Finding:
The Washington State Department of Transportation did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with quality assurance program requirements to ensure materials conformed to approved plans and specifications, and that only qualified personnel performed testing for projects...
Finding:
The Washington State Department of Transportation did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with quality assurance program requirements to ensure materials conformed to approved plans and specifications, and that only qualified personnel performed testing for projects funded by the Highway Planning and Construction program.
Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing #
20.205 Amount
$0
Status: Corrective action in progress
Corrective
Action:
The Department is committed to ensuring that our grant programs comply with federal regulations related to quality assurance (QA) requirements and safeguarding that materials and workmanship conform to approved plans and specifications through testing, inspections, or certifications. The Department has worked closely with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on our QA program and continues to receive feedback on the strength of our program.
As indicated in the prior year’s corrective action plan concerning a similar issue, the Department has been working towards replacing the Record of Materials (ROM) legacy system. Therefore, it was not practical to modify the system to help correct issues previously reported in the fiscal year (FY) 2022 and 2023 audits. During FY 2023, the Department eliminated the practice requiring updates to the ROM within 30 days of payment and instead relied on the required documentation as evidence of proper materials acceptance. The FY 2024 audit identified only two out of 58 materials tests that were either not documented properly or the required test was not performed.
In January 2023, as a result of recommendations from the FY 2022 audit, the Department modified its practice related to how tester data is reviewed and entered into the tester certification tracking system. All offices now funnel tester data to the Headquarters Quality Systems Section for review and entry. These procedure changes were communicated to appropriate staff and are reflected in the Construction Manual, which was reviewed and approved by FHWA. The Department is assessing the replacement of additional software legacy programs associated with the QA program. Due to the timing of the implementation, these changes were not fully reflected in the current year’s audit for the auditors to perform control testing. Nevertheless, only four out of 57 testers were found to have certification issues during the FY 2024 audit.
The Department will continue to improve the QA program while waiting for the new software programs to be fully developed. To address the audit recommendations, the Department’s Construction Division will examine current policies and procedures/practices related to the audit issues.
The Department will:
• Communicate with the FHWA to discuss the audit’s recommendations and any changes required to be compliant with federal requirements.
• Provide training to Project Engineering Office staff to emphasize QA program requirements, the FY 2024 finding, and audit exceptions.
• Update policies and procedures as needed from discussions and training above.
• Obtain approval of updates to the Construction Manual from the FHWA, if needed.
• Communicate changes in policies and procedures to division staff and stakeholders.
The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in findings 2023-014, 2022-011, 2021-011, 2020-017, and 2019-019.
Completion
Date: Estimated June 2025
Agency
Contact:
Jesse Daniels
External Audit Liaison
PO Box 47320
Olympia, WA 98504-7320
(360) 705-7035
danielje@wsdot.wa.gov