The BART Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has released a new audit examining how construction contract change orders are managed across the District and where BART can strengthen oversight, data systems, and planning to better control costs.

Change orders are a normal part of large construction projects, but they can also signal planning or oversight challenges. Our audit found that while BART’s practices generally align with policy and reflect a strong commitment to improvement, better systems and clearer oversight are needed to manage risks and improve data accuracy.

Key findings include:

• Overlapping roles limit independent review.
• Outdated systems and inconsistent data hinder analysis.
• Fragmented documentation makes trend tracking difficult.
• Some planning gaps lead to avoidable cost increases.

We issued four recommendations to strengthen independent oversight, improve data governance, enhance compliance documentation, and reinforce design and planning controls. BART agreed with all recommendations and is taking action to implement them.

We encourage you to review the summary video and full report for detailed insights:

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Thank you for your continued interest in our work. For access to all BART Office of the Inspector General reports, please visit our website at www.bart.gov/oig.

Sincerely,

Claudette Biemeret
Inspector General
Email: InspectorGeneral@bart.gov
Phone: 510-464-6141