Boeing Petroleum Services, Inc. use of overtime at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

摘要

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is responsible for purchasing and storing crude oil to mitigate the potential adverse impact of any future disruptions in crude oil imports. Boeing Petroleum Services, Inc. (BPS) operates the SPR under a US Department of Energy (DOE) management and operating contract. The objective of this audit was to determine whether BPS established and used controls to minimize the use of overtime. The audit disclosed that BPS had established procedures to minimize the use of overtime but did not enforce their use. BPS did not (1) provide timely and adequate written overtime justifications; (2) prepare adequate work schedules; (3) properly implement two employee work shifts; or (4) adhere to DOE overtime budget constraints. These conditions existed because BPS management (a) did not ensure that established procedures were followed and (b) was primarily concerned with ensuring that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Project Management Office (SPRPMO) contract overtime premium ceiling was not exceeded, rather than minimizing the use of overtime. During the audit, the SPRPMO manager directed BPS to institute tighter overtime controls that should reduce overtime by an estimated $2.2 million annually. Our report identifies various corrective actions for strengthening internal controls and improving the controls over overtime. Management of the SPRPMO concurred fully with the finding, associated recommendations, and estimated monetary impact.