|
|
NATIONAL BUSINESS CENTER PROFILE
FY 1999 |
 |
The NBC is Established
The National Business Center (NBC) was formed by merging the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) three administrative service centers: Bureau of Reclamation’s Denver Administrative Service Center, U.S. Geological Survey’s Washington Administrative Service Center, and the Office of the Secretary’s (OS) Interior Service Center. The effort to consolidate these three centers into one began in early 1998 at the direction of John Berry, then Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget. The purpose for the mergers was fourfold: 1) to provide a more unified approach to delivering services, 2) to improve administrative operations, 3) to reduce administrative costs through economies of scale, and 4) to expand the customer base by attracting other Federal customers. Another advantage to the merger was the outstanding reputation each service center had for providing high-quality service to its customers. The merger of talent and resources put the NBC in an enviable position with the federal government to provide unparalleled service to all customers—both within the DOI and without. Tim Vigotsky became the Director of the NBC, which resides within the Office of the Secretary. Additionally, 1999 saw DOI University become a part of the NBC.
Payroll Operations
A notable accomplishment of NBC’s Federal Personnel Payroll Systems and Services Directorate (formerly Products and Services) group in Denver is its ability to consistently process payroll with an accuracy of over 99 percent—a rate incomparable anywhere in the federal government.
Federal Personnel Payroll System (FPPS)
- The FPPS Era Begins
The twenty-year era of the PAY/PERS System ended in December 1998 with the conversion of the last three clients to the Federal Personnel Payroll System (FPPS) and the retirement of the PAY/PERS System.
- New Clients
The NBC welcomed three new FPPS and Payroll Operations clients: the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Presidio Trust, and the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.
- FPPS 2000
The NBC began working with the DOI Office of Personnel Policy to establish a strategic direction for FPPS. The basis for this direction was input from clients, recommendations made by a contractor in an independent study for the DOI, and NBC’s own knowledge of the Federal personnel/payroll marketplace. This new strategic direction was named FPPS 2000 and involved a technologically updated foundation for FPPS and planned to make better use of commercial products already available in the marketplace.
Adding a DataMart capability to FPPS using a modern database management system with a user-friendly query, report retrieval, and data analysis capability was one of the first priorities of FPPS 2000. A Web-based version of FPPS, new commercial human resources functionality and an open FPPS server were also planned.
- Quicktime
The FPPS staff began making enhancements and modifications to the Quicktime Time and Attendance (T&A;) system. Quicktime is a complete, secure, high-performing and cost-effective T&A; system. This application complies with all Government Accounting Office T&A; regulations and standards with an optional National Institute of Science and Technology-compliant electronic signature capability. The system interfaces with both the DOI’s FPPS and the National Finance Center payroll system.
- FPPS Awards
The Personnel Payroll Systems Division (formerly the FPPS Program Management Division) was awarded the Denver Federal Executive Board’s (DFEB) 1999 Excellence in Government Awards Program in the area of “Outstanding Productivity or Process Improvement” for the development and successful deployment of FPPS.
The NBC also received the DOI’s Unit Award for Excellence in recognition of outstanding teamwork in developing and implementing FPPS, the cross-servicing of other government agencies, and for the exceptional high quality of pay service achieved through FPPS.
NBC Single Accounting System
With the merger of three DOI administrative service centers into one organization within the Office of the Secretary, the accounting functions needed to be merged into a single accounting system. Consequently, all three moved their accounting data into the Federal Financial System (FFS).
Interior Department Electronic Acquisition System-Procurement Desktop (IDEAS-PD)
The NBC successfully converted all DOI bureaus to the Interior Department Electronic Acquisition System-Procurement Desktop (IDEAS-PD). IDEAS-PD is a commercial off-the-shelf, Windows-based acquisition software package used to support and facilitate the processing of acquisition transactions. The software has full functionality, beginning with Web-based requisitioning, followed up by simplified acquisition, contracting, and contract administration and has an on-line interface to FFS. The NBC negotiated the ability to franchise the acquisition software to other Government clients.
Electronic Commerce for the Twenty-First Century (EC21)
The NBC began developing and implementing EC21, an application that receives invoice and payment information, submits electronic invoices, guarantees on-time payments, and conducts analysis of activities paid through electronic commerce. The front end of EC21, dubbed “Invoice-21,” is a module being developed to receive vendor invoices over the Web via electronic data interchange, process them for payment, and upload those electronic invoices into each participating agency’s finance system for payment processing.
Y2K Preparation and Validation
One of the big issues facing the entire world in 1999 was the preparation of computer systems for the electronic “turn of the century” on January 1, 2000, commonly referred to as “Y2K.” The Y2K problem resulted from computer systems historically using only two digits to denote the year. The organizations that became the NBC actually started preparing for Y2K in 1996, with activity reaching its peak in 1999. Although some major NBC systems such as FPPS were Y2K compliant by design, they still had to have extensive testing in conjunction with all of their interfaces. All hardware, software, and telecommunications environments were validated to be compliant before the end of FY 1999.
|
DOI University (DOIU)
The DOIU became a part of the NBC in FY 1999. It is made up of three divisions: Leadership and Performance, Online Learning, and Cultural Resources and Events. The four Leadership and Performance Centers have the capability to customize training and deliver it at the customer’s site. The online learning services make it possible for customers to acquire skills needed to do their
|
The DOI University staff.
|
|
work and accomplish DOI missions whenever and wherever needed through the Internet. Literary, cultural, and historic programs are offered in the form of author-led forums, museum exhibits, and DOI’s library. Through quality training, intern, and career development programs, DOIU is committed to designing and implementing effective training and development programs that emphasize career management throughout DOI.
- Procurement Intern Program
DOIU was chosen as the organization to handle the Procurement Intern Program for the civilian sector of the entire Federal Government.
- Online Learning Center
DOIU established the Online Learning Center to provide online training courses that are available to all DOI employees 24 hours a day through the Internet. Technology and other workplace skills are included.
NBC Web Site
The NBC was selected as one of 1999’s “Best Feds on the Web” by GovExec.com, the web site of Government Executive magazine. Tom Shoop, “Government Executive” editor, informed the NBC its site was one of 16 winners chosen from the 120 nominations for the 1999 awards.
DOI Quarters Management Information System (QMIS)
QMIS continued to be one of NBC’s success stories. QMIS is a DOI rental rate setting system used to compute rental rates for 21,000 government-furnished quarters owned by 20 agencies. Services provided by the Quarters Operations Office include: establishing market-based rental rates for government-furnished quarters and utilities, conducting regional rental survey and software training, developing and maintaining PC-based rental rate setting software, providing “help desk” support to hundreds of the rate setting software, maintaining a centralized interagency quarters database, and providing special housing management reports.
|
|
