle program. Specifically, we determined whether: the four NASA Centers we reviewed appropriately sized their vehicle fleets to meet Agency needs; NASA Centers procured and maintained vehicles for the Agency in the most economical manner; and alternative means were available to meet mission requirements. We conducted our audit at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Lewis Research Center (LeRC), and George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Additional information on the objectives, scope, and methodology is in Appendix A.
Results of Audit	Center vehicle fleet managers were customer oriented and generally very effective in meeting the staff's vehicle needs. Results from our vehicle user questionnaire showed that users were generally satisfied with both the quality of the equipment and the service provided (see Appendix B). All four Centers, however, had excess vehicles. Further, two Centers continue to purchase and maintain vehicles, rather than lease vehicles through GSA. NASA can save from about $900,000 to $1.7 million annually by disposing of underutilized vehicles. The Agency may also be able to save from $390,000 to $1.9 million annually by converting owned vehicles to GSA leases. During the audit, we issued a report to MSFC and a management letter to GSFC. The report ⁽¹⁾ discussed the need for management at MSFC to reduce the number of contractor vehicle maintenance staff. Management subsequently eliminated four contractor maintenance positions, which resulted in an estimated annual savings of $163,000. The letter ⁽²⁾ discussed reducing GSFC contract costs by eliminating contractor tracking and reporting of the use of 16 commercially leased vehicles. Management subsequently agreed to delete the vehicle reporting requirement from the contract and to discontinue reporting these vehicles in the annual Agency Report of Motor Vehicle Data.
Recommendations	NASA Centers should reduce costs by identifying and eliminating underutilized general-purpose vehicles and acquire and maintain vehicles in the most economical manner.
Management's Response	Management concurred with all recommendations and will take actions to eliminate underutilized vehicles and convert to leasing when beneficial to NASA. We consider planned actions responsive to the intent of the recommendations.