Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
9/26/2014
After numerous issues led to a three-year delay and increased costs at Hanford’s Plutonium Finishing Plant, the Department of Energy is taking steps to increase oversight of CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company’s contract. D&D work at the former plutonium processing facility was originally expected to be complete by September 2013 for a total of $581 million, but now is not slated for completion until September 2016 for a total of $932 million, according to a DOE Inspector General’s Office report released this week. “The Department encountered problems with CHPRC’s ability to plan, manage and execute work; factors which contributed to both cost and schedule increases,” the report states. It also notes: “While we recognize that CHPRC acted to address a number of productivity problems, we identified areas of needed improvement in Richland’s administration of the CHPRC contract.”
The IG cited several problems with the work performed by CHPRC, including productivity issues, insufficient labor resources and a malfunctioning crane. For example, during a 2012 audit, instead of being engaged in productive activity, workers were observed reading books, playing chess and using cell phones. Also in 2012, there were at least 40 instances in which work shifts for glovebox removal were not worked due to issues with work packages, according to the report. The IG also found that a 65-year old crane needed to remove 196 tanks in the building was out of service about half the time since February 2010 due to malfunctions.
Productivity issues have been confirmed in DOE and CHPRC value engineering studies, which showed that 80 percent of planned work was not performed when scheduled in 2012. “This does not imply that the workforce was idle, but rather, there were delayed starts, rescheduled work, and other events that impacted the Field Execution Schedule. Management acknowledged that this was a major concern,” the report states.
Problems Due in Part to Staffing Changes, Crane Issues
The problems were in part due to rapid staffing changes at the project at the end of the Recovery Act as well as workforce restructuring, which also led to the authorization of fewer work packages, officials told the IG. Additionally, the crane represented a “single point failure,” and replacement proved unfeasible, according to the report. However, upgrades to crane components were completed in late 2013, which has since improved reliability. In the case of deficient work packages, employees were encouraged to stop work if there was uncertainty. When work must be stopped the workers should still be engaged, and CHPRC eventually instructed managers to develop alternate work if regular shifts could not proceed.
IG Calls for Improved DOE Oversight
According to the IG’s report, the DOE Richland Operations Office should improve in several areas in administration of the CHPRC contract to ensure that productivity issues are addressed. For example, DOE did not enforce contracting requirements that CHPRC must identify and address risks, which include staffing issues, the report says. While DOE officials said that the contractor did not fully meet the requirement, it did not formally notify CHPRC of this. DOE also did not formally track, trend and resolve the issues, the IG found. Additionally, the DOE Richland Operations Office “did not consistently require the contractor to develop a formal corrective action plan after discovering productivity issues,” the report says. DOE also did not perform all necessary audits and assessments as required.
DOE Richland: ‘There Is Room for Improvement’
The IG provided several recommendations for the DOE Richland office, including ensuring that all contract requirements are enforced, performance problems are “adequately tracked and trended,” CHPRC develops corrective actions and formal quality assurance audits are performed. The DOE Richland office largely agreed with the recommendations in a management response to the IG report. “We acknowledge there is room for improvement in exercising our contract administration authority to the level and degree necessary to assure adequacy of work performance,” the DOE response states. “We have recently instituted formal monthly project reviews at the senior RL and contractor management levels.” A formal assessment of CHPRC’s corrective action management system against requirements is expected to be completed by January.
‘Formal Letter’ Being Developed for CHPRC
While CHPRC is implementing corrective actions for productivity issues, DOE is planning additional steps. “Considering past performance and the fact the Plutonium Finishing Plant project is planned to be completed in the next three years, RL feels that in addition to the actions described in the above management responses, a formal letter to our contractor is justified addressing this topic,” the management response states. “Therefore, RL will formally communicate the need for a more rigorous and formal project productivity issue management process, including the use of corrective action plans or recovery plans to address productivity problems.” CHPRC referred requests for comment on the IG report to the management response.
CHPRC ‘Committed’ To Tri-Party Agreement Milestone
CHPRC “remains committed” to meeting the Tri-Party Agreement milestone for demo of the building slab on grade by 2016, CHPRC spokesman Destry Henderson said in a written response. “Significant progress toward completion of the project has been made. To date, 212 of 238 glove boxes have been completely prepared for the facility’s demolition and 142 of 196 pencil-shaped tanks have been removed from the facility in preparation for demolition. Sixty-two of the plant’s 81 buildings have been cleaned out and demolished or removed. We’re preparing a demolition zone around the main plant buildings, so we’ll have room to move in heavy equipment and stage waste as the main plant is torn down,” Henderson said. “Safety and compliance remain our focus, and our workers are doing a great job.”