Audit of the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance
February 23, 2022 · Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance · Read the full official report on mass.gov ↗
Published February 23, 2022 Audit covers January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2020 Under Suzanne M. Bump · 2011–2023
source
“Below is a summary of our findings and recommendations, with links to each page listed.”
Read the plain-English breakdown
This is a Massachusetts State Auditor performance audit of DCAMM, the state agency that handles major public construction and real estate work.
“The Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) is the state agency responsible for major public construction and real estate for the Commonwealth.”
Auditors reviewed whether DCAMM was properly tracking contractor diversity goals, contractor certification, COVID-19 internal controls, and employee cybersecurity training.
“The purpose of our audit was to determine the following:”
These issues matter because public construction contracts are supposed to include goals for hiring women and minority workers, along with reporting and enforcement steps.
“Every contract by a state agency or state assisted contract for design, construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance or repair shall set forth the participation goals of minority and women workers to be employed on each such contract and the processes and procedures to ensure compliance with those workforce participation goals, including reporting and enforcement provisions.”
For an ordinary resident, this audit is about whether state construction dollars are being managed fairly, documented accurately, and protected from cybersecurity risks.
“DCAMM manages more than two billion dollars annually in state-funded construction projects and manages more than 550 active leases, consisting of more than five million square feet of office space that house state agencies.”
The main problem was not that DCAMM had no goals, but that it did not have strong enough processes to monitor, document, and enforce them.
“DCAMM did not have adequate processes in place to help ensure that its contractors met its workforce participation goals for women and minorities.”
The auditor recommended new or stronger policies, monitoring, documentation, and recordkeeping, and DCAMM said it was taking steps to address the findings.
“Based on its response, DCAMM is taking measures to address our concerns on this matter.”
The audit found large gaps between the goals and what happened on many construction contracts: most contracts missed the women’s participation goal, and many missed the minority participation goal.
“During the audit period, 120 (95%) of the 127 construction contracts did not meet the women’s workforce participation goal: that 6.9% of the hours of construction worked should be done by women.”
“Workforce participation goals” means the share of construction work hours that should be performed by minority workers and women.
“Workforce participation goals are the percentages of work hours for each construction contract that must be worked by minorities and women.”
1 figure(s) pending source verification - not shown
What the Auditor checked
- Did not comply Did DCAMM have internal tracking, oversight, and enforcement procedures to ensure that contractors complied with the workforce participation goals established by Section 44A(1)(G) of Chapter 149 of the General Laws?
- Did not comply Did DCAMM monitor quarterly contractor notifications regarding minority and woman workforce participation goals as required by the general conditions of the Commonwealth’s standard construction contract, which DCAMM uses for most construction projects?
- Complied Did DCAMM ensure that contractors were certified before awarding contracts in accordance with Sections 4.03 and 4.04 of Title 810 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations?
- Did not comply Did DCAMM update its internal control plan to address the 2019 coronavirus pandemic as required by the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth’s guide “COVID-19 Pandemic Response Internal Controls Guidance”?
- Did not comply Did DCAMM ensure that its employees received annual cybersecurity awareness training as required by the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security’s Information Security Risk Management Standard IS.010?
What the Auditor found
Why it matters: DCAMM lacked adequate enforcement provisions to help ensure contractors met diversity requirements for workforce participation.
Standard: Section 44A(1)(G) of Chapter 149 of the Massachusetts General Laws and Executive Office for Administration and Finance workforce participation goals. ( Section 44A(1)(G) of Chapter 149 of the Massachusetts General Laws )
1 recommendation
- DCAMM should develop policies and procedures to effectively monitor contractor achievement of workforce participation goals and establish when enforcement provisions will be used.agency: agreed
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "DCAMM is implementing the recommendation of the [Office of the State Auditor] by supplementing its comprehensive tailored approach with a structure for additional supervisor review and automatic implementation of its contract option to require quarterly projected workforce tables."
Auditor: "Based on its response, DCAMM is taking measures to address our concerns on this matter."
Why it matters: Without the staffing tables, DCAMM could not determine contractors’ actions toward meeting workforce participation goals or evaluate whether enforcement was warranted.
Standard: Section 44(G) of Chapter 149 of the General Laws and Section 3(B) of Appendix A of the general conditions of the Commonwealth’s standard construction contract. ( Section 44(G) of Chapter 149 of the General Laws; Section 3(B) of Appendix A of the general conditions of the Commonwealth’s standard construction contract )
1 recommendation
- DCAMM should develop policies and procedures, including monitoring, to ensure contractors work toward meeting workforce participation goals every quarter.agency: agreed
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "As described in the Auditee Response to Finding No. 1 above, DCAMM is implementing the recommendation of the [Office of the State Auditor] by supplementing the existing procedures of its compliance unit to include additional supervisor review on a quarterly basis and automatic implementation of its contract option to require quarterly projected workforce tables."
Auditor: "Based on its response, DCAMM is taking measures to address our concerns on this matter."
Why it matters: The annual report was inaccurate, including an overstatement of 78,893 hours for construction and design contracts.
Standard: Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth Internal Control Guide and Massachusetts Statewide Records Retention Schedule. ( Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth Internal Control Guide; Massachusetts Statewide Records Retention Schedule, Section A01-02 )
1 recommendation
- DCAMM should develop policies and procedures requiring staff to perform and retain regular reconciliations of certified payroll data.agency: already implemented
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "DCAMM has implemented the recommendation of the [Office of the State Auditor] by creating a detailed guide for quality assurance and generating and archiving backup reports for the [Affirmative Marketing Program] Annual Report."
Auditor: "Based on its response, DCAMM is taking measures to address our concerns on this matter."
Why it matters: The absence of an up-to-date, comprehensive internal control plan may hinder DCAMM’s ability to achieve its mission and objectives effectively and efficiently.
Standard: Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth’s “COVID-19 Pandemic Response Internal Controls Guidance,” dated September 30, 2020. ( CTR’s “COVID-19 Pandemic Response Internal Controls Guidance,” dated September 30, 2020 )
1 recommendation
- DCAMM should establish policies and procedures, including monitoring, for updating its internal control plan when significant changes occur.agency: agreed
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "DCAMM is implementing the recommendation of the [Office of the State Auditor] by creating a policy and procedure for updates in response to significant unforeseen changes (such as the coronavirus pandemic), in addition to periodic reviews and updates."
Auditor: "Based on its response, DCAMM is taking measures to address our concerns on this matter."
More audits of this entity
Other Office of the State Auditor reports on Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance .
- Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance's Planning, Design, and Construction ActivitiesState Agency / Office · March 6, 2013
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Audit of Settlement Agreements and Confidentiality Clauses Across Multiple State Agencies - Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (January 28, 2025)State Agency / Office · January 28, 2025