NNSA Production Office officials in November voiced concerns about an “operational excellence plan” by Y-12/Pantex contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security to respond to a series of incidents over the last few years, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said in a recently released report. The CNS plan was developed after NPO Manager Steve Erhart ordered CNS to dig deeper into abnormal operational events at the Y-12 National Security Complex, many of which occurred before CNS took over management of Y-12 and Pantex in July. According to the Nov. 28 DNFSB memo, NPO senior managers “expressed concern that the plan had not resulted in more immediate improvements in CNS operational performance. They cited the number and significance of recent events, and an observation that CNS line management had not responded to certain events with the appropriate urgency or self-critical tone.”
According to the DNFSB, CNS’ “very high level” plan included five phases: “develop a detailed understanding of work environments and previous issues, establish a vision of excellence, communicate and train at all levels, improve processes and develop metrics to drive performance excellence, and implement continuous learning and improvement.” A systems review of recent incidents had begun, the DNFSB said, as had the development of an employee communications strategy, leadership development training, and the development of line organization standards.
Y-12’s Feedback and Improvement Working Group suggested that recent changes at the site could have contributed to an uptick in recent incidents, the DNFSB said. “The FIWG noted that the magnitude of change instituted in the last six months coupled with a significant number of experienced plant workers and supervisors retiring may have introduced unintended consequences impacting floor level performance,” the DNFSB said. “The FIWG also noted that the independent nuclear safety oversight function of the CNS organization is not fully functional, which may also be impacting desired improvements in operational performance.”
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