United States Government Accountability Office

GAO Testimony 

Before the Subcommittee on the 

Legislative Branch, Committee on 

Appropriations, U.S. Senate 

CAPITOL VISITOR 

CENTER 

Update on Status of 

Project’s Schedule and Cost 

As of November 15, 2006 

Statement of Bernard L. Ungar, Director 

Bradley M. James, Assistant Director 

Physical Infrastructure Issues 

For Release on Delivery

Expected at 2:30 p.m. EST 

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

 

GAO-07-129T 
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: 

We are pleased to be here today to assist the Subcommittee in monitoring 

progress on the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) project. Our remarks will 

focus on (1) the Architect of the Capitol’s (AOC) construction progress 

and problems since the Subcommittee’s September 21, 2006, hearing and 

their impact on the project’s schedule; and (2) the project’s expected cost 

at completion and funding situation.1

 As part of this discussion, we will 

address a number of key challenges and risks that continue to face the

project as well as actions AOC has recently taken, and plans or needs to 

take, to meet its currently scheduled completion date. 

Our remarks today are based on our review of schedules and financial 

reports for the CVC project and related records maintained by AOC and its 

construction management contractor, Gilbane Building Company; our 

observations on the progress of work at the CVC construction site; and our 

discussions with the CVC team (AOC and its major CVC contractors), 

AOC’s Chief Fire Marshal, and representatives from the U.S. Capitol 

Police. We also reviewed AOC’s construction management contractor’s 

periodic schedule assessments, potential change order log, and daily 

reports on the progress of interior wall and floor stonework. We retained a 

mechanical engineering consulting firm (Kincaid/Bryant) to help us assess 

the CVC team’s progress in completing the project’s heating, ventilation,

and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. In addition, we reviewed the contract

modifications made to date and the estimates of cost increases provided 

by AOC and its construction management contractor, including their 

estimates of the costs related to delays,2

 and their preliminary cost 

estimates for recent changes to the CVC’s fire protection and security 

systems. 

At the Subcommittee’s September 21 CVC hearing, we reported that our 

assessment of the project’s schedule and expected cost at completion was 

somewhat constrained because the CVC team was still analyzing the 

impact on the project’s schedule and cost of the recently identified 

changes required for certain components of the fire protection and 

 1

GAO, Capitol Visitor Center: Update on Status of Project’s Schedule and Cost As of 

September 21, 2006, GA0-06-1058T (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 21, 2006).

2

The estimates for most of the delay-related costs were provided by AOC and its 

construction management contractor for budgetary purposes only and do not reflect any 

judgments by GAO of the validity of any potential contractor claims. 

Page 1 GAO-07-129T 
security systems. We also noted that the team expected to have firmer 

schedule and cost information around mid-October. However, the CVC 

team did not receive firmer information on the impact of the recent fire 

alarm system changes on the schedule until late last week, noted some 

remaining uncertainty about how long the pretesting of the fire alarm 

system would take, and recently learned of significant changes that would 

be needed in the security system and in the sequence for bringing the 

CVC’s air handling units online. In addition, the impact of these changes 

on the project’s cost is not yet fully known. Therefore, we could not 

thoroughly assess the project’s schedule or estimated cost at completion 

and are basing our views on the information available as of November 9, 

2006, recognizing that our views could change as more information on the 

impact of these changes becomes available. 

In summary: 

Since the Subcommittee’s September 21 CVC hearing, the CVC team has 

continued to move the project’s construction forward, but the project’s 

scheduled completion date has slipped by 6 weeks, to October 26, 2007,3

and further delays are possible. The 6-week delay was attributable to 

problems with the project’s most critical activity—the fire protection 

system. Under the current schedule, the construction of the House and 

Senate expansions spaces will be completed before the CVC’s 

construction, but both the CVC and the expansion spaces will be available 

for occupancy at the same time because final acceptance testing of both is 

slated to be done concurrently. 

• During the past month, the CVC team has made progress on the project’s

HVAC system, interior floor stone and ceiling installation, and other 

interior and exterior construction work. In addition, AOC sent Congress 

an action plan for improving its execution of the project and the project’s 

schedule, as the Subcommittee requested and we had recommended, and 

this plan is responsive to our recommendations. AOC is also considering 

other action not discussed in this plan. 

 3

This date does not allow time for installing artifacts in the exhibit gallery, preparing for 

operations, or addressing risks and uncertainties. AOC has allowed another 5 weeks, until 

November 30, 2007, for installing the artifacts and has not estimated a time frame for 

operations preparations. 

Page 2 GAO-07-129T 
• Despite this progress, problems have occurred in many important 

activities besides the CVC’s fire protection system, according to AOC’s 

construction management contractor. Although these delays did not add 

time to the project’s schedule this month, additional delays could do so in 

the future. For example, the completion date for wall stone installation in 

the East Front basement slipped by 38 workdays since the Subcommittee’s 

last CVC hearing, and an additional 17-workday slippage could delay the 

CVC project’s scheduled completion date. Similarly, work on the HVAC 

system slipped 19 workdays, and an additional slippage of 46 workdays 

could delay the project’s scheduled completion date. Recently identified

issues associated with the CVC’s HVAC system, fire protection system, and 

security system—including issues associated with their coordination and

testing—also pose risks to the project’s scheduled completion date. In 

addition, concerns have arisen about AOC’s ability to achieve a highquality, complete, and usable facility within the current estimated time 

frame and cost now that the contractual date for completing sequence 2 

construction work—September 15, 2006—has passed. In particular, there 

is a risk that, without negative consequences, the resolve of some major 

stakeholders to complete the project in a timely and efficient manner 

could be adversely affected. Finally, all the indicators of progress that we 

have been tracking for the Subcommittee, together with other risks and 

uncertainties, suggest that the project is likely to finish later than October

2007. 

As we said at the Subcommittee’s September 21 CVC hearing, AOC will be

able to meet or come close to meeting its scheduled project completion 

date only if the CVC team promptly makes significant improvements in its 

execution of the project and the project’s schedule. It is too early to tell 

whether the actions identified in AOC’s November 2006 action plan will be 

effective in curtailing additional schedule slippages. Furthermore, the 

concerns identified since the Subcommittee’s last CVC hearing, 

particularly those related to the CVC’s HVAC system, if not quickly 

addressed, could adversely affect the project’s schedule. Thus, until it is 

clear that AOC’s actions are effective in curtailing additional schedule 

slippages, we believe that the facility is more likely to be completed in 

early 2008 than in the fall of 2007. To improve AOC’s ability to meet its 

schedule and to reduce the risks to the project’s schedule and cost facing

AOC now that the contract completion date is past, we are recommending 

that AOC (1) promptly work with the CVC team to address the concerns 

associated with the CVC’s HVAC system and (2) carefully consider the 

existing contractual remedies available to achieve completion of all 

necessary work within the current estimated time frame and cost without 

otherwise compromising any of the government’s contractual rights or 

remedies. 

Page 3 GAO-07-129T 
Since the Subcommittee’s September 21 CVC hearing, we have increased 

our estimate of the total cost to complete the entire CVC project by about

$8 million to account for the delays and changes identified during this 

period,4

 but our estimate is rough because we have not had the 

information or the time needed to fully assess the impact of these delays 

and changes on the projects’ cost. With this $8 million increase, we now 

estimate that the total cost of the entire CVC project at completion is likely 

to be about $592 million without an allowance for risks and uncertainties,

recognizing, however, that the extent of AOC’s responsibility for the delayrelated costs is uncertain. To date, about $531 million has been provided 

for CVC construction. For fiscal year 2007, AOC has requested $26 million 

in CVC construction appropriations, plus $950,000 in AOC general 

administration appropriations for contractual support to complete 

acceptance testing of the CVC’s fire protection system on schedule. During

fiscal year 2007, AOC is also likely to need, but has not yet requested, 

additional funds to pay for changes. At the Subcommittee’s last CVC 

hearing, we roughly estimated that AOC would need an additional $5 

million to $10 million in fiscal year 2007 over and above what it had 

already requested for changes unless it decided to use funds slated for 

other purposes, after obtaining the necessary congressional approvals. 

AOC agrees with this rough estimate at this time and notes that it will 

likely need additional money in fiscal year 2008 to replenish these funds 

and to cover other costs if they materialize. 

Work on the CVC project has progressed in many areas, but the project 

completion date has slipped to October 26, 2007, about 6 weeks beyond 

the September 17, 2007, completion date discussed at the Subcommittee’s 

last CVC hearing. This 6-week slippage is due to continuing problems 

associated with the CVC’s fire protection system, but many other 

important activities, including those associated with the HVAC system, 

East Front, and security system, have been delayed as well. Last week, at 

the request of the Subcommittee and as we had recommended, AOC 

completed and sent to Congress an action plan for improving management 

execution of the project and its schedule. The action plan was responsive 

to our recommendation. However, it is too early to tell whether 

implementing the plan will curtail the types of schedule slippages that 

Construction Progress 

Has Not Been 

Sufficient to Offset 

Impact of Changes 

and Delays on the 

Project’s Schedule 

and Completion 

 4

Our estimate includes delay-related costs that AOC and its construction management 

contractor estimated for budgetary purposes only. Our inclusion of these costs in our 

estimate does not reflect any judgments by GAO of the validity of any potential contractor 

claims. 

Page 4 GAO-07-129T 
have occurred since the Subcommittee’s last CVC hearing and throughout 

the project. Moreover, although the CVC team and AOC’s Fire Marshal 

Division have agreed on a number of important elements of the CVC’s fire 

protection system, they have not yet agreed on all important elements. 

Additionally, as noted, concerns have emerged regarding the CVC’s HVAC 

system, as well as the impact of the passage of the sequence 2 September 

15, 2006, contract completion date. Accordingly, priority should be given 

to accomplishing all of the identified critical tasks so that pretesting of the 

facility’s fire protection system can begin in the spring of 2007. 

Additionally, to ensure that AOC gets a high-quality, fully functional 

facility, it is essential that AOC effectively implement the actions it has 

identified and give careful consideration to existing contractual remedies 

available to it to achieve completion of all necessary work within the 

current estimated time frame at a reasonable cost without otherwise 

compromising any of the government’s contractual rights or remedies. 

According to information provided by AOC and its construction 

management contractor and our observations, work on the project has 

advanced, in terms of both the dollar value of the work in place and 

individual project elements. In dollar terms, AOC’s construction 

management contractor reported that, as of October 31, the overall CVC 

project was about 88 percent complete and the sequence 2 work was 

about 84 percent complete—up from about 86 percent and 77 percent, 

respectively, as of the Subcommittee’s last CVC hearing. Progress on 

individual project elements includes the following: 

Progress: CVC Team Has 

Advanced Interior CVC 

and Other Construction 

Work and Has Begun to 

Implement an Action Plan 

for Strengthening Its 

Project Management 

• Interior CVC work has moved forward, according to AOC’s construction 

management and sequence 2 contractors. For example, the CVC team and 

AOC’s Fire Marshal Division have reached or nearly reached agreement on 

the design for several critical elements of the facility’s fire protection 

system. Agreement on these elements is necessary for the system’s 

installation to proceed. In addition, the mechanical subcontractor has 

completed certain preparations for operating the CVC’s air handling units,5

all but two of which passed a required test for leaks as of Monday, and the 

CVC team expects conditioned air to begin flowing to certain parts of the 

facility later this month. The sequence 2 contractor has also installed 

about 65 percent of the CVC’s floor stone, up from about 43 percent at the 

time of the Subcommittee’s last CVC hearing, and ceiling installation is 

 5

Chilled water balancing. 

Page 5 GAO-07-129T 
complete or essentially complete in the great hall, south side corridor 

(lower level), both orientation theaters, and the food service area. (AOC 

notes that blistered ceiling tile in the orientation theaters will have to be 

repaired or replaced.) 

• Surface work continued, including paving and brick gutter work on the 

Senate plaza. Work on the House connector tunnel and on linking the 

Library of Congress tunnel with the Jefferson Building has also continued. 

• East Front work continued, including completion of stone installation on

the redesigned archway above the main central staircase from the CVC to 

the East Front and installation of ductwork and metal stud framework to 

support wall stone at the rotunda and gallery levels. 

• In the House and Senate expansion spaces, ceiling close-in inspections, 

ceiling panel installation, and stone work have continued, and installation 

of the circular staircase that will connect all three levels of the Senate

expansion space has begun. 

On November 7, 2006, AOC sent Congress an action plan setting forth a 

number of steps it has taken, plans to take, or is considering to ensure that 

the CVC is ready for occupancy in the fall of 2007. AOC developed this 

plan at the Subcommittee’s request in response to recommendations we 

made to AOC at the Subcommittee’s September 21 CVC hearing. These 

recommendations were aimed at enhancing AOC’s execution of the 

schedule and project and at facilitating the Subcommittee’s efforts to (1) 

hold AOC accountable for managing the project and (2) work with AOC to

ensure that the schedule implications of proposed scope or design 

changes are quickly determined and considered by all appropriate 

stakeholders before final decisions on the proposed changes are made. 

AOC’s actions included

• meeting weekly with the CVC team to deal exclusively with schedule 

issues; 

• having its construction management contractor identify areas needed to 

meet the project’s schedule that the contractor believes are understaffed 

or face obstacles to progress; 

• identifying sequence 2 and construction management personnel who are 

responsible for meeting key schedule dates and resolving identified 

problems; 

Page 6 GAO-07-129T 
• basing the sequence 2 contractor’s future award fee on meeting schedule

milestones; 

• reassessing the scope, depth, and time frames associated with the 

pretesting and final testing of the facility’s fire and life-safety protection 

systems; 

• increasing communication among the CVC team, AOC’s Fire Marshal 

Division, and the U.S. Capitol Police; and 

• discussing proposed significant scope or design changes with Capitol 

Preservation Commission representatives before such proposed changes 

are adopted and getting the congressional leadership’s approval for 

discretionary changes requested by the Senate or House. 

The actions AOC has identified are generally responsive to our 

recommendations and, if implemented effectively and quickly, should help

AOC improve its project and schedule management as well as help ensure

that the schedule and cost implications of proposed discretionary design 

or scope changes are appropriately considered before final decisions on 

them are made. However, we have concerns about the usefulness of one 

step AOC is considering—the possible establishment of a CVC peer review 

panel to assess the approaches planned for the fire protection system’s 

pretesting and final testing. We have expressed our concerns to AOC, and 

it has agreed to consider them. 

Besides the actions it identified in its November 2006 action plan, AOC has 

been considering how to deal with the impact of passing the sequence 2 

contract completion date, September 15, 2006. This is a complex issue, in

part because its resolution potentially involves preliminary determinations 

about the causes of, and responsibility for, project delays during sequence 

2 up to September 15. AOC has also been considering other factors, such 

as the need to instill a sense of urgency and responsibility to meet the 

contractor’s currently established fall 2007 completion time frame; the 

possibility of setting a specific date as the new contract completion date 

and the implications associated with alternative dates; the constructive 

manner in which the sequence 2 contractor has worked with AOC and the 

rest of the CVC team to accomplish work and resolve problems; and the 

need to ensure that the work necessary to get the facility completed is 

done expeditiously at a reasonable cost. We have discussed these issues 

with AOC and pointed out that it needs to decide how it intends to 

proceed as quickly as possible and also consider the risks that various 

options pose. In view of additional schedule slippages that have occurred 

Page 7 GAO-07-129T 
and issues that have arisen since the Subcommittee’s last CVC hearing, we 

are making additional recommendations to AOC, which we will discuss 

later in this testimony. 

In addition to the actions identified by AOC, the sequence 2 contractor has 

reported adding five superintendents to its CVC staff in the last several 

months to help achieve the schedule. Given the number and magnitude of

the changes that have occurred to the sequence 2 contract since it was 

initially awarded and the extent to which problems have constrained 

progress, we believe that this additional supervision should put the team 

in a better position to meet schedule dates and address problems quickly.

The additional time needed to make design changes to the CVC’s fire 

protection system has extended the project’s completion date by about 6 

weeks since the Subcommittee’s September 21 CVC hearing—from 

September 17, 2007, according to the schedule in effect at that time, to 

October 26, 2007, according to the October 2006 schedule issued last 

week. In addition, AOC’s construction management contractor reported 

slippages in construction work for all of the 20 near-critical activity paths 

it identified in its schedule report for October 2006. For many of these 

activity paths, the schedule slipped at least 4 weeks. For example, the 

contractor reported a 65-workday delay for two East Front elevators due

to late completion of necessary preceding work, a 66-workday delay for 

fabrication and installation of bronze doors because of fabrication 

problems experienced by the supplier, a 38-workday delay in ceiling closeins in the upper level security lobby needed to resolve unexpected ceiling 

problems, and a 38-workday delay in completing wall stone work in the 

East Front basement area attributable to unanticipated design issues. The 

contractor also reported a 130-workday delay in the delivery of custom 

light fixtures, apparently the result of contractual issues between the 

sequence 2 contractor and its supplier. According to the construction 

management contractor, there are now five near-critical activity paths—

including the HVAC system, East Front work, and work in the upper level

security lobby and assembly rooms, for which additional slippages of 17 to 

53 workdays could further delay the CVC’s completion date. 

Neither the September 17, 2007, nor the October 26, 2007, project 

completion dates included any time for (1) installing artifacts in the 

exhibit gallery after a certificate of occupancy has been issued, (2) 

preparing for operations, or (3) dealing with risks and uncertainties. AOC’s 

October 2006 schedule shows the artifacts installed in the exhibit gallery

by November 30, 2007, but does not allow any time for dealing with risks 

Problems: Required 

Changes to Fire Protection 

System and Continued 

Slippages in Other 

Important Activities Have 

Extended the Project’s 

Schedule and Completion 

Date 

Page 8 GAO-07-129T 
or uncertainties associated with completing the work necessary for a 

certificate of occupancy, and it is not clear whether the additional time 

provided for installing the artifacts will be sufficient to prepare for 

operations. 

In work on the CVC’s HVAC system, AOC’s construction management 

contractor reported a 19-workday slippage, which the contractor 

attributed to a steam pipe support problem and a problem at the Capitol 

Power Plant. As we indicated at the Subcommittee’s last CVC hearing, we 

asked our mechanical engineering consultant to reassess the status of the 

CVC’s air handling units in early November 2006 because the CVC’s HVAC 

system affects many activities, has had a number of problems, and poses 

significant risks to the project’s successful completion. We asked the 

consultant to compare the units’ mechanical readiness to provide 

conditioned air to the CVC as of November 1 with their readiness as of his 

previous assessment, on September 6, 2006. On November 1, he found that 

the installation of controls for the air handling units was nearing 

completion, substantial work had been done to insulate 7 of the units, and 

all of the units could be ready on schedule with committed effort by the 

sequence 2 mechanical subcontractor. He noted, however, that except for 

pressure and leak testing and controls installation, little visible work had 

been done on 12 of the units to address the issues he had identified during

his September visit. He said he did not see a large number of workers in 

the air handling unit areas and the work that was being done appeared to 

be on pipe insulation. Moreover, he saw little coordination between work 

on completing the air handling units and on the spaces they are to serve, 

and he noted a number of concerns about the operational readiness of 

both, indicating that delays in providing conditioned air to the facility and 

in balancing of the air handling units could potentially delay the project’s 

schedule. 

Even though the HVAC system’s installation and associated work are 

progressing, a number of issues besides those observed by our mechanical

engineering consultant have arisen since the Subcommittee’s last CVC 

hearing, heightening our concerns about the CVC team’s ability to meet its 

schedule for completing and commissioning the system. Because some of 

the spaces to be served by the air handling units were not yet ready, the 

sequence 2 contractor recently decided to change the sequence in which 

some of the air handling units would be placed in service. However, as of 

last week, the technical implications of this change had not been fully

determined. The commissioning contractor has questioned whether 

enough people will be available to support the commissioning process 

Problems with the HVAC 

System 

Page 9 GAO-07-129T 
within the scheduled time frames, and, as noted, our mechanical 

engineering consultant has raised operational readiness concerns. AOC’s 

construction management contractor has also expressed concerns about 

these issues, and we have raised the issues in a number of CVC team 

meetings, but the responses have not given us confidence that (1) all the 

work associated with bringing the air handling units on line and 

commissioning them has been sufficiently coordinated among the team 

members; (2) all technical issues and risks associated with fully operating

the units have been adequately addressed; and (3) that sufficient staff will 

be available to meet the scheduled dates. 

According to sequence 2 contractor personnel, these types of problems 

and ongoing schedule adjustments to address day-to-day events are not 

uncommon in large, complex construction projects. Not all the problems 

with the air handling units have to be resolved fully before commissioning

work can proceed, they said, and air handling units are typically turned on

before other work is completed to provide conditioned air for materials 

that need it. The sequence 2 contractor said it would work with the 

mechanical subcontractor and other parties to ensure that the HVAC 

system issues are resolved in a timely manner. Furthermore, according to 

the contractor personnel, contractual provisions are in place to address 

providing conditioned air to the CVC while construction work is 

underway. We understand these points and recognize the progress that has 

been made. However, in light of the recurring slippages in the HVAC 

system’s schedule, the system’s importance to the pretesting and final 

testing of the facility’s fire protection system, and the concerns expressed 

by AOC’s construction management contractor and the commissioning 

contractor, we believe prompt action is needed to resolve the concerns 

and ensure that the schedule for completing the HVAC system work is 

realistic and will be met. 

The schedule for essentially completing the construction of the House and 

Senate expansion spaces (currently scheduled for April 23, 2007) has 

slipped about 6 weeks since the Subcommittee’s last CVC hearing, and 

several activities important to completing these spaces have also been 

delayed. For example, AOC’s construction management contractor 

reported another 14-workday delay in completing the circular stairs in the 

atrium areas. Delays have also occurred in, for example, the installation of 

the stone arch in the House lower level, because the work is taking longer

than expected, and in the installation of millwork in the House lower level, 

because of fabrication delays. In addition, a special fire suppression 

system was not installed because it had not been approved. Furthermore, 

the sequence 2 subcontractor doing the expansion space work identified a 

Delays in Completing the 

Expansion Spaces and the 

Library of Congress Tunnel 

Page 10 GAO-07-129T 
number of concerns that could affect the project’s completion. For 

example, the subcontractor reported that its schedule could be adversely

affected if significant scope or design changes continue. Assuming that 

scope and design changes are controlled, the sequence 2 subcontractor 

responsible for the expansion space work hopes to recover some of the 

lost time and essentially complete its construction work in March 2007. In 

addition, the project’s schedule shows that the construction activity 

(excluding testing) remaining after the April 2007 essential completion 

date is primarily related to work necessary to complete the circular stair in 

the House atrium. AOC anticipates that a design change will enable the 

circular stairs in both the House and the Senate atriums to be completed

sooner than currently scheduled. 

Finally, although not critical to the CVC’s opening, work being done to 

connect the Library of Congress’s Jefferson building to the tunnel linking it

with the CVC has fallen more than 3 weeks behind since the 

Subcommittee’s last CVC hearing, according to the construction 

management contractor, at least in part, because certain stone work has 

taken longer to install than anticipated. The subcontractor responsible for 

this work, which is currently scheduled for completion on April 24, 2007, 

expects to recover lost time and complete the work in March 2007. 

Furthermore, the construction management and sequence 2 contractors 

report that, for a number of reasons, the work on the tunnel itself has 

slipped about 9 1⁄2 weeks beyond the completion date in effect at the 

Subcommittee’s last CVC hearing. 

The four indicators of construction progress that we have been tracking 

for the Subcommittee, together with the risks and uncertainties that 

continue to face the project—which we will discuss shortly—demonstrate 

to us that AOC will be unlikely to meet its fall 2007 project completion 

date unless it significantly improves its project execution. An update on 

these indicators follows: 

Sequence 2 contractor has continued to miss most milestones. Starting 

with the Subcommittee’s June 2005 CVC hearing, at the Subcommittee’s 

request, we and AOC have been selecting and tracking sequence 2 

milestones to help the Subcommittee monitor construction progress. 

These milestones include activities that were either on the project’s 

critical path or that we and AOC believe are critical to the project’s timely 

completion. As figure 1 shows, the sequence 2 contractor has generally

missed these milestones. For today’s hearing, the contractor met or was 

expected to meet 4 of the 18 milestones that were due to be completed, 

Indicators of Construction 

Progress Point to Further 

Delays unless AOC’s 

Project Execution 

Significantly Improves 

Page 11 GAO-07-129T 
according to the project’s September 2006 schedule, and for 1 of these 4, 

the work was completed ahead of schedule.6

 However, the contractor was 

late in completing work for 4 other milestones and had not completed or 

was not expected to complete the work for the remaining 10 milestones by 

November 15, 2006. (See app. I.) The sequence 2 contractor attributed the 

slippages to a number of factors, including design issues and a need to 

relocate ductwork, add steel support for wall stone, and resequence work.

 6

As of November 14, AOC’s sequence 2 and construction management contractors expected 

that work associated with three tracked milestones would be completed today. We 

therefore counted them as completed today. We did not have the opportunity to verify the

completion of these activities before we submitted our prepared statement to the 

Subcommittee for today’s hearing. We did not count as completed activities that the

sequence 2 contractor believed were completed that were not confirmed as such by the

construction management contractor. 

Page 12 GAO-07-129T 
Figure 1: Sequence 2 Contractor’s Progress in Meeting Selected Milestones as of

CVC Hearing Dates 

Value of completed work has increased since the last hearing, but trend 

reflects the sequence 2 contractor’s difficulties in meeting scheduled 

completion dates. Another indicator of construction progress that we and

AOC’s construction management contractor have been tracking is the 

value of the completed construction work billed to the government each 

month. Overall, the sequence 2 contractor’s monthly billings, including the 

bills for March through October 2006, indicate that construction work is 

about 2 months behind the late finish curve, which indicates completion 

around November 2007. While this indicator has some limitations (for 

example, billings lag behind construction), it is generally regarded in the 

construction industry as a useful measure of how likely a project is to be 

completed on time. Figure 2 compares the sequence 2 contractor’s billings 

since May 2003 with the billings needed to complete construction work on 

Number of milestones

0

5

10

15

20

August, 2006

September, 2006

November, 2006

April, 200

May, 2006

June, 2006

6

March, 2006

February, 2006

November, 2005

October, 2005

September, 2005

July, 2005

June, 2005

Hearing date

Number of milestones completed on time

Number of milestones completed late

Number of milestones not completed

Source: Sequence 2 contractor, AOC and its construction management contractor, and GAO.

Page 13 GAO-07-129T 
schedule and suggests that AOC faces challenges in meeting its fall 2007 

completion date and is more likely to complete the facility later than its 

current schedule shows. 

Figure 2: Total Billings by the Sequence 2 Contractor for the Entire CVC Project Compared with the Billings Needed to Finish 

Construction Work on Schedule

Dollars (in millions)

Month

Range of billings needed to finish on schedule

Target billings (range average)

Actual billings

Source: AOC’s construction management contractor.

Billings based on early finish dates in schedule 

Billings based on late finish dates in schedule 

December 2006

January 2007

February 2007

March 2007

April 2007

May 2007

June 2007

July 2007

August 2007

S

November 

eptember 2007

2006

October 2006

September 2006

August 2006

July 2006

April 2006

May 2006

June 2006

March 2006

February 2006

January 2006

November 

December 2005

2005

October 2005

September 2005

August 2005

July 2005

June 2005

April 2005

May 2005

March 2005

February 2005

January 2005

November 2

December 2004

004

October 2004

September 2004

August 2004

July 2004

June 2004

April 2004

May 2004

March 2004

February 2004

January 2004

November 2003

December 2003

October 2003

September 2003

August 2003

July 2003

May 2003

June 2003

0

50

100

150

200

250

October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

Notes: 

1. The early and late lines on this figure reflect the cumulative billings that would be required to 

complete the project through contract modification number 144 ($237.5 million total contact value) by 

the early and late finish dates shown in the sequence 2 contractor’s schedule, which is based on the 

September 2006 contractual completion date. 

2. The actual line reflects the sequence 2 contractor’s actual monthly billings. 

Page 14 GAO-07-129T 
3. Although bills are typically submitted for payment after work is completed, it is often likely that 

construction work will be completed on schedule when the actual billing line falls between the early 

and the late lines in the figure. For the CVC, the actual billing line has been trending below, and in 

March 2006 went below, the late finish line, where it remained through October 2006. Even with the

lag in billings, this trend indicates that the amount of work being completed and billed each month is

not sufficient to keep the project on schedule. 

Installation of interior wall and floor stone is taking longer than 

expected. Overall, about 86 percent of the CVC’s interior wall stone has 

been installed (in the CVC, East Front, atrium areas, and tunnels), 

according to AOC’s construction management contractor, and the 

sequence 2 contractor installed nearly 85,000 of the 129,780 square feet of

interior floor stone required as of November 9. Although the sequence 2 

contractor has installed almost all of the wall stone in the CVC itself and 

all of the wall stone in the atrium areas, wall stone installation in the East

Front is significantly behind schedule. According to the sequence 2 

contractor’s January 2006 wall stone installation schedule, the East Front 

wall stone was to be completely installed by July 10, 2006. As of November 

10, about 4,700 pieces of wall stone remained to be installed in the East 

Front—the same quantity as we reported at the Subcommittee’s last CVC 

hearing. During the 8 weeks since that hearing, the sequence 2 contractor

installed about 34,900 square feet of interior floor stone, or about 65 

percent of the 52,060 square feet specified in the floor stone installation 

plan that the contractor had previously provided to AOC. According to the 

construction management contractor, the sequence 2 contractor’s 

installation of interior floor stone has been impeded by a lack of available 

space and by some work taking longer than expected. 

Figure 3 shows the sequence 2 contractor’s progress in installing interior 

floor stone since February 13, 2006.7

 7

Our statement no longer includes a figure comparing actual to targeted wall stone 

installation because all targeted quantities were to have been installed by August 7, 2006, 

according to the sequence 2 contractor’s January 2006 installation plan. 

Page 15 GAO-07-129T 
Figure 3: Progress of CVC Interior Floor Stone Installation Compared with Preliminary Targets Set by the Sequence 2 

Contractor

Square footage installed

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000

Week of November 6, 2006

Week of October 30, 2006

Week of October 23, 2006

Week of October 16, 2006

Week of October 9, 2006

Week of October 2, 2006

Week of September 25, 2006

Week of September 18, 2006

Week of September 11, 2006

Week of September 4, 2006

Week of August 28, 2006

Week of August 21, 2006

Week of August 14, 2006

Week of August 7, 2006

Week of July 31, 2006

Week of July 24, 2006

Week of July 17, 2006

Week of July 10, 2006

Week of July 3, 2006

Week of June 26, 2006

Week of June 19, 2006

Week of June 12, 2006

Week of June 5, 2006

Week of May 29, 2006

Week of May 22, 2006

Week of May 15, 2006

Week of May 8, 2006

Week of May 1, 2006

Week of April 24, 2006

Week of April 17, 2006

Week of April 10, 2006

Week of April 3, 2006

Week of March 27, 2006

Week of March 20, 2006

Week of March 13, 2006

Week of March 6, 2006

Week of February 27, 2006

Week of February 20, 2006

Week of February 13, 2006

Week of February 6, 2006

Week of January 30, 2006

Source: AOC’s construction management contractor.

Target for square footage of floor stones installed

Actual square footage of floor stones installed

0

0

Project’s Schedule 

Remains Vulnerable to 

Challenges, Risks, and 

Uncertainties 

As we have indicated during the Subcommittee’s previous CVC hearings, 

we believe that the CVC team continues to face challenges, risks, and 

uncertainties in quickly completing the project. Given the project’s history 

of delays, the difficulties the CVC team has encountered in quickly 

resolving problems that arise, and the large number of near-critical 

activities that can affect the project’s overall completion, the CVC team’s 

efforts to identify potential problems early and resolve issues quickly will

Page 16 GAO-07-129T 
be even more important from this point forward, because AOC has left no

“slack” in the schedule for contingencies. In our view, the remaining work 

associated with the fire protection and HVAC systems poses the greatest 

risks to meeting AOC’s fall 2007 project completion date. The steps AOC 

has taken to mitigate these risks have been helpful, but much work 

remains to be done on these systems and on their linkages with other 

building systems. In addition, the project continues to face risks and 

uncertainties associated with other work important to its completion, such 

as the East Front, and additional design or scope changes. The project’s 

current schedule does not provide the 2 to 3 months that a previous 

schedule allowed for addressing ongoing challenges, risks, and 

uncertainties. Accordingly, we plan to continue to monitor the CVC team’s 

efforts to meet its schedule for the fire protection, HVAC, security, and 

other building systems and other key near-critical activities as well as the 

timeliness of the actions taken by the CVC team to address problems, 

concerns, and questions that arise. A brief update follows on the 

challenges, risks, and uncertainties the CVC team continues to face and 

the team’s plans for addressing them: 

• Complex building systems remain a significant risk. The CVC will house 

complex building systems, including HVAC, fire protection, and security 

systems. These systems not only have to perform well individually, but 

their operation also has to be integrated. If the CVC team encounters any 

significant problems with them, either separately or together, during the

resolution of design issues, installation, commissioning, or testing, the 

project could be seriously delayed. The unanticipated problems that 

emerged in reviewing the design of the fire alarm system and in 

programming it illustrate the impact such problems can have on the 

project’s schedule. AOC’s Fire Marshal Division and the CVC team have 

recently made considerable progress in reaching agreement on the design

of a number of important elements of the CVC’s fire protection system that 

are important to the purchasing and installation of wiring and equipment. 

As of November 13, the Fire Marshal Division had approved or essentially 

agreed to the designs of the sprinkler, smoke control, and emergency 

public address systems as well as most aspects of the CVC’s and East 

Front’s fire alarm systems that are related to the ordering and installation

of wiring and equipment. According to the Fire Marshal Division, any 

outstanding comments on these system elements are minor. On the other

hand, agreement has not yet been reached on a number of other system 

elements, including the sequence of operations for the CVC fire alarm 

system, the design for the special fire protection system in the exhibit 

gallery, and the plan for final acceptance testing of the facility’s fire 

protection system. A sequence 2 subcontractor has identified dates by 

which certain elements must be approved to avoid further delays. Thus, 

Page 17 GAO-07-129T 
additional delays could occur if the team takes longer than expected to get 

necessary remaining approvals or if the fire protection system does not 

work effectively individually or in concert with the security or other 

building systems.8 It is because of constraints such as these that we believe

it is so important to address open issues associated with the HVAC system

and to continue coordination with the U.S. Capitol Police on the security 

system. Since the Subcommittee’s last CVC hearing, the Capitol Police 

have identified another security problem that will require additional work. 

The impact of this work, if any, had not been determined as of November 

9. 

• Building design and work scope continue to evolve. The CVC has 

undergone a number of design and work scope changes. Since September 

15, 2006, AOC’s architectural contractor has issued five design changes or 

clarifications. As of November 8, 2006, this contractor reported, another 

four were in process. In addition, since the project began, AOC has 

executed over 100 sequence 2 contract modifications for work that was 

not anticipated.9

 Some of these changes, such as changes in the exhibit 

gallery and in the East Front, have resulted in delays. Furthermore, 

although shop drawings have been approved for almost all project 

elements, according to AOC, further design or scope changes in various 

project elements are likely, given the project’s experience to date. Project

design and scope changes are typically reflected in the development of 

potential change orders (PCO), many of which result in contract 

modifications. Figure 4 shows the PCOs submitted for consideration for 

sequences 1 and 2 since September 2003. Although PCOs are not always 

approved, they are often regarded as a reasonably good indicator of likely 

future design or scope changes that can affect a project’s cost and 

schedule. Even more important, the adverse impact of scope and design 

changes on a project’s schedule is likely to increase as the project moves 

toward completion. 

 8

According to the sequence 2 subcontractor that is fitting out the House and Senate 

expansion spaces, the delays in getting approved shop drawings for the fire protection

system have already postponed ceiling close-ins in the expansion spaces, and AOC believes 

that further such delays, along with possible requests for design changes, pose the greatest 

risks to the schedule for completing the expansion spaces. 

9

These data exclude sequence 2 contract modifications for work that was planned but not 

included in the sequence 2 base contract. Examples include the fit-out of the House and 

Senate expansion spaces, the construction of the utility tunnel, and the purchase and 

installation of food service equipment. 

Page 18 GAO-07-129T 
Figure 4: Cumulative Number of Potential Change Orders Submitted for CVC Sequences 1 and 2 between September 2003

and November 2006 

As the figure indicates, new PCOs for sequence 1 were submitted until 

shortly before, and even for several months after, November 2004, when 

AOC determined that the sequence 1 contract work was substantially 

complete. Similarly, PCOs for sequence 2 are still being submitted, and we 

have seen no indication that their submission is likely to stop soon. It 

therefore appears likely to us that some of the design or scope changes 

indicated in PCOs could lead to contract modifications that will affect the 

project’s schedule. AOC agrees that it is important to minimize the impact

of proposed design and scope changes. 

Page 19 GAO-07-129T 
• Trade stacking could delay completion.

10 As we discussed during the 

Subcommittee’s previous CVC hearings, trade stacking could hold up 

finish work, such as drywall or ceiling installation, electrical and plumbing 

work, plastering, or floor stone installation. This work could be stacked 

because of delays in wall stone installation. Trade stacking could also 

increase the risk of accidents and injuries. Hence, it remains important, as 

we said at previous CVC hearings, for the CVC team to closely monitor 

construction to identify potential trade stacking and promptly take steps 

to address it. The CVC team has also identified trade stacking as a high 

risk. The sequence 2 contractor has developed plans that show when 

various subcontractors will be working in various areas of the CVC. 

According to the sequence 2 contractor, it has been continuing to meet 

regularly with its subcontractors to identify and resolve potential issues. 

The CVC team identified instances of trade stacking that occurred in an 

effort to expedite certain East Front work and in doing millwork and stone 

work in the orientation theaters. AOC’s construction management 

contractor has noted trade stacking as a potential issue associated with 

the compressed time frame for bringing all of the air handling units on 

line. 

• Additional delays associated with the CVC’s new utility tunnel have 

resulted, or could result, in additional work or slippages. The delay in 

starting up the utility tunnel’s operations has necessitated the use of 

temporary humidity control equipment for several areas to avoid damage 

to finish work and ceiling tile. Such delays may subject certain work to the 

risk of damage or may delay finish or ceiling work in areas not suitable for 

the use of temporary humidity and temperature control equipment. For 

example, the CVC team installed ceiling tile in portions of the great hall to

take advantage of the scaffolding in place, even though neither the 

temperature nor the humidity was controlled in that area. According to the 

CVC team, the installed tile could be damaged if the temperature or 

humidity is not within specified levels, and certain exhibit gallery 

woodwork has been delayed because conditioned air has not been 

available. Although the CVC team expected in early August to be providing 

dehumidified air to the exhibit gallery by mid-August, the sequence 2 

contractor now expects to begin providing conditioned air to the CVC later

this month. However, as noted, the contractor has resequenced the order

for bringing some air handling units on line because some spaces—

 10Trade stacking can occur when workers from different trades, such as stone masons, 

electricians, plumbers, or plasterers, have to work in the same area at the same time to 

meet a schedule, sometimes making it difficult to ensure sufficient space and resources for 

concurrent work. 

Page 20 GAO-07-129T 
including the exhibit gallery, which was slated to receive conditioned air 

first—were not clean enough for the units to operate. The air handling unit 

serving the exhibit gallery is now expected to come on line early in 

December. Remaining risks include having sufficient manpower to meet 

the scheduled dates for getting the HVAC system fully operational, having 

sufficiently clean spaces, and being able to quickly overcome any 

problems that may arise in getting the system properly balanced, 

controlled, and commissioned, including providing enough manpower 

without causing trade stacking. 

• Late identification or slow resolution of problems or issues could delay 

completion. Historically, the project has experienced or been at risk of 

experiencing some delays resulting from slow decision-making. In 

addition, some CVC team members believe that some of the problems that 

have resulted in delays, such as certain problems associated with the East 

Front or with problematic sequence 1 concrete work could have been 

identified and addressed earlier than they were. In responding to these 

comments, the sequence 2 contractor said that although earlier 

identification of these types of problems is conceptually possible, it is 

difficult in practice. Looking forward, we do not believe that the team will 

be able to meet its scheduled completion date if it does not quickly decide

on issues; respond to concerns, questions, and submittals; or resolve 

problems. In September 2006, AOC told the CVC team that starting 

October 1, the architectural contractor would be decreasing its staff 

support to the project. In our opinion, this change increased the risk of 

slow responses to design questions or requests for design instructions at a 

very critical time, particularly because we have not seen evidence of a 

decrease in potential change orders. AOC believes that it will be able to 

provide its CVC construction contractors with sufficient architectural 

support to respond to appropriate questions or requests in time to avoid 

delays. We believe that this situation needs close monitoring as well as 

corrective action if problems arise. AOC has not reported any problems in 

this area since the last CVC hearing, and has identified steps in its 

November 2006 action plan aimed at identifying and resolving design 

problems quickly. 

Finally, as we noted earlier in our testimony today, AOC’s delay analysis is 

even more critical given the passage of the sequence 2 September 15, 2006, 

contract completion date and the need to obtain a complete facility 

without further delays and unreasonable costs, including delay-related

costs. On April 11, 2006, AOC executed a contract modification authorizing 

its construction management contractor to have one of its managers who 

has not been involved in the CVC project assess the adequacy of this type 

of information. The manager submitted his report to AOC in early June. He

Page 21 GAO-07-129T 
reported generally positive findings but also identified desired 

improvements. He made several recommendations to AOC, which AOC 

has generally agreed with and plans to implement consistent with the 

availability of resources. 

The October project schedule shows that almost all physical construction 

work on the CVC, the East Front, and the expansion spaces will be 

completed by spring 2007 and that the pretesting and final testing of all fire

protection, life safety, and related systems for these areas will be carried 

out between then and late October 2007. This schedule reflects the amount 

of time that AOC’s Chief Fire Marshal said he would need to perform his 

acceptance testing, although the CVC team is working to see if certain 

aspects of the testing can be done differently to save some time. The 

October 2006 schedule also calls for completing the installation of artifacts 

in the exhibit gallery by November 30, 2007. However, this schedule does 

not allow any time for addressing problems, risks, or uncertainties 

associated with obtaining a certificate of occupancy or for preparing for 

operations. 

Given the uncertainty about how much time will be needed to pretest the 

fire protection system, the concerns associated with the HVAC system, the 

unknown effectiveness of AOC’s recently identified actions to curtail 

future schedule slippages, and the limited amount of time we had to assess 

the October project schedule, we do not feel that we are in position to 

suggest a definitive project completion date. However, in light of the work 

we have done, we do not believe AOC will be able to complete the project

by fall 2007 if the actions it has identified are not effective in curtailing 

future schedule slippages. Thus, until we see that AOC has satisfactorily 

addressed our schedule-related concerns, we believe that the project is 

more likely to be completed in early 2008 rather than in the fall of 2007. 

To minimize the risks associated with the CVC’s HVAC system and the 

government’s ability to get the CVC completed within the current schedule 

and cost estimates and to give Congress and us greater confidence in the

CVC team’s project schedules from this point forward, we recommend that 

the Architect of the Capitol promptly take the following two actions: 

Project’s New Schedule 

Appears Achievable Only 

under Certain Conditions 

Recommendations

• Work with the rest of the CVC team to ensure that the schedule for 

completing and commissioning the HVAC system is realistic, that all the 

work necessary for the proper and safe functioning of the HVAC system—

including work in the spaces the air handling units are to serve—is 

Page 22 GAO-07-129T 
completed in a timely, well-coordinated manner, and that sufficient 

resources will be available to meet the schedule without creating a tradestacking problem. 

• Carefully consider the contractual remedies available to AOC to complete 

all tasks that must precede the start and completion of final acceptance 

testing of the CVC’s fire protection and life safety systems within the time 

necessary to meet the estimated fall 2007 project completion time frame. 

AOC generally agreed with our recommendations. 

Since the Subcommittee’s September 21 CVC hearing, we have added

about $8 million to our estimate of the total cost of the CVC project at 

completion.11 This increase reflects a rough estimate of the impact on the

project’s cost of the 6-week delay associated with the fire protection 

system and other scope and design changes identified during the past 8 

weeks; however, the actual costs for changes are not yet known, and we 

have not had sufficient time to fully assess the CVC team’s cost estimates 

incorporated in our estimate.12 With this approximately $8 million 

increase, we now estimate, on the basis of our limited review, that the 

total cost of the entire CVC project at completion is likely to be about $592 

million without an allowance for risks and uncertainties. We nevertheless 

recognize that the project continues to face a number of uncertainties, 

including uncertainty over the extent of AOC’s responsibility for the delayrelated costs. (We have not updated our estimate of the project’s cost at 

completion with an allowance for risks and uncertainties.) 

To date, about $531 million has been provided for CVC construction. This 

amount includes about $3.9 million that was made available for either CVC 

Project’s Estimated 

Cost and Funding 

 11At the Subcommittee’s September 21 CVC hearing, we estimated that the total cost of the 

entire CVC project at completion was likely to be about $584 million without an allowance 

for risks and uncertainties and about $596 million with such an allowance—increases of 

$28 million and $12 million, respectively, over our previous estimates. We also pointed out 

that a number of uncertainties, such as the possibility of further delays associated with the 

CVC’s fire alarm system, could affect our estimates. 

12AOC estimated the additional delay-related costs for budgetary purposes only and did not 

provide for possible concurrent delays. 

Page 23 GAO-07-129T 
construction or operations13 and has been approved for CVC construction 

by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. An earlier costto-complete estimate, prepared for the Subcommittee’s March 2006 CVC

hearing, showed that another $26 million in construction funds would be 

necessary to reach the previous cost estimate of $556 million, which did 

not include an allowance for risks and uncertainties. AOC has requested 

this additional $26 million in its fiscal year 2007 budget for CVC 

construction. AOC has also requested $950,000 in fiscal year 2007 general 

administration appropriation funds to provide contractual support for the 

Chief Fire Marshal’s final acceptance testing of the CVC. During fiscal year

2007, AOC is also likely to need, but has not yet requested, additional 

funds to pay for changes. At the Subcommittee’s last CVC hearing, we 

roughly estimated that AOC would need an additional $5 million to $10 

million in fiscal year 2007 for changes unless it decides to use funds slated 

for other purposes, after obtaining the necessary congressional approvals.

AOC agrees with this rough estimate at this time and notes that it would 

likely need additional funding in fiscal year 2008 to replenish these funds 

and to cover certain additional costs if they materialize. 

Mr. Chairman, this completes our prepared statement. We would be 

pleased to answer any questions that you or Members of the 

Subcommittee may have. 

For further information about this testimony, please contact Bernard 

Ungar at (202) 512-4232 or Terrell Dorn at (202) 512-6923. Other key 

contributors to this testimony include Shirley Abel, John Craig, Maria 

Contacts and 

Acknowledgments 

 13Public Law 108-447, enacted on December 8, 2004, provided that up to $10.6 million 

(reduced to $10.5 million by a subsequent budget rescission of $84,000) could be 

transferred from AOC’s Capitol Building appropriation account for the use of the CVC 

project. The use of the amount transferred is subject to the approval of the House and 

Senate Committees on Appropriations. AOC has now received approval to obligate the 

entire $10.5 million. 

Page 24 GAO-07-129T 
Edelstein, Elizabeth Eisenstadt, Jeanette Franzel, Jackie Hamilton, 

Bradley James, Joshua Ormond, and Scott Riback. 

Page 25 GAO-07-129T 
Page 26 GAO-07-129T 

Appendix I: Capitol Visitor Center Critical 

Construction Milestones SeptemberNovember 2006 

Activity Location Scheduled completion Actual completion 

Install wood ceiling panels Orientation Theater 10/13/2006 10/24/2006a 

CONOP matrix Fire alarm system 10/30/2006 b

Flush steam piping HVAC Steam 10/23/2006 10/31/2006 

Relocate kitchen exhaust duct Food Service 10/23/2006 c 

Set cab shell/ control panel Elevator VC # 17 East Front 10/25/2006 d 

Dismantle scaffold Orientation Theater 10/27/2006 10/24/2006e

Finish paint Food Service 10/30/2006 11/6/2006f

Ceiling fabric Congressional Auditorium 10/30/2006 11/15/2006g

Plaster Ceilings West Lobby & Assembly 10/31/2006 h 

Install marble wall stone 1st Third Exhibit Gallery 11/7/2006 i 

Resubmit Riser Diagram Fire alarm system 11/9/2006 11/9/2006 

Wall stone Area #1 East Front Principal 11/10/2006 j 

Interior cab finishes Elevator VC # 12 Orientation Theater 11/10/2006 d 

Fabric Ceiling Panels West Lobby & Assembly 11/14/2006 k 

Hang Drywall Bulkheads Orientation Lobby 11/14/2006 l 

Mechanically Ready Great Hall AHU # 3 &16 11/15/2006 11/15/2006m

Floor stone Orientation Lobby 11/15/2006 11/15/2006n 

Wood wall panels Congressional Auditorium 11/15/2006 o 

Source: AOC’s September 2006 CVC sequence 2 construction schedule for the scheduled completion dates and AOC and its

construction management contractor for the actual completion dates. 

Note: Reasons for delay, as provided by the sequence 2 contractor, and explanations, as provided by 

the sequence 2 contractor and GAO, are listed in the following notes: 

a

While the ceiling has been completed, the blistered panels will need to be repaired or replaced. 

b

Continuing efforts are being made to understand and develop the sequence of operations (CONOP)

matrix requirements. The matrix must be approved by December 8, 2006, to avoid an impact on the 

critical path. 

c

Enough of the ductwork has been relocated to allow hood installation to begin. Currently three of the

six hoods have been installed. The balance of hood installation is scheduled to be complete by 

November 24, 2006. 

d

Control panels are set and operational. This activity included setting cab shells without finishes. The 

cab vendor decided to prefinish the cabs rather than to finish the shells on site. Finished cabs are on 

site and preparations are being made for installation this week. 

e

While the scaffold for ceiling installation has been removed, scaffolding has been erected along the 

walls in the south theater to install wood panels. This scaffolding will affect installation of the stone 

stair steps. 

f

This work is essentially completed. 

g

Ceiling panel installation began on November 9, 2006. 

h

Plaster ceilings have been completed in the main lobby area and south assembly room. Hanging of 

the north assembly room ceiling began on November 7, 2006. 
i

Installation of the unistrut framing was delayed because of structural design concerns. Additional 

cross bracing was added to stiffen the assembly. Wall stone installation is to begin this week. 

j

The work has been delayed because structural steel was added to support the metal stud wall at the 

east side of stair #37. Upon the completion of metal stud wall, the stone work is scheduled to begin. 

The revised start date for wall stone on the principal level is November 30, 2006. 

k

Fabric ceiling panel installation has been delayed because of delays in necessary preceding East 

Front work—completion of the East Front archway stone, ceilings, and escalator installation. 

Installation of the fabric panel currently cannot be completed until the escalator trusses are set to 

clear the floor area. Setting of the trusses is currently projected to be completed by the end of 

January 2007. 

l

Because of above-ceiling conflicts, the work was resequenced to allow the floor stone installation to 

proceed ahead of the ceiling work. Hanging of bulkheads started in the south screening area on 

November 2, 2006 and is expected to be completed in November 2006. 

m

Mechanically ready priorities have been resequenced. AHU #1 has been switched with AHUs #3 and 

16, which are now scheduled for November 15, 2006. AOC’s construction management contractor 

believes that this activity is essentially complete. AHU #1 is now scheduled for December 6, 2006. 

n

The sequence 2 and construction management contractors expect this work to be essentially

completed by close of business today. 

o

The start of wood panel installation is pending humidity control within the space. 

(545049) Page 27 GAO-07-129T 
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