Oak Ridge Today

Parts of Y-12, Pantex contract protests upheld; GAO says procurement should be re-opened

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Y-12 National Security Complex

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has upheld parts of two protests filed over the January award of a five-year contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex, pictured above, and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. (Submitted photo)

A federal agency has upheld parts of two protests challenging a five-year contract to manage two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office also recommended re-opening the contract procurement, raising questions about the status of the $22.8 billion contract awarded to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, in January. CNS was one of three bidding teams who competed for the contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

At the heart of the GAO decision, announced Monday, were questions about proposed savings. In particular, the agency seemed to question whether the National Nuclear Security Administration, which awarded the consolidated contract to CNS on Jan. 8, had properly evaluated the expected savings.

“NNSA failed to follow the publicly stated solicitation criteria, which provided that the agency would evaluate the feasibility and size of each offeror’s proposed cost savings resulting from the consolidation of the management and operation of these sites,” Ralph O. White, GAO managing associate general counsel for procurement law, said in a statement released Monday afternoon. [Read more…]

B&W Y-12 ‘pleased’ with union contract extension

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B&W Y-12 released a short statement Saturday saying it was pleased with the contract extension approved by hourly union workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Friday.

The 14-month contract extension includes a 2.5 percent wage increase, and it was ratified by members of the Atomic Trades and Labor Council during voting at a union hall on Friday afternoon and evening. The ATLC represents 14 international unions.

“We look forward to continuing our productive relationship ensuring the missions of the National Nuclear Security Administration at Y-12,” B&W Y-12 said in the statement. [Read more…]

GAO could rule on two Y-12, Pantex bid protests in single decision April 29

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The U.S. Government Accountability Office will likely use one decision to rule on both protests of the consolidated contract to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, an official said Thursday.

The five-year contract was awarded to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, on Jan. 8. But two bidding teams filed protests. [Read more…]

Y-12 union workers vote Friday on contract extension, 2.5 percent raise

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Y-12 National Security Complex

About 1,200 hourly union workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex, pictured above, will vote Friday on a 14-month contract extension and a 2.5 percent wage increase. (Submitted photo)

Hourly union workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex will vote Friday on whether to accept a 14-month contract extension and a 2.5 percent wage increase, an official said.

There would be no changes to worker benefits, said Steve Jones, president of the Atomic Trades and Labor Council.

If approved, the 14-month contract extension would become effective April 22 and last through June 20, 2014. It would apply to roughly 1,200 union members at Y-12. It would not affect ATLC members at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [Read more…]

Second protest challenges Y-12, Pantex contract award

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Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

A second protest has been filed challenging the federal decision to award a five-year contract to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

The second protest was filed Jan. 25 by Integrated Nuclear Production Solutions LLC.

The first was filed Jan. 17 by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, a team led by Babcock and Wilcox.

[Read more…]

B&W protests Y-12, Pantex contract award

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Y-12 National Security Complex

The Babcock and Wilcox Company, part of B&W Y-12, is protesting a federal decision to award a consolidated contract to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

An unsuccessful bidding team led by The Babcock and Wilcox Company is protesting the recent federal decision to award a contract to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

The National Nuclear Security Administration announced on Jan. 8 that the consolidated contract had been awarded to Consolidated Nuclear Security, or CNS. That team includes Bechtel National Inc. and Lockheed Martin Services Inc.

The B&W-led team is called Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2.

[Read more…]

Debriefings today on Y-12/Pantex consolidated contract

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Debriefings scheduled for today were offered to the teams that bid unsuccessfully on a consolidated contract to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

The unsuccessful bidders have up to 10 days to protest the decision to award the five-year contract to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, a team that includes Bechtel National Inc. and Lockheed Martin Services Inc. The contract award was announced Tuesday, Jan. 8.

[Read more…]

Security breach costs B&W Y-12 $12.2 million

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Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

B&W Y-12, the company that manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex, lost $12.2 million in award fees because of the July 28 security breach, a federal report said.

B&W earned $35.9 million, about 59 percent of its available fee of $60.9 million, the National Nuclear Security Administration said in a fiscal year 2012 performance evaluation of Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Y-12 LLC.

The company lost 100 percent of its potential security-related fee, and there was also a $10 million “negative overall management fee adjustment,” the NNSA said.

[Read more…]

D’Agostino, companies celebrate contract award, key step in NNSA transition

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Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

Less than two weeks before his retirement, a federal official celebrated the consolidated contract award announced Tuesday, calling it a key element in a long list of decisions and actions designed to reduce redundancies in national nuclear security work and make operations more efficient.

It reflects a change in how the National Nuclear Security Administration does business, NNSA Administrator Thomas D’Agostino said during a Tuesday teleconference. The transition began several years ago.

“We embarked on a journey from an old Cold War nuclear enterprise to a 21st Century nuclear enterprise,” D’Agostino said. “I’m immensely proud of the team.”

The NNSA announced Tuesday that, after months of anticipation and three to four years’ worth of work, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, had won a five-year contract to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. The company will also manage construction of the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 and, after the first year, could manage tritium operations at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C.

[Read more…]

Y-12, Pantex contractor expected to save $3.27 billion, details later

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Note: This is a repost of an earlier post removed through a technical error.

The new company selected to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, has promised to help the federal government save $3.27 billion during the next decade.

But many of the details will have to be announced later, possibly after the NNSA and the new contractor, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, have had more discussions.

[Read more…]

Security breach given ‘due consideration’ in Y-12, Pantex award

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The July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex was given “due consideration” in the competition to award a consolidated contract to a company to manage Y-12 in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, federal officials said Tuesday.

Federal officials said they evaluated past performance—both positive and negative. Although past performance was a key part of the selection analysis, it was not the determining factor, federal officials said during a Tuesday teleconference. Instead, it was one of a number of factors.

The Y-12 intrusion was given the same consideration as other incidents, federal officials said. During the intrusion, three anti-nuclear weapons activists sneaked into a high-security area at Y-12. They allegedly cut through fences and splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

[Read more…]

NNSA: New Y-12, Pantex contractor expects to offer jobs to most employees

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Note: This story was updated at 9:41 a.m. Jan. 9.

The company that won the contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, expects to offer jobs to more than 95 percent of the current employees, federal officials said Tuesday.

The number could be affected by voluntary retirements and other departures, National Nuclear Security Administration officials said during a Tuesday afternoon teleconference.

The company that won the five-year contract, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, is a team that includes Bechtel National Inc. and Lockheed Martin Services Inc. It also includes ATK Launch Systems Inc. and SOC LLC.

[Read more…]