Top-Level Communication: The Real Key to Asset Management

“Whatever made you successful in the past won't in the future.” Lew Platt, the former Chairman and CEO of Hewlett Packard, once said those words. That business platitude serves as a reminder that successful businesses are transformational, adapting to changing market forces to grow while operating at peak efficiency.

The federal government has embraced a similar sentiment. By requiring government to function more like private industry, the President hopes to see better operating efficiencies and measurable performance metrics. In real property, these changes are manifested by Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) and EO 13327 and the real property scorecard of the President’s Management Agenda (PMA).

But change can’t happen in a vacuum. Operational efficiencies can’t be realized without clear, complete communication among stakeholders. When communication is complete, strategic plans for business process improvement yield tactical tools for sound decision support. When communication is lacking, the weight of creating efficiencies may be unfairly borne on the backs of one group, rather than being shared.

This was suggested in responses to a survey from the Federal Real Property Association (FRPA), presented at the association’s professional development conference in October. Among other questions, survey participants were asked, “Are you being asked for information or input regarding President’s Management Agenda initiatives outside of Real Property?” Surprisingly, 62 percent of survey respondents said “No.” Of those indicating “Yes,” only seven percent were asked for their input in e-Government or Budget & Performance Integration initiatives.

The problem this uncovers is a lack of understanding that PMA initiatives are inter-related, and decisions in one area have a direct bearing on real property. For example, as an agency moves to green in the e-Government initiative, transactions with that agency will shift from paper-based documentation to electronic documentation.

That may create surplus capacity for real property dedicated to document storage – and that surplus in turn has a direct impact on budgeting and performance. Without involving real property professionals in that decision loop, accounting for such excess is just guesswork. And yet, it’s the real property professionals who have to create savings without being consulted on the ramifications of new business processes.

These findings among others are explained in a summary article regarding the survey in this edition of “Managing Change”, entitled “FRPA Survey Shows Lack of Communication on PMA Initiatives.”

On the other hand, after five iterations of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), the military – and the Army in particular – has learned the importance of clear communication.

As military missions have changed, in response to new technologies and new threats, real property needs have changed as well. The Army has embraced information-sharing in this changing environment, and has created tools that apply not only to real property asset management but installation planning and logistics as well.

In fact, in the realm of installation management, few tools are as useful as the Army Stationing and Installation Plan (ASIP) database. Created in the 1980s, ASIP is a database that represents the planning populations for Army installations; it is typically used for decision support on military construction, base operations and installation management.

The ASIP is used within the Army to validate and justify Military Construction Army (MCA) budgets, Base Operations (BASOPS) budgets, stationing decisions and other installation resource planning and decision requirements. For more information on ASIP, see the article titled “ASIP: A Tool for Army Transformation” in this issue.

Change is inevitable, and no enterprise can be successful over the long haul without embracing it. But without clear, complete communication at the highest levels, trying to make sense of the consequences of change can be a frustrating experience.


David Baxa
President and CEO
VISTA