Y-12/Pantex contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security is taking a “deliberate” approach to improving operations at the sites, CNS Chief Operating Officer Morgan Smith said late last week in response to reports that federal managers had been unhappy with the pace of improvements at the sites. CNS developed an “operational excellence plan” last year in response to National Nuclear Security Administration concern about abnormal operational events at Y-12. “Although we aspire to achieve immediate improvements, affecting long-entrenched standards and practices requires a sound strategy that is consistently and persistently implemented over time,” Smith said. “We want to avoid superficial solutions and ensure that operational excellence becomes part of our collective DNA.”
Smith said CNS agreed with observations made by the NNSA Production Office, which were revealed in a recently released Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board report. A Nov. 28 DNFSB memo indicated that 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.” Smith said the improvements were necessary and CNS has been “deliberate since assumption of the contract in developing a detailed understanding of the work environment and where change is needed, taking into account the lessons learned from previous incidents. Our initial plan was intentionally designed at a high level to help us avoid any unintended consequences from implementing change. We are in this for the long haul and want to ensure that solutions implemented will stand the test of time.”
