Eric Markham saw a way to make a process more cost efficient, so he set out to improve it and saved Sandia $8.3 million.

Working with key stakeholders across the Labs, Eric established a recycling program that captures and refines Sandia’s scrap metals. This process will continue to save Sandia millions of dollars annually and earned him an Individual Labs Director’s Award for Innovation during this year’s Employee Recognition Awards ceremony in New Mexico.

“(The recycling program) set a new standard for sustainable resource management here at Sandia. It reflects the Laboratories’ commitment to innovation, collaboration, fiscal responsibility — a lot the things we’ve heard the Labs director talk about,” Eric said.

Eric insists that while he received an individual award, “no one person does anything in a box here at Sandia. It really takes a team. There was a huge group of people that really went into this being successful.”

Eric’s recycling program, along with a crash test, a high-stakes technical analysis, two large-scale workforce reshaping efforts and an urgent multidisciplinary response to a component structural failure represent the breadth of what makes Sandia a premier national laboratory, said Labs Director Laura McGill.

“Their accomplishments span organizations and disciplines, but they share a commitment to excellence, service, teamwork and mission impact,” Laura said. “The common thread is that their contributions strengthened the Labs and better positioned us to serve the nation.”

Laura presented four Labs Director’s Awards at New Mexico’s ERA ceremony at Regal Winrock Theaters and Winrock Park on May 14 and two awards at California’s ceremony at Garre Vineyard & Winery Event Center on May 28.

Winning teams

From the 20 individuals and 83 teams who received ERAs this year, each division selected one honoree to nominate for the Labs Director’s Award. From there, Laura McGill selected Labs Director’s Award winners based on their impact on Sandia’s success and future.

“The people and teams selected for these awards conducted excellent work and made a meaningful difference to Sandia and the missions we serve,” she said. “They solved difficult problems, brought people together across organizational boundaries and found new ways to move important work forward.”

The Mobile Guardian Transporter Prototype Team, nominated for Collaboration, completed a complex system-of-systems crash test at Sandia’s 2,000-foot rocket sled track, providing valuable data to verify the over-road transporter can safely and securely transport nuclear weapons, materials and systems. The test involved more than 200 people from Sandia, NNSA, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

“Receiving the award really speaks to the scale of the collaboration effort between many programs and stakeholders and highlights Sandia’s ability to partner together to serve the mission,” team representative Jason Berger said. He noted it was exciting and impactful that Laura McGill sees the work as one of the most important things happening right now at Sandia.

The Mufasa Integrated Review Team demonstrated Technical Excellence when asked to advise on Space Rapid Capabilities Office on the design of the Space Force’s Satellite Communication Augmentation Resource program and BADGER antenna system. In a short period of time, the team was able to provide a detailed technical analysis that helped the sponsor make critical decisions. The team’s implemented recommendations saved the government more than $10 million.

Team representative Ken Plummer applauded the team’s dedication, noting their pride in providing exceptional service in the national interest.

“When Laura announced the winners, just hearing the absolutely incredible breadth and depth of the other projects, it’s extremely humbling to see that this project was picked as a representative of excellence at Sandia,” Ken said.

The W80-4 Warhead Case Anomaly Resolution Team jumped into action when a structural challenge was identified that could have delayed the W80-4 program. A team of multidisciplinary experts quickly came together to find the cause, redesign the part and make sure it could be manufactured while leaders secured funding and coordinated efforts to keep production moving. As a result, the schedule was back on track, the design was improved, no further failures occurred and inspection processes were standardized.

The Division 8000 Workforce Shaping Team, nominated for Collaboration, proactively addressed an emerging funding challenge by developing processes to identify risks and support both staff and management. Their initiatives, which were adopted organization-wide, were celebrated at the California Employee Recognition Awards event on May 28. The Human Resources Business Partner team played a crucial role in managing staff reductions and providing essential support during a period of unprecedented uncertainty. At the Livermore celebration, Laura praised the ingenuity of the team to perform this sensitive work with grace and compassion.

The Workplace Shaping Efforts Team, also nominated for Collaboration, initiated restructuring to align Sandia’s workforce with changing mission priorities. The result was a 1% to 3% reduction that minimized employee impact and preserved essential work. The collaboration across HR, Legal, Communications, Finance, IT, Security, Payroll, Property Management and Accounts Receivable reflected Sandia’s culture and the strength of teamwork.

Team representative Annie Garcia emphasized the power of collaboration in the success of this project. “It took a village to get this done,” she said. “I think it really is this kind of power of the collective where everybody’s discipline is needed to make this full puzzle fit together and work. That’s why it’s really important for us to be able to come together and recognize that this is one lab and we’re all making a difference.”