The managing contractor for the Nevada National Security Site, Mission Support and Test Services (MSTS), envisions significant subcontracting opportunities for construction and consulting services in the near future, a senior manager said recently.
The venture comprised of Honeywell International, Jacobs, and Stoller Newport News Nuclear (SN3) took over management of the site for the Department of Energy’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Dec. 1, 2017. If all options are exercised, the MSTS contract will be worth about $5 billion over 10 years.
Altogether MSTS has about 2,400 workers at the sprawling national security site, which at 1,368 square miles is larger than the state of Rhode Island, Raymond Alexander, MSTS senior director for mission support, said Oct. 3 at the Energy, Technology, and Environmental Business Association conference in Knoxville, Tenn.
Alexander said he is responsible for about half of the workforce: “I’m responsible for making sure the site is operational 24/7.”
This covers operation of electric power and water services, along with all construction, engineering, and warehouses, Alexander said. “We’ve received some significant budget plus-ups” for fiscal 2019, and much of the work will be done by subcontractors,” he said during a panel discussion on business opportunities at DOE sites.
The former Nevada Test Site, 65 miles north of Las Vegas, was used for more than 1,000 above- and below-ground nuclear test detonations from the 1950s to early 1990s. Today its leading mission is supporting the NNSA stockpile stewardship program, which involves a host of scientific and engineering projects to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
At Nevada, that includes operations at the Big Explosives Experimental Facility and Device Assembly Facility, among others. The contractor also has a presence at DOE facilities in other states, including the Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories in New Mexico.
Mission Support and Test Services spent only 3 percent of its budget on construction in fiscal 2018, dwarfed by spending on supplies (47 percent), labor services and technical support (24 percent), services (20 percent), and leases (6 percent). However, that is about to change, Alexander said. Roughly $120 million is earmarked for construction in the fiscal year that started Oct. 1. In addition, MSTS expects to build one or two new buildings annually over the next few years.
Much of the work in fiscal 2019 and 2020 will involve the underground U1a complex at NNSS, which conducts subcritical and physics experiments to glean technical data about the U.S. arsenal, according to Alexander’s presentation. Mission Support and Test Services is building a new underground lab, and projects in coming years include a new air supply borehole, design and construction of a technical support facility, and utility and site preparation.
Subcontractor opportunities will be posted through the federal procurement website FedBizOpps.gov, Alexander said. He advised potential subcontractors to register as a vendor through the company’s website. Otherwise, “you won’t show up on my list” of companies interested in receiving the site’s requests for proposals.
