Attachment D - OBO 2022 Design Standards.pdf

FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

Functional Bureau Strategy

OVERSEAS BUILDINGS OPERATIONS

FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

Approved: January 13, 2022

Table of Contents

1. Executive Statement and Mission Statement

2. Bureau Strategic Framework

3. Bureau Goals and Objectives

4. Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Goal and Objectives

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1. Executive Statement and Mission Statement

The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) provides the U.S. diplomatic and consular missions overseas with safe, secure, functional, and resilient facilities that represent the U.S.

government to the host nation and support the Department’s achievement of U.S. foreign policy abroad. As the single real property manager, OBO directs the worldwide building, maintenance, leasing, and acquisition and disposal programs for the U.S. Department of State.

The Department’s workforce is serving around the world in increasingly dangerous and unpredictable environments and facing rapidly changing security risks, political and civil unrest, evolving climate threats, and malign influences. Protecting the overseas physical infrastructure from 21st century threats is inextricably linked to the overall success of national security priorities and foreign policy objectives.

The overseas diplomatic real estate portfolio managed by OBO comprises over 25,000 properties valued at $69 billion and spanning 289 locations and directly supports more than

91,000 personnel from approximately 30 U.S. government agencies operating overseas under chief of mission (COM) authority. Property types include embassy and consulate office buildings, multi-use compounds, warehouses, other support facilities, as well as housing for

U.S. staff. Buildings range from historic structures adapted for diplomatic use, to purpose-built modern structures and leased offices, while residences may be single family houses, apartments in urban high-rises, or suburban diplomatic compounds.

Planning, designing, and executing construction projects at high-risk posts, in developing economies, and in harsh environments prone to natural hazards, some with increasing frequency and intensity due to climate changes, along with maintaining a widely varied physical and aging infrastructure present formidable challenges and risks. To fulfill its mission and serve the global U.S. diplomatic community with vision, purpose, and value, OBO developed its FY

2022 – 2026 strategic goals and objectives through the lens of three guiding principles:

• Security: Enhance the security, safety, and functionality of overseas facilities and residences through standardizing design and construction management processes.

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• Resiliency: Provide and maintain industry-leading, resilient facilities through employing a full life-cycle facility management approach.

• Stewardship: Promote continuous investment in OBO’s workforce and technology.

OBO’s FY 2022 – 2026 Functional Bureau Strategy (FBS) includes three strategic goals and 10 objectives that guide bureau priorities through FY 2026.

• Strategic Goal 1: Enhance the security, safety, functionality, and resilience of facilities and residences through the design and construction program.

• Strategic Goal 2: Improve the resilience and maximize the lifespan of our facilities through adaptive and sustainable asset management programs.

• Management Goal 3: Strengthen and equip a diverse, inclusive, resilient, and dynamic workforce to meet 21st century physical infrastructure challenges.

OBO’s strategy aligns with the FY 2022 – 2026 Department of State and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Joint Strategic Plan (JSP), specifically Objective 4.3

“Protect our personnel, information, and physical infrastructure from 21st century threats.”

With the ongoing commitment of Congress, the Department, and our interagency partners, OBO remains committed to support our nation’s diplomatic corps in achieving U.S. foreign policy and delivering results for all Americans. With a focus on security, resiliency, and stewardship, OBO will continue to deliver on its mission to provide secure, safe, functional, and resilient facilities that are symbols of American culture and values and serve as visible reminders of America’s influence and global diplomatic presence.

Mission: To provide safe, secure, functional, and resilient facilities that represent the U.S.

government to the host nation and support the Department's achievement of U.S. foreign policy objectives abroad.

Vision: Construct, maintain, and manage facilities that represent American values and the best in American architecture, design, engineering, technology, sustainability, art, culture, and construction execution.

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2. Bureau Strategic Framework

Bureau Goal 1: Enhance the security, safety, functionality, and resilience of facilities and residences through the design and construction program.

• Bureau Objective 1.1: Optimize business operations to enhance resilience of the design and construction programs to meet current modernization demands and future industry challenges.

• Bureau Objective 1.2: Build and implement a Climate Security & Resilience program to ensure missions are more resilient and secure against current and projected natural hazards.

• Bureau Objective 1.3: Institutionalize a residential prioritization plan to provide diplomatic housing with improved conditions, safety, and security.

Bureau Goal 2: Improve the resilience and maximize the lifespan of our facilities through adaptive and sustainable asset management programs.

• Bureau Objective 2.1: Implement the operations and maintenance performance plan to reduce the deferred maintenance and repair backlog.

• Bureau Objective 2.2: Implement new sustainment management technologies and data systems to enhance facilities management.

• Bureau Objective 2.3: Standardize prioritization processes across established capital improvement programs to increase transparency and efficiency.

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Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Goal 3: Strengthen and equip a diverse, inclusive, resilient, and dynamic workforce to meet 21st century physical infrastructure challenges.

• Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.1: Optimize recruitment strategies to attract technical and other specialized talent with a wide variety of expertise, skills, and backgrounds.

• Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.2: Improve retention by providing professional development opportunities and promoting a diverse, inclusive, equitable, and accessible workforce and workplace.

• Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.3: Modernize OBO’s enterprise applications to provide worldwide users with leading-edge industry capabilities.

• Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.4: Improve the Data Management and

Analytics platforms and technologies to enable data-driven decision making.

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3. Bureau Goals and Objectives

Bureau Goal 1: Enhance the security, safety, functionality, and resilience of facilities and residences through the design and construction program.

• Bureau Goal 1 Description: OBO is leading the way and setting the pace for the future of planning, design, and construction of the Department’s overseas facilities. The

Department operates in increasingly dangerous and unpredictable environments and is facing rapidly changing security risks, political and civil unrest, global pandemics, and evolving natural hazards threats exacerbated by climate change. Physical attacks conducted by adversaries against U.S. embassies, consulates, and facilities abroad continue to threaten our people and properties. The Department’s unique worldwide presence requires the ability to respond to rapidly changing situations and evolving threats in real-time. To be effective in the years ahead, OBO must modernize its building program to optimize performance and continuously improve critical project delivery drivers. We must also improve our ability to assess our portfolio’s exposure and vulnerability to natural hazards and adapt to corresponding risks while at the same time leveraging multi-attribute decision analysis tools to improve occupant safety, security, and well-being, as well as overall staff satisfaction with residential facilities overseas.

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Bureau Objective 1.1: Optimize business operations to enhance resilience of the design and construction programs to meet current modernization demands and future industry challenges.

• Bureau Objective 1.1 Justification and Linkages: OBO acknowledges the accelerated demand of operational readiness through the advancement of the building program. To strengthen delivery of secure and high-performing diplomatic facilities in variable and evolving conditions, OBO prioritizes the adoption of emerging processes, systems, and operations through multidisciplinary improvement efforts synchronized across the bureau. Continued pursuit of improved design and construction techniques, with alignment to industry standards and the utilization of best practices, remains increasingly critical in OBO’s responsibility to provide a resilient infrastructure. This objective supports JSP Objective 4.3: “Protect our personnel, information, and infrastructure from 21st century threats.”

• Bureau Objective 1.1 Risk Considerations: There are three major risks associated with this objective. First, if OBO does not successfully optimize business operations, then

OBO will fall behind industry standard methods, negatively impacting its ability to deliver effective projects and retain staff. Second, if OBO does not collect, maintain, and use building information in a data-driven way across the Department, then its capability to reliably assess and forecast for the future state of its facilities will be reduced. And third, if OBO is not able to continuously authorize and implement the use of emerging technologies in a timely manner, then its systems will be put at risk of 21st century threats.

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Bureau Objective 1.2: Build and implement a Climate Security & Resilience (CS&R) program to ensure missions are more resilient and secure against current and projected natural hazards.

• Bureau Objective 1.2 Justification and Linkages: Natural hazards, including those projected to increase in frequency and severity due to climate change, pose a threat to the Department’s global portfolio. The typical means and methods of planning, designing, constructing, and managing a global portfolio around historical knowledge of hazard exposure is becoming increasingly obsolete. By proactively identifying and communicating natural hazard risks (current and future) and working with key stakeholders to act on the data in mitigating the risks, the Climate Security and

Resilience (CS&R) program is charged with facilitating adaptation measures throughout

OBO and throughout the Department in accordance with the Department’s Climate

Adaptation and Resilience Plan (as referenced in the FY 2022 – 2024 JSP). This objective links to JSP Objective 1.2: “Secure ambitious climate mitigation and adaptation outcomes, including supporting effective Paris Agreement implementation” and JSP

Objective 4.3: “Protect our personnel, information, and infrastructure from 21st century threats.”

• Bureau Objective 1.2 Risk Considerations: Lack of appropriate resources to acquire, understand, and apply natural hazard information inclusive of climate change projections, where appropriate, may jeopardize diplomatic missions’ ability to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to natural hazards and withstand, respond to, and recover rapidly from natural hazard disruptions. If OBO does not receive the initial staffing levels and program funding requested in its FY 2023 Bureau Resource Request

(BRR), OBO will not be able to build the required climate adaptation capacity to further support continued program responsiveness to the risk.

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Bureau Objective 1.3: Institutionalize a residential prioritization plan to provide diplomatic housing with improved conditions, safety, and security.

• Bureau Objective 1.3 Justification and Linkages: The Department’s diplomatic corps serving overseas are frequently called upon to serve in some of the most demanding locations facing a wide variety of risks and threats not readily experienced in the United

States. While a career in the Foreign Service demands acceptance of certain risks, OBO’s ability to deliver appropriate housing that is safe, secure, and functional serves to mitigate the stresses of overseas service and improve the quality of life for our diplomats abroad. With a focus on safety, security, and physical conditions as well as perceived quality of life, OBO will work to identify where the needs are greatest and prioritize improvements in those locations. This objective supports JSP Objective 4.3:

“Protect our personnel, information, and infrastructure from 21st century threats.”

• Bureau Objective 1.3 Risk Considerations: There are two major risks associated with this objective. First, if OBO does not allocate appropriate resources and time towards residential prioritization, then OBO will fail to make progress on a prioritization system for housing projects, negatively impacting the quality of life of the diplomatic corps.

Second, if OBO does not collect and maintain residential facilities deficiencies in a data-driven way, then its capability to reliably assess and forecast for the future state of its diplomatic housing will be reduced.

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Bureau Goal 2: Improve the resilience and maximize the lifespan of our facilities through adaptive and sustainable asset management programs.

• Bureau Goal 2 Description: Operating facilities in developing economies and in harsh environments prone to natural disasters and climate changes, along with maintaining a widely varied physical and aging infrastructure present formidable challenges and risks.

To protect and preserve our worldwide assets and ensure our facilities continue to adapt to complex operational challenges, OBO is committed to reducing the

Department’s current maintenance and repair backlog. Through a full lifecycle approach to managing the Department’s global facility portfolio, OBO will reduce emergency repairs and extend the life of critical building equipment, improve facilities condition data collection, and increase facility management oversight. Efforts under this goal also will continue to integrate facility management planning resources and project planning from inception to end of lifecycle, ensure functional readiness of overseas facilities and infrastructure, and increase facility manager capabilities and capacity worldwide.

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Bureau Objective 2.1: Implement the operations and maintenance performance plan to reduce the deferred maintenance and repair backlog.

• Bureau Objective 2.1 Justification and Linkages: At least 60 percent of a building’s total lifecycle cost stems from operations and maintenance. Deferring maintenance and repairs can lead to higher costs in the long-term and pose risks to agencies’ missions.

According to GAO report 21-497, it is estimated that at current funding levels and practices, it would take between 30 – 40 years to eliminate the deferred backlog.

Implementing Design for Maintainability (DfM) strategies for new, renovated, and legacy facilities will allow OBO to develop standardized and repeatable assessment processes that identify building assets, essential systems, technologies, and equipment criticality to establish risks and priorities, which will allow decisionmakers to determine proper funding and proper work execution to reduce or eliminate deferred backlog.

Furthermore, incorporating the use of a Sustainment Management System provides the

Bureau with a plan to manage the deferred maintenance backlog by providing prioritized portfolio-wide recommendations for maintenance and repairs. This objective supports JSP Objective 4.3: “Protect our personnel, information, and infrastructure from 21st century threats.”

• Bureau Objective 2.1 Risk Considerations: Potential constraints to the execution of the

Facility Performance Evaluation (FPE) at the targeted 10 percent of the existing posts include a lack of funding, lack of resources, and COVID-19 travel restrictions. To mitigate risks related to travel constraints, desktop reviews of all available post data and draft FPEs and Total Cost of Facility Ownership (TCFOs) can be conducted with finalization based upon availability of travel to the posts to perform on-site inspections.

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Bureau Objective 2.2: Implement new sustainment management technologies and data systems to enhance facility management.

• Bureau Objective 2.2 Justification and Linkages: Inadequate condition of critical facility assets (i.e., roofs; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning - HVAC; lighting) can pose long-term risks to the Department’s missions. Currently, an estimated 20 percent of

OBO’s critical assets are in poor condition. Adopting standardized condition assessment methodologies along with standardized data collection strategies will allow the Bureau to accurately assess facility conditions by properly tracking and evaluating the operations and maintenance of all OBO-constructed facilities. Conducting standardized

Facility Performance Evaluations (FPE) on a five-year cycle along with Annual Facility

Condition Surveys (AFCS), the Bureau will be able to compare facility asset design baselines against actual facility asset conditions. The FPE and AFCS will be standardized through data collection strategies, quality control of the data, and adequate training of staff performing the inspections. This objective supports JSP Objective 4.3: “Protect our personnel, information, and infrastructure from 21st century threats.”

• Bureau Objective 2.2 Risk Considerations: Potential risks to the accomplishment of this objective include a lack of funding, lack of resources and COVID-19 travel restrictions.

These can constrain the population of the database due the lack of data from executed

Facility Performance Evaluation (FPE). To mitigate this risk, OBO can develop draft standardized AFCS based upon the FPE and provide an initial orientation to post personnel with a follow-up, hands-on training performed during the on-site FPE survey.

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Bureau Objective 2.3: Standardize prioritization processes across established capital improvement programs to increase transparency and efficiency.

• Bureau Objective 2.3 Justification and Linkages: OBO is focused on delivering high-quality capital projects completed in the most efficient and effective manner possible.

To that end, the Bureau will standardize its capital improvement prioritization processes to counter existing inconsistences and inefficiencies and provide Bureau leadership with a comprehensive understanding of how programs allocate resources. OBO will develop a corporate business process and standardize verification of project requirements to deconflict priorities among various OBO programs and improve overall project delivery.

This objective links to JSP objective 4.3: “Protect our personnel, information, and infrastructure from 21st century threats.”

• Bureau Objective 2.3 Risk Considerations: If OBO does not standardize its prioritization processes, projects may not be carried out in the most efficient manner possible. This inefficiency may lead to overlaps between projects, creating resource allocation inefficiencies and ineffective procedures.

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4. Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Goal and Objectives

Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Goal 3: Strengthen and equip a diverse, inclusive, resilient, and dynamic workforce to meet 21st century physical infrastructure challenges.

• Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Goal 3 Description: As OBO reinvests in the

Department’s physical infrastructure to meet 21st century threats, the Bureau must also reinvest in its workforce and technology. OBO remains committed to modernizing its workforce and information management infrastructure to continue to provide safe, secure, functional, and resilient facilities abroad. OBO has actively established partnerships with the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) and prioritized recruiting engagements with minority firms and professional member organizations in the technical industry to drive interest and promote career opportunities.

OBO will recruit and retain specialized and high-performing professionals prepared to take on the challenges of managing a diverse and global diplomatic asset portfolio by optimizing recruitment and retention strategies that will strengthen diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. OBO will improve retention through customized professional development activities and enhanced employee engagement. Additionally, OBO is committed to improving data management and analytics. The Bureau will develop and employ technology to better inform management decision-making. OBO is working towards streamlining Bureau software applications with innovative cloud enterprise application.

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Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.1: Optimize recruitment strategies to attract technical and other specialized talent with a wide variety of expertise, skills, and backgrounds.

• Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.1 Justification and Linkages: OBO is dedicated to recruiting highly skilled and specialized personnel to meet the global infrastructure challenges facing the 21st century. OBO requires technical experts from a variety of fields ranging from architecture and engineering to safety, health and environmental, fire protection, construction, facilities management, and real estate.

OBO must compete with the private sector to recruit these technical professionals. The first step in improving the Bureau’s recruitment is to execute a robust recruitment strategy that uses a thorough data set to improve data-driven decision-making. OBO has faced challenges in the past with consolidating internal and external recruitment data and having this data readily available for management decision-making. Through this objective, OBO will improve and refine recruitment data. This will provide capabilities to analyze historical hiring gaps and workforce trends to refine and optimize a thorough recruitment strategy so that the recruitment team will be able to better meet Bureau recruitment needs and properly employ a strategy that will strengthen and promote a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible workforce.

Additionally, OBO has engaged with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

(STEM) focused organizations such as: the Society of Asian Scientists and

Engineers, American Indian Science and Engineering Society, National Society of Black

Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, National Facilities Management & Technology, International Facility Management Association, Ground Breaking Women in

Construction, and more to recruit a diverse and inclusive workforce in support of

Executive Order 13985 on Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities.

This objective supports JSP Objectives 4.1: “Build and equip a diverse, inclusive, resilient, and dynamic workforce” and 4.3: “Protect our personnel, information, and physical infrastructure from 21st century threats.”

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• Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.1 Risk Considerations: If OBO does not achieve this objective, the Bureau may not be able to recruit and retain the necessary technical experts to carry out the Bureau’s work. By not having a data-driven recruitment strategy, the Bureau may not utilize resources in the most efficient way as possible. To mitigate these risks, OBO will roll out an official Recruitment Volunteer

Representative Training; incorporate minority organization and university events into the current recruiting schedule; build relationships with industry organizations and liaise with internal Department key players to begin data and metric tracking and reporting.

Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.2: Improve retention by providing professional development opportunities and promoting a diverse, inclusive, equitable, and accessible workforce and workplace.

• Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.2 Justification and Linkages:

The Bureau will focus on decreasing the number of employees leaving OBO to pursue alternative employment opportunities and on retaining high-performing employees within the Bureau. OBO will increase the number of professional development opportunities to strengthen a diverse, inclusive, resilient, and dynamic world-class workforce equipped with innovative technologies and accessible data to deliver high-quality solutions. By implementing strategies focused on development, retention, and empowerment, this objective supports JSP Objectives 4.1: “Build and equip a diverse, inclusive, resilient, and dynamic workforce” and 4.3: “Protect our personnel, information, and physical infrastructure from 21st century threats,” as well as Executive Order 13985 on Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities.

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• Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.2 Risk Considerations: Not achieving this Objective may lead to an unengaged, underdeveloped, stagnant workforce unable to carry out the Bureau’s mission well. To mitigate these risks, OBO will pursue a sustained emphasis on professional development opportunities for all employees and extensive retention research to determine key reasons for non-retiring employee attrition. Additionally, OBO will focus on adequately training employees on the various

Enterprise tools and resources at OBO, along with updated Position Descriptions to include a KSA (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities) requirement.

Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.3: Modernize OBO’s enterprise applications to provide worldwide users with leading-edge industry capabilities.

• Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.3 Justification and Linkages:

Modernizing OBO’s enterprise applications is heavily reliant on the Department’s technology guidance and policies; however, the greatest challenge is maintaining the highest security posture while considering integrating leading industry innovative solutions. Aligning with the Department’s mission to adopt and maintain state-of-the-art technologies, through this objective, OBO will work with bureau programs to analyze legacy systems, thoroughly research best-in-class solutions to provide users with a modern, secure, cloud-based enterprise solution. This objective supports JSP Objectives

4.2: “Modernize IT and leverage data to inform decision-making and support mission delivery” and 4.3: “Protect or personnel, information, and physical infrastructure from

21st century threats.”

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• Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.3 Risk Considerations: In OBO’s effort to consider leading edge technologies, along with rapidly changing security mandates, proper funding allocations poses risk to achieving this objective within the timeframe of this strategy. OBO’s current operations and maintenance (O&M) expenses will grow dramatically for our legacy custom-developed systems in order to meet growing security, interoperability, and mission-driven feature requirements. OBO is aggressively performing Analysis of Alternatives efforts addressing each key legacy system to see where the bureau can quickly incorporate new functionality versus continuing to maintain legacy solutions.

Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.4: Improve the Data Management and

Analytics platform and technologies to enable data-driven decision making.

• Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.4 Justification and Linkages: OBO has made great strides in the previous strategy to establish a data management and analytics framework. The Bureau will continue to refine and enhance its data management efforts through strengthening a data governance strategy that incorporates effective stewardship, policies, and process controls. OBO will optimize and enhance mission-driven data management applications to enable improved ease-of-access to data, data creation, collection, storage, and standardization for better collaboration. This management objective supports the Department’s goal of creating a culture of data-driven decision making. This Objective supports JSP Objectives 4.2:

“Modernize IT and leverage data to inform decision-making and support mission delivery” and 4.3: “Protect or personnel, information, and physical infrastructure from

21st century threats.”

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• Bureau Cross-Cutting Management Objective 3.4 Risk Considerations: Not achieving this objective will hamper OBO’s ability to make timely informed decisions on construction and facility management project prioritization. OBO will mitigate the risk of not achieving this objective by leveraging existing department data and analytics platforms wherever available and building basic analytics capabilities and requirements into new information technology (IT) systems.