Maintenance efficiency in the rail network
The primary objective of railway politics is to contribute to ensure that users of the transport service have good railway options. The Norwegian National Rail Administration is organised under ... the Ministry of Transport and Communications, and its responsibilities include operation, maintenance and development of the State's railway infrastructure. The maintenance activities must safeguard safety ... , fixed assets and operational stability of the railway system. The most important objective for the maintenance is to reduce the scope of operational interruptions, and to facilitate better punctuality ... ... Rail network maintenance - negative balance of costs and results ... SAI Norway evaluated efficiency of the railway maintenance and found that its costs increased nearly 110 per cent in years 2006–2014. Negative development in uptime and regularity dominated the first ... part of the examined period, from 2006 to 2011. It turned positive from 2011, but in 2014 results were still worse than in 2006. The results have lagged behind the Ministry's target figures for most ... of the period.
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VETERANS’ HEALTH CARE - Preliminary Observations on VHA’s Claims Processing Delays and Efforts to Improve the Timeliness of Payments to Community Providers
Due to increases in expenditures and utilization of VA care in the community services in recent years, VHA has had difficulty processing claims in a timely manner. In planning to consolidate its ... existing VA care in the community programs, as required by law, the agency said it will examine strategies for improving the timeliness and accuracy of its payments to community providers.<br ... /> This statement, which is based on ongoing work, summarizes GAO’s preliminary observations about (1) VHA’s, Medicare’s, and TRICARE’s claims processing timeliness in fiscal year 2015; (2) factors that have impeded ... Data processing hold back by technology limitation, workload and administrative burden ... US GAO analyzed all factors of slower processing and user unfriendliness that occur sometimes to the veterans healthcare. The main focus is data processing - and it has been proved that it can ... be failing not only because of technology, but also because of work-process design, staff and organisation.
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Homeland Security. Oversight of Neglected Human Resources Information Technology Investment Is Needed
Human resources IT investments get stuck in management's lack of interest Although the Human Resources Information Technology (HRIT) investment was initiated about 12 years ago with the intent to consolidate, integrate, and modernize the department's human resources IT infrastructure, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made very limited progress in achieving these goals. HRIT's minimally involved executive steering committee during a time when significant problems were occurring was a key factor in the lack of progress. This is particularly problematic given that the department's ability to efficiently and effectively carry out its mission is significantly hampered by its fragmented human resources. DHS's ineffective management of HRIT, such as the lack of an updated schedule and a life-cycle cost estimate, also contributed to the neglect this investment has experienced. DHS will be limited in efficiently tracking and reporting accurate, comprehensive performance and learning management data across the organization, and could risk further implementation delays.
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The Shared Services Centre
The necessary environment for the efficient management of the Shared Service Center is lacking The department's administration of the Shared Services Centre (SSC) has been effective for sharing resources between the departments and delivering selected back-office services to a small client base. However, the governance arrangements established to oversight the SSC have not positioned it well for the future and the departments have not yet determined if the arrangement is efficient and resulting in savings. ANAO found instances where the advisory board of SSC was not consulted or involved in decisions relating to the strategic direction, financial arrangements and expenditure priorities. Information reported to the board did not focus on areas of strategic importance and the quality and completeness of this information could be improved. The mechanisms established for setting out responsibilities and obligations and ensuring transparency for services delivered by the SSC was weak. Service standards and levels were not fixed and can change. The delineation of responsibilities between the SSC and its clients was not clear and there was no commitment by the SSC to certify the quality of its control framework.
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Performance Audit of the Georgian Government electronic Procurement system
State procurement is one of the key components of public financial management. Its share in state budget is approximately 25 percent. Effective management of state procurements is an important sphere ... of interest for the State Audit Office. Considering the fact that since 2010 major part of public procurements is being conducted electronically and there is no alternative tool, uninterrupted provision ... of a high-quality service has a particular importance. <br /> It is noteworthy that establishment of open, transparent and competitive environment for the procurement parties mitigates the risks of corruption ... ... Electronic procurement system - how effective are management and control mechanisms? ... SAI Georgia analyzed the electronic Government Procurement system. In their report they focus on compliance and security problems, which may harm the business goals and overall mission of the system.
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Federal Agencies Need to Address Aging Legacy Systems
Be aware of legacy IT risks The US government spends about 75 percent of the total amount budgeted for information technology on operations and maintenance. GAO reviewed Office of Management and Budget and 26 agencies, covering years 2010 through 2017 and recommends to develop a goal for spending measure and finalize guidance to identify and prioritize legacy IT needing to be modernized or replaced.
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FEMA Needs to Address Management Weaknesses to Improve Its Systems
Controls in emergency management GAO audited the agency of the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for federal efforts to mitigate, respond to, and recover from disasters. American auditors recommend that the agency fully define its investment board’s roles and responsibilities and procedures for selecting and overseeing investments, update its strategic plan and complete plans for IT modernization, and establish time frames for completing workforce planning efforts. The agency should also establish policies and guidance for implementing key IT management controls.
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Federal Human Resources Data
Internal control weaknesses may put mission at risk GAO audited the Enterprise Human Resources Integration payroll data warehose. The American auditors pointed at problems that may impede 'leverage of these data to meet its mission and allow others to make full use' of them. The critical internal contols areas to be improved in this cas are: completeness, accuracy, and validity of information, authorization, documentation, monitoring, results' evaluation.
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The National Government Service Centre – Has administration become more effective?
The purpose of this audit has been to investigate whether the Service Centre has made administrative operational support functions taken over from client agencies more effective, and to find ... explanations for the results so far achieved by the Service Centre. The audit has also aspired to illustrate how agencies that do not subscribe to the services regard their potential for doing so ... . These viewpoints have been analysed with a special focus on the conditions that applied to the Service Centre when it was formed and the measures taken by the Government and the Service Centre in the first years. ... ... Has Swedish public administration become more effective? ... The Service Centre – payroll and financial administration IT system for Swedish public agencies under the government – has achieved the target of a subscription rate of 25 per cent of the total ... number of state employees. However, subscription to the Service Centre was initially slower than the Government had predicted and meant lower revenues than expected in autumn 2013. The Service Centre ... then introduced a rigorous review of its expenditure, for example for some planned development initiatives for internal procedures and support systems.<br/>The Swedish NAO noted that the Government’s steering
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Opportunities Exist for SEC to Improve Its Controls over Financial Systems and Data
The SEC is responsible for enforcing securities laws, issuing rules and regulations that provide protection for investors, and helping to ensure that the securities markets are fair and honest ... . In carrying out its mission, the SEC relies on computerized information systems to collect, process, and store sensitive information, including financial data. Having effective information security controls ... in place is essential to protecting these systems and the information they contain. <br/> This report details weaknesses GAO identified in the information security program at SEC during its audit ... IT security basics under scrutiny ... Financial audit by US GAO was accompanied by an IT examination focused on information security measures in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). GAO found that SEC’s systems could ... be compromised, because of risks jeopardizing the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive financial information.
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