Report 2011-116.1 Recommendation 14 Responses

Report 2011-116.1: Department of General Services: The Division of the State Architect Lacks Enforcement Authority and Has Weak Oversight Procedures, Increasing the Risk That School Construction Projects May Be Unsafe (Release Date: December 2011)

Recommendation #14 To: General Services, Department of

To address possible staffing problems, the division should use documented workload metrics to perform an assessment of its current staffing levels and determine its staffing needs. It should revisit the field pilot and make necessary changes to reflect its understanding of its current staffing situation.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2013

DSA has implemented enhancements to its electronic project tracking system and developed an automated statewide workload metric to measure its field oversight workload. Consequently, the division uses this metric to conduct assessments of its staffing levels, which, at the present time, are commensurate with its site visit goals, i.e., in general, visiting active projects every four to eight weeks. The assessment report contains information by regional office on active construction projects, staffing levels and site visit frequency. The report is used by management to evaluate if site visit goals are met and to anticipate future staffing needs for field oversight.

In addition, DSA revisited the results of the field pilot to determine the current feasibility of expanding its construction oversight for schools beyond structural safety. DSA determined that, based on the current statutory based fee structure, sufficient resources are available for project oversight activities involving only structural safety, fire and life safety and accessibility issues.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

The division provided evidence of changes to its project tracking system and of its statewide workload metric. It also provided evidence of its workload assessment by regional office. According to the division, there was no formal documentation of its reconsideration of the field pilot.

1-Year Agency Response

According to General Services, the division developed an automated statewide metric to measure its field oversight workload. The division used the metric to conduct an assessment of its staffing level which, according to General Services, is commensurate with the division's site visit goals. The division will conduct this review on a regular basis to reassess its staffing needs for oversight. Further, according to General Services, the division determined that, based on the current statutory-based fee structure, sufficient resources are available only for oversight of structural safety, fire and life safety, and accessibility issues. The division did not provide evidence of its staffing assessment. (See 2013-406, p. 44)

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Partially Implemented

All Recommendations in 2011-116.1

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.