SRS Rates Contractor’s Fiscal Year 2016 Performance as 'Very Good'

AIKEN, S.C. – The DOE Savannah River Operations Office (DOE-SR) awarded its management-and-operations contractor an overall rating of “very good” for its fiscal year (FY) 2016 performance in an award fee determination scorecard. The assessment allowed Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) to earn $39,157,202, or 87 percent, of the total available fee for the period.

   DOE-SR noted several milestones SRNS achieved in FY 2016 in its environmental management work at Savannah River Site:

• SRNS achieved significant progress in nuclear facility operations in FY 2016:

o All units in H-Canyon became operational for the first time since 2011;

o Achievement of startup and operation of plutonium down blending in K-Area in September 2016; and

o Effective use of limited resources to address emergent issues in L-Area from fuel receipts, including changes necessary for receipt of target residue material.  

• Progress with 235-F risk reduction and execution of Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board 2012-1 Implementation Plan requirements.  
• Strong management of the D-Area Ash Project. 
• Establishment of Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) as an independent business unit and creation of a new governance framework, allowing greater flexibility for SRNL and delivering more efficient and timely research, development and engineering support to the EM complex and other SRNL customers.
• Cybersecurity improvements and accomplishments.

   Fee-bearing work is identified prior to each fiscal year and managed through the baseline earned value management and work authorization systems. The work must be planned, funded, and approved to establish an approved baseline for the new fiscal year. Strategic decisions relative to agency and program initiatives are incorporated in the baseline work. 

   DOE-SR focused efforts in FY 2016 in three areas: contractor assurance systems, emergency management and conduct of operations. To strengthen conduct of operations, SRNS used lessons learned and actions identified from an HB-Line event to improve employee and supervisory training, quality of site procedures, readiness evaluations for site nuclear activities, and overall nuclear operations. This has been evident by operators demonstrating willingness to stop work for safety concerns; increased emphasis by management on procedure compliance; and revisions to procedures when needed in a more efficient manner.

   SRNS improved emergency management by being proactive in the site's active shooter awareness program. SRNS developed and shared active shooter response videos on employee's desktop computers and created posters, information pamphlets and educational tables at site events. The contractor improved resource management and planning, and emergency response drills and exercises, according to DOE-SR. 

   SRNS developed an effective contractor assurance system structure in FY 2016. The system includes an improved system description and upgraded metrics allowing for improvement in all contractual areas.

   The scorecard outlines areas for improvement in FY 2017, including:  

• Corrective action closure not timely, closure not documented adequately and without consistent post-closure effectiveness reviews;
• Incomplete metrics required to track progress;
• Insufficient subcontract acquisition planning and management; and 
• Inadequate communication with DOE counterparts.