Report 2011-116.1 Recommendation 5 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 #5 To: General Services, Department of

To ensure it is providing adequate oversight of school district construction projects, the division should develop robust procedures for monitoring inspectors' submission of semi-monthly reports. The division should also maintain all semi-monthly reports in its project files.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2013

DSA has taken additional actions to fulfill its responsibilities related to tracking, obtaining and filing the inspector semi-monthly reports. Toward this end, the division updated its automatic project tracking system to record the date of receipt of the most recent semi-monthly report. Further, in November 2012, staff training was conducted to review the procedures for receiving, reviewing and documenting the filing of semi-monthly reports. In December 2012, DSA also issued guidance to project inspectors on filing semi-monthly reports, including a list of who must receive the report and a report template. Finally, additional staff training was provided in February 2013 that included information on monitoring the filing of semi-monthly reports and steps to follow related to late or missing reports.

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

We noted in 2013-406 that the division had updated its tracking system, conducted staff training in November 2012 and issued guidance in December 2012 on the semi-monthly reports. In February 2013, the division offered staff training on a "field review status report." According to the training, this report allows field staff to monitor submittals of semi-monthly reports, for example by identifying projects with overdue reports. Also, the division's checklist for its field visits includes a review of the project inspector's semi-monthly reports. In addition, the division is beginning to use a cloud-based system for receiving and retaining various documents relevant to projects, including semi-monthly reports.

1-Year Agency Response

The division updated its project-tracking system to record the date of the most recent semi-monthly report and conducted staff training on the procedures for receiving, reviewing, and documenting the filing of semi-monthly reports in November 2012. The division also issued revised guidance in December 2012 to inspectors on filing semi-monthly reports, including a list of who must receive the report and a report template. Finally, the division indicated that there will be additional training in January 2013 on monitoring the filing of semi-monthly reports. (See 2013-406, p. 41)

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.