To/MS: Master Management
From/MS: Doris Heim, ADBS, A108
Phone/Fax: 7-1973/7-5624
Symbol: ADBS-07-030
Date: August 21, 2007
SUBJECT: PURCHASE COMMITMENT AUTHORITIES
Since the early 1990’s, when then LANL senior management granted purchase commitment default authority (better known as SAPR) to all LANL employees, all LANL employees were automatically assigned purchasing authority that permitted the initiation of purchase requests and/or JIT transactions up to $5,000 without review or approval.
Recently, an internal audit (Report IA-03-01) identified vulnerability with this existing practice. This vulnerability is related to mitigation of real and potential risks associated with committing Laboratory funds. Because appropriate management levels are responsible for assessing, quantifying, and defining such potential risks and for delegating this responsibility to the appropriate employees, it has been decided that a change to the Signature Authority Procurement Request (SAPR) is warranted. In accordance with the direction of the LANL Team, on August 24, 2007 SAPR authority will be changed to $0 unless delegated in accordance to the Implementation Responsibilities outlined in this memo.
[Download the full memo here.]
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
33 comments:
This is just the beginning of a surge of new policy changes that are about to take place at LANL. LANS knows they can't easily implement a RIF due to the severance costs and discrimination charges that would result. Therefore, they'll continue to work hard at destroying worker morale and hope for greater attrition, especially amoung the Tech and TSM staff.
By next year, you're going to need a DGL's approval just to wipe your ass. And benefits? Don't make me laugh. They're all headed downward along with any meaningful raises. Many of our rich benefits can be easily changed just through the use of policy announcements. Next on the chopping block? Probably our rich vacation and sick leave accruals.
This blog is dying...don't you have anything better than the budget?? We get that at work.
Another brilliant policy change that we hear about on the blog. I heard rumors that this was coming but heard nothing officially. I predict that once Doris realizes her mistake because she is going to get a lot of calls from pissed off people it will be delayed. Lets see, the memo was written on Aug 21. The new policy is effective Aug 24. That really gives everyone time to make other arrangements. If you are lucky and have a DPR in your organization then you might be able to get "er" done but you will need to go through a middle man/woman. I heard that the last few DPR training classes have been canceled due to ASM having NO trainers available. Another ill conceived policy. Couldn't it at least wait until Oct 1 ? Just when you thought that the management stupidity could get no worse, it does.
Let me see if I've got this correct. I cost an amazing $450 K per year for my labor but I can't be trusted with even $1 in purchasing authority? What a pile of policy bullshit LANS is now dumping on the whole technical staff. The time spent tracking down a Group Leader and getting them to make your SAPR orders for small items will exceed any cost savings that results from eliminating wider usage of this authority. Our Group Leaders, who are usually the most expensive members in a group, can now utilized their extremely expensive labor rates making numerous small orders for everyone in their group. Need a piece of $50 software off of ESD? Looks like you'll need to go track down you GL and have him place the order for you on-line after August 24th. What was the LANS CFO thinking? This is nuts!
If LANS has evidence of SAPR abuse, they should bring it out into the light of day and punish the offenders. Instead, the punishment, as always at LANL, will be communal. And the answers, as always at LANL, is more CYA paperwork and requests that can only be authorized from those up above. I guess our top managers need to find some justification for the incredibly bloated management monstrosity they have constructed.
Yes, this policy is pretty much absurd. My group purchases a lot of items for engineering/building equipment. We must spend at least $200K if not more, per year on supplies. The PR system already sucks, now this is just going to add more red tape and delays.
Also, if you are thinking of getting a contractor as a DPR, forget it. Contractor DPRs have lost most of their procurement authorities and are esentially rendered useless.
8/22/07 8:14 PM, and that's just the tip of the conundrum.
Anyone looked at the number of AS3 Group Office Administrator job postings currently on the web? Who's going to apply for these jobs? Where's the pipeline to fill the entry level?
So contractors can't be DPR's but you can't hire a LANS person to staff your group office and perform the DPR function as part of their job.
Like I said before, Terry Wallace grew up in Los Alamos and is committed to LANL and science. He is a scientist! He must know that this new policy will kill science at LANL. Trust me by Friday Terry Wallace will send out an announcement reversing this decision. He is higher up the food chain than Doris and there is absolutely no way that Terry will allow this to transpire. I have faith in Terry and you should too.
Damn!
This is sure going to make it hard to buy another Mustang...
.... or a computer needed to do my job!
From the memo ..." Recently, an internal audit (Report IA-03-01) identified vulnerability with this existing practice. This vulnerability is related to mitigation of real and potential risks associated with committing
Laboratory funds."
Holy shit! This new dracononian "we don't trust you" policy is because of a perceived threat? WTF!?! Hello PAD-STE hows-about you grow some balls and actually do something useful for a change?!?
"Trust me by Friday Terry Wallace will send out an announcement reversing this decision. He is higher up the food chain than Doris and there is absolutely no way that Terry will allow this to transpire. I have faith in Terry and you should too.
8/22/07 9:40 PM "
That's an attempt at sarcasm, right? Either that, or one of Terry's sycophants is posting on the blog. Then, again, perhaps it's Terry's mom.
The perceived threat is that allowing unsupervised purchasing could cause serious financial problems for LANS - like there would not be enough money to pay the bloated management salaries. And clearly LANS must ensure that there's enough money for those salaries before allowing real work to be done. It's all in the name of business, and it's another way to make sure that no one manages to hire a contractor to do necessary work that no one at LANL can do.
Per the memo, the GL may not delegate procurement authority above the level of $500.
OK, fine, but who can approve procurements when the GL is absent?
This is unreasonable. Indeed, a TSM or TEC should not be able to purchase computers without TL or GL approval. BUT, there are small items of software, office supplies, etc, that a TSM or TEC needs to purchase to keep the work moving. And, the GL gets a monthly printout of what is purchased by all methods (JIT, PR, credit card, etc). From that listing, the GL can manage expenditures.
We have become a "WORK-FREE SAFE AND SECURE PLACE!"
I heard this week that the attrition rate for the last three months was the greatest it has been since the LAB came into being. Can anyone confirm this? I for one have to stick it out but I am so disheartened about the way things are. Morale seems to be on an escalating downward spiral.
8:40 AM---My last day is September the 5th. This is after 29 years and a pretty good 29 years at that. I went through a lot of change, turmoil etc. during that 29 years but it really started getting too "stupid" too deal with a couple of years ago. Nanos really started the beginning of the end for me at least. I really hope that the Lab survives since I still have a son and his wife just starting out at the Lab. I have a feeling that others are fed up and leaving also. What a shame!!!!
Here's a comment on the new policy from my group DPR:
"... In actuality, very little will change:
[...]
JIT's are supposed to be purchased by Dedicated Procurement Representatives only, but I don't think the programming changes have ever been made. I imagine that you can still call the vendor and place the order (under my name if necessary [that is until I lose my job also]) because for some weird reason the lab has always trusted the vendors to place the orders even when they don't trust the employees. [...]"
Glenn Mara briefed the Bush administration in Washington D.C. that, under a continuing resolution, layoffs will start in the second quarter of FY 08.
This purchasing policy is a transparent attempt to postpone any expenditures on purchases until FY '08 simply to delay the layoffs as long as possible. LANS desperately wants it look like the layoffs aren't a direct consequence of the LANS annual $175M rape of the LANL budget.
Management 101 - waiting until the second quarter to start layoffs will require 33% more people to be laid off than if the layoffs start at the beginning of the FY.
This is gross incompetence. DOE must remove LANS without delay.
"I for one have to stick it out but I am so disheartened about the way things are. Morale seems to be on an escalating downward spiral." - 8:40 AM
LANS *WANTS* to lower the morale at LANL. That is why you are seeing these new policy changes, and they are only going to get worse during the next year. They plan on do nothing to help raise the morale at LANL.
It might be wise to put up a big sticky note on your desk to be reminded of one ugly fact -- both LANS and NNSA don't want you here. In fact, they sincerely hope you'll soon leave. That is the reality we now face as workers at LANL.
The second quarter of FY08 would mean that layoffs would hit around March '08 which sounds about right. I suspect that LANS is already committed to the idea of layoffs regardless of the exact budgetary scenario. They'll use almost any budget reductions at this point as cover to begin getting rid of the dead weight in the TSM workforce. I would expect them make about a 5% cut in the number of TSMs with any RIF lists based mainly on job performance scores over the last few years. If you are in the bottom percentiles, you need to start worrying about your job.
Layoffs at the SSM, OS, or Tech levels will be impossible to implement due to discrimination charges that would results. LANS has no stomach for that fight.
Reminds me of the coffee mug I saw once, "The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves", except without the "Until Morale Improves" clause.
"If you are in the bottom percentiles, you need to start worrying about your job."
This could be a great thing for LANL.
"If you are in the bottom percentiles, you need to start worrying about your job."
Not if you are in C-IIAC where the good ole' boys network is in effect. My group leader seems to only care about the programs that he is involved with and gets funding from and he only cares about his guy friends who do nothing but suck off the teat of others.
C-div? ... ruh-roh!
"Trust me by Friday Terry Wallace will send out an announcement reversing this decision. He is higher up the food chain than Doris and there is absolutely no way that Terry will allow this to transpire. I have faith in Terry and you should too.
8/22/07 9:40 PM "
Hasn't happened yet!
Did I hear that Beason is retiring?
Any truth to the rumors that the AD's who have been here since the transition in December 05 are leaving in December this year, having completed their two year commitment? Two rumored to be leaving are Heim and Knapp.
Speaking of ADs leaving, Susan Seestrom asked us during her first All-Hands meeting in the MSL auditorium back in June 06 to give her two years to make things better. Haven't seen any improvements yet. The two years are coming up quickly Susan!
Where is "the voice of science and scientists at LANL", or in other words, our illustrious Lab Fellows during all these new policies. They have been awfully quiet since LANS took over.
They've been busily producing another white paper, no doubt. "Metrics for Excellence, Part Deux".
The Lab Fellows have become a useless Old Boys Club. Don't look for any leadership from this group. Once you are blessed with lab "fellowship" you tend to not want to rock the boat, as your job at LANL is guaranteed for life by the powers above -- whether you are funded or not. It's a wonderful life if you can get it.
8/22/07 9:40 PM wrote- "Trust me by Friday Terry Wallace will send out an announcement reversing this decision. He is higher up the food chain than Doris and there is absolutely no way that Terry will allow this to transpire. I have faith in Terry and you should too."
8/24/07 5:08 PM wrote - "Hasn't happened yet!"
Once again the PAD-STE has lived up to expectations and does nothing to enable science at LANL. Way to go, Terry. You are really showing you don't have a backbone and are further demonstrating that you are not the best person for the position you are failing miserably at. How much are you getting paid for looking the other way? What kind of bonus are you getting?
Terry used to make about $225 K before LANS took over and he got his recent promotion. I'm guessing his salary is much higher now, more like $400 K. Of course we'll never know for sure because it's LANS proprietary information (what a joke!).
Anyone in the HR department care to enlighten us? Based on the house Terry bought last year, he must be feeling flush with cash. And he's not the only one, it appears, based on some of the high-end cars that have recently started to show up in the LANL parking lots.
Post a Comment