Savannah River Site federal and contractor employees gather for a ribbon cutting for a “one-stop shop” for employee onboarding at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS).
Savannah River Site federal and contractor employees gather for a ribbon cutting for a “one-stop shop” for employee onboarding at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS).

AIKEN, S.C. – About $4.7 million in savings from Savannah River Site (SRS) fiscal 2019 infrastructure improvement projects enabled renovations to a building that consolidates new employee onboarding for the site’s management and operations contractor.

“It’s now a one-stop shop for new employees,” said Stuart MacVean, president and CEO of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS). “General employee training, badging, and medical testing are all in one location. This also frees up much needed office space at other SRS facilities.”

SRNS expects the new center will more efficiently and effectively meet the needs of future employees.

The renovations cost $2.9 million, about a third of the cost of a new facility comparable in size and furnishings.

“It’s a great news story regarding bringing together a lot of folks that had different needs that could all be consolidated and pulled together in one place,” MacVean said. “Thanks to all the people who made this possible, from the planning phase through moving and setup.”

Renovations to Building 703-47A consolidate the Savannah River Nuclear Solutions new employee onboarding process into a "one-stop shop" with general employee training, badging, and medical testing all in one location.
Renovations to Building 703-47A consolidate the Savannah River Nuclear Solutions new employee onboarding process into a "one-stop shop" with general employee training, badging, and medical testing all in one location.

Ironically, SRS had planned to demolish the building, known as 703-47A, within weeks of the decision to renovate it. Don Turno, SRNS site program support manager, said a company in Augusta was loading the wrecking ball and support equipment onto a trailer when it received a call about the change in plans.

“Improving and sustaining our site’s infrastructure is an area of strength we can point to, where time and again, steady progress has been and continues to be made, whether it’s roofs, roads, or buildings,” MacVean said. “We completed $120 million worth of infrastructure improvements over this past fiscal year with significant costs savings.”

Those projects include upgrading cybersecurity; obtaining new emergency service vehicles; refurbishing emergency power generators and fire water support systems; paving more than 50 miles of roads; replacing over 25 roofs, comparable in area to three football fields; and upgrading power distribution systems. Workers also renovated the patrol headquarters building for SRS security contractor Centerra.

Between fiscal years 2016 and 2019, SRS crews completed more than 50 infrastructure improvement projects valued at over $350 million.