Oak Ridge Today

With $3 billion in savings expected, not clear how much saved at Y-12, Pantex so far

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Y-12 National Security Complex

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above. (File photo/B&W Y-12)

 

More than $3 billion in savings are expected during a decade, but it’s not clear yet how much money has been saved after three years under a consolidated contract at two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas.

The savings of $3.27 billion are expected under a contract that could last 10 years at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.

On Monday, officials said Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the contractor at the two sites, has generated significant savings in three fiscal years, although it’s not clear exactly how much they’ve saved. CNS has managed and operated Y-12 and Pantex Plant since July 1, 2014.

Federal officials announced the expected savings of $3.27 billion during a decade when the five-year contract was announced in January 2013. Officials said the consolidated contract, the result of years of work, could save money in part by eliminating redundancies in such areas as human resources, purchasing, finance, and information technology. [Read more…]

Congressmen praise consolidated contract at Y-12, Pantex

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U.S. Representative Mac Thornberry, left, a Texas Republican, and Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, are pictured above after an East Tennessee Economic Council meeting on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

U.S. Representative Mac Thornberry, left, a Texas Republican, and Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, are pictured above after an East Tennessee Economic Council meeting on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Two congressmen, one from East Tennessee and other the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, praised the consolidated contract that has been used to manage and operate the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge for more than three years.

The two sites are managed by Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC. Y-12 and Pantex are involved in nuclear weapons work and nuclear nonproliferation, and providing enriched uranium for naval, research, and isotope production reactors.

The transition to the consolidated contract, one of the most complex in the history of the U.S. Department of Energy, was completed on July 1, 2014. At that time, officials said the contract included a total annual operating budget of $1.5 billion and employment of about 8,000 in Tennessee and Texas. [Read more…]

CNS names four to Fellows Program, recognizing technical expertise

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Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC has chosen four employees for its Fellows Program, one from the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, and three from the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. They are Vincent Lamberti, top left; Alan Moore, top right; and Glenn Pfennigwerth, bottom left, all of Y-12, and Lorelei Woods of Pantex. (Submitted photos)

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC has chosen four employees for its Fellows Program, one from the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, and three from the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. They are Vincent Lamberti, top left; Alan Moore, top right; and Glenn Pfennigwerth, bottom left, all of Y-12, and Lorelei Woods of Pantex. (Submitted photos)

 

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC has chosen four employees for its Fellows Program, one from the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, and three from the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

The program recognizes technical staff members at Pantex and Y-12 who achieved status as a national or international expert in their field, a press release said. Each fellow serves a renewable two-year term acting as the technical expert in their competency area and mentor to other staff.

Those chosen are Pantex Component Analysis/Surveillance Fellow Lorelei Woods, Uranium Fellow Glenn Pfennigwerth, Metallurgy Fellow Alan Moore, and Y-12 Component Analysis/Surveillance Fellow Vincent Lamberti. [Read more…]

Safety Fest TN opens with Community Safety Forum on Tuesday

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Submitted photo

Submitted photo

 

On September 12, Safety Fest TN will hold a Community Safety Forum, an annual event that officially kicks off Safety Fest TN and its Safety Expo.

Safety Fest TN offers free safety classes to residents and companies September 11-15.

This year’s Community Safety Forum will be held in the Wamp Auditorium at 9 a.m. Tuesday, September 12, at the New Hope Center at Y-12 National Security Complex. More than 900 people have registered for the event.

Headlining the Community Safety Forum are Burns Phillips, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce; Steve Hawkins, administrator of the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration; David Purkey, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security; and Patrick Sheehan, the director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

“We wanted to offer our audience a statewide perspective on workplace safety and emergency preparedness, and who best to deliver that message than the commissioners and their administrators?” said Tom Wantland, a Safety Fest TN organizer. [Read more…]

Consolidated Nuclear Security gives, receives recognitions at inaugural award ceremony

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Jorge and Deana Sanabria, owners of Expoquip Inc., accept the CNS Small Business of the Year award from Y-12 Socioeconomic Program Manager Lisa Copeland, left. (Photo courtesy CNS)

Jorge and Deana Sanabria, owners of Expoquip Inc., accept the CNS Small Business of the Year award from Y-12 Socioeconomic Program Manager Lisa Copeland, left. (Photo courtesy CNS)

 

As part of the first combined ceremony honoring outstanding small business and local business leaders, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC honored its Small Business of the Year, and CNS President and Chief Executive Officer Morgan Smith was recognized with the Kerry Trammell Volunteer of the Year award.

This is the first year CNS, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce have combined their award ceremonies, a press release said.

Expoquip Inc. was recognized as the CNS Small Business of the Year. The company, owned by Jorge and Deana Sanabria, specializes in worldwide distribution of high-quality, heavy machinery parts, and components, the press release said.

“Expoquip has the characteristics I look for in a vendor: passion, commitment, drive,” said Lisa Copeland, Y-12 socioeconomic program manager. “From the time I met them at a local supplier event in 2013, I knew they would achieve their dream of expanding their business by moving into government subcontracting. You just don’t encounter many business owners with the enthusiasm and determination that the Sanabrias show.” [Read more…]

Y-12 honors its inventors with Technology Transfer awards

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The Y-12 National Security Complex recently recognized 33 inventors at its annual Tech Transfer award ceremony. The group was awarded 10 patents in the past year. (Photo by CNS)

The Y-12 National Security Complex recently recognized 33 inventors at its annual Tech Transfer award ceremony. The group was awarded 10 patents in the past year. (Photo by CNS)

 

Inventors at the Y-12 National Security Complex were awarded honors for their innovative technology accomplishments during the recent 13th annual Technology Transfer Awards Ceremony. The site has a long history of producing technologies that are transferred to the private sector, Y-12 said in a story posted on its website in June.

Ten patents were awarded in fiscal year 2016 in areas ranging from an apparatus for characterizing aerosols to several unique material processes, Y-12 said.

Thirty-three inventors also were recognized for bringing forward new ideas in the form of invention disclosures that could one day lead to future patents.

“These employees were acknowledged for both their creativity and innovative ideas in support of the technology development and transfer mission,” the story said. “The new inventions developed by the honorees will be used to further Y-12’s mission work and will be made available through license to benefit the public through Y-12’s Technology Transfer program.” [Read more…]

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC honored for small business achievement

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From left to right, Ryan Johnston and Lisa Copeland, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC Small Business program managers, and Cindy Morgan, senior supply chain manager, receive an award for Facility Management Contractor Small Business Achievement of the Year from Christy Jackiewicz, Acting Director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. (Photo by CNS)

From left to right, Ryan Johnston and Lisa Copeland, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC Small Business program managers, and Cindy Morgan, senior supply chain manager, receive an award for Facility Management Contractor Small Business Achievement of the Year from Christy Jackiewicz, acting director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. (Photo by CNS)

 

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC was recently honored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. The company received an award for Facility Management Contractor Small Business Achievement of the Year at the 16th Annual Small Business Forum and Expo.

The Facility Management Contractor Small Business Achievement of the Year award recognizes the tangible, annual, organizational results of a DOE facilities management contractor, Y-12 said in a story posted on its website in June.

“These results are measured in terms of dollars and percentage increases in small business procurement activity, as well as policies, programs, and procedures that promote small business use,” Y-12 said. [Read more…]

CNS grant gives Roane State students opportunity to complete valuable training

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Anderson County High student Doug Stooksbury works on equipment at Roane State’s Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility in Clinton. His tuition for his final semester of dual enrollment mechatronics instruction was funded through a grant provided by employees of Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the contractor that operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. (Photo by Roane State)

Anderson County High School student Doug Stooksbury works on equipment at Roane State’s Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility in Clinton. His tuition for his final semester of dual enrollment mechatronics instruction was funded through a grant provided by employees of Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the contractor that operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. (Photo by Roane State)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

CLINTON—High school students in the dual enrollment mechatronics program at Roane State Community College received a final-semester financial boost, thanks to a grant from employees of Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC.

Those employees of CNS—the contractor that operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge—last year awarded a $10,000 grant to underwrite the Spring 2017 tuition for mechatronics students in Oak Ridge, Clinton, and Anderson County high schools. The grant was awarded through the CNS Community Investment Fund.

The Community Investment Fund provides thousands of dollars to local nonprofits. Y-12 employees work with the East Tennessee Foundation to award the grants through a competitive grant process.

In the mechatronics program, high school students take courses in maintaining and improving automated machines and robots used by many of today’s manufacturers, said Gordon Williams, director of Roane State’s mechatronics program. [Read more…]

Cast your vote in ‘Dream It. Do It.’ middle school competition

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CLINTON—The videos are in, and it is now time to vote in Anderson County’s “Dream It. Do It.” middle school competition. The program is in its second year and has grown from four to six schools, including two from the Oak Ridge school system.

“Dream It. Do It.” is sponsored by the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce, Anderson County Schools, Oak Ridge Schools, and Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, the managing contractor at Y-12 National Security Complex. It is designed to bring student awareness of job opportunities in advanced manufacturing, a press release said.

Using GoPro cameras provided by CNS, six teams of eighth-graders were paired with area industries to create videos to tell the companies’ stories. These videos are then posted online for public voting. Each winning team member receives a GoPro camera, also provided by CNS.

This year’s participant teams included: Clinton Middle School and Aisin, Jefferson Middle School and Protomet, Lake City Middle School and Techmer PM, Norris Middle School and Eagle Bend, Norwood Middle School and Clayton Homes, and Robertsville Middle School and SL America. [Read more…]

Roane State staff encourages girls to pursue engineering

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Roane State mechatronics director Gordon Williams shows students how to operate a robotic arm during the “Introduce a Girl to Engineering” event at Y-12’s New Hope Center. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

Roane State mechatronics director Gordon Williams shows students how to operate a robotic arm during the “Introduce a Girl to Engineering” event at Y-12’s New Hope Center. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

 

Two Roane State staff members helped introduce more than 200 high school girls to the world of engineering during an event at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

Showing the students how to operate a robotic arm was Gordon Williams, director of the college’s mechatronics program. Kim Harris, director of Workforce Training and Placement at Roane State, assisted in the presentation.

The demonstration was part of “Introduce a Girl to Engineering,” a program held February 23 at Y-12’s New Hope Center.

Students from 15 area schools participated in the event conducted in concert with “Girl Day,” an initiative founded by DiscoverE, formerly the National Engineers Week Foundation. [Read more…]

CNS introduces hundreds of girls to engineering

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Chloe Roach from Anderson County Career and Technical Center pedals a bike to generate electricity. (Photo by Y-12)

Chloe Roach from Anderson County Career and Technical Center pedals a bike to generate electricity. (Photo by Y-12)

 

Y-12 National Security Complex shows how STEM skills lead to careers

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC recently hosted more than 200 female high school students from 15 area schools as part of Introduce a Girl to Engineering. The goal of the event was to inspire girls to consider careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, a press release said.

This program was conducted in concert with Girl Day, an initiative founded by DiscoverE and expands CNS’ existing relationships with area schools.

Kristin Waldschlager of CNS Educational Outreach said educating the younger generation about STEM-related opportunities is “critical” for Y-12.

“At Y-12, we have a sense of responsibility to make sure we support the development and growth of future scientists and engineers who could be working here,” Waldschlager said in the press release. [Read more…]

CNS announces employee-directed community grants

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A grant from the CNS Y-12 Community Investment Fund has been awarded to Oak Ridge Schools to provide additional opportunities for at-risk students to engage in reading instruction. (Photo by Y-12)

A grant from the CNS Y-12 Community Investment Fund has been awarded to Oak Ridge Schools to provide additional opportunities for at-risk students to engage in reading instruction. (Photo by Y-12)

 

$125,000 invested in local nonprofits across East Tennessee

Twenty-nine nonprofits from across East Tennessee have received a total of $125,000 in grants from the Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, Y-12 Community Investment Fund. The recipients were announced this month at a reception at the New Hope Center at Y-12 National Security Complex.

The CNS Y-12 Community Investment Fund is managed by the East Tennessee Foundation, and it was created in 2014 by CNS. CNS manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, where a similar fund is managed by the Amarillo Area Foundation, a press release said.

At Y-12, a committee made up of CNS employees reviewed dozens of grant proposals, conducted staff interviews, and made site visits before recommending funding based on the committee’s four focus areas:  education, senior citizens, veterans, and youth. [Read more…]