Consolidated Nuclear Security in a two-month, July-completed internal review found “organizational drift” at Y-12, related, in part, to the July 2014 transition of the Y-12/Pantex management and operations contract from B&W, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board report released on Friday. Oak Ridge site representatives William Linzau and Rory Rauch in their Aug. 21 letter wrote that the “drift” stemmed from “the fast pace and magnitude of change, unclear roles and responsibilities, and an uneven flow of information throughout the organization” which contributed to unidentified conduct of operations issues at the plant. Since conclusion of the review, the site reps have implemented some recommendations the CNS Y-12 site manager issued upon completion of the review. A meeting between the site reps and CNS management produced seven recommendations, including assigning a senior operations manager to assist Building 9212 managers, accelerating the use of performance management teams to stimulate work crew self-evaluations and performance improvements, and scheduling daily supervisory watches and assigning personnel from the NNSA Oak Ridge Production Office’s Action Office to provide “enhanced oversight” in 9212’s Material Access Area. According to the letter, in late August, the site reps observed an Action Office representative conducting enhanced oversight in Building 9212.
“The team concluded that this organizational drift was removing the focus from work and reducing the workforce’s sense of formality and ownership,” the report states. “The team found that an adequate number of layers of protection, or barriers, existed for most of these events, but the events ultimately occurred due to human performance errors that bypassed these barriers.” CNS did not respond on Friday to a Weapons Complex Morning Briefing request for comment.
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