Publications Details
Implementing change in the facilities planning process
In the post-Cold War climate of reduced budgets at the national laboratories, the Sites Planning Department at Sandia National Laboratories was faced with the problem of securing funding for capital construction projects in a very competitive environment. The Department of Energy (DOE), felt that requests for new facilities were not always well coordinated with its mission needs. The Sites Planning Department needed to revolutionize the way they were doing business. To be successful in obtaining approval and funding for future facilities, they recognized the need to concentrate their efforts on project proposals that tap strategic programs at DOE. The authors developed a series of new processes to identify, evaluate, prioritize, and develop line item project proposals to request approval and obtain funding. A matrixed group of sites and facilities directors was formed to establish criteria and make preliminary recommendations to upper management. Matrixed working groups were also established at the staff level to develop and prepare projects for the prioritization process. Ultimately, similar processes will be applied to all project types, and a prioritized plan generated for each. These plans will become the blueprint for an overarching strategic site plan. What started as a means of increasing success in obtaining approval and funding of capital projects has launched a whole new approach to project development that permits incorporation of facilities planning into overall corporate strategic planning.