The Operations and Maintenance Business Information Link: Information Technology for Performance Measurement

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water resources management programs have undergone changes during the past two decades, including a shift in emphasis from the construction of new projects to the operation and maintenance (O&M) of existing projects. Consequently, expenditures for new construction have fallen while the O&M of existing projects has claimed an increasing share of the total agency budget. Given the current outlook of declining fiscal resources, Corps managers have recognized a need to evaluate the way the organization is doing business. The Corps O&M program appropriated approximately $1.7 billion for fiscal year 1999 to support an inventory of more than 4,000 projects. The program is managed through 8 division and 38 district offices across the nation. The Operations and Maintenance Business Information Link (OMBIL) integrates national program performance measurement, starting with criteria gathered at the lowest level, the local water resource project. The overall impact on the O&M program is twofold: Frontline employees contribute directly to corporate performance measurement, ensuring a national effort to achieve corporate goals and objectives, and the management hierarchy is able to support users at all levels through this outcome-oriented process. The result is a modified business methodology that enables more efficient and effective decision making.