Last week, at  the request of the Subcommittee and as we had recommended, AOC  completed and sent to Congress an action plan for improving management  execution of the project and its schedule. The action plan was responsive  to our recommendation. However, it is too early to tell whether  implementing the plan will curtail the types of schedule slippages that  have occurred since the Subcommittee’s last CVC hearing and throughout  the project. AOC developed this  plan at the Subcommittee’s request in response to recommendations we  made to AOC at the Subcommittee’s September 21 CVC hearing. Besides the actions it identified in its November 2006 action plan, AOC has  been considering how to deal with the impact of passing the sequence 2  contract completion date, September 15, 2006. Problems: Required Changes to Fire Protection System and Continued Slippages in Other Important Activities Have Extended the Project’s Schedule and Completion Date

The additional time needed to make design changes to the CVC’s fire  protection system has extended the project’s completion date by about 6  weeks since the Subcommittee’s September 21 CVC hearing—from  September 17, 2007, according to the schedule in effect at that time, to  October 26, 2007, according to the October 2006 schedule issued last  week. As we indicated at the Subcommittee’s last CVC hearing, we  asked our mechanical engineering consultant to reassess the status of the  CVC’s air handling units in early November 2006 because the CVC’s HVAC  system affects many activities, has had a number of problems, and poses  significant risks to the project’s successful completion. However, in light of the recurring slippages in the HVAC  system’s schedule, the system’s importance to the pretesting and final  testing of the facility’s fire protection system, and the concerns expressed  by AOC’s construction management contractor and the commissioning  contractor, we believe prompt action is needed to resolve the concerns  and ensure that the schedule for completing the HVAC system work is  realistic and will be met. Delays in Completing the Expansion Spaces and the Library of Congress Tunnel

The schedule for essentially completing the construction of the House and  Senate expansion spaces (currently scheduled for April 23, 2007) has  slipped about 6 weeks since the Subcommittee’s last CVC hearing, and  several activities important to completing these spaces have also been  delayed. Indicators of Construction Progress Point to Further Delays unless AOC’s Project Execution Significantly Improves

The four indicators of construction progress that we have been tracking  for the Subcommittee, together with the risks and uncertainties that  continue to face the project—which we will discuss shortly—demonstrate  to us that AOC will be unlikely to meet its fall 2007 project completion  date unless it significantly improves its project execution. Installation of interior wall and floor stone is taking longer than  expected. Even more important, the adverse impact of scope and design  changes on a project’s schedule is likely to increase as the project moves  toward completion. The CVC team has also identified trade stacking as a high  risk. Thus, until we see that AOC has satisfactorily  addressed our schedule-related concerns, we believe that the project is  more likely to be completed in early 2008 rather than in the fall of 2007. Recommendations

To minimize the risks associated with the CVC’s HVAC system and the  government’s ability to get the CVC completed within the current schedule  and cost estimates and to give Congress and us greater confidence in the  CVC team’s project schedules from this point forward, we recommend that  the Architect of the Capitol promptly take the following two actions:    Work with the rest of the CVC team to ensure that the schedule for  completing and commissioning the HVAC system is realistic, that all the  work necessary for the proper and safe functioning of the HVAC system— including work in the spaces the air handling units are to serve—is  completed in a timely, well-coordinated manner, and that sufficient  resources will be available to meet the schedule without creating a trade- stacking problem.
Why GAO Did This Study

We are pleased to assist the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch in monitoring progress on the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) project. Our remarks will focus on (1) the Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) construction progress and problems since the Subcommittee's September 21, 2006, hearing and their impact on the project's schedule; and (2) the project's expected cost at completion and funding situation. As part of this discussion, we will address a number of key challenges and risks that continue to face the project as well as actions AOC has recently taken, and plans or needs to take, to meet its currently scheduled completion date.

What GAO Found

Since the Subcommittee's September 21 CVC hearing, the CVC team has continued to move the project's construction forward, but the project's scheduled completion date has slipped by 6 weeks, to October 26, 2007,3 and further delays are possible. The 6-week delay was attributable to problems with the project's most critical activity--the fire protection system. Under the current schedule, the construction of the House and Senate expansions spaces will be completed before the CVC's construction, but both the CVC and the expansion spaces will be available for occupancy at the same time because final acceptance testing of both is slated to be done concurrently. During the past month, the CVC team has made progress on the project's heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system, interior floor stone and ceiling installation, and other interior and exterior construction work. In addition, AOC sent Congress an action plan for improving its execution of the project and the project's schedule, as the Subcommittee requested and we had recommended, and this plan is responsive to our recommendations. AOC is also considering other action not discussed in this plan. Despite this progress, problems have occurred in many important activities besides the CVC's fire protection system, according to AOC's construction management contractor. Although these delays did not add time to the project's schedule this month, additional delays could do so in the future. Recently identified issues associated with the CVC's HVAC system, fire protection system, and security system--including issues associated with their coordination and testing--also pose risks to the project's scheduled completion date. In addition, concerns have arisen about AOC's ability to achieve a high-quality, complete, and usable facility within the current estimated time frame and cost now that the contractual date for completing sequence 2 construction work--September 15, 2006--has passed. In particular, there is a risk that, without negative consequences, the resolve of some major stakeholders to complete the project in a timely and efficient manner could be adversely affected. Finally, all the indicators of progress that we have been tracking for the Subcommittee, together with other risks and uncertainties, suggest that the project is likely to finish later than October 2007. It is too early to tell whether the actions identified in AOC's November 2006 action plan will be effective in curtailing additional schedule slippages. Furthermore, the concerns identified since the Subcommittee's last CVC hearing, particularly those related to the CVC's HVAC system, if not quickly addressed, could adversely affect the project's schedule. Thus, until it is clear that AOC's actions are effective in curtailing additional schedule slippages, we believe that the facility is more likely to be completed in early 2008 than in the fall of 2007.