Computer Procurement

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the Navy's technical specifications for its Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) equipment, focusing on issues the Navy should address before releasing its solicitation to industry.

GAO found that the: (1) early CAD/CAM acquisitions were small and fragmented; (2) second-phase CAD/CAM acquisition is a large, joint system command initiative to buy commercially available, state-of-the-art technology; (3) Navy is reviewing the contract's estimated size, and projects that it may be smaller than the early estimates of $1 to $5 billion; and (4) Navy is unsure as to the future size, scope, and release of the CAD/CAM solicitation. GAO also found that the CAD/CAM technical specifications required: (1) graphics display screens compatible with all work stations; (2) computing devices to run the same application software; (3) modification of two public standards involving its Portable Operating System for Computer Environments (POSIX) and its Product Design Exchange Standard (PDES); and (4) integration of independent application software. In addition, GAO found that vendors who reviewed the specifications raised issues about: (1) the extent to which certain hardware features, which were more complex than those used commercially and possibly more expensive, were essential; (2) the possibility of producing a system unique to the Navy through modification of standards and integration requirements; and (3) whether requirements were negotiable or mandatory.

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.

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