DOT’s Fiscal Year 2020 Top Management Challenges

DOT's Fiscal Year 2020 Top Management Challenges

Report No. PT2020003 October 23, 2019

DOT's Fiscal Year 2020 Top Management Challenges

Required by the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000 and OMB Circular A-136

Office of the Secretary of Transportation| PT2020003 | October 23, 2019

What We Looked At

As required by law, we report annually on the Department of Transportation's (DOT) most significant challenges to meeting its mission. We considered several criteria in identifying DOT's top management challenges for fiscal year 2020, including their impact on safety, documented vulnerabilities, large dollar implications, and the ability of the Department to effect change.

What We Found

We identified the following top management challenge areas for fiscal year 2020:

? Aircraft certification. Key challenges: resolving certification issues related to the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and enhancing oversight of aircraft certification processes.

? Air carrier safety oversight. Key challenges: balancing collaboration and enforcement and overseeing air carriers' new systems for managing safety risks.

? Airspace modernization. Key challenges: sustaining and modernizing the ERAM system, realizing the anticipated benefits of ADS-B, implementing new flight procedures, and auctioning off electromagnetic spectrum frequencies to finance and deploy new radars.

? Cybersecurity. Key challenges: addressing longstanding vulnerabilities in DOT systems, strengthening internal controls, and implementing mandated aviation cybersecurity initiatives.

? Pipeline and hazardous materials safety. Key challenges: hiring and retaining staff to oversee the safety of pipelines facilities and referring allegations of violations to OIG.

? Commercial vehicle safety. Key challenges: ensuring commercial drivers are qualified, prioritizing motor carriers for interventions, and estimating the impact of driver detention.

? Railroad safety. Key challenges: reducing railroad grade crossing and trespassing fatalities and overseeing railroads' implementation of positive train control systems.

? Surface infrastructure investments. Key challenges: targeting oversight resources and managing risks, capitalizing on oversight support, and improving project delivery.

? The future of transportation. Key challenges: preparing for emerging vehicle automation technologies, safely integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems and the commercial space industry, leveraging innovative financing, supporting R&D, and reshaping the workplace.

All OIG audit reports are available on our website at oig.. For inquiries about this report, please contact our Office of Government and Public Affairs at (202) 366-8751.

Contents

Memorandum

1

Index of DOT Operating Administrations Discussed in Each Chapter

4

1. Restoring Confidence in FAA's Aircraft Certification Process

5

2. Effectively Leveraging Collaboration and Enforcement in FAA's

Evolving Air Carrier Safety Oversight Approach

9

3. Maximizing FAA's Airspace Modernization Investments and

Ensuring New Capabilities Achieve Expected Benefits

13

4. Enhancing Oversight and Internal Controls To Address

Longstanding Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities

18

5. Maintaining and Enforcing Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety

24

6. Enhancing Enforcement and Data Analysis To Reduce Commercial

Vehicle-Related Fatalities

29

7. Continuing National Efforts To Improve Railroad Safety

34

8. Effectively Overseeing Billions in Surface Infrastructure Investments

38

9. Preparing for the Future of Transportation

44

Exhibit. List of Acronyms

50

Appendix. Department Response

53

2020 Top Management Challenges, Department of Transportation

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

Memorandum

Date:

October 23, 2019

Subject:

INFORMATION: DOT's Fiscal Year 2020 Top Management Challenges Report No. PT2020003

From:

Calvin L. Scovel III Inspector General

To:

The Secretary

Acting Deputy Secretary

A safe, efficient, and modern transportation system is fundamental to our Nation's economy and the quality of life for American people and communities. The Department of Transportation (DOT) invests nearly $80 billion annually to build, maintain, and enhance this system. Since 1978, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) has supported the Department's mission through audits and investigations that improve the performance and integrity of our Nation's wideranging transportation programs. As required by law, we report annually on DOT's top management challenges to help the Department focus attention on the most serious management and performance issues it will face in the coming year.

DOT's top priority is to make the U.S. transportation system the safest in the world. In support of this goal, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has updated its strategy for overseeing the safety of air carriers in recent years. Yet recent events have highlighted challenges FAA faces in meeting its safety mission, including two devastating fatal crashes and the subsequent March 2019 grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. FAA must effectively balance collaboration with enforcement as it oversees air carriers' safety programs, while also working to restore public confidence in its aircraft certification processes.

Another critical aspect of DOT's goal is to enhance the safety of our Nation's roads, pipelines, and rail lines. The number of commercial vehicle-related fatalities increased 11 percent between 2013 and 2018. Ensuring commercial drivers are qualified to safely operate large trucks and buses, while prioritizing motor carriers for interventions, will be key to improving safety. At the same time, the Department can do more to oversee and enforce the safety of aging pipeline infrastructure, in part by improving how it targets management and inspection resources. In addition, the Department must continue its efforts to reduce

2020 Top Management Challenges, Department of Transportation

1

railroad incidents and fatalities by improving safety at railroad grade crossings and overseeing railroads' ongoing implementation of safety-critical Positive Train Control systems.

The Department also faces challenges to meet its strategic priorities of improving transportation infrastructure and fostering accountability. This includes maximizing its ongoing multibillion-dollar investment in modernizing the Nation's air traffic control systems to improve safety and efficiency. To meet this goal, FAA must focus on ensuring its new capabilities achieve their expected benefits in a cost-effective manner. FAA will also need to devote sustained management attention to address risks associated with its ongoing effort to partner with other Government agencies to finance and deploy new radar systems at an estimated cost of $12 billion.

Furthermore, the Department must continue to pursue effective stewardship of the more than $50 billion it invests each year in building, maintaining, and repairing our Nation's surface infrastructure. To safeguard taxpayer dollars, DOT can enhance its processes for targeting oversight and managing risks for its many contract and grant programs, including those for Federal-aid highway projects and high-speed rail. The Department can also promote accountability by capitalizing on oversight assistance, such as the Federal Transit Administration's use of integrity monitors to help oversee disaster recovery projects.

Finally, the Department has a number of opportunities to pursue its strategic goal of innovation as it works to prepare for the future of transportation. To better position itself for the future, DOT must first ensure it has adequately resolved longstanding cybersecurity weaknesses--some of which we have reported for 10 years. Implementing effective oversight and internal controls will be critical to protect DOT's more than 450 information technology systems from increasingly complex and evolving cyber threats.

As the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 20151 concludes and a new authorization begins, the Department's challenge will be to address the impact of emerging technologies and rapidly growing industries, including automated vehicles, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, and commercial space activities. Further, the Department can better meet the increasing and evolving demands on the Nation's transportation system by effectively leveraging innovative financing, including public-private partnerships; supporting research and development; and reshaping its workplaces to meet future needs.

We considered several criteria to identify the Department's top management challenges for fiscal year 2020, including safety impact, documented

1 Pub. L. No. 114-94.

2020 Top Management Challenges, Department of Transportation

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