EM Applied Cost Engineering (ACE) Team

To meet the challenge of improving cost estimating capabilities within the Environmental Management (EM) organization and the Department as a whole, the EM Applied Cost Estimating (ACE) Team has been established to provide a forum for EM cost professionals to share best practices and lessons-learned, network with their colleagues, and provide support for each other.
The EM ACE Team is considered a Community of Practice (CoP) because:

  • They serve as an ongoing learning venue for EM and Departmental staff who share similar goals, interests, problems, and approaches.
  • They respond rapidly to individual inquiries from members and external stakeholders with specific answers.
  • They develop sound cost engineering policies and practices, capture lessons-learned, and transfer best practices on specific cost engineering topics by stimulating the active sharing of knowledge.
  • They influence improved EM project and program operations performance by promoting standardized cost estimating/engineering practices.
  • They promote innovative approaches to address specific cost engineering challenges encountered across the EM complex.
  • They support the shared goal of improving EM’s contract, project/program, and budget management practices.

Mission

The Environmental Management (EM) Applied Cost Engineering (ACE) Team was established to promote continuous cost estimating improvements through dissemination of cost engineering tools, methods, techniques, best practices, and lessons learned across the EM complex.

Charter

The main objective of the EM ACE Team is to promote best-in-class cost estimating practices to improve the quality of cost estimates that support the planning and execution of EM projects and operating programs. To meet the challenge of continuously improving EM’s contract and project management functions, DOE EM Federal Project Directors, Site Operations Activity Managers, and other Federal staff must be knowledgeable of the cost engineering methods and procedures for preparing sound cost estimates. High quality cost estimates are an essential element for successful project and program management.

Vision

Ensure that DOE-EM program and project managers, Federal Project Directors (FPD), Site Operations Activity Managers, cost engineers, and cost estimators have the necessary tools, systems, and training to develop and manage credible cost estimates that will allow EM to deliver projects and programs on schedule, within budget, and with the required performance capability.

Membership

Membership is open to all EM Operations/Field office and EM Headquarters personnel. The EM ACE Team encourages participation by all interested individuals within the Office of Environmental Management, as well as other cost professionals across the Department of Energy (DOE), to promote continuous cost estimating improvements across the DOE complex.

Membership will be extended to the DOE-EM contractor community at a future date.

Goals

The goals of the ACE Team are to:

  • Establish standards, policy, and procedures to ensure that EM cost and schedule estimates are accurate, traceable, and reliable.
  • Provide Independent Government Cost Estimating (IGCE), Independent Cost Estimate (ICE), and Independent Cost Analysis (ICA) capability to support EM acquisition and project management program requirements.
  • Provide independent cost estimating and analysis support to EM management, the EM Acquisition Advisory Board (EMAAB), and EM budget formulation processes.
  • Lead the development and management of cost and schedule databases, methodologies, and tools needed by EM to improve and standardize its cost estimating and analysis capabilities.
  • To ensure EM cost estimating practices are consistent with accepted industry practices – including practices promulgated by the GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide (GA)-09-3SP) – to meet all Federal and DOE cost estimating requirements.

Objectives

The objectives of the ACE Team are to:

  • Develop EM-specific Cost Estimation Policies, Standards, and Procedures.
  • Corporately develop & maintain EM’s cost estimation/analysis tool kit;
    • Environmental Cost Analysis System (ECAS).
    • Remedial Action Cost Engineering and Requirements (RACER).
    • Tri-Service Automated Cost Engineering Systems (TRACES).
    • Risk & Monte Carlo Simulation tools
  • Represent EM on Federal Inter-agency cost estimating forums.
  • Promote best practices through dissemination of cost engineering tools, methods, techniques, best practices, and lessons learned across the EM complex.
  • Assist with the development of corporate training programs specifically geared towards the cost estimating function.

Make cost estimating an integral part of the EM acquisition and project delivery process.

Rewards

The rewards of the ACE Team activities include:

  • Increasing the core competencies, knowledge base, and capabilities of EM’s cost estimation professionals.
  • Increasing awareness of sound cost estimating practices among EM’s Federal Project Directors, Contracting Officers and acquisition professionals, Site Operations Activity Managers, and Program Managers.
  • Increase EM’s ability to develop and manage high-quality cost estimates that are credible, well-documented, accurate, and comprehensive.
  • Collecting and organizing actual project cost data from completed EM Cleanup Projects to support future EM cost estimating needs and provide benchmarks to validate cost estimates. Expanding the use of EM’s ECAS, in conjunction with and a standardized cost structure (EM Corporate Work Breakdown Structure & ECES), provides a fast and efficient resource for obtaining and using project and cost data from similar projects across the Department and with other Federal agencies.
  • Providing cost estimating tools and software that will facilitate comparison of alternatives, make performing cost estimate validations easier, and allow for development of independent cost estimates that are completed more efficiently and are less labor intensive.
  • Reduced cost of doing business by streamlining and standardizing cost estimating and engineering practices.
  • Allowing important experiences and lessons learned to be shared between sites. Ability to perform evaluations and analysis to determine factors associated with project risks that may impact project costs and schedules.