National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Center for Weather and Climate Prediction.

I was fortunate enough to join Senator Barbara Mikulski, Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank, members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and weather service leadership in College Park today for the grand opening of the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction.

As part of the University of Maryland’s M-Square Research and Technology Park, this center will bring three NOAA offices and more than 800 meteorologists, scientists, data managers, and other NOAA employees together in a state-of-the-art facility that will allow these experts to provide Americans with short- and long-range weather, climate, and hydrological forecasts.

These kind of forecasts are incredibly important.  Several years ago, I worked for Washington, DC’s Department of Transportation. In a job like that, an accurate forecast tells you more than whether or not you need an umbrella before you leave your house. It tells you whether or not more than 40,000 children can get to school, some of whom rely on that those schools not just for learning, but for food as well. It’s about understanding if it’s safe to send 1.5 million commuters out on the roads and public transit systems.

No matter where you work, whether it is in government or in business, good data is the foundation of good decision making. Understanding the weather and the full range of its potential impact is essential information to individuals who manage some of our most important services.

At GSA, our mission is to provide federal agencies the support they need to fulfill their responsibilities to the American people at the maximum possible value. This facility gives NOAA the resources they need to do their jobs to the best of their ability. With sustainable features such as “green roofs,” bio-retention areas, recycled construction materials, highly energy efficient windows and motion based lighting systems, and a storm water cistern to collect water for irrigation, it provides value to both this agency and the taxpayers.

The facility also demonstrates the power of ‘zero wall’ collaborative workspace. I visited the center where meteorologists and other scientists work on weather prediction as well as storm tracking, and plume modeling. This interdisciplinary team has worked on projects such as modeling and tracking the radioactive plume from the Fukushima plant after the tragic tsunami in Japan. While I was there a number of the scientists expressed how helpful it was to have people from other parts of the organization close by and ready for instant collaboration. Reducing our physical footprint can actually enhance our ability to cooperate and achieve outstanding results.

This innovative project is a perfect example of the kind of environmental and fiscally sustainable practices that are essential to the realizing the mission of GSA in the 21st Century. Congratulations to everyone who helped make it a reality. This project would not have been possible without the dedicated work of some men and women here at GSA and I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to recognize their contributions. I want to thank Jim Dunn, the project manager; Calvin Myint, the Director of the Triangle Service Center; Martha Gates; the former Director of the Triangle Service Center, who is now retired, but handled a large amount of the work that went into this project; Mark Stadsklev; the project contracting officer; and everyone else from GSA who worked so hard to make this project a reality.

This is a great day for GSA, NOAA, and the University of Maryland. To Dr. Lubchenco and everyone at NOAA, and to Dr. Loh and everyone at the University of Maryland, congratulations on this new facility. I know you’ll put it to good use.

Filed in Jobs, Public Buildings Service, Sustainability, Technology

The Small Business Administration (SBA) recently recognized GSA Office of Small Business Utilization with a Leadership Award for its work helping small and disadvantaged companies bring their cost-effective and innovative solutions to the federal marketplace.

The award recognized GSA for its leadership in the small business contracting community and for awarding more than 19 percent of its contracts to small and disadvantaged businesses in fiscal year 2011. I was honored to accept this award on behalf of GSA at an SBA National 8(a) Training Event. The 8(a) Program is a business development program that offers a broad scope of assistance to firms that are owned and controlled at least 51 percent by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.

The award exemplifies the extraordinary efforts of GSA’s contracting community and our deep commitment to working with small business. When it comes to small business contracting, GSA knows the value and savings these companies can provide to not only our agency, but also to others in the federal government.

Recently, GSA raised its Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business contracting number to more than four percent, a full percentage point above the congressionally mandated goal, following an aggressive agency-wide training and outreach campaign. More than $1.4 billion in GSA contracts went to small businesses during fiscal year 2011, which provided products and services to help government meet its mission.

GSA’s small business outreach programs provide business development support including training with one-on-one support options, mentoring, and procurement assistance. These efforts are helping small businesses successfully compete for government contracts, which gives agencies the tools they need to serve the American people.

Filed in Jobs, Office of Small Business Utilization, Small Business

GSA’s Rocky Mountain Region launched a successful partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, Department of Interior, to consolidate their office space, innovate sustainable practices and most importantly, save BLM close to $500,000 in annual rent. The project started in October 2012 and will be complete in 2015.

GSA partners with BLM to make workspace more efficient and save money.

BLM, one of the largest tenants on the Denver Federal Center, approached GSA asking for assistance in meeting the multiple challenges they were facing.  Working together, the team crafted a plan to reduce BLM’s office space by more than 41,000 square feet, close to 20% of their current space. The new plan incorporates a mix of modern and traditional workplace solutions, builds teleworking and enhanced mobility into the over-all plan, and features energy and water saving elements that are expected to achieve LEED-Silver Commercial Interior designation for the project.

GSA will be able to offer BLM’s former office space to other federal agencies currently located in leased facilities, meeting another Administration goal of making more efficient use of existing assets. This project is a win-win for both the federal government and the American taxpayer.

Filed in Energy, Public Buildings Service, Sustainability, Technology

GSA’s New England Region Natural Gas Acquisition Program (NGAP) held competitive reverse auctions recently in Connecticut and Massachusetts for natural gas supply that will save the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Veterans Affairs, GSA, National Park Service, American Red Cross,  US Coast Guard, and the Department of the Army $767,000 annually over the next three years. Thanks to this innovative solution, GSA will save government agencies millions of dollars.

GSA saved government agencies millions during recent natural gas reverse auctions.

How does a reverse auction work? A reverse auction occurs when vendors bid each other to sell a product – in this case, natural gas – to the federal government. Last month, twenty-four separate auction events were held to solicit pricing for multiple facilities, allowing property managers to choose the best price and terms based on bid results.This kind of auction gets the best savings for the government and, ultimately, for you the American taxpayer. The successful collaboration will help the region realize an average natural gas supply rate reduction of 26 percent for GSA facilities.

To take advantage of trends in the market, NGAP held 14 competitive auctions across the nation this fiscal year, cutting costs for twenty-nine federal agencies.  The reverse auctions are part of GSA’s core mission of providing the best value and promoting efficiency government-wide.

Filed in Energy, Public Buildings Service, Sustainability

It’s been just over a year since GSA transitioned to Google’s cloud-based email platform, and to date the agency has realized a cost saving of $2 million dollars. As the first large federal agency to adopt cloud-based email, GSA is leading the way and serving as a best practices model for other government agencies. In fact, early estimates show that GSA will save $15 million in costs over the next five years.

GSA saves $2 million after conversion to cloud email

We’ve also seen nearly a 90-percent reduction in server energy consumption and 85 percent reduction in related carbon emissions. And we expect the cost savings from this reduction in energy to be about $285,000 annually.

Lastly, migrating to a cloud based IT system has vastly improved our ability to operate during times of national emergency. Shortly after GSA’s migration to the new platform, Hurricane Irene hit the Eastern seaboard causing serious damage across a wide area of the country. Workers at GSA’s Office of Emergency Response and Recovery used Google sites to quickly set up a Hurricane Irene homepage for employees to share essential emergency response information.

It has been a remarkable year for GSA and bringing cloud IT solutions to government.  We have been at the forefront of implementing cloud services, and we’ve proven that they work to save taxpayer dollars, conserve energy, eliminate waste, and improve efficiency.

Filed in Cloud Computing, Federal Acquisition Service, Technology

Each year, in the summer and early fall, wildfires present a very real threat to forests, wildlife, and residential areas in western and southwestern United States. A vital role of GSA’s mission is to support firefighters and save taxpayer dollars by utilizing government contracts to consolidate purchasing supplies and equipment. In August alone, GSA’s Wildland Fire Program saved an estimated $4 million on orders of equipment to support firefighters across the nation.

GSA supports our nations firefighters

While wildfire activity slowed in July, national preparedness levels increased in August with large fires burning in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California, Montana, Oregon, Washington State, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Texas.  During the single month, the Southwest Supply Operations Center, which is responsible for GSA’s Wildland Fire Program, processed over 40 orders for fire equipment and supplies for national fire caches. The supplies were shipped from the GSA Western Distribution Center in French Camp, California.  In many cases, shipments are responses to immediate needs and must be processed during evening or weekend hours.

The program provides firefighters with equipment and supplies, facilitates advanced procurements in preparation for fire season, assists in standardization of fire equipment and supplies, and provides direct distribution of items to field units. Located in Fort Worth, Texas, the Southwest Supply Operations Center stocks over 250 items to assist firefighting in the task of fire suppression including water handling equipment, fire line tools, fire shelters, and protective clothing. As of early September, sales of equipment in the region totaled $38.4 million, which is estimated to have saved firefighters $13 million in cost-savings.

GSA also provides support to state and local governments during times of emergency through the use of government-wide contracts with commercial firms that are designed to save time and money in the procurement process. The use of these contracts, referred to as “schedules,” provides access to millions of commercial products and services at volume discount pricing.

GSA’s Office of Emergency Response and Recovery provides the overall logistics support for disasters and manages our role in the Emergency Support Functions as part of FEMA’s National Response Framework.  They are GSA’s first responders and “boots on the ground” within hours of an event.  In addition to wildfires, GSA provides support during hurricanes, tornados, floods, earthquakes and other man-made or natural disasters.

For more information on GSA’s contracts for emergencies, go to GSA Schedule contractors or GSAAdvantage!®

Filed in Federal Acquisition Service

Recently GSA announced the availability of our cloud email solution, the Email as a Service (EaaS) Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA), which will allow agencies to order pre-approved cloud based tools for email, office automation, and electronic records management, as well as the migration and integration services necessary for a swift transition leading to rapid savings. The BPAs offer government recurring purchasing options at a reduced cost that are also convenient and efficient.

GSA now offers cloud email services

Cloud based email services support the Obama Administration’s efforts to bring cloud services into the federal government and reduce federal data centers, which save taxpayer dollars. The implementation of 25 Point Federal IT Reform Plan, and “Cloud First” mandates require federal agencies to consider cloud-based solutions the new default IT solution. Everything agencies need to move to the cloud is available through GSA.

Cloud IT represents an innovative way for government to do more with less at a time when federal budgets are shrinking. Agencies can leverage cloud services to become more efficient. We estimate that agencies that use cloud based email will save 50 percent, about $1 million, annually for every 7,500 users migrated. Last year GSA was the first federal agency to make the move to cloud migrating 17,000 email accounts, saving $2 million to date, with an estimated savings of $15 million over five years.

What makes EaaS even more exciting is that it will leverage GSA’s innovative security program, Federal Risk Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), which uses a “do once, use many times” approach to save agencies time and money by providing a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring.

These new BPAs are the latest cloud offering from GSA, however, we have been working in collaboration with government and industry for years to provide government agencies with a comprehensive cloud solutions portfolio for use by government agencies to save millions of taxpayer dollars. In fact, GSA’s history of providing cloud solutions dates back to 2009.

The move to the cloud has not been easy and there have been some growing pains in the process for both government and private industry providers. Government is experiencing slower migrations to the cloud than anticipated and industry is learning what it takes to meet government mandated security controls. Transitioning to cloud IT is a major shift in the way government conducts business, which means that we are constantly learning lessons and making improvements. And out of those lessons we get great solutions, like FedRAMP, which will make sure that every agency, no matter their mission, can rely on the security of their cloud solutions; and the millions spent by agencies conducting their own security assessments can be avoided.

GSA views technology, specifically cloud technology, as a primary driver to transform how government works while saving millions of taxpayer dollars and driving efficient collaboration. We envision a great government through technology and cloud IT is helping us take a giant leap in that direction.

Filed in Cloud Computing, Federal Acquisition Service

GSA in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is proud to announce the completion of the new Langley Research Center headquarters in Hampton,Virginia. The project will save $2.5 million annually, and is part of GSA’s ongoing push to make more efficient use of government assets while providing the best value for American taxpayers.

GSA and NASA teamed up to build new facility

GSA is incredibly honored to have the opportunity to provide innovative and efficient solutions for NASA’s oldest research center. The new facility uses an average of 59 percent less energy and uses 41 percent less potable water than other office buildings, saving $2.5 million annually in operations and maintenance costs. The facility’s sustainable features have earned LEED Platinum certification.  In addition, the project has won six awards, including the prestigious Gold-Level 2012 Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell’s Environmental Excellence Award.

The completion of the headquarters is only the first step of a larger project called the New NASA Town, which is centered around the Langley facility. Together, GSA and NASA have embarked upon a partnership creating a long-term facilities modernization program with this multi-year project.

A fundamental part of the GSA mission is to support other federal agencies by promoting efficiency and getting the best deal for American taxpayers. By creating sustainable and energy efficient workspaces that are built to last, GSA helps the government be better stewards of taxpayer dollars.

Filed in Energy, Public Buildings Service, Sustainability, Technology

When we began our Top-to-Bottom review of the entire agency, I wanted to find a way to engage employees in the process of improving the agency and making it more efficient. We came up with the Great Ideas Hunt and from the first day of the hunt I was impressed with the quality of responses received from GSA employees across the country.  We wanted to send a strong message that everyone in GSA is responsible for and plays a critical role in reforming and improving the agency.  Employees generated more than 600 ideas and posted thousands of comments, demonstrating their commitment to our mission of saving taxpayer dollars.

GSA Implements Five Employee Ideas

To date, GSA received a total of 632 ideas submitted via the web from employees across the country. GSA staff then voted for their favorite submissions, registering close to twenty thousand votes online. Even before the results are tabulated, we are taking action on the five most popular ideas that can be implemented immediately:

• Reduce Subscriptions: A GSA employee highlighted the fact that GSA can save money by reducing the number of newspaper and magazine subscriptions and choosing online versions when possible. By doing this the GSA can save up to $630,000 agency-wide.

• Eliminate Redundant Survey: Three suggestions were submitted urging the agency to retire a costly and redundant employee survey.  It turns out that the survey costs $1 million annually and virtually all of its questions are addressed in the Office of Personnel Management Employee Viewpoint Survey, which is free. GSA has now stopped its use of the survey.

• Create Web-based Surveys: Four GSA employees submitted an idea to replace the paper-based Public Buildings Service (PBS) Tenant Satisfaction Survey with a web-based solution instead.  PBS is making this change immediately, which  will save about $1.2 million annually.

• Expand PrintWise policy: Two entries noted that setting the default printing settings to ‘double-sided’ will save money on paper and reduce GSA’s  impact on the environment. As a result, GSA will roll out this policy agency-wide, and could realize a savings of $2.7 million.

• Implement External Great Ideas: GSA received so many helpful ideas through this campaign internally, that three employees suggested the agency create an external website to allow federal partners and vendors to share  ideas and feedback on how GSA can better manage our offerings.

The string of comments from the ideas was active and vibrant, and I’m impressed at the level of involvement from every corner and every level of GSA. In the coming weeks, the leading suggestions will be evaluated to determine which are actionable and will have a meaningful impact on GSA and the agencies we serve. The Great Ideas Hunt began May 31 and ended July 6. In addition to these five ideas, we are reviewing and researching 40 other ideas submitted through the program and expects to implement them on a rolling basis.

The success of the Great Ideas Hunt demonstrates our commitment to having a positive impact across government.  We continue to show that GSA is focused on its core efforts of promoting efficiency, delivering better value, and saving taxpayer dollars.

Filed in Social Media, Sustainability

As part of our top to bottom review of GSA, we have been looking for savings in our government-wide travel programs. Each year, GSA sets the federal government’s travel reimbursement rates for lodging, meals, and incidentals for official government travel.  For the first time in more than a decade, we decided to freeze the rates at current levels. This will help federal agencies save an estimated $20 million in avoided costs in Fiscal Year 2013. This is in line with President Obama’s Campaign to Cut Waste and the Administration’s directive to reduce travel spending by 30 percent.

GSA reduces travel costs across government

While we considered a number of proposals to drive savings through the GSA per diem lodging rates, we needed more time to undertake a comprehensive review of the methodology used to determine those rates. We need better data to make sound decisions. Freezing the rates now was the most pragmatic approach that achieves significant savings while also allowing us more time to further evaluate the rates. The next step is for us to meet with experts through a Federal Advisory Committee and develop a plan for the rates moving forward.

Per diems are just one avenue through which GSA is reducing travel costs for agencies. Recently, we proposed to eliminate a policy that allows employees who attend a federal government sponsored conference to spend 25 percent above the per diem rate. Through this action, we will save approximately $9 million a year. We are also moving towards more cost-effective travel solutions, including launching the next generation of electronic travel service, beginning a pilot project for GSA’s online hotel booking program (FedRooms), and renegotiating contracts with airlines to offer discounted rates for federal employees.

GSA is also in the process of meeting with over a dozen agencies to identify areas where we can help drive savings government-wide, including in the area of travel.

Our work has just begun. GSA will continue to identify and launch new approaches to travel, fleet, contracting, IT and real property that will drive savings and improve government’s overall efficiency.

Filed in Office of Governmentwide Policy