Vol. 54, Special Issue        February 2002

Laboratories support, facilities, and human resources

Sandia and other labs demonstrated their top antiterrorism technologies for DOE Secretary Spencer Abraham and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge in a show at DOE Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Sandia presented decontamination foam, ChemLab, Hound and Hound II, robotics, Rapid Syndrome Validation Project (RSVP), and the National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC). Ridge said afterward that ŗtechnology-based solutions will be a huge component of a comprehensive national homeland security plan.˛ (12600, technical line organizations)

In response to 9/11 terrorist events, Sandia staffed the Emergency Operations Center with senior management, DOE/KAO representatives, and support staff. Mission-essential personnel were retained on-site, but non-essential personnel were released for two days. Liaisons were established with KAFB, DOE, and the Sandia intelligence community. Increased security measures were implemented. Employees on travel and those assigned to the Washington, D.C., area were contacted. Security Police Officers worked closely with military police to perform ID checks and vehicle searches for personnel accessing KAFB. (3100, 10000, 12000, 14000)

More than 1,300 new employees were hired in FY01. Staffing organizations at both sites successfully surpassed our FY01 goals by hiring 628 regular employees, including 299 members of technical staff and 104 technologists. This was accomplished by giving emphasis to recent graduates, high GPAs, and top schools/programs. In addition to regular hires, we hired 188 temporary employees and 542 new students, enhancing our potential-candidate ŗpipeline,˛ as well as hiring 177 staff augmentation contractors. While acceptance rates exceeded national norms, the California site faced additional challenges due to the areašs cost of living. (3030, 8500, 12600, and recruiters and hiring managers Labs-wide)

New Mexico Health Services Centeršs Back Injury Reduction Program was recognized for proven results in reducing occupational costs and decreasing days away and restricted days associated with back injuries. The Center demonstrated a commitment to disease management through the implementation of a unique workplace Diabetes Pilot Program. Onsite coordination and accessibility of best-care diabetes services promises reduced healthcare costs. The Center surveyed all current and former employees, assessing possible exposure to beryllium and offering a comprehensive exam to those indicating risk. (3300, 3100)

In August the NNSA Tri-Labs Diversity Workshop, focusing on Asian/Pacific Island American (APIA) issues, convened Gen. John Gordon, directors of the three labs, members of the APIA communities within the laboratories, and a sampling of labs managers to inaugurate a senior management protocol for developing solutions to systemic workforce diversity issues and concerns. As a result of the partnership initiated by Sandia, the three NNSA laboratories are collaborating with teams now working to address identified issues related to the laboratoriesš image in recruiting, career development, and security. (0002, 3000, 8000)

The Sandia Presidentšs Advisory Council (SPAC) concluded seven successful years of advising Sandiašs president on issues of strategic significance. SPAC helped identify opportunities where Sandiašs competencies could contribute to national security and suggested appropriate program initiatives for the Laboratoriesš consideration. SPAC was actively involved in the development of Sandiašs administration transition initiatives, the creation of the Surety Institute, and consultation with the laboratory director on nuclear test ban policy. (1, 12100)

Training/Education investment funds, provided by Executive VP Joan Woodardšs office, have paid Labs-wide dividends: University Programs increased participation; Doctoral Studies Program increased 28 percent; Special Masters Program increased 100 percent; University Part-Time increased 20 percent. New curricula were introduced to address some of the Labsš critical skills areas. Twenty-eight individuals were retrained and assumed new positions through the Information Technology/Computer Science program with a 100 percent customer satisfaction rating. (1000, 3000, 6000, 8000, 9000)

New Benefits plans and improvements were delivered involving medical, dental, and vision plans, health care reimbursement spending accounts, voluntary group accident insurance, sickness absence plan, vacation donation plan, vacation buy plan, personal absence time, vesting for savings plans, and benefits for students and LTEs. Changes will control rising costs, provide competitive benefits to support hiring and retention goals, and provide more family-friendly choices. A personalized Total Rewards Statement that quantifies the extent and value of benefits that employees receive was delivered to regular employees. (3300, 3000, 8500, 10300)

HR improved electronic delivery and access: Top Recruits, a web-based tool, assists hiring managers in identifying outstanding candidates. The HR Graphalyzer provides helpful attrition trending and projection information to support Centers and Divisions in responding to the Annual Staff Planning call. Online course registration allows employees to register directly for classes with a single password system that has reduced help-desk calls by more than 80 percent and resulted in faster registration. The Mission Critical Designator System identifies those employees deemed critical to operations during high security alerts. (3000)

Sandia was selected as WasteWise Federal Government Partner of the Year for 2000 for efforts in sustainable design, construction, and demolition waste recycling, waste reduction efforts within Custodial Services and the Cafeteria, and results in environmentally preferable procurement. The City of Albuquerquešs Industrial Pretreatment Program presented DOE and Sandia/N.M. with three Gold and two Silver Pretreatment Awards for demonstrating 100 percent compliance with permit reporting requirements and 100 percent with permit discharge limits. Three organizations received the Commitment Level award from New Mexicošs Green Zia Environmental Excellence Program. (3100, 10800, 3300)

A large volume of liquid gunk from remote area septic tanks was successfully managed during FY01 by the Radioactive & Mixed Waste Management Facility (RMWMF). The unsavory stuff was filtered through two screens to remove large debris and sediment. Six hardy RMWMF employees donned protective clothing and full-face respirators to handle the highly odoriferous goo. Four tanker truckloads containing more than 14,000 gallons of the filtered water, tainted with trace amounts of solvents, were shipped to a RCRA-permitted facility in Tennessee for disposal. (3100)

The Corporate Access Control System experienced dramatic growth during 2001 due to development of WebCAT (Web Based Custodian-controlled Access Tool). This software tool allows Sandia line personnel responsible for a physical location to add/delete/modify access control lists for the card readers. Changes are immediately transmitted to local card readers. With real-time access to the Badge Office database, the system automatically updates for replacement of worn or lost badges. WebCAT allows areas to implement ŗneed-to-know˛ controls in a cost-effective manner. (3100)

The Environmental Management Department in conjunction with the Earth Day Coalition of New Mexico conducted the Fifth Annual Youth Conference on the Environment. DOE, Sandia, and the Earth Day Coalition sponsored the conference. The all-day event was held April 20, 2001. High school and middle school students from the Albuquerque area participated in workshops and debates on topics including: drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, controlled burns as a forest fire management technique, rainforest culture, and effects of the Cerro Grande fire on wildlife. (3100)

The Rapid Reactivation Project has more than doubled Sandiašs neutron generator production capacity while maintaining on-going production operations. The project renovated space in several buildings, constructed an addition to Bldg. 857, and installed new equipment, with only minimal impacts to existing production and no lost production schedule time. The project was finished on time and under budget. (10800, 14400)

In FY01 the Facilities Management and Operations Center increased the overall completion rate of Preventive Maintenance tasks from 78 percent to 90 percent. Since FY98, overall preventive maintenance completion has increased from a 40 percent level. This focus on preventive maintenance tasks on building and infrastructure equipment has resulted in increased reliability of building systems and increased life expectancy of equipment resulting in an overall improvement in efficiency. (10800)

In partnership with Center 1700, Facilities engineering staff designed and installed new infrastructure systems resulting in a $200,000 per year savings in electrical energy for chilled water systems serving the Microelectronics Development Laboratory. Results were achieved through creative engineering solutions like installing variable frequency drives on chilled water pumps and hot water pumps, installing a larger compressed dry air receiver tank, changing start sequencing of air compressors, optimizing cooling tower system flow, and changing the energy management system code to utilize more sensible cooling. (1700, 10800)

The Spend Plan Tool Redesign Team formed to develop the requirements for a new Spend Plan Tool that would both interface with and use the functionality of Oracle 11i applications. The teamšs focus was to assure customer input to provide a system where project managers and business units could perform 3-year financial planning. The Spend Plan Tool is designed to capture information at either a summary or detail level, and was developed with usability in mind. (2300, 10300, 10500)

Sandia received DOE approval in FY01 to fund and construct an Institutional General Plant Project (IGPP) building. The first building provides office space in the New Mexico tech area. IGPPs are indirect-funded construction projects that will provide general-purpose, institutional space and infrastructure to offer an option from direct funding for obtaining needed space. Sandia was the first DOE contractor to pilot such an alternative that is permitted by special Congressional authority. Sandia is seeking approval to construct two additional buildings in FY02. (10500, 10800)

A study of ŗactual and reasonable˛ versus ŗper diem˛ reimbursement statistically compared Sandiašs travel costs to Federal Travel Regulation per diem allowances and documented that the Labs saved $400,000 for the first half of FY01 using actual and reasonable methodology. These confirmed Sandia cost savings persuaded DOE to allow Sandia travel expense reimbursement based on reasonable, actual travel expenses. The success of the request for waiver of Federal Travel Regulation requirements is unique among Sandiašs peers. (9500, 10500, 12300 12800)

The Pension Investment Organization periodically searches for investment management firms to invest Sandiašs pension fund assets. Itšs part of an ongoing review of the pension fund portfolio. Recently, the team determined that performance and risk measures could improve if it modified the fundsš exposure to capitalization sizes and investment styles. By hiring three new firms and eliminating one, the team achieved an improved investment risk profile compared to the fundšs benchmark index. The change involved $250 million. (10300)

Web Shipper, a Sandia-developed on-line web-based application, has taken the place of a paper Shipper form that was used to ship equipment and material offsite. Implemented in FY01, the new on-line Web Shipper advantages include automatic assignment of a shipper number, no manager approval required with shipping activity viewable on-line at any time, e-mail and workflow processing with no more hand-routing for approvals, and tracking of shipments available from submission through release to carrier. (10000, 9000)

Prior to release of property Sandia must review those assets for high risk and export control. Terrorists, rogue nations, and competing developers of technologies must not benefit from Sandiašs sales and loans of property. This need is balanced with the requirement to maximize return on taxpayer investments. This process of collaboration between Sandiašs Property and Import/Export Organizations has streamlined an expensive and labor intensive process by combining effort and reducing risk. (10200)

An innovative and cost-saving approach to property utilization reviews has been developed and implemented by Sandiašs Property organization. Previously, a bi-yearly formal walkthrough of work areas by management was conducted in accordance with DOE regulations. Sandia now combines utilization reviews with activities such as inventories, office clean-ups, and corporate storage reviews, while still fulfilling the intent of the regulation to minimize mission impact. (10200)

The P-Card program gives frontline workers an alternative to making low-value, low-risk purchases. It is a popular ŗself-service˛ option that reduces both costs and cycle times. In FY01, 1,600 cardholders used their cards 75,000 times and spent $55 million (one-third of Lockheed Martinšs total P-Card spending), helping the Labs avoid $3 million of unnecessary oversight. By giving cardholders that purchasing authority, the contributions of Procurementšs buyers are more appropriately aligned with strategic purchases. Sandiašs P-Card program is considered best-in-class by several outside organizations. (8500, 9500, 10200)

Sandia was among the first companies to implement the full suite of Oraclešs Enterprise Resource Planning software. Our success has led DOE/HQ, Nuclear Weapons Complex Defense Programs Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Bechtel Nevada, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Bettis Atomic Power, Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, and the Atomic Weapons Establishment of England to consult us. We have also provided consultation to the US House of Representatives, the Internal Revenue Service, and Indian Health Services. (9500, 10300, 10500, 14400)

Three hundred Sandians submitted a total of 303 Technical Advances during FY01 disclosing inventions to be evaluated for possible patenting. One hundred and ninety patent applications were filed during FY01. These 190 patent applications listed 257 Sandians as inventors. A total of 112 patents were issued during FY01 representing the culmination of what is typically a two- to three-year patent prosecution process. In the area of copyrights, which are used primarily to protect software developed at Sandia, DOE during FY01 approved 49 copyright assertions. (11500)

In December 1999, the DOE Office of Inspector General issued an Inspection Report on Sandiašs sale of a Paragon supercomputer that noted that the Department of Commerce was investigating the possibility of a deemed export violation from the transfer of Paragon manuals. This sale had generated a lot of unfavorable publicity, but Sandia believed there was no export control violation. In December 2000, Sandia was notified that Commerce had determined that there was no violation of export controls. (10200, 10000, 11500)

Court trials can be risky and expensive. Settling a case at nuisance value can be cheaper, but may invite unfounded claims in the future. Recently, Sandia was sued in a case depending on events supposedly occurring almost 40 years ago. Based on a new strategy, we ended the case without a trial and without paying a settlement. Our strategy included substantial investment in pre-trial legal work that led to dismissal by the court. The cost of the pre-trial work was about the same as the cost of nuisance settlement. (11600)

Sandia will receive a foundational patent for extracting water from the atmosphere. This foundational patent represents a good example of considering the IP protection at the earliest stages of development. The patent covers a technology aimed at extracting liquid water from the atmosphere with minimum energy consumption. This technology could provide a personal portable water production system capable of producing sufficient drinking water for an individual. Large systems may have the potential of alleviating water shortages around the world. We are pursuing international patent rights and several US patents on improvements to the basic technology. (11700, 15211)

Sandia has secured DOE approval to release several Sandia codes under open source licenses (like those used for Linux). Open source licensing allows Sandia to make technology available to researchers and ensures that Sandia will have free access to improvements made by others. Sandiašs operating contract did not contemplate open source licensing, so Sandia has worked with DOE to analyze concerns and risks and to agree on cooperative processes for decision and approval to release codes under open source licenses. (11700, 1300)

Sandia has released the CPlant distributed computer operating system software under GNUšs General Public License (GPL). The release was enabled by several months of negotiating the needed permissions from DOE. The software also builds on many other software projects. Clearing Sandiašs title to software before release was a significant undertaking. The release under open source will allow researchers free access to the software and encourage improvement by the entire research community. The GPL requires that improvements be made available under similar terms to others, so that Sandia and the research community will benefit from the collective efforts of all those working in the technology. (11700, 1300, 9200)

In Fall 2000, the Government Relations group put together a team of 20 people from across the Labs to identify major national policy initiatives where Sandia could make contributions. Six issues were identified and forwarded to the new administration. Three areas we identified were consistent with major initiatives that were adopted by the administration, including protection of the nationšs critical infrastructures, development of an integrated national energy policy, and cooperative border development. Sandiašs previous work in these areas has been a resource for the federal government as it has implemented these initiatives.

Strengthening Quality in Schools, a Sandia-sponsored initiative, teaches Baldrige-based concepts to educators. Here are some results: Gallup students go from the lowest to the highest level ranking in math in one year; Reading scores jump dramatically; Teachers do not retire; 90 more schools join SQS. A former Sandia manager and current South valley teacher sums up the impact of SQS, ŗIt has given my students ways to become successful, independent, lifelong learners.˛ (12600)

The National Atomic Museum has provided a variety of community outreach activities this past year. The Summer Science Camp expanded to serve 180 local children and a gifted class from California. A youth volunteer program was initiated with great participation. The museum staff and docents provided tours and educational programs to more than 13,000 visitors. In partnership with KNME-TV, a ZOOMzone site was located at the museum for budding young scientists. The museum recognized the cultural diversity our community with three ethnic programs. (12600)

For the sixth year in a row, Sandia has achieved an overall rating of Outstanding in DOEšs appraisal of the Laboratory. DOE and Sandia have been committed to a performance-based management system that relies heavily on laboratory self-assessment, which reduces and coordinates DOE oversight while maintaining a responsible DOE stewardship role. Over the past several years, significant improvements in the overall appraisal process have been made due to a solid DOE/Sandia partnership, and our joint lessons-learned activity continues to identify additional improvements. (12100)

To support the central purpose of the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA), Sandiašs executive management proposed that Sandia initiate a governance pilot to develop an improved relationship that reverts back to the Government determining what is needed from Sandia and allowing the leadership of Sandia to decide on how best to accomplish that work. The NNSA has accepted this proposal, known as the NNSA/Sandia Governance Pilot; the goal of the program is to develop a common-sense governance system that builds trust and accountability, enables good decisions and great work, effectively manages risk, and saves time and money. The assessment of the implementation of this pilot will lead to a consideration of extending this program to the other laboratories. (2, 7002, 12100)

Recognizing outstanding science teachers was the focus of the first annual Excellence in Science Teaching Awards, created by the Community Involvement Department and funded by Lockheed Martin. Eleven teachers from Albuquerque and surrounding communities were recognized at an awards dinner in May. For many, this event marked the only formal recognition of their careers. Nominated by their peers and supported by student recommendations, each teacher received a small financial award for use in their classroom. (12600)

Last modified: February 28 , 2002

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