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Institute Completes VAFM Contract
The end of FY2012 brought to
completion the Institute's contracts with the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) that began a transformative process to promote organizational and
management advances in lifecycle facility management, including planning,
design, acquisition, construction, sustainment and decommissioning across VA.
The VA Facility Management Transformation Initiative (VAFM) was created by the
Secretary to transform the Department into a 21st-century
organization. The VAFM initiative, led by the Office of Construction and
Facilities Management (CFM), was one of a number of integral initiatives to
ensure activities undertaken as part of the transformation conform to the
management initiatives formed by the Integrated Operating Modeling (IOM). CFM
initiated the VAFM transformation work with the Institute at the end of FY2009.
The VAFM initiative
encompassed all facilities management activities across five core processes:
Planning, Project Delivery, Operations and Maintenance (O&M), Resource
Management and Enterprise Portfolio Management. The purpose of the
transformation is to operate as an enterprise system and organization for the
management and administration of effective and efficient planning, design,
acquisition, construction, sustainment and sustainability and disposal of the VA
facility portfolio in support of VA's mission. VAFM transformation will improve
operations (and facility services to VA) by introducing and improving enterprise
processes for planning and execution of Major, Minor and Non-Recurring
Maintenance (NRM) programs. The goal is to enhance sustainability of VA
infrastructure and to improve workforce focus and management of both programs
and process.
The Institute provided a team
of healthcare planning and A/E professionals to conduct the VAFM Post-Occupancy
Evaluation (POE) and Integrated Planning (IP) pilot projects. The Institute/POE
team conducted six POEs for NCA, VBA and VHA at five sites and issued a report
in February 2012. The Institute/IP team oversaw the conduct of two year-long
pilot studies incorporating NCA, VBA and VHA participants in two Veterans
Integrated Service Networks (VISNs). The VAFM IP Report was issued as a final
draft in September 2012. These two reports, along with the earlier, VAFM
Pilot Initiatives Benchmarking and Best Practices Research: Facility Master
Planning, Project Management Plans, Post-Occupancy Evaluation, dated
September 30, 2011, are intended to guide VA as it transitions from pilots to
projects.
Special mention must be made
of the VA staff who developed the pilots and led the transformation. Their
vision, leadership, day-to-day management and unwavering commitment to improving
service to Veterans were key to the success of this effort. Also worthy of
mention are the many VA field and station staff who assisted in scheduling,
touring, explaining, copying, providing input, photographing, reviewing,
meeting, conducting interviews and other forms of leadership that enabled the
pilot projects to succeed.
The Institute has new
contracts with VA for FY 2013 to continue with projects from VAFM. One is in the
area of planning, to develop a manual and directive for CFM planners. The other
is in the area of resource management, to develop a strategic plan for the
integration of building technology across the Department.
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