The Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General took a look at the management of the infrastructure at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant, and found some problems.
Here’s an excerpt from the summary: Continue reading
Category Archives: Pantex
The new-jobs breakdown at Y-12, Pantex
As noted in an earlier post, Consolidated Nuclear Security has hired more than 650 new workers in Fiscal Year 2016 — more than halfway to the goal of 1,150 new hires at the two plants managed by CNS, Y-12 in Oak Ridge and Pantex in Amarillo, Texas.
CNS today gave the breakdown by plant. More than 350 of the new workers are at Y-12, and more than 300 at Pantex.
Y-12/Pantex contractor hires more than 650
Consolidated Nuclear Security, the government’s managing contractor at the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants, confirmed that it has hired more than 650 employees since the start of Fiscal Year 2016.
That’s more than halfway to the hiring target of 1,150 jobs for the two National Nuclear Security Administration sites. The breakdown of hirings by plant was not available. Continue reading
Still no decision on bringing tritium to CNS contract
The National Nuclear Security Administration today confirmed it has not yet made a decision on whether to exercise an option to incorporate the tritium activities at the Savannah River Site into the Y-12/Pantex management contract held by Consolidated Nuclear Security. The CNS contract is coming up on its two-year anniversary. The Bechtel-led team assumed responsibility for managing the two plants on July 1, 2014. Continue reading
Lawler-Wood to develop new complex at Pantex
Conceptual design of planned Administrative Support Complex at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant in Texas. Construction is expected to begin in August.
Lawler-Wood LLC of Knoxville will develop a new 342,000-square-foot administative complex at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant under a private-financing arrangement similar to what was used for two facilities — New Hope Center and Jack Case Center — at Y-12 in Oak Ridge.
Wayne Roquemore, president of Lawler-Wood, said the complex will be built on property that’s adjacent to Pantex and currently owned by Texas Tech University. The land will be purchased from the university, he said.
Once developed by Lawler-Wood, with financing via Panhandle Economic Development Corp., it will be leased by an ownership group to Consolidated Nuclear Security — the government’s managing contractor at Pantex and Y-12. CNS said it had received approval from the National Nuclear Security Administration to negotiate the lease. The initial lease term will reportedly be for five years, with multiple options for the future. Continue reading
CNS’ fixed fee
Of the total fee of about $42,6 million paid to Consolidated Nuclear Security for the first 15 months on the job at Y-12 and Pantex, about $31.2 million was fixed fee. That’s because the first year of the management contract was done under fixed fee, with only the award for the final three months of Fiscal Year 2015 (July-September) based on performance.
CNS took over management of the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants on July 1, 2014, so the first three months of the contract were part of FY 2014. It’s a little confusing, but here is a statement about the Performance Evaluation Report (PER) provided by Steven Wyatt, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Production Office: Continue reading
Y-12/Pantex contractor cites improvements that followed performance review
Consolidated Nuclear Security — the government’s managing contractor at the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants — today released a statement that said CNS had made a number of significant changes following the National Nuclear Security Administration’s review of its performance in Fiscal Year 2015. As noted earlier, the contractor received a performance score of 57 out of 100.
CNS emphasized that the evaluation period included “an unprecedented transition” of two NNSA sites, “as well as several unexpected challenges as we sought to implement the requirements of the new contract.”
Here’s the statement: Continue reading
CNS: the first three months
Consolidated Nuclear Security, the government’s managing contractor at the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants, assumed responsibility for the two plants on July 1, 2014, but it’s not clear whether the first three months are included in the contractor’s first performance evaluation. Continue reading
CNS ‘satisfactory’ on managing weapons mission
In the NNSA’s 2015 evaluation of Consolidated Nuclear Security, the managing contractor at the Y-12 and Pantex plants is rated on six “performance objectives” — 1. manage the nuclear weapons mission; 2. reduce global nuclear security threats mission; 3. DOE and Strategic Partnership Project mission objectives; 4. science, technology and engineering; 5. operations and infrastructure; and 6. leadership.
Overall, the contractor’s score was 57 out of 100, and CNS got some of its lowest scores on performance areas that carry the most weight on fees, such as a “satisfactory” rating on managing the nuclear weapons mission (35 percent of the at-risk fee).
The report’s summary noted that key factors affecting the contractor’s work on the weapons mission were quality issues, conduct of operations issues, timely coordination and receipt of weapons response from the design agencies, and a work stoppage at Pantex that was associated with negotiations on a new bargaining agreement. Continue reading
NNSA releases performance details for Y-12/Pantex contractor’s first report card
As noted last December, when the performance scores and fee totals became available for Consolidated Nuclear Security’s first report card, the Y-12/Pantex contractor received an overall score of 57 (out of 100) and earned about $42.6 million (out of a maximum pool of $51.2 million). In a message to employees at the two sites, then-President Jim Haynes expressed his disappointment.
Now, several months later, the National Nuclear Security Administration has finally released the performance evaluation for the government contractor — a partnership that’s headed by Bechtel and includes Lockheed Martin and other companies — and it provides a more detailed look at why CNS received a low score for the period ending Sept. 30, 2015.
Some of the language is pretty blunt, such as this excerpt from the NNSA’s assessment of operations and infrastructure (which accounts for 35 percent of the at-risk fee): Continue reading
Travis Howerton’s new role
Travis Howerton’s young career has been filled with accomplishments in a variety of roles, federal and contractor, and he’s got a new job with Consolidated Nuclear Security — the government’s managing contractor at the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants.
Howerton is a Bechtel affiliate with CNS, and his title is senior director for enterprise strategy. He said he will be leading the Business System Modernization Project to consolidate the ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems at the two sites and to merge business processes. Continue reading
Synchronizing work on B61 bombs
In a recent posting on its website, Consolidated Nuclear Security — the government’s managing contractor at the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants — cited work on the B61-12 life extension project (which consolidates multiple versions of the bomb and replaces aged parts) as an example of a collaborative work environment and gains made by combining the management of the two facilities in Tennessee and Texas. Continue reading
Y-12/Pantex give $1.1M to United Way
According to information released today by Consolidated Nuclear Security, Y-12 and Pantex contributed about $1.1 million to the United Way in the recently concluded campaigns. The contributions came from employees, retirees and corporate gifts, the contractor stated.