Oak Ridge Today

New NNSA administrator to keynote Tennessee Valley Summit

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Frank Klotz

Frank Klotz, the new administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, is pictured above.

CHATTANOOGA—Retired Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, the recently confirmed undersecretary for nuclear security for the U.S. Department of Energy and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, will be a keynote speaker at the Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit in June. Along with University of Tennessee President Joe DiPetro, Klotz will speak at the event’s Leadership Luncheon, which will conclude the June 4-5 event on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Klotz was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in April to lead the NNSA in its mission to improve national secruity through the military application of nuclear energy. NNSA maintains the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile and is responsible for many nuclear nonproliferation, counter-terrorism, and radiological emergency response efforts for the United States as well as providing fuel for the country’s nuclear Navy. The Y-12 National Secruity Complex in Oak Ridge is one of NNSA’s most important facilities.

“Gen. Klotz occupies one of the most important jobs in the federal government to assure a strong nuclear deterrence for our nation’s security and the safety of our nuclear stockpile,” said Gerald Boyd, TVC board chair and former DOE Oak Ridge site manager. “It’s a great honor for the TVC to host one of his first public addresses as the new DOE undersecretary and NNSA administrator.” [Read more…]

Local agencies prepare for Anderson County Emergency Preparedness Fair

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American Red Cross Logo

The Anderson County Emergency Preparedness Fair will be held Saturday, May 10, at the Clinton Community Center from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. This is an event for the entire family, and admission is free, a press release said.

Hosted by the City of Clinton, the Anderson County Emergency Preparedness Fair is presented by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, American Red Cross, The Clinton Baptist Association, and sponsored by Bechtel, ORAU, ORNL Federal Credit Union, and the Anderson County Mayor’s Office.  The objective is to bring together government and civic organizations, emergency management personnel, and volunteers to give families, businesses, and communities the opportunity to better prepare for all types of disasters and emergencies, the press release said. The fair will help attendees develop their family disaster plan, receive preparedness tips, and learn more about preparedness in the community. [Read more…]

Y-12, Pantex workforce reductions could total about 170 jobs

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Y-12 National Security Complex Scarboro Road Entrance

The Scarboro Road entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above.

Workforce reductions at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, are expected to total about 170 jobs, officials said this week.

That’s about 2 percent of the roughly 7,900 workers at the two nuclear weapons plants.

The workforce reductions are expected to come through a voluntary separation program, or VSP.

The majority of the reductions, or 140 positions, would be at Y-12. The other 30 would be at Pantex.

The VSPs are being considered as a new federal contractor, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, prepares to take over at Y-12 and Pantex on July 1. CNS, which was first announced as the new consolidated contractor in January 2013, has promised to save the federal government more than $3 billion during the next decade. [Read more…]

Staff size at Y-12, Pantex could be reduced through voluntary separations

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above.

The staff size at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, could be reduced as a new federal contractor takes over. Officials expect the staff reductions to be less than 5 percent, and they say that most, if not all, of the staff reductions could come through voluntary separation programs.

The voluntary separation programs, or VSPs, were announced on April 15 by B&W Y-12 President and General Manager Dave Richardson and B&W Pantex President and General Manager John Woolery.

In his message to Y-12 workers, Richardson said the National Nuclear Security Administration had directed the plants to conduct the VSPs as part of the implementation of the staffing plan for Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the new contractor at the two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas.

The Y-12 VSP will be targeted to specific job classifications and roles identified by CNS, Richardson said. Only employees in those specific classifications and roles will be eligible to apply for the VSP.

“Currently, B&W Y-12 is in the process of putting together a VSP plan that is in alignment with CNS’ staffing desires,” Richardson said last week. “We will submit our VSP plan later this week. Once this plan is approved by NNSA, we’ll communicate more details to you; specifically, each person eligible to participate in the VSP will be notified.” [Read more…]

CNS announces org chart, senior leaders for Y-12, Pantex

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above.

The new federal contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, has started announcing members of its senior leadership team.

Jim Haynes, chief executive officer for Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, announced the leaders in a message posted on the company’s transition website on Saturday.

The executives are:

  • Jim Allen—chief operating officer
  • Darrell Graddy—senior vice president for mission support
  • Ken Freeman—senior vice president for safeguards, security, and emergency services
  • Rick Glass—senior vice president for mission assurance

“We will roll out our senior leadership team in phases, and over the next few weeks we will help you get to know the CNS leadership team through a series of articles, employee information meetings in Amarillo and Oak Ridge, and other opportunities for face-to-face interaction,” Haynes said. [Read more…]

Guest column: Y-12, Pantex transition update

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Jim Haynes

Jim Haynes

Note: This is a copy of a March 20 transition update for employees at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas. It’s posted on the Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC transition website.

By Jim Haynes

It has been a very busy two weeks for the Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) transition team. We are proceeding full speed ahead. Among other activities last week, we had a very informative series of 36 briefings over three days with the incumbent Pantex and Y-12 management teams designed to help us better understand the current site organizations. Also, dozens of other meetings have been held at Pantex and Y-12.

I spent time at both sites last week, including a visit with Pantex Plant management at their Integrated Plan of the Day meeting. As I visit the sites, I more fully appreciate your professionalism and support—you truly are making a difference for our nation. I look forward to interacting with more of you over the coming weeks.

Over the last two weeks, I have also met with a significant number of community stakeholders in Amarillo and Oak Ridge, and will continue to do so as we introduce additional members of our leadership team and announce our plans. Our host communities are proud of your service, and proud to host the national assets that are Pantex and Y-12. We will continue to make them proud.

During my visits, I have been asked about our name, Consolidated Nuclear Security. I am happy to answer that question because we were very thoughtful in developing a name for our enterprise that accurately describes who we are and what we will do. [Read more…]

Employment offers made at Y-12, Pantex from April 15-June 2

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Jim Haynes

Jim Haynes

The new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, will make employment offers between April 15 and June 2, the company said Tuesday.

Information about the employment offers, which must be made no later than June 2, was included in a Tuesday message to employees from Jim Haynes, president and chief executive officer of the new Y-12 and Pantex contractor, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC.

“The CNS management team and I recognize that you are waiting for information that will affect your jobs and your lives—and that waiting can cause anxiety about staffing plans, organizational structure, members of the senior leadership team, benefits, retirement planning, work schedules, and more,” Haynes said.

Here are other key dates: [Read more…]

New Y-12, Pantex contractor website includes employment information

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Jim Haynes

Jim Haynes

The transition website for the new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Pantex Plant was posted online on Thursday afternoon. The new website for Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC is available at http://www.cnstransition.com.

CNS is the new managing and operating contractor at Y-12 in Oak Ridge and Pantex in Amarillo, Texas. The contract award, worth up to about $23 billion over 10 years, was first announced in January 2013 but delayed by a series of protests. The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied the third and final protest on Thursday, Feb. 27. On Monday, officials at the National Nuclear Security Administration said the transition to the new contractor had started and was expected to last four months.

On Thursday, CNS spokesman Jason Bohne said the company would be adding much more information to the transition website during the next few weeks and months, including more details on the senior management team, proposed organization, messages to employees, and more.

The transition website includes a message from CNS President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Haynes, who has been senior vice president and deputy general manager for the current Y-12 contractor, B&W Y-12. Other members of the CNS leadership team include Michael Jones, transformation; Darrell Graddy, mission support; and Carl Strock, project director for the Uranium Processing Facility. [Read more…]

Consolidated Nuclear Security resuming contract transition at Pantex, Y-12

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC has been authorized by the National Nuclear Security Administration to resume its transition to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, the company announced Thursday.

The announcement comes one week after the U.S. Government Accountability Office denied the third and possibly final protest by one of the two teams that unsuccessfully bid on the $22 billion contract to manage the two nuclear weapons plants. The protests had been filed by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, a team led by The Babcock and Wilcox Co., which is currently the lead contractor at Y-12 and Pantex.

The decision to award the consolidated contract to CNS, first announced in January 2013, has now been upheld by the NNSA and GAO, the company said. The five-year contract with the NNSA includes options that could allow the contract to be extended for up to five more years, based upon performance.

“The CNS team submitted a very strong and credible solution for managing and operating the Pantex and Y-12 sites, and we are eager to begin implementing our proposal together with the dedicated employees of Pantex and Y-12,” said Jim Haynes, CNS chief executive officer. “We look forward to partnering with the communities of Amarillo and Oak Ridge.” [Read more…]

B&W Y-12 names Carl Strock as UPF project director

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Carl Strock

Carl Strock

Retired Lt. Gen Carl Strock has been named Uranium Processing Facility project director for B&W Y-12 at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

He reports to Jim Haynes, B&W Y-12 deputy general manager for projects.

Strock is Bechtel’s former manager of global construction. He joined Bechtel in 2007 after retiring as head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after serving in the U.S. Army for more than 36 years. [Read more…]

Y-12 Construction team honored for safety milestones

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B&W Y-12 Construction Awards

Tom Morris, B&W Y-12 vice president of projects, presents construction safety awards to Monica Lewis, Y-12 craft safety lead representative, and Kevin Adkisson, Knoxville Building and Construction Trades Council president.
(Submitted photos)

A B&W Y-12 construction team was recently honored for two major safety achievements: working more than one million hours without a lost-time accident and having no recordable injuries in 2012, a press release said.

The B&W Y‑12 Direct-Hire Construction team achieved the one-million-hour milestone in June 2012. By January 2013, the team had reached 1.4 million hours (more than 800 days) without a lost-time accident, the press release said. The team’s last lost workday occurred in September 2010.

Jim Haynes, B&W Y-12 senior vice president and deputy general manager for projects, called it “a superb accomplishment.

[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…]