Program - Office of Inspector General - U.S. Department of ...

Work Planned and in ProgressThis section describes OIG’s ongoing and planned work for October 1, 2010, through March 31, 2011.This work focuses on the Department’s Strategic Plan and its core missions of transportation safetyand mobility, as well as responds to requests by Administration officials and Congress. We take intoaccount the need to support DOT’s most critical programs and ensure that departmental resources areprotected from fraud, waste, and abuse.AVIATION AND SPECIAL PROGRAMSIN PROGRESSFAA Progress in Developingand Implementing NextGenTransformational ProgramsAt the request of the Chairmen and Ranking Membersof the House Committee on Transportationand Infrastructure and its Subcommittee on Aviation,OIG is assessing FAA’s actions to addressrecommendations made by an RTCA task forceconvened to review mid-term actions in NextGen’sdevelopment. Specifically, OIG is determining theextent to which FAA is (1) responding to the taskforce’s recommendations, including adjusting itsbudgets and establishing mechanisms for continuedcollaboration with industry and (2) addressingbarriers that may hinder its ability to successfullyimplement the recommendations.Certification of NextGen TechnologiesAt the request of the Chairmen of the HouseCommittee on Transportation and Infrastructureand its Subcommittee on Aviation, OIG is assessingFAA’s revised certification procedures,which require Agency certification for FAA-ownedsystems but not for contractor-owned systems.The Chairmen raised questions about how this isimpacting FAA’s continued responsibility to overseethe performance of key NextGen technologiesthat will be owned by the private sector, suchas Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast(ADS-B). Accordingly, we are examining the newprocedures, as applied to ADS-B, to (1) determinethe impact of the procedures on FAA’s statutoryresponsibility for maintaining the safety and integrityof air traffic control systems and (2) identify thechallenges and risks associated with the privatesector operating and maintaining key air trafficcontrol systems.FAA’s System Wide InformationManagement Program (SWIM)SWIM is a secure, web-based architecture that isexpected to streamline information sharing to airspaceusers and provide access to weather andflight management information, and aeronauticalservices and applications. OIG is examining (1)Semiannual Report to Congress • 45