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AMARILLO, Texas- Pantex was recently named a veteran-friendly employer by the Texas Workforce Commission and Texas Veterans Commission. To be considered for the distinction, employers must employ a workforce of 10% or more veterans; more than 20% of the employee base at Pantex is made up of veterans, earning the award for large corporation veteran-friendly employer for the Panhandle area.

“Pantexans truly appreciate veterans,” said Heather Freeman, human resources site manager. “It is an honor to work alongside the heroes of our country. The experience they gain as a veteran is an excellent match for the important Pantex mission. It was very rewarding to be recognized as ‘vet-friendly’ before so many Texas employers at the conference. The recognition represents decades of Pantex valuing our vets.”

Pantex takes pride in its veterans and works closely with the Texas Veterans Commission to match and employ transitioning military servicemen and women into the workforce. This is not the first time Pantex has received an award focus on veterans. In 2012, Pantex was awarded the Department of Texas Veterans of Foreign Wars Employer of the Year for large companies.

“Military service builds skills that are very valuable to employers,” said Freeman. “Veterans have training in leadership, teamwork, loyalty, decision making and technical skills. They have real-life experience, work well under pressure, are responsible, have a strong work ethic and can interact with a variety of people. It is a great investment for both employers and those who have served our country.”

Pantex holds a special ceremony each year commemorating Armed Forces Day to honor and acknowledge veterans’ service to the country – both as veterans and as Pantex employees.

Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) operates the Pantex Plant, located in Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, under a single contract for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration. Pantex and Y-12 are key facilities in the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise, and CNS performs its work with a focus on the 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) 573-0490
stephen.myers@pantex.doe.gov

At the Amarillo Small Business Partnership Awards ceremony held Oct. 11, Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC recognized Hart Moving and Storage, Inc. of Lubbock as the company’s small business partner of the year.

“Each year, we highlight a small business that models our CNS values – integrity, trust, respect, teamwork, and excellence,” said Ryan Johnston, Pantex Small Business Program manager. “We are proud to recognize Hart Moving for their outstanding work this year in support of Pantex.”

Hart Moving transported more than 6,000 boxes of employee items from various plant buildings to the new John C. Drummond Center administrative building with zero incidents or injuries.

The award is part of CNS’s continued commitment to small business partnership at Pantex and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

CNS Chief Operating Officer Michelle Reichert said, “Small businesses are a vital part of mission success at Pantex. They offer unique expertise, technology, and business solutions.”

During fiscal year 2018, Pantex spent $139 million on goods and services from more than 471 small businesses, which equates to 77 percent of the total Pantex procurements. Overall, CNS awarded 69.9 percent of subcontracts at Pantex and Y-12 to small businesses, surpassing the company’s goal of 50 percent. This includes those classified as small disadvantaged, woman-owned, veteran-owned, and service disabled veteran-owned small businesses.

This month, Pantex began the process of demolition and removal of excess facilities to continue efforts to reduce the size of the Pantex footprint. With the completion and occupancy of the John C. Drummond Center, vacated facilities were loaded on trailers and are in the process of being removed.

All four facilities totaling 51,327 square feet are expected to be removed by November. This marks just the beginning of more efforts in the future to reduce Pantex’s environmental impact.

Four Pantex teams were awarded the National Nuclear Security Administration NA-50 Award of Excellence for their exceptional accomplishments made in support of efforts to achieve NNSA’s mission. Members from Construction and Maintenance, Personnel Security/Access Control, Construction Management, and CNS Construction Field Engineering were recognized during a special ceremony in the Pantex John C. Drummond Center for their outstanding accomplishments involving innovation, effectiveness, teamwork, overcoming adversity and enabling future successes.

“Our people do extraordinary work every day ensuring the operability of the infrastructure at Pantex and Y-12 in support of the mission,” said Senior Director of Infrastructure Programs for CNS, Steve Laggis. “As I work with my staff on infrastructure issues we have a saying to guide our planning. That is, ‘we have to do the right things, to the right infrastructure, in the right way.’”

The team projects highlighted included a failing power transformer repaired at Pantex safely and within budget, the construction subcontractor access control process was streamlined and reduced paperwork from 31,290 pages to 2,235, Pantex and Y-12 construction work processes were consolidated setting the standard for future CNS Enterprise Manuals, and 1,024 sq. ft. of skylights were replaced for Sandia.

“The teams collaborated to do some really important things here. We very infrequently have the opportunity to give those kinds of awards out,” said Jim McConnell, NNSA Associate Administrator for Safety, Infrastructure and Operations. “I’m excited about that the work that is done here at Pantex can be recognized with these awards. I know that I will be back next year with another big stack of awards to give out for the things that are going on as we speak.”

Pantex Outreach and Leadership Organization (POLO) participated in Over the Edge, a fundraising event for Amarillo Family Support Services. The group raised funds to “Toss the Boss” sending Joe Papp, senior director for Pantex Engineering, over the edge of Amarillo’s Santa Fe building. Consolidated Nuclear Security matched the POLO donations for a $1,000 total gift to FSS.

The Pantex Safeguards & Security team was recognized once again for their protective force posture realignment with a Department of Energy 2017 Outstanding Security Team Award. You’ll remember the team was recently recognized for the same project by the National Nuclear Security Administration. The new changes leverage the use of technologies and more efficiently secure areas of the Pantex site.

The Pantex Special Response Team recently welcomed 13 new members during the Tactical Response Force II class graduation. The TRF-200 graduates completed five weeks of rigorous tests and evaluations and an extra week of Basic Tactical Entry training.

Kristy McWilliams, Pantex senior director for Safeguards & Security, said, “These graduates represent the best of the best. They were challenged mentally and physically, and I commend them for their dedication and hard work.”

The graduates completed 17 testable objectives and were evaluated each day on safety, task performance, and marksmanship. They applied their battle and marksmanship skills in live fire exercises and force-on-force scenarios under day and night conditions. The group spent more than 100 of their 240 course hours in the on-site shoot house, where they trained in live fire close quarter battle.

The Pantex Security Posture Change Working Group received the NNSA Security Team Award for 2017. The team received the award for their dedication and commitment to the Pantex Protective Force posture realignment, a major undertaking with numerous benefits. When combined with other security assets, the realignment provides an extremely robust security system by leveraging the use of new technologies to more effectively secure the site while increasing the survivability and lethality of the fighting force.

“This team demonstrated innovation,” said Lyle Cary, CNS vice president of Safeguards, Security & Emergency Services. “We put a challenge out to review the posture to see if we can leverage technologies, tactics, techniques, procedures, to become more efficient, and to not only preserve effectiveness, but improve our effectiveness as well. And this team went after that with gusto.”

“This was a huge undertaking by the entire Safeguards & Security staff,” said Kristy McWilliams, senior director of Pantex Safeguards & Security. “While the award recognizes 12 of the leaders of this effort, it truly was a team effort that required integration among all the security disciplines. I am proud of the teamwork, commitment, and dedication of everyone who had a hand in making this effort a success. Their hard work contributes each and every day to ensuring the safety and security of our nation’s valuable resources.”

The Department of Energy’s Sustainable Acquisition Program is committed to “green purchasing,” giving preference to products that are energy and water efficient, made from biobased or recycled content, are nontoxic or less toxic than conventional alternatives, release nonozone depleting chemicals, and support the overall use of alternative fuels and fuel efficient products.

A broader focus

Pantex and Y 12 are recognized across the Nuclear Security Enterprise as sustainability champions. Now, Sherith Colverson, who recently joined CNS, will lead broader efforts at both sites to evaluate CNS’s purchases to ensure they meet or exceed federally required sustainability criteria.

“We do a significant amount of recycling our different materials streams to keep them from becoming waste streams,” said Colverson of Sustainability and Stewardship Programs. “Now, we’re going to take the next step. My focus will be on helping organizations purchase green products to begin with.”

Colverson’s role is to provide oversight and assistance to CNS employees, which includes interpreting and implementing all facets of DOE’s Sustainable Acquisition Program. She will help organizations comply with Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture requirements as well as Executive Order 13834.

“The Sustainable Acquisition Program simply ensures that our federal government leads by example in protecting the health of our shared environment and reducing environmental impact through the purchase of sustainable products, as well as services,” Colverson said. “It is an activity that spans all organizations. It is part of our contracts, cafeteria service, construction and remodeling of buildings, custodial operations, vehicle fleet, grounds and facility maintenance, operations and office environments, and information technology.”

Biobased products
One of the ways CNS can lead by example is by purchasing biobased products. Biobased products are derived from plants and other renewable agricultural, marine, and forestry materials and provide an alternative to conventional petroleum derived products. Products include lubricants, cleaning agents, inks, fertilizers, and bioplastics. Some of these products, such as hand soaps and hand sanitizers, are already used throughout Pantex and Y 12.

“I look forward to learning more about how both sites are operating, building, and providing maintenance with current products,” Colverson said. “I’m here to work with all organizations to find those sustainable and biobased products or services that could potentially help increase efficiency, optimize performance, reduce environmental impacts, and cut costs.”

CNS hosted a Manufacturing Practices Lean Summit to grow continuous improvement through a community of sharing and practice. The summit, held at Y 12, included attendees from each site within the Nuclear Security Enterprise as well as the United Kingdom’s Atomic Weapons Establishment.

“A significant part of our operation is continuous improvement, and we learn from others in the complex,” said Pantex Site Manager Todd Ailes. “The summit has given us an opportunity to share lean strategies to help us continue forward. Our work is about people, core missions, and techniques for continuous improvement.”

Reed Mullins, senior director of Production Operations at Y 12, said, “We’re coming together as a complex to break out of our silos, to learn from our mistakes, and to look at what did and did not work well. Our goal is to better support our people daily.”