The National Capital Section
COST FORUM
Volume: 6 Issue: 2 May 2015
GREETINGS TO ALL NATIONAL CAPITAL SECTION MEMBERS, FRIENDS, AND COLLEAGUES
I want to recap some announcements and a couple of events we recently conducted and recognize efforts of some of our NCS members. First, we held a CCP Review Course on May 2 and 9, 2015. We had ten attendees. Calvin Speight, Jr. organized the review course and also acted as a co-instructor. Additionally, Chowdhary Gondy provided instruction to the attendees. I want to personally thank Calvin and Chowdhary for their time and effort in making this review course a success.
We would like to offer the membership another review course this Fall. Currently, we are soliciting input from members regarding the review subject (e.g., PSP, EVP, etc.). Please reach out to us and let us know what interest you have in either attending or providing instructor for future review courses. You can send your input to myself (rfreas@exponent.com) or to info@aacei-ncs.org.
If you have not already heard the news, Steve Judd, our Treasurer, stepped down from his position to take a new job in Chicago with Turner. We wish Steve all the best with his new job. I am pleased to report that Chowdhary Gondy, with CES Consulting, has agreed to step up and assume the duties and responsibilities of the Treasurer position.
Also, Bruce Lyall has informed me that he will be stepping down from the Communications Chair position at the close of this year. Most of you probably don't realize how much time and effort Bruce spends to push out email announcements of events and activities, updating and maintaining the NCS website, and managing our PayPal account. We truly would grind to a halt if Bruce was not willing to contribute his time and effort to the Communications Chair position. I want to personally thank Bruce for his efforts over the years in this position.
It's also that time of year for NCS members to nominate members or volunteer for Officer and Board positions in our section. We have a couple of positions that need filing: Communications Chair, Website Manager, and Education Certification Committee Chair. If you or someone you know is interested in a position, please send your input to info@aacei-ncs.org or to myself at rfreas@exponent.com no later than June 15, 2015.
As we start to close out the program year, I want to thank the NCS Officers and Board members for their efforts and support this year. Being new to the position, I couldn't have done it without their support.
Robert (Bob) Freas, PSP
President NCS
MAY 2015 TECHNICAL PROGRAM RECAP
We had a joint meeting between George Washington University's Project Management Association and AACEI-NCS on May 21, 2015. Networking and refreshments started at 5:00 PM and the presentation commenced at 6 PM at GWU's School of Business. We had nine registered attendees from GWU's PMA for this technical program.
Our guest speaker was Bill Hombach, President of Envision Cost Solutions LLC. Bill provides the ENVision library of environmental remediation cost models developed using the Parametric Cost Modeling methodology. Bill previously worked with Team Analysis Inc. managing their estimating and software development professional services. Bill was the primary analyst for the development of NASA's NETS-XPRESS estimating system used by NASA to develop and manage their Unfunded Environmental Liabilities (totaling over $900 Million).
Bill's presentation was "Implementing a Comprehensive Estimating Solution for NASA." The following is his presentation abstract:
In the mid 1990's NASA fulfilled their liability recordation requirements by hiring contractors to perform an assessment of their environmental cleanup projects at NASA centers throughout the country. At the time, this same contractor would conduct annual financial assessments to update and document the previous year's liability estimates. Though these reports passed initial audits for their intended purpose, an internal review of the data later suggested the annual estimates were inaccurate and misleading. As such, in 2003, NASA began to address the issue by shifting the responsibility for estimating environmental liabilities to its Restoration Program Managers (RPMs) at all NASA centers.
In 2008 NASA contracted with Team Analysis to implement a comprehensive enterprise level estimating solution to be used by RPMs to address their cost estimation requirements. In meeting NASA's objectives in this area, Team Analysis provided historical cost analysis, planning and development of systems for managing financial data which has addressed NASA's emerging responsibilities in liability recording at each of its centers. Indeed the solution developed by our team has since been imbedded into NASA's restoration program such that it is now a key component of their overall financial management system.
A copy of Bill's May 21, 2015 presentation will be made available on the NCS website.
EcoSys is hosting an Earned Value Management seminar next month. The seminar is taking place on Thursday, June 11 at the JW Marriott Washington D.C. The event topic is "EVM Lite for Government Contractors" and it is free for all to attend. More details regarding this seminar will be posted to the NCS website. This seminar/presentation represents the views of EcoSys, which should not be viewed as a product of AACE International, no official endorsement should be inferred.
Please reach out the NCS Officers and Board members to provide your input and suggestions regarding technical programs for the Fall. We have some ideas, but want to hear from you to provide programs that are of interest to our membership. We are also trying to offer our programs in central locations around the DMV to provide the opportunity for members to attend on a more regular basis.