tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post4001180668336595490..comments2023-08-27T06:53:36.768-06:00Comments on LANL: The Rest of the Story: Frank Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02134775226991383924noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-81685697958704519002008-08-11T08:19:00.000-06:002008-08-11T08:19:00.000-06:00Anonymous at 8/10/08 8:35 PM writes:"..the creatio...Anonymous at 8/10/08 8:35 PM writes:<BR/>"..the creation of a big new mess at DARHT should be seen as a great victory for LANS management."<BR/><BR/>S/he is correct. AND, there will be bonuses for Mikey et al when the cleanup has been completed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-49672904199123661062008-08-10T20:35:00.000-06:002008-08-10T20:35:00.000-06:00"While that may be a true statement, the fact is t..."While that may be a true statement, the fact is that they were given those funds to run experiments, not to clean up messes." 8/7/08 8:23 AM<BR/><BR/>You are mistaken, 8:23 AM. <BR/><BR/>Cleaning up messes is EXACTLY what LANS is here for, as the science is slowly going away (or haven't you noticed?). Thus, the creation of a big new mess at DARHT should be seen as a great victory for LANS management.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-36929537932750850402008-08-07T08:23:00.000-06:002008-08-07T08:23:00.000-06:00" Roark said cleaning up the mess can be done with..." Roark said cleaning up the mess can be done within the project's current budget."<BR/><BR/>While that may be a true statement, the fact is that they were given those funds to run experiments, not to clean up messes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-18881514287877464572008-08-06T20:29:00.000-06:002008-08-06T20:29:00.000-06:00As for DARHT's flameout...Thats a "feature".As for DARHT's flameout...Thats a "feature".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-56869827811408691562008-08-06T18:14:00.000-06:002008-08-06T18:14:00.000-06:00The LANL newbulletin providng actual news?! Bwaah...The LANL newbulletin providng actual news?! Bwaahaaahaahaaaa....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-81819379444358298572008-08-06T13:24:00.000-06:002008-08-06T13:24:00.000-06:00regarding auditors:An auditor is just an accountan...regarding auditors:<BR/><BR/>An auditor is just an accountant who is too dumb to steal!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-1070690863693306752008-08-06T12:54:00.000-06:002008-08-06T12:54:00.000-06:008/6/08 5:41 AM said; "The lack of a credible audi...8/6/08 5:41 AM said; <BR/>"The lack of a credible audit function is a serious problem given that LANL is embarking on major initiatives like plutonium pit production. Without better internal auditing, what's to stand in the way of tremendous cost overruns and endless delays such as those that have plagued DARHT?"<BR/><BR/>The Lab has auditors?<BR/> <BR/>Naaah! You're kidding, right?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-91735307389964818222008-08-06T12:06:00.000-06:002008-08-06T12:06:00.000-06:00Wasn't six sigma suppose to ensure these kinds of ...Wasn't six sigma suppose to ensure these kinds of mishaps wouldn't occur?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-197645856652124282008-08-06T11:26:00.000-06:002008-08-06T11:26:00.000-06:00He meant level six in the new job classifications ...He meant level six in the new job classifications formerly known as TSM. The new job classifications for the TSM series are too generic to even be worth bothering with, IMHO. For example we don't have electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, materials engineers, etc. Just R&D engineers.<BR/><BR/>And since I have a "computer science" degree, I am currently uncategorized because HR thinks I might belong in some "scientist" category instead of calling me an engineer, which is what I am. My GL has yet to iron that out with the bureaucrats.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-63109569851359425692008-08-06T05:41:00.000-06:002008-08-06T05:41:00.000-06:00From POGO:DARHT Misses Target, Again, and AgainThe...From POGO:<BR/><BR/><BR/>DARHT Misses Target, Again, and Again<BR/><BR/>The Albuquerque Journal reported today that the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrotest Facility (DARHT), a $350 million nuclear weapons X-ray machine at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), vaporized a part of itself last week. According to lab spokesman Kevin Roark, "seventeen of the X-ray machine's 74 massive doughnut-shaped power cells will need to be taken apart and cleaned," causing a three-month delay in the project. <BR/><BR/>As the Journal pointed out, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) declared in May that the X-ray would be ready for its first full-scale nuclear weapons test this fall, following a $90 million reconstruction effort to repair the machine after it failed to work in 2003. Prior to the repair, the cost of the DAHRT program had already escalated from $30 million to $260 million due to repeated delays and a project redesign.<BR/><BR/>In addition to the issues raised in the Journal article, there is a major concern often voiced by LANL insiders and experts: the internal audit function at the Lab is failing to provide reasonable assurance to taxpayers that costs being incurred on projects like this are necessary and allowable. When there aren't enough project controls in place to gauge progress and identify problems early on, the cost associated with changing course or fixing problems becomes significantly higher.<BR/><BR/>The lack of a credible audit function is a serious problem given that LANL is embarking on major initiatives like plutonium pit production. Without better internal auditing, what's to stand in the way of tremendous cost overruns and endless delays such as those that have plagued DARHT?<BR/><BR/>-- Ingrid Drake<BR/><BR/>==================================<BR/><BR/>The article states that the cost "escalated from $30 million to $260 million." Now, that's what we at LANL call a "management success!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-15103692945680693162008-08-06T05:37:00.000-06:002008-08-06T05:37:00.000-06:00Did anybody notice that there is no mention of the...Did anybody notice that there is no mention of the event in the News Bulletin?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-28867557703002149362008-08-05T23:10:00.000-06:002008-08-05T23:10:00.000-06:00"...maybe you, too, can make it to the inner sanct..."...maybe you, too, can make it to the inner sanctum of exalted TSM Level 6!"<BR/><BR/>Wow, and my GL told me there were no Level 6's at the Lab. Guess they just repeat what they're told. Of course, they also said there wouldn't be a TSM class system at LANL now as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-34105953456904592782008-08-05T23:02:00.000-06:002008-08-05T23:02:00.000-06:00"Unexpected" - Is that like 10e-1, 10e-2 or 10e-3 ..."Unexpected" - Is that like 10e-1, 10e-2 or 10e-3 per shot?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-34172789775539174882008-08-05T22:54:00.000-06:002008-08-05T22:54:00.000-06:00"It was an unexpected result"You don't say."It was an unexpected result"<BR/><BR/>You don't say.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-46906080896088354092008-08-05T22:49:00.000-06:002008-08-05T22:49:00.000-06:00Driving up past the big concrete barriers where th...Driving up past the big concrete barriers where the beam went under the road at LANSCE was always a good reminder of why you want to keep the beam where it belongs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-48468189780620602342008-08-05T22:28:00.000-06:002008-08-05T22:28:00.000-06:00All eyes on LANL. Any error or misstep means your ...All eyes on LANL. Any error or misstep means your (professional) life. The result is nobody wants to work there, just as planned by the "watchers." The bad guys are winning - and of course they've never, themselves, ever made a mistake. Especially not one they'd want to be kept secret...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-49175111229914940182008-08-05T21:58:00.000-06:002008-08-05T21:58:00.000-06:00Gimme a break! anybody who's worked on accelerator...Gimme a break! anybody who's worked on accelerators knows the damage the beam can do. If they haven't designed systems to prevent it or the systems didn't work it can only be described as a really big screw-up!<BR/>Yeah, sh** happens but its still Sh**Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-29610755051304833942008-08-05T21:32:00.000-06:002008-08-05T21:32:00.000-06:00For 7:46. DARHT is a pulsed accelerator. As such...For 7:46. DARHT is a pulsed accelerator. As such, it doesn't have the luxury of feedback stability. It also delivers more charge in a microsecond than the accelerators you are familiar with do in a week. BTW, the National Lab you are looking for in your design work finger pointing is LBL, not LLNL. Neither are culpable in this incident. Get your facts straight or get out of Dodge.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-84569113341255085802008-08-05T21:25:00.000-06:002008-08-05T21:25:00.000-06:00"I think a more complete history of the 2nd axis w..."I think a more complete history of the 2nd axis would be in order. I think a 3rd national laboratory was involved..."<BR/><BR/>LBNL designed the injector, injector cells, and accelerator cells. LLNL designed the downstream transport and target.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-74493431547081773362008-08-05T21:22:00.000-06:002008-08-05T21:22:00.000-06:00On another topic. Staff are finally finding out wh...On another topic. Staff are finally finding out what job box they're being stuffed into. Surprise! surprise! those who the lab screwed over and were partially compensated for by the Welch report are being screwed again and crammed into the lower boxes. Wonder how long before one of them flips out and and does a bit of box stuffing of their own.<BR/>How can the DOE be so f*** up?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-74134049852988436652008-08-05T20:17:00.000-06:002008-08-05T20:17:00.000-06:00FTFA: "It was an unexpected result"I would hope so...FTFA: "It was an unexpected result"<BR/><BR/>I would hope so!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-85022695927240194982008-08-05T19:51:00.000-06:002008-08-05T19:51:00.000-06:00Be credited with fixing this latest DARHT screw-up...Be credited with fixing this latest DARHT screw-up and maybe you, too, can make it to the inner sanctum of exalted TSM Level 6!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-60928399194901815812008-08-05T19:46:00.000-06:002008-08-05T19:46:00.000-06:00Don't the designers at LLNL know about feedback co...Don't the designers at LLNL know about feedback control loops for high power equipment like DAHRT? It sounds to me like LLNL's bad design was at fault here.<BR/><BR/>And don't you know that LANS is beginning to really hate this blog...<BR/><BR/>"Last week's accident, first reported on the "LANL: The Rest of the Story" blog, happened during tuning of the machine in preparation for the first weapons test, according to Roark."<BR/><BR/>If LANS was more forthcoming communicating to both their employees and the press then this blog would have long since withered away.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-29595832396827466562008-08-05T19:39:00.000-06:002008-08-05T19:39:00.000-06:00I think a more complete history of the 2nd axis wo...I think a more complete history of the 2nd axis would be in order. I think a 3rd national laboratory was involved...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28220200.post-23770133387605555252008-08-05T16:36:00.000-06:002008-08-05T16:36:00.000-06:00From LLNL: The True StorySaturday, August 2, 2008A...From LLNL: The True Story<BR/><BR/>Saturday, August 2, 2008<BR/><BR/>A vote of no-confidence in "Livermites!"<BR/><BR/>What our friends at LANL are saying<BR/><BR/>Posted by scooby at 8:11 PM<BR/><BR/>3 comments:<BR/><BR/>Anonymous said...<BR/><BR/><BR/>"Don´t worry about comments from uninformed posters to the LANL blog - in this case they don´t even know the role LLNL played on the 2nd axis. Of course if something happened that involved the downstream transport and target, LLNL will be involved - it´s their hardware after all."<BR/><BR/>(August 2, 2008 8:41 PM)<BR/><BR/>(//llnlthetruestory.blogspot.com/2008/08/vote-of-no-confidence-in-livermites.html)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com