Department of Homeland Security 

Office of Inspector General 

Revisions to the Marine Safety Performance Plan 
 

and Annual Update Supplement 
 

Will Facilitate Improved Management 
 

OIG-11-22 December 2010 
Office ofInspector General

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, DC 20528

Homeland

Security

December 28,2010

MEMORANDUM FOR: The Honorable Admiral Robert J. Papp

Commandant

United States Coast Guard

FROM: ~r<~ Richard L. Skinner

Inspector General

SUBJECT: Revisions to the Marine Safety Performance Plan and

Annual Update Supplement Will Facilitate Improved

Management

Attached for your information is our final letter report, Revisions to the Marine Safety

Performance Plan and Annual Update Supplement Will Facilitate Improved Management

Controls. We incorporated the formal comments from the U.S. Coast Guard in the

report.

Consistent with our responsibility under the Inspector General Act, we are providing

copies of our report to appropriate congressional committees with oversight and

appropriation responsibility over the Department of Homeland Security. We will post the

report on our website for public dissemination.

Should you have any questions, please call me, or your staffmay contact Anne L.

Richards, Assistant Inspector General for Office ofAudits, at (202) 254-4100.

Attachment
Background 

In 2007, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure scrutinized the 

Marine Safety Program’s ability and preparedness to meet the demands of a dynamic 

global maritime environment. The Committee was concerned whether the Coast Guard 

had the human capital and technical expertise to safeguard the maritime industry. In 

response, the Coast Guard developed and released a performance plan for the Marine 

Safety Program to convey its goals, objectives, and courses of action for securing the 

American coastlines over the next 5 years. We reviewed this Marine Safety Performance 

Plan, FYs 2009–2014 (MSPP) and the Annual Update Supplement to the Marine Safety 

Performance Plan, FYs 2009–2014 to determine whether improvements could be made to 

the Coast Guard’s MSPP to manage the Marine Safety Program. 

We compared the MSPP with best practices for performance plans, and are making two 

recommendations to improve the MSPP. Best practices are the Coast Guard’s Marine 

Safety internal memorandums regarding Campaign Plans and Mission Performance 

Plans, the Coast Guard’s Mission Performance Plan template (2001–2016), the 

Government Performance Results Act of 1993, and Office of Management and Budget 

Circulars A-123 and A-11. Mission performance plans that exhibit some or all of these 

best practices should enable the Marine Safety Program to measure results, identify gaps 

and issues, and improve performance. 

The MSPP is organized around the following four goals aimed at enhancing ability of the 

Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Program to— 

3⁄4 Reduce the risk of maritime casualties, 

3⁄4 Facilitate commerce, 

3⁄4 Improve program processes and management, and 

3⁄4 Improve human resource capabilities. 

Each goal includes supporting objectives that define specific outcome, efficiency, 

service, or capability results to be attained in support of the associated goal. The 

performance goals and objectives are also linked to the MSPP’s six performance 

initiatives: superior workforce, superb service delivery, quality management, boat, tow, 

and fish safe. Each initiative has supporting courses of action. The update to the MSPP 

is a progress report on the Coast Guard’s efforts to enhance the mission. 

The Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Program ensures the safety of tens of thousands of U.S. 

mariners, millions of passengers on ferries and other vessels, and tens of millions of 

recreational boaters. By preventing marine casualties, the Coast Guard also protects the 

marine environment from oil spills and the introduction of other harmful substances, and 

strengthens the economy by minimizing property loss and disruptions to maritime 

commerce. 

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Results of Review 

The MSPP has positive attributes, but it is missing some elements that we consider 

critical to an effective performance plan. Those elements are baseline information 

against which to measure performance indicators, performance targets and milestones to 

show progress and completion dates for action items, resources needed, and measurable 

goals and objectives. 

The MSPP Should Include Additional Elements 

Baselines 

The MSPP does not include baseline information. Periodic comparisons of actual results 

against baseline figures will help the Coast Guard to assess its progress more accurately 

to enhance the MSPP for better management of the plan and provide clarity on where 

corrective action should be taken. For example, the Coast Guard has identified that it 

needs additional marine inspectors and investigators. It has made progress by adding 

billets and filling many of those positions, but it does not compare the number of 

additional positions against the number of positions needed. Adding positions indicates 

progress but does not provide information about whether the Coast Guard is any closer to 

achieving success. 

Performance Targets, Performance Milestones, and Completion Dates 

The MSPP does not include performance targets, milestones, and completion dates for all 

courses of action under each performance initiative. Performance targets and milestones 

to be reached by a set schedule will provide users and managers of the MSPP with clearer 

expectations of accomplishments and a schedule for planning, prioritizing, and budgeting 

activities. Because the MSPP was developed without performance targets, milestones, 

and completion dates, there are no overdue courses of action. In addition, because many 

of the objectives and courses of action in the MSPP are not measurable, the Coast Guard 

cannot evaluate whether it met its goals and objectives, and whether it met them on 

schedule. 

Resources 

The MSPP briefly describes performance initiatives and courses of action, but the plan 

does not link courses of action to expected results, nor does it provide sufficient detail on 

the resources needed to accomplish the mission. For example, a course of action for the 

Boat Safe Initiative states, “[w]e will work with key stakeholders and partners to improve 

safety communications and increase awareness of safe boating practices.” This course of 

action does not explain how the Coast Guard plans to work with stakeholders and 

partners or the resources needed to improve boating practices. Another example is under 

the Tow Safe Initiative, which states that the Coast Guard will “[i]increase outreach and 

strengthen partnership efforts; promote risk reduction.” Details are not included that 

define resource requirements or address contingencies to reduce risk. Linking expected 

3
 

 

 

results with an explanation for needed resources will provide stakeholders with 

information about how the Coast Guard plans to achieve the program mission given the 

resources available. 

Goals, Objectives, and Courses of Action Should Be Measurable 

With the exception of one course of action, performance goals, objectives, and courses of 

action in the MSPP are not expressed in measurable terms. Measurable goals will ensure 

that an accurate and independent determination can be made about the actual performance 

results. Such measurements will facilitate the validation of whether the performance goals 

were achieved. 

Recommendations 

We recommend that the Assistant Commandant for Resources for the United States Coast 

Guard take the following actions to improve the MSPP: 

1.	 Include baseline information, performance targets, performance milestones and 

completion dates, and resources needed in order to achieve the MSPP goals and 

objectives. 

2.	 Modify goals, objectives, and courses of action into quantifiable measures. 

Management Comments and OIG Analysis 

The Coast Guard concurred with both recommendations in the report. The Coast Guard 

Deputy Commandant for Operations Office of Performance Management and 

Assessment is developing guidance requiring mission performance initiative descriptions 

in the MSPP include baseline information, performance metrics, performance milestones 

and completion dates, and resources needed in order to achieve each mission’s goals. 

The Coast Guard will modify the goals into quantifiable and measurable actions in its 

2012 - 2017 MSPP. 

Recommendation #1 

We consider this recommendation open and unresolved until the Coast Guard provides us 

with documentation of the inclusion of baseline information, performance targets, 

performance milestones and completion dates, and resources needed in order to achieve the 

Marine Safety Program’s goals and objectives in its 2012 – 2017 MSPP. 

Recommendation #2 

We consider this recommendation open and unresolved until the Coast Guard provides us 

with documentation that goals, objectives, and courses of action included in its 2012 – 

2017 MSPP are expressed using quantifiable measures. 

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Appendix A 

Purpose, Scope, and Methodology 

We reviewed the Marine Safety Performance Plan (FYs 2009–2014) and Annual Update 

Supplement to the Marine Safety Performance Plan (FYs 2009–2014) to determine 

whether improvements could be made to the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Performance 

Plan (MSPP) to effectively manage the Marine Safety Program. In addition, we 

interviewed key Coast Guard officials to understand the processes in place to develop the 

MSPP and monitor and report on the plan progress. We used the Government 

Performance and Results Act of 1993; Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A11, Part 6, Preparation and Submission of Strategic Plans, Annual Performance Plans, 

and Annual Program Performance Reports; and Office of Management and Budget 

Circular A-123, Management Accountability and Control to determine whether the 

MSPP and its Annual Update Supplement contained key elements to support 

management controls. 

We conducted this performance audit between June and August 2010 pursuant to the 

Inspector General Act of 1978. We did not conduct this audit in accordance with 

generally accepted government auditing standards. 

We appreciate the efforts by Coast Guard management and staff to provide the 

information and access necessary to accomplish this review. 

5
 

u.s. Departmen'"'_ Commandant 2100 Second StI.et SW

Homeland security u.s. Coal' Guard Washington. DC :zosgJ..O()()1

Staff Symbol: (CG-a23)

Phone: (202) 3n-J533 United States Fax: (202)3n-D II Coast Guard Emal: ~.A.I(ulwil:JdQuseg.mil

7500

DEC 03 2010

MEMORANDUM

From ~~ML Reply to Audit Manager

COMDT (CG-B) Attn of: Mark Kulwicki

(202) 372-3533

To: Anne L. Richards

Assistant Inspector for Audits

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Subj: COAST GUARD COMMENTS AND RESPONSE TO DRAFT LETTER REPORT:

REVISIONS TO THE MARINE SAFETY PERFORMANCE PLAN AND ANNUAL

UPDATE

Ref: (a) DHS Inspector General Draft Letter Report OIG-IO-095-AUD-USCG(a)

1. Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment on the draft petfonnance audit report

pertaining to the U. S. Coast Guard's Marine Safety Performance Plan 2009-2014 and the

Update /0 the Marine Safety Performance Plan 2009-2014.

2. The Coast Guard concurs, with comments, with the findings and recommendations contained

in the report.

3. The Marine Safety Performance Plan 2009-2014 was the initial mission performance plan

(MPP) for Marine Safety. The Coast Guard is in the midst of compiling Mission Performance

Plans for 2012:2017 for all eleven statutory missions, including Marine Safety.

4. The letter report recognizes that while the Marine Safety Performance Plan has positive

attributes, the report contains two recommendations intended to improve the plan which may

enhance the program's overall effectiveness. The recommendations in the draft letter report are:

Recommendation 1. lnclude baseline information, performance targets, perfonnance

milestones and completion dates, and resources need in order to achieve the MSPP goals

and objectives.

Recommendation 2. Modify goaJs, objectives, and courses of action into quantifiable measures.

S. The Coast Guard concurs with the reconunendations. The Coast Guard Deputy Commandant

for Operations Office of Performance Management and Assessment (CG-DCO-81) is developing

guidance for Deputy Commandant for Operations elements to assist in the enhancement of

performance metrics. The updated guidance requires mission performance initiative descriptions

to include baseline information, performance targets, performance milestones and completion

Appendix B 

Management’s Comments to the Letter Report 

. 
 

6
 

Subj: COAST GUARD COMMENTS AND RESPONSE TO 7500

DRAfT LETTER REPORT: REVlSIONS TO THE MARINE

SAFETY PERFORMANCE PLAN AND ANNUAL UPDATE

dates, and resources needed in order to achieve each mission's goals. The 2012·20t7 Marine

Safety Perfonnance Plan will modify goals presented in previous Mission Perfonnance Plans into

quantifiable and measurable actions. An excerpt from the planned updated guidance is provided

in Enclosure (1).

6. If you have any questions, my point of contact is Mr. Mark Kulwicki at (202) 372-3533.

Alternately, our Chief of External Coordination, CDR Todd OfTun, can be reached at

(202) 372-3535.

#

Enclosure: (I) USCG DCO perfonnancc Initiative Template Excerpts (September 2010)

Copy: CG-54d-I

CG-OCQ-Sl

Appendix B 

Management’s Comments to the Letter Report 

7
 

Appendix C 

Major Contributor’s to this Report 

Brooke Bebow, Director 

Andrea Rambow, Audit Manager 

Katrina Bynes, Auditor 

Keith Nackerud, Program Analyst 

Rebecca Mogg, Program Analyst 

Emily Pedersen, Program Analyst 

Victor Leung, Referencer 

8
 

Appendix D 

Report Distribution 

Department of Homeland Security 

Secretary 

Deputy Secretary 

Chief of Staff 

Deputy Chief of Staff 

General Counsel 

Executive Secretariat 

Director, GAO/OIG Liaison Office 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Policy 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Public Affairs 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Legislative Affairs 

Office of Management and Budget 

Chief, Homeland Security Branch 

DHS OIG Budget Examiner 

Congress 

Congressional Oversight and Appropriations Committees, as 

appropriate 

9 
 
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND COPIES 

To obtain additional copies of this report, please call the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at (202) 254-4100, 

fax your request to (202) 254-4305, or visit the OIG web site at www.dhs.gov/oig. 

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