Airport Lacks Plan, Staff, and Funding for Maintenance and Repairs say Denver Auditor

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Under Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, DIA has gone from being a functional, if unimpressive airport to a dysfunctional mess and a comprehensive failure of transportation infrastructure. And a financial boondoggle to boot. Denver’s airport managers have resorted to taking a reactive — instead of proactive — approach to tracking and maintaining assets, including everything from escalators and trains to roads and land, according to a new audit from Denver Auditor Timothy M. O’Brien, CPA. Key Findings on DIA audit: “Denver International Airport is in the midst of a big project to update and expand the Great Hall and terminals, but at the same time, the assets the airport already owns need maintenance and better tracking,” Auditor O’Brien said. Our audit examined whether capital assets at the airport are properly tracked, recorded, and maintained. “Capital assets” are tangible and intangible items used in operations; their value is at least $5,000 and they are expected to last more than a year. These may include buildings, runways, machinery, equipment, and land. We found a need to improve internal controls and inconsistencies in how the airport tracks and documents its capital assets across its two different software systems. We also found a need for comprehensive preventive maintenance and better oversight of contractors who are supposed to keep ground transportation and people-movers working. “The airport is a huge operation with thousands of moving parts,” Auditor O’Brien said. “Management needs effective systems working together to keep everything functional for the longest time possible.” Airport management disagreed with two of our recommendations related to ensuring the consistency of capital asset information within the airport’s two asset-tracking systems — Workday and Maximo. They said the systems are used for different purposes and information doesn’t need to be the same. However, we found inconsistencies in the data between the two systems. In addition, inaccuracies and weakened internal controls could lead to mismanagement or misuse of assets. Under the current siloed structure and processes assets could be marked as “lost” when they were actually stolen or disposed of and there’s no consistent way to track the same asset across both systems. “This seems like an easy recommendation to make internal systems and departments work together,” Auditor O’Brien said. “I’m not sure why airport management would resist this reasonable change.” We also found backlogged preventive maintenance orders for assets — which means a greater risk of corrective repairs and higher costs for replacement or restoration. As of August 2020, the airport had a backlog of 290 work orders for preventive maintenance on facilities and at least 6,900 deferred work orders for maintenance dating back to 2018. Examples of backlogged work orders include preventive check-ups and inspections of electrical generators, passenger loading bridges, restrooms, and a variety of power units. Examples of deferred work orders include inspections of air conditioning units, cameras, and various electrical equipment. Maintenance division officials said a lack of staff and proper funding contribute to the backlog. They told our audit team they couldn’t compete with private sector salaries for maintenance workers and they have high vacancy rates in several positions. The audit team also found the airport inadequately monitors the third-party companies tasked with keeping the trains between terminals, the escalators, the elevators, and other people-movers working. Contracts for the maintenance of these items include…