Hydrographic Survey Cost Comparison

1
Hydrographic Survey Cost Comparison

• August 18 19, 2005
• Preliminary Investigations Working Group 2
• Lewis A. Lapine, Adam McBride and Larry M. Whiting

2
From OMB Circular No. A-76 regarding policy
Comments on Original Study

•  
• The original cost study was reviewed at length.
• An attempt was made to refine the criteria for a
  future study.
• The report stated that NOAA does not track cost
  by project.
• Can we be sure that the limited number of
  projects used in the study is statistically
  valid?
• Were all NOAA ship costs represented annual
  shipyard costs or non-productive (winter in
  port) time added to a given project?  

• The longstanding policy of the federal
  government has been to rely on the private sector
  for needed commercial services. To ensure that
  the American people receive maximum value for
  their tax dollars, commercial activities should
  be subject to the forces of competition. ..

3
From OMB Circular No. A-76 regarding policy
Questions Concerning the Surveys Used in the Study

• The report did not elaborate on the technology
  used in each survey. 
• Is it correct to assume all surveys used
  multi-beam sounding equipment? 
• What was the percentage of bottom coverage?
• Was the same coverage used for every survey?
• Number of obstructions-Bottom complexity-AWOIS?
• Each of these variables by themselves could add
  (or subtract) significantly to the time and cost
  of the survey.

• The longstanding policy of the federal
  government has been to rely on the private sector
  for needed commercial services. To ensure that
  the American people receive maximum value for
  their tax dollars, commercial activities should
  be subject to the forces of competition. ..

4
Unit of Measure

• Too many variables in hydrographic surveys to
  assume square mile cost as an unbiased estimator
• Only two classes of surveys and limited number
  of surveys used in the study. 
• Sounding line spacing is set to avoid gaps in
  bottom coverage. Shallow water dictates closer
  sounding lines per square mile.
• Develop a statistic other than square miles that
  considers depth and variation in swath width.
• Total linear miles of survey may yield a more
  valid statistic for comparing cost.
• It is therefore recommended that the surveys used
  in the study be reevaluated against a better
  statistic to determine if there is a change to
  the disparity in the cost comparisons.

5
Comments on Estimating Cost

• Linear nautical miles (LNM) of hydrography may
  eliminate differences in surveys as a result of
  swath coverage. 
• Each survey could be estimated in advance using a
  fair estimate of depth and number of swath
  lines. 
• Shallow water may dictate speed of the vessel and
  again a factor could be derived.
• A daily factor could be derived which accounts
  for system calibration, bar check, STD casts,
  etc.
• NOAA would contract for "xx" linear miles of
  survey for a given project area. 
• It may even be a concept that the procurement
  folks could understand!! 

6
From OMB Circular No. A-76 regarding policy
Contractors Responsibilities

• Limit the extent of the contractor's duties.
• Simplify the contracting process and reduce the
  cost of individual surveys.
• Be more specific by providing the contractor
  sheet layout, sounding line schemes,
  more specific details of the work. 
• Real Time data quality control by NOAA. 

• The longstanding policy of the federal
  government has been to rely on the private sector
  for needed commercial services. To ensure that
  the American people receive maximum value for
  their tax dollars, commercial activities should
  be subject to the forces of competition. ..

7
Comments on Cost StudyAdam McBride
It still seems to me that within relevant ranges
of vessel size/capability, the cost per day of
the vessel is a good way to range the
alternatives. It is a conventional method of
filtering out some of the many factors that
affect productivity and performance which are
beyond the control of the vessel operator, and I
suspect that both the private sector and the NOAA
fleet have a pretty good handle on their costs
per day already.