It is encouraging that *someone* has finally noticed that BWXT is as much a part of LANL's in-progress mission change as Bechtel is.
--Gussie
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It would seem that some of you folks just don't get it yet.
DOE does not want WFO at LANL. DOE wants LANL to be their plutonium pit production facility. WFO has nothing to do with pit production. LANS won the LANL contract because they agreed to help DOE fulfill DOE's goal of downsizing LANL and turning it into the Rocky Flats replacement Pu pit fabrication plant.
It's really no more complicated than that, discounting the facts that Bechtel (construction company) will build the facility and BWXT will operate it. Short blurb from BWXT's home page: "BWXT is the premier manager of complex, high-consequence nuclear and national security operations. We are disciplined operators and managers of nuclear production facilities, who deliver enduring value and customer confidence."
There, do you understand where WFO stands at LANL a bit better now?
DOE does not want WFO at LANL. DOE wants LANL to be their plutonium pit production facility. WFO has nothing to do with pit production. LANS won the LANL contract because they agreed to help DOE fulfill DOE's goal of downsizing LANL and turning it into the Rocky Flats replacement Pu pit fabrication plant.
It's really no more complicated than that, discounting the facts that Bechtel (construction company) will build the facility and BWXT will operate it. Short blurb from BWXT's home page: "BWXT is the premier manager of complex, high-consequence nuclear and national security operations. We are disciplined operators and managers of nuclear production facilities, who deliver enduring value and customer confidence."
There, do you understand where WFO stands at LANL a bit better now?
12 comments:
Isn't this about when someone brings up the subject of how there should be free day care at LANL?
Mikey was overheard saying, "No free day care at LANL and no plans for free day care at LANL." So there is hope.
Gussie,
I'm afraid the subtleties of this post will go right over the heads of many of the staff. Heck, most of 'em just learned that BWXT was one of the LANS partners for the first time upon reading this post.
You're probably right, 4:28. I'll try to be a bit more direct in the future.
-Gus
Wow, BWXT sure hasn't added shit to managing TA-55 and LANL's production capabilities. We are now shut down for a "safety outage" until Jan 08 where teams of staff and technicians are going around making P&IDs and performing maintenance, all on the programs' dime. Meanwhile, fissile material handler/supervisors are taking more dumb-ass training courses, all to be complaint with CFR regulations. Nothing new and no-value added in these tests. If these guys are the crem de la crem at managing nuke facilities, we are all up shit creek without a paddle.
Again, I've seen no gain and no-value added to the facility other than more layers of management and overhead dollars flying out the window.
"Wow, BWXT sure hasn't added shit to managing TA-55 and LANL's production capabilities."
Wait, how could that be, 5:32? I mean, from their home page, BWXT tells us that
"BWXT is the premier manager of complex, high-consequence nuclear and national security operations. We are disciplined operators and managers of nuclear production facilities, who deliver enduring value and customer confidence."
Come on 5:43, you're being a little too critical, and I detect a distinct note of sarcasm. If you're the ONLY "..managers of nuclear production facilities" left in the country, then you are by anyone's definition the "... PREMIER manager of complex, high-consequence nuclear and national security operations."
"Again, I've seen no gain and no-value added to the facility other than more layers of management and overhead dollars flying out the window." - 5:32 PM
Excellent, they're doing just what I want them to do. Give those managers a big, fat bonus! And make sure BWXT keeps a free VP slot open for me. I'll be joining them sooner than everyone thinks. I'm going to ride this Complex 2030 money machine all the way to the bank.
-- Tom D'Agostino
5:32 pm: "staff and technicians are going around making P&IDs and performing maintenance", "fissile material handler/supervisors are taking more dumb-ass training courses...to be complaint with CFR regulations"
Well. what's wrong with compliance, education, and training? Oh yes - you proceed to tell us:
"Nothing new and no-value added in these tests."
Are you sure? You don't sound like a particularly well-trained person to me. And certainly not well-educated. You say "I've seen no gain and no-value added." Since there were reasons to shut down operations, perhaps you could describe those reasons in detail and why you think they aren't valid. How about some facts for a change?
I find it of interest talking to a LLNL counterpart in Livermore, UC brought in Battelle to run a WFO PAD (Global Security) under LLNS. This PAD was explicitly introduced to the LLNL staff as having a mission of finding WFO. So it seems like each lab got something to focus on besides nuke weapons design - LANL its pit production, and LLNL its WFO and NIF.
10/16/07 12:02 AM
If you think that training equates with value-added, then you clearly have not taken many LANL training classes. At least half of what the courses teach is outright wrong. They need to read their own training manuals.
8:21 pm...
A former Battelle manager hired as a LLNS PAD explicitly to help bring in more WFOs to LLNL?
No, that would be impossible. Mike and Terry have already told us several times that Congress has to give us explicit authority before we can diversify the labs. You must be mistaken.
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