Pictured, left to right: Pam Marks, Federal Project Director, DOE-Savannah River Salt Waste Processing Facility Project Office (SWPFPO); Mary Ann Hopkins, President, Parsons Government Services, Inc.; Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, DOE Deputy Secretary; Kim Rapp, Project Controls Lead, SWPFPO; Shayne Farrell, Deputy Federal Project Director, SWPFPO; and Frank Sheppard, Senior Vice President and SWPF Project Manager, Parsons.

WASHINGTON, D.C.Savannah River Site’s (SRS) Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) project team recently garnered the Department of Energy Secretary’s Project Management Improvement Award for 2015. 

   Once operational, SWPF will be a key component in the site’s salt waste processing strategy, greatly increasing the rate of processing about 90 percent of the 37 million gallons of radioactive liquid waste in the underground tank farms at SRS for disposal.

   In an important milestone in the SRS cleanup, SWPF construction is expected to be completed this spring, with commissioning and startup targeted for December 2018.

   DOE honored the SWPF project team for developing a new acquisition strategy, negotiating contract changes including a construction cost cap, partnering with SWPF contractor Parsons to improve project relationships, enhancing the project metrics, and improving communications through monthly reporting.

   The team improved performance with the goal of completing construction ahead of schedule and under cost. Team members enhanced DOE staffing and oversight, embraced routine external reviews, and added supplemental reviews aimed at project improvement.

   “The changes set high expectations and challenges for both DOE and Parsons to achieve the best possible project performance,” DOE-Savannah River Salt Waste Processing Facility Project Office Federal Project Director Pamela Marks said. “The results of the changes were improved project performance and increased trust and confidence. SWPF construction is nearly complete, ahead of the revised construction schedule and budget.”

   The award is presented annually to project teams that implement new ideas, methods, or processes that lead to measurable improvements in project management.