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FOREST SERVICE MANUAL
DENVER, CO
TITLE 1300 - MANAGEMENT
R2 Supplement No. 1300-94-3
Effective September 15, 1994
POSTING NOTICE. Supplements to this title are numbered consecutively. Post by document
name. Remove entire document and replace with this supplement. Retain this transmittal as the
first page of this document. The last supplement to this Title was Supplement 1300-94-2 to
1350.
Document Name
Superseded New
(Number of Pages)
1340
31
5
Digest:
1343 - Removes outdated material on employee suggestion program.
1344 - Removes Regional Organization Codes, no parent text in FSM 1300. Moves to FSM
1220.
ELIZABETH ESTILL
Regional Forester
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1340.3 - Policy. Value Analysis (VA) is an organized process for evaluating a project, process or
system to achieve the required function at the optimum cost, and is appropriate for every case
which meets the following criteria:
-The project, process, or system has been identified as a "high cost" area by a line officer.
"High cost" is defined in the following sub-section.
-The project, process, or system to be analyzed has measurable outputs.
-The project, process, or system to be analyzed has measurable costs.
Where outputs cannot be measured and/or costs cannot be quantified, VA is not required.
However, Forests and Regional Office Staff Units (Units) are encouraged to apply any or all of
the principles of VA wherever appropriate.
Regionally required VA studies conducted in compliance with this supplement shall:
-Follow the full standard VA procedure as shown in the Regional Field Guide to VA.
-Be made by teams consisting of four to six people, plus an alternate. At least half of the
team shall include team members who are not from the Forest hosting the VA.
-Be led by a person who has received the 40-hour VA training and has participated in at
least one VA. At least half of the team members should have had the 40-hour training.
-Use only team members who have not been directly responsible for the project, process, or
system being studied.
-For CIP projects or timber sales, be scheduled in order to allow team members to visually
inspect the project site on-the-ground.
Forest personnel familiar with the project shall be made available as a resource to the team.
The VA team shall submit a written VA Study Summary and a one-page Executive Summary to
the Forest Supervisor or Regional Forester, as appropriate, within one week of completion of the
VA.
Capital Investment Program (CIP) Projects
A Regional VA is required for all Capital Investment Program (CIP) Projects costing more than
$300,000 (total of contract, pre-construction engineering, construction engineering, program
management, and support costs).
Based on the Region's Initial Budget Advice, the Forest Supervisor shall identify the projects, by
October 1 of each year, for which a Regional VA is required. The Forest Supervisor shall then
select the team leader and other team members. The selection process shall be coordinated with
the Regional VA Coordinator.
If the Forest Supervisor's decision to implement all or part of the VA Team recommendations
results in a reduction in the planned project cost carried in the Regional CIP, then fifty percent of
the projected savings may be credited toward accelerating a future project of the Forest's choice.
The savings credit shall be based upon the difference between the original estimated contract cost
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and the revised contract cost, using the VA Team recommendations accepted by the Forest
Supervisor.
Selected projects must come from the approved Regional CIP "hopper"(Level 1 or 2). The
Forest Supervisor's selected project will be included as part of the written decision to the
Regional Forester on the VA Team's recommendations.
Travel and salary costs related to Regionally required VA's shall be included in the project
proposal as a part of the pre-construction engineering cost and shall be funded out of the
Regional CIP.
The Region's Initial Budget Advice will identify projects scheduled for contracting that meet the
criteria for a VA. Those projects will not be funded in the Region's Final Budget Advice unless
the VA has been completed in the previous fiscal year.
Timber Sales
A VA is required for any timber sale which has more than $50/MBF of specified roads. Forests
with a Total Programmed Offering greater than 15 MMBF shall complete at least one timber sale
VA each year. Forests with a Total Program Offer of less than 15 MMBF shall complete at least
one timber sale VA every other year. Forests scheduling one VA study or less per year should
select a complex timber sale for the VA. The Forest Supervisor has the authority and is
encouraged to carry out additional VA's on timber sales.
Regionally required VA studies for timber sales, as determined by the criteria listed above, will
be completed during Gate 2, Sale Area Design, as described in FSH 2409.18, Timber Sale
Preparation Handbook, Chapter 30. By October 1 of each year, the Forest Supervisor will notify
the Regional Forester of all proposed timber sales scheduled for a VA in the following fiscal
year.
If more than one timber sale is identified, the Regional Forester will select one timber sale for a
VA. The Forest Supervisor shall select the team leader and other members in coordination with
the Regional VA Coordinator.
The costs incurred for a timber sale VA will be the responsibility of the host Forest and will be
considered a normal cost of timber sale preparation.
1340.4 - Responsibility.
1. Regional Forester.
a. Appoint the Regional VA Coordinator.
b. Lead the Region's use of VA.
c. Track the Region's value analyses, monitor program effectiveness and
recommend changes in VA procedures and/or policies.
d. Provide for training in the technique of VA in the Regional Training Plan.
e. Maintain a Regional VA data base of personnel trained in the technique of VA
and a listing of VA Team leaders. The VA data base shall be updated by October 1
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of each year and made available to Forest Supervisors to assist them in selecting
team leaders and other members.
f. Maintain the Regional Field Guide for VA.
g. Issue an annual report of the VA Program which will include:
(1) A summary of the results of the previous year's VA's
(2) Total estimated cost savings
(3) How the cost savings were re-allocated
(4) An evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the VA program.
(5) Distribute all VA Team Executive Summaries to Forests and Regional Staff
Units as they are developed.
2. Forest Supervisor.
a. Use VA techniques, as defined in the Regional Field Guide.
b. Define the scope of the VA for the VA Team.
c. Appoint a Forest VA Coordinator.
d. By October 1 of each year, provide a report, to the Regional Forester, which
contains the following:
(1) A list of all CIP projects and timber sales which require a VA in the current
fiscal year.
(2) A list of all Forest staff who have been trained in the VA technique or who have
participated in a VA. The list should specify any restrictions on availability of
Forest staff for upcoming VA studies.
e. Select team leaders and other members for each VA study with the assistance of
the Regional VA Coordinator.
f. Arrange for Forest personnel to attend VA training, as needed.
g. Within 45 days following the completion of each VA, report, to the Regional
Forester, the results of the VA. The report shall include:
(1) The VA Team's Executive Summary of recommendations.
(2) The Forest Supervisor's decision on which of the VA Team's recommendations
to incorporate into the final project design.
(3) The revised project (CIP only) costs and/or schedule.
(4) The Forest Supervisor's selected project for utilizing any credit (50% share) that
will be realized as a result of the VA study.
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3. Regional Staff Unit Directors. VA's will most likely focus on processes or systems,
rather than projects, for VA's conducted for Regional Staff Units. The responsibilities of the
Regional Staff Unit Directors are essentially the same as Forest Supervisors. Regional Directors
have one additional responsibility. By January 1 of each year, Regional Directors shall review
the Forest Supervisors' annual VA reports and evaluate the results of the VA studies to establish
if there exist any trends in the VA Team findings relative to their functional area. The results of
the the Regional Directors evaluations will be used to determine if a need exists for additional
policy and/or training.