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A Parting of the Ways?

Air Safety Week, April 10, 2006

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its audit of the contract between one of DHS' divisions, the TSA, and Unisys, to provide ongoing airport security services. In essence, OIG found that Unisys did poorly. After finishing its draft report, OIG already recommended that the TSA look elsewhere for these services and clean up its contract procurement and monitoring services. Although OIG says the TSA "concurred with the recommendations," the TSA is not officially saying what it will do.

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Unisys defended its record with TSA, saying that airport security officials rated the company's efforts as a 7.3 on a 1-10 scale. For its part, the TSA says it entered the contract shortly after the agency was formed in early 2002 when it was facing several significant deadlines from Congress. OIG also notes this history as part of the agency's evolving contract-management abilities. A TSA spokeswoman tells Air Safety Week that Unisys has only received at total of $900,000 in bonus payments for the life of the contract, when it has been eligible for up to $2.9 million a quarter. The agency also recently renegotiated the performance incentive provisions, and has seen an "upward trend" with Unisys. OIG's "February 2006" report, released early last week, titled "Transportation Security Administration's Information Technology Managed Services Contract" is at http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/OIG_06- 23_Feb06.pdf.

Government Industry

A Parting of the Ways?

Air Safety Week, April 10, 2006

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