Pantex, Y-12 receive awards for infrastructure achievements
AMARILLO, Texas. – The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Office of Infrastructure recently presented Excellence Awards to teams supporting infrastructure at Y-12 National Security Complex and the Pantex Plant. The annual award program recognizes teams and individuals for infrastructure-related accomplishments that advance the NNSA mission. Three teams from the Y-12 National Security Complex and four teams at the Pantex Plant were recognized for work completed in Fiscal Year 2023.
The award-winning teams are made up of Consolidated Nuclear Security employees from Pantex and Y-12 as well as NNSA’s Y-12 and Pantex field offices. The infrastructure improvements they were recognized for ranged from operations to emergency response support.
“These award-winning projects highlight our outstanding commitment to improve facilities and infrastructure in order to continue safe and secure delivery to our wide variety of customers,” NS Chief Operations Officer Chris Harkins said. “Recognition from NNSA reinforces that our teams are among the top in the nation.”
Pantex projects include upgrades, replacements, and rapid response
The Pantex projects receiving awards included bay and cell upgrades, equipment replacements, and a quick-turn electrical outage.
NNSA’s Office of Infrastructure ensures the existing buildings and systems we have are safely operated, effectively managed, and that the facilities being added are adequately maintained to meet mission needs,” Pantex Field Office Manager Jason Armstrong said. “These individuals have raised the bar of mission success for many years to come.”
The Pantex Bay and Cell Portfolio is a multiyear suite of projects to upgrade the bays and cells where Pantex performs critical assembly and disassembly work. A team working two projects in the portfolio, the High-Pressure Fire Loop and the Flame Detection System, delivered more systems in less time than expected, allowing additional availability for mission work.
Two teams replaced aging equipment on site. The first team demonstrated exceptional agility, timeliness, and collaboration to find and install a new air compressor after an aging air compressor failed. The second team removed combustibles and repaired a fire protection system and associated utilities in a vital operations facility 17 weeks ahead of schedule with a
perfect safety record.
Finally, another Pantex team completed a complicated series of electrical switching and system impairments flawlessly, safely, and in record time in response to a cable failure.
These projects highlight the breadth and caliber of work at Pantex and Y-12 as the sites continue infrastructure modernization efforts.
Y-12 projects include new facilities, process improvements
The award-winning projects at Y-12 included the new operations center and fire station as well as shipping and receiving improvements.
“Infrastructure work impacts the mission, but it also has an intensely personal impact for every employee on site,” Y-12 Field Office Manager Mary Helen Hitson said. “Each of these projects, while impressive in their own rights, directly improve employee safety, security, and morale.”
One team replaced two 1940s-era facilities on-site, the Y-12 Fire Station and Operations Center. The new emergency services buildings modernize operations and improve quality of work-life for first responders who occupy facilities around the clock, 365 days a year. The work, completed as an NNSA pilot program for construction, successfully demonstrated that a similar construction approach can be applied at other sites.
Two teams responded to ongoing challenges in shipping and receiving. The first drove wireless capability installation to track real-time shipments using laptops and tablets, reducing delivery time by 25%. The second developed the first ever overarching program for disposal of material, creating and revising procedures, training users, and conducting assessments.
Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC operates the Pantex Plant, located in Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration. Bechtel National, Inc. is the lead member of CNS; minority members include Leidos, Inc.; ATK Launch Systems, LLC; and SOC LLC. Pantex and Y-12 are key facilities in the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise, and CNS performs its work with a focus on performance excellence and the imperatives of safety, security, zero defects, and delivery as promised.
For more information on each site, visit www.pantex.energy.gov or www.y12.doe.gov. Follow Pantex on Facebook, X or LinkedIn. Follow Y-12 on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.
CONTACT
Steve Myers
Communications
Office (806) 573.6032
Cell (806) 236.2826
Stephen.Myers@pxy12.doe.gov
This West Interconnect Recovery team was honored with an Excellence Award from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Office of Infrastructure for successfully completing a complicated outage 4 weeks ahead of schedule.
Two teams were honored for replacing equipment in bays and cells, both earning an Excellence Award from the National Nuclear Security Administration Office of Infrastructure. The team pictured above worked on upgrades to the Flame Detection System and six High-Pressure Fire Loop systems. The team below performed necessary maintenance to cells.
This team was honored with an Excellence Award from the National Nuclear Security Administration Office of Infrastructure for the replacement of an aging air compressor. They worked through delays and supply-chain issues to make this replacement happen.
Two teams were honored for replacing equipment in bays and cells, both earning an Excellence Award from the National Nuclear Security Administration Office of Infrastructure. The team pictured above worked on upgrades to the Flame Detection System and six High-Pressure Fire Loop systems. The team below performed necessary maintenance to cells.