This article is an excerpt from the 2020 edition of The Art of Tendering: A Global Due Diligence Guide, which is available for purchase.
In its May 2019 performance audit entitled Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal: Selection and Quality Management of Bridge Projects in Central and Western Districts, the Auditor General of Nova Scotia found that the province was not properly managing its bridge maintenance projects. As the report detailed, the government failed to set consistent criteria to assess the condition of its bridges and failed to manage that information in a manner that allowed for the proper prioritization of projects based on the condition of existing bridges. The report also found that the government often failed to inspect bridges after the completion of maintenance projects.
As the Auditor General found a significant backlog in bridge maintenance projects, which at the current replacement rates would take the province 200 years to complete, they also found that the government’s system did not provide management with the necessary information to properly prioritize its bridge maintenance projects. For example, the report identified three bridges in poor condition where management could not explain why they were not on the priority project listing. The report also found that the province failed to ensure that its staff followed established standards to guide bridge replacement, rehabilitation, and maintenance projects.
Furthermore, the Auditor General found a lack of warranty monitoring and inspections, with 75 percent of projects not inspected at the end of the warranty period. The report similarly noted that 23 percent of bridges were not inspected as required in the 2018 to 2019 year, that 27 percent of inspections were a year late, and that no follow-up inspection was ever conducted for two bridges where issues were identified. The report also found no defined training requirements for the government’s bridge inspectors.
The Auditor General recommended that the government “implement a process of using consistent criteria to assist management to determine bridge priorities at the district and provincial levels.” Furthermore, the report also recommended that the government “review its processes and systems used to track bridge information and inspections” and “identify and take appropriate action to ensure information about bridges, including recommended repairs and maintenance history, is complete, accurate, and accessible.” Finally, the Auditor General recommended that the government complete all bridge inspections as required by government policy.
This report serves as another example of the widespread weakness in government contract management practices and illustrates how these weak practices undermine the ability to properly prioritize and plan for future procurement projects.
