scope:

Description of Driving Event:

Fixed-price contracts (FPCs) have been and remain the preferred method of procuring outside contractor support for NASA at KSC. A very large FPC contract was awarded to perform corrosion control on launch pad 39A. While performing the corrosion control efforts on the pad structure, it was discovered that much of the corrosion damage requiring repair was hidden and could not be identified until work was underway. This resulted in many change orders. Issuing change orders resulted in significant cost growth and schedule slip.