Army Procurement

Procurement of a Newly Designed Steam Cleaner Is Premature Gao ID: NSIAD-89-1 October 19, 1988

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Army's plan to purchase new, military-designed, standard steam cleaners for military vehicles and heavy equipment to determine whether the: (1) Army needed the equipment; (2) cleaners' capabilities exceeded the Army's needs; and (3) Army sufficiently tested the equipment.

GAO found that the: (1) Army failed to adequately justify its purchase of the new steam cleaners instead of less expensive commercial cleaners; (2) Army based its decision on a 1976 test report and a 1978 justification document; (3) Army did not specify how it would use the equipment; (4) Army awarded a contract in September 1987 for 325 cleaners, and planned to buy 170 more during fiscal year 1989; (5) estimated cost of the standard cleaner was $15,767 per unit; and (6) Army plans to purchase 1,334 more generators than it currently needs for the steam cleaners.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Team: Phone:


The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.