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DGS Quarterly Reports Q1 2022 - Achievements by Bureau

Healthy Government Framework at DGS

The surveys completed in the last quarter of 2021 have been completed and we were able to share the agency results this quarter with all of you. There are three strategic areas of the Healthy Government Framework, or HGF, that because of the Survey Results will be our focus at DGS: Human-Centered Mindset and Culture, Management Systems and Capabilities. It is important to recognize that all of DGS uses the Healthy Government Framework in our day-to-day operations and there is already a lot of work being done to support these three strategic areas.

The intention of using the HGF is to look at a business need and think about that need in an organized and focused way.

  • Purpose is a place that we started as an agency to identify the agency’s mission, vision and values. Our purpose is why we do what we do every day.
  • Process is a place that we focused to look at how we do what we do every day. When you come to work each day, what tasks and processes are you a part of to accomplish your job?
  • Management Systems is how we make decisions and see if we are successful in our processes to help guide us to improvement. This has shown itself through visual management, use of technology and other various data collection methods to make good business decisions in the agency.
  • Capabilities is you are set up for success. Do you have the tools, resources, knowledge, training to accomplish what you do every day? Consideration for this starts with hiring, recruitment, onboarding and ultimately continues through the lifetime of an employee’s career.
  • Human-Centered Mindset and Culture is our culture. Do you feel psychologically and physically safe in your workplace? Is the agency looking at the workplace with an equity lens? Do you feel that you can raise your hand to highlight an issue that needs to be addressed or improved in your workday? Is there mutual respect and accountability to each other in your workplace?

As you can see, these are already things that we do every day at DGS. The goal is to build on the great work that is being done and to look at areas for improvement, support efforts, and provide guidance. Look for more conversations about the Survey Results HGF coming soon.

BFM and BRE partner with DOC on the New Coffee Kiosk in the East Wing

If you’ve been in the Capitol East Wing recently, you may have noticed the coffee kiosk at The Capitol Restaurant has a new look! The DGS bureaus of Facilities Management (BFM) and Real Estate (BRE), along with staff from C&J Catering, collaborated to design and build a new and improved coffee kiosk to accommodate a more efficient and functional workflow for the kiosk staff, while providing an improved customer experience to the public and state employees that frequent the Capitol. The new design even includes a new bar top seating area! The design and construction of the kiosk was a combined effort between DGS and the Department of Corrections (DOC). Scott Mutzabaugh from BFM served as the DGS Project Manager; Stacey Osborn, a Space Manager in BRE, coordinated the design of the kiosk; and Jim Zerby, DGS Building Administrator, along with representatives from C&J Catering provided input and coordination from the customer perspective. BFM supplied the lumber and hardware and coordinated with Nathan Rhodes from DOC Correctional Industries (CI) to leverage the factory at SCI Rockview to fabricate the kiosk utilizing 66 inmate workers and five DOC staff members. The CI program at SCI Rockview specializes in custom furniture, signs, engraving and wood products. CI milled the lumber using CNC machines and other traditional machinery into component parts that were used to construct the kiosk. The component parts were dry fitted and assembled, then stained and top coated in the CI finishing department. The kiosk was fully assembled in the factory and quality checks were performed. BFM then hauled the completed kiosk back to Harrisburg where the DGS Carpenter Shop, Plumbing Shop and Electricians worked together to complete the installation in its new home in the Capitol East Wing!

BDISBO Agency Liaison Program Update

The Agency Liaison Dashboard is a historical at-a-glance measurement tool of an agency’s spend and performance data of utilization efforts for the Small, Diverse and Veteran Small Business Programs This quarter, BDISBO conducted seven (7) agency Dashboard meetings with the following agencies: Corrections, Health, Human Services, Labor and Industry, State Police, Revenue, and Transportation. BDISBO also conducted customized overview sessions with bureaus within Labor and Industry to enhance staff knowledge and understanding of how the small business programs intersect with their daily operations, specifically how they can use the DGS Supplier Search database. The quarterly Agency Liaison meeting was held on March 30, 2022. Highlights included: sharing SBR data and clarifying how the data is collected and the agency staff role in that collection process; presented 2020 Pennsylvania Census data results; Next Level Practice of DHS applying the BDISBO Agency Liaison model within their large agency of 16,000 employees; introduced the DGS EMP/DEI model; and other agency DEI efforts around the Commonwealth. Involved in this training were Kerry Kirkland, Lisa Sanford, Paula E. Murphy, Cassy Nevel, Hattie McCarter, and the Agency Liaisons. The Small Business (SB), Small Diverse Business (SDB), and Veteran Business (VBE) programs allow self-certified Small Businesses to be recognized for commonwealth prime and subcontracting opportunities as Small Diverse and Veteran Businesses. The potential small businesses reached out to the Bureau requesting assistance with certification/verification help. The certification portal is designed to allow Small Businesses to self-certify and apply for verification as a Small Diverse Business and/or a Veteran Owned Business. SDB and VBE total verifications processed were 223.

Using Data to Tell a Story Continues: DGS On Track to Fill 26 Positions in Support of Public Works

In the last issue, Public Works shared how it used data in November 2021 to build a business case for the Office of Budget (OB). In short, the workload has increased over the last several years. The number of employees available to complete that work has decreased 20% over that same period. Data suggested that the trend would continue. Even though modernization and process improvements have improved productivity, available Public Works resources simply could not support enough throughput to enable client agencies to spend the money OB allots annually for capital projects. Public Works needed more money to enable it to hire more people. OB agreed to invest an additional $5M in the business in the current and next fiscal year, resulting in the addition of 26 new positions.

In December, Public Works initiated efforts to hire 24 employees with two additional positions residing in the DGS Fiscal and Risk Management (FARM) bureau to support Public Works operations.

As of April 1, 2022, Public Works has established official start dates for seven employees, extended conditional or final offers to 11 employees, and identified three candidates for hire. Public Works is working to finalize three additional position descriptions.

If all goes according to plan, Public Works should have a full complement between Memorial Day and the end of the fiscal year (June 30, 2022).

CMS, PennDOT & PSP Collaborate to Create Attention-Grabbing Spot to Combat Distracted Driving

In observance of Distracting Driving Awareness Month in April, CMS, PennDOT and State Police have collaborated to develop a new marketing campaign encouraging Pennsylvania motorists to “Be Safe. Don’t Drive Distracted.”

Did you know that anything that causes you to either take your attention away from driving, take your eyes off the road or take your hands off the wheel is a distraction? According to PennDOT, distracted driving is the second leading cause of accidents (second only to speeding and significantly higher than drunk/impaired driving)! The theme of the commercial is “Driving requires all of your attention, all of the time.”

To safely create a video that realistically depicts how quickly an accident can happen when a driver is distracted, CMS engaged State Police to use its driving track in Derry Township.

CMS took on the challenging task of visually representing a crash from distracted driving, while avoiding actual damage or harm to any gear, vehicles, and people on set. By outfitting a vehicle with mounted camera gear and choreographing movement of two additional vehicles on a closed driving facility, CMS was able to capture a life-like distracted driving incident. This task was accomplished through weeks of planning, hours of gear prep and low-speed rehearsals, and constant communication!

Throughout April, visit www.penndot.gov/distracteddriving to learn more about distracted driving crashes, what causes them and what you can do to prevent them. CLICK HERE to view the new Distracted Driving commercial

COSTARS Team Achievements

Achievement 1: Thanks to the time and dedication put forth by the entire COSTARS team over the past 17 months (through initial brainstorming sessions, ongoing discussions, training module development, testing, and communications to current and potential suppliers), as well as the legal assistance provided by Erin Verano, and the technical knowledge and patience provided by consultants Ed Blair and Tadd Allar, on Feb. 7, we implemented the new COSTARS Electronic Bidding System. This new streamlined system will ensure a more efficient initial bidding process for COSTARS-exclusive contracts, as well as real-time account management for authorized COSTARS suppliers.

Achievement 2: COSTARS Commodity Specialists processed and awarded 51 new COSTARS-exclusive supplier contracts this quarter.

Achievement 3: The COSTARS team welcomed three new members.

  • Commodity Specialist Shelbie Pickering
  • Marketing Manager Jarod Ganci
  • Management Technician Ray Laurent

These individuals will play key roles in contract management, and in the promotion of the COSTARS program to current and potential members and suppliers.

They are all wonderful additions to the program and will serve it well!

BDISBO Certification Update

Small Business self-certification is race and gender-neutral program mandated by the United States Supreme court that allows eligible businesses to compete for prime contracting opportunities reserved for Small Businesses. It’s also the prerequisite for Small Diverse and Veteran Business verification. The Certification unit processed 772 Small Business application this includes SDBs and VBEs. These activities were facilitated by the Certification Unit: Cassandra Nevel, Kireston Wilson and new hire, Christopher Sanders.

Seeing the Invisible: Using One Small Tool to Show Clients the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Historically and by necessity, employees tend to spend almost all our time and energy working in business operations to deliver goods and services to our client agencies. To support employees in making good decisions, we need to understand how well the tools, processes, and systems we use every day are working to enable us to deliver value to our client agencies.

In 2019, DGS began using the Healthy Government Framework (HGF) as its primary foundation for helping to run the business of government. Based on annual survey feedback, Public Works saw an opportunity in 2021 to establish a management system using various mechanisms to bring visibility and transparency to operations. The deputate started to explore measures and other ways to support employees in talking about project performance and the systems and processes that everyone was using to deliver services to client agencies. The goal is to enable everyone to see performance more easily so that collectively everyone can make better decisions about our efforts.

In late summer 2021, Public Works recognized a pattern in some projects where client agency and other key stakeholders’ lacked clarity on the status of their projects. Gaps in understanding were creating friction for project teams. People were reluctant to step into difficult conversations about project roadblocks, missed milestone, and other issues plaguing projects. In order to illuminate and then address gaps in understanding among all stakeholders, Public Works started to experiment with a simple visual tool to capture basic - and sometimes incomplete - project information. When paired with stakeholder meetings, the tool enabled everyone to see what was happening and have productive conversations about steps needed to address issues. Plus, it often resulted in stakeholders bringing new information that project team members sometimes didn’t know about.

The left side of the “one pager” identifies project team members and defines the project’s basic scope, budget, and key milestones. The right side provides simple status of the pillars of the project management triangle (time, cost, scope), issues (i.e., reacting to things that have happened from the current time going backward), and risks (i.e., things the project might anticipate and address proactively before they occurred).

Public Works piloted the tool on the Norristown State Hospital demolition project, where an entirely new project team had assumed management of an ongoing, high-profile project, and on the Pymatuning State Park Campground project, where community stakeholders and their state senator had a vested interest in moving the project forward after long delays. Stakeholders on both projects viewed the tool favorably, and some even began using it to communicate with their stakeholders.

Public Works has introduced the tool on a few additional projects and hopes its use gains traction across the deputate, especially on other high-profile projects.

BDISBO Compliance Update

Currently, there are nearly 800 contracts being monitored by BDISBO and are increasing daily. Also, this quarter’s highlight is the Job Order Contracting (JOC) method. BDISOB ensures that JOC Primes are meeting their bi-annual Goals. As of January 2022, one and a half years into the new JOC contract, 100% of all the vendors on active JOC contracts are meeting or exceeding their SDB goals. This is successful for a few reasons: (1) the culture and mindset to use small and diverse businesses on the plethora of construction projects with the commonwealth under the $400,000 threshold has been instilled in the prime vendor community for several years, on a voluntary basis; and (2) now with the implementation of the Commonwealth establishing the goals on contracts, the prime vendors continue to use small, diverse, and veteran businesses. This seamless transition of the program requirements is achievable when all parties collaborate and understand the importance of building capability and capacity with small businesses, and in this initial period of goal setting, the Commonwealth awarded $44M in contracts in which the Primes averaged 20% spend with small diverse businesses alone. This is the outcome we hoped for and hopefully will continue to see in the future due to this culture change.

Additionally, SDB and VBE Certification/verification technical assist was performed by the Compliance Unit. SB, SDB, and VBE clients contacted the Bureau requesting assist regarding the certification/verification process. The program is designed so that customers can self-certified their small business and apply for verification as a Small Diverse Business and/or Veteran Owned Business. The Compliance Unit, during this quarter, provided technical assistance to over 223 customer service calls. Curtis Burwell, Reggan Nowlin, Mack White, Corey Burnett, and Rock Wright are responsible for the completion of these objectives.

Governor’s Suite Renovations

In October 2020, the Governor's Suite in the Main Capitol went under renovations to be restored to its original state as built in 1906. This renovation was the last part of the Main Capitol to be restored since renovations began back in the 1980’s! The Capitol Preservation Committee’s Executive Director, David Craig, led the renovations, which included repair and restoration of woodwork, hardware, lighting, and decorative finishes. In addition, new herringbone wood flooring in the Governor's office and new carpet was installed throughout the suite. Building upgrades, demolition and HVAC equipment relocation was managed by Doug Hatcher, DGS Energy & Resource Management Office. Building upgrades included: portrait lighting, fire alarm, data infrastructure, and security cameras. Space planning and specification of new furniture was completed by Jill Schultz, DGS Bureau of Real Estate. The new furniture supports modern workflows, technology, collaboration, and ergonomics. The Capitol Preservation Committee provided all historical furniture throughout the suite including construction of new bookcases to match the original woodwork in a private office.

During the renovation the Governor’s staff was temporarily relocated. Logistics of the staff relocation was a coordinated effort between Jill Schultz, Jim Zerby from the DGS Bureau of Facility Management and Jonathan Wilson and Jenna Fox with the Governor’s Office. The Governor and his staff took back occupancy of Suite 225 during the last week of January 2022, prior to the Governor's budget address to the General Assembly. The completion of this project finalizes CPC's renovation of the Capitol that began in the 1980s.

COSTARS Marketing Achievements

COSTARS continued the drive to educate LPPU’s and suppliers on the program, both in-person and virtually.

Six COSTARS social media posts “aired” on DGS’s social media pages.

The Winter edition of the COSTARS Connection Newsletter was produced and distributed.

Educational and marketing initiatives lead to energetic COSTARS program participation!

  • 9,255 local public procurement units registered with DGS.
  • 1,880 suppliers holding a COSTARS-exclusive contract. - 1,501 or 80 percent are PA suppliers; 753 or 40 percent are self-certified Small Businesses; 96 or 5.1 percent are Small Diverse and Veteran-owned Businesses.
  • 405 COSTARS-participating statewide vendor contracts.
  • Members spend more than $1 billion annually using COSTARS contracts.

Equity Management Program Launch

The Equity Management Program (“EMP”) was designed to promote a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Department of General Services workplace through self-analysis, education, outreach, and communication efforts. The EMP will establish effective management, accountability, self-analysis, and will involve a regular evaluation of the Department’s application of its programs, policies, processes, and systems to ascertain whether such programs, policies, processes, and systems may have any barriers that tend to limit or restrict diversity, equity, or inclusion in the workplace.

Hattie McCarter, EMP Coordinator, will manage this program to support the EMP Officer, Deputy Secretary Kerry Kirkland, and assist the Executive Team in maintaining their commitment and leadership in supporting the five elements of the EMP (Demonstrated Commitment from Department Leadership; Integration of the Program into the Department’s Strategic Mission, Vision, and Values; Management and Program Accountability; Proactive Promotion of a Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive Workplace; and Efficiency).

As part of the EMP, we have established a strong Employee Resource Group (ERG) Program. Our goal is to strive as an organization to work towards an inclusive and equitable workplace, in addition to effective leadership, for its an important part of a successful ERG program. The DGS Executive Team, in collaboration with the EMP Coordinator, will support and provide guidance, mentoring, visibility, and networking to support the ERGs success. The ERG groups implemented are: DGS GenYers, Women in DGS, Leaders in Motion, PRIDE, and BIPOC (Black Indigenous and People of Color). For additional information regarding the EMP and/or ERGs, you may contact Hattie McCarter at hmccarter@pa.gov.

Professional Services Team Updates

Achievement 1: Corey Walters was promoted to Commodity Manager of the Professional Services. Corey served as the Associate Commodity Manager of the team since 2017.

Achievement 2: Total Rebate for US Bank for the quarter ending 12/31/2021: $783,505.36.

BDISBO Goal Setting Update

The goal setting unit is a result of recommendations from the Commonwealth’s 2018 Disparity Study. The study highlighted the disparities existing between the availability and readiness of Small Diverse and Veteran Businesses and their utilization on commonwealth contracting opportunities.

The Goal Setting Unit completed 52 Requests and conducted 47 Procurement Review Groups (PRG). PRGs serve two functions, (1) to collaborate with the agency’s procurement officer and subject matter expert on the goals established on a case-by-case basis, and (2) review SDB/VBE submittals by bidders/proposers for responsiveness. This quarter, DGS units collaborated to establish healthy goals (for each discipline) for an upcoming $280Million project.

A solicitation debriefing is an opportunity for bidders who were not awarded contracts to seek an oral explanation regarding their SDB/VBE paperwork submittals. BDISBO welcomes these opportunities to meet with the business community to provide clarifications so that the bidders can make adjustments and produce better submissions in the future. These meetings are held with BDISBO, BDISBO Legal Counsel, the agency issuing officer and their legal counsel. This quarter BDISBO participated in three such debriefings.

Personnel involved was Lisa Sanford, Kheea Anderson, Charlie White, Reggan Nowlin, Rocky Wright, Public Works, and procurement personnel from various agencies.

Transportation Team Update

Achievement 1: Waterborne Traffic Line Paint: On February 14, the Transportation team awarded a new waterborne traffic line paint contract to Sherwin Williams Co. The incumbent contracts with Ennis Flint and Ozark Materials were not renewed after suppliers declined renewal due to rising costs of materials. The net change in pricing is null as white paint increased roughly 23% while the cost of yellow paint decreased 23%.

Achievement 2: Liquid Bituminous Materials: The Transportation team renewed 8 liquid bituminous materials contracts for an additional year, through February 28, 2023. The pricing on these contracts is adjusted monthly, based on changes in the index for asphalt cement, as determined by a Department of Transportation survey of producers (refiners) conducted on the last Wednesday of each month.

Achievement 3: Glass Beads: The Transportation team renewed the statewide glass beads contract for an additional year, through February 28, 2023. The pricing on this contract is adjusted annually, based on changes in the futures index for natural gas, as determined by the CME Group.

BVM Update

Telematics cost savings continues with Customer Service and Claims achieving nearly $40,000 a month in repair avoidance with Telematics notifications and the ability to verify accuracy of estimates from vendors. The severity of our accidents continues to be reduced. The total numbers of at fault accidents are down.

  • Telematics: has saved Commonwealth agencies more than $1.3 million dollars over the last 2 years.
  • Customer Service Savings: The bureau saved $98,044 this quarter. At this pace savings will near $400,000 for the Calendar Year.
  • Claims Cost Savings: The bureau achieved $15,985 in savings this quarter by reviewing estimates, making the decision to take some vehicles to another more cost-effective repair vendor, or bringing high-cost repair jobs to Harrisburg. They are on pace to save over $60,000 this calendar year.

Telematics

  • Total number of vehicles identified for telematics: 5500
  • Number of installed units at the beginning of month: 6,191
  • % Of project installs completed: 112%

Lost Time

  • Gives employees a voice daily in the operations of the Bureau. This quarter we have been able to address and resolve IT issues, phone issues, and identify areas of needed improvement with driver training and Automotive Liaison training.
  • In the past year BVM has been able to go paperless making the Teleworking process function in Customer Service, Claims and Accounts Payable completely electronic.
  • Lost Time savings at BVM has exceeded $800,000 since inception in 2018.

BDISBO Outreach & Training Update

Goal Setting Go Live-Disparity Study Implementation Virtual Trainings were performed by BDISBO to educate agencies, particularly procurement professionals, the small business community, and other stakeholders on the Small Business Reserve (SBR), Veteran Business enterprise (VBE) and Small Diverse Business (SDB) new goal setting program and processes impacted by implementation. This quarter, BDISBO completed a total of six trainings, three (3) for internal procurement professionals and three (3) for external vendors/stakeholders for a total of 293 attendees.

BSSO Achievements

  • Spring is finally here! The BSSO Warehouse and Distribution Division is proud to announce another flawless year of Ice melt distribution without a hiccup. Even with contract negotiations in progress, the Excess warehouse team ensured everyone had what they needed throughout the winter months. Special thanks to the Elmerton team for their continued support on the transportation front! In addition, the State Stockpile warehouse has been engaged in several large distributions of KN95 masks. Included were distributions to Commonwealth Agencies for use by Commonwealth Employees, as well as another to Commonwealth School Intermediate units, for use by teachers and students.
  • The BSSO State Surplus team is looking forward to the upcoming 2022 PENNDOT Heavy Equipment Sale. The agency portion of the sale begins Monday, 5/9/2022 and ends Friday, 5/13/2022. This will be followed by a private auction for Commonwealth Municipalities that will run Noon on Monday, 5/17/2022 through 10:00 on Tuesday, 5/31/2022. The dates for the public portion of the sale are from Noon Monday, 6/20/2022 through 10:00 Tuesday, 7/5/2022. The BSSO State Surplus Division has also checked the box for another successful clean-out project. During this quarter they assisted DOH in successful removal from offices at 2050 Herr Street.
  • BSSO’s Federal Surplus Division conducted a web presentation for the Small Business Administration’s Eastern Region, Veteran Cross Talks Stakeholder Council Meeting. The presentation highlighted Federal Surplus property, guidelines, and application process. It was well attended by SBA Leadership, American Legion, VFW, Veteran's Assistance organization and a local college.

Equipment Team Updates

Achievement 1: Twenty shopping carts received.

Achievement 2: Total of ten contracts renewed/rebid.

Achievement 3: Two new EV Charging Stations ITQ contracts.

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