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OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Some 212 Pantex and Y-12 employees recently were recognized by the Office of Defense Programs for setting the bar high with their work and significant contributions to sustain our nation’s nuclear deterrent.

“The work that underpins the stockpile is complex and challenging,” said Phil Calbos, principal assistant deputy administrator for Defense Programs. “These awards recognize the most exceptional of those efforts, and it is important to take time to honor those involved. Our superb people are at the core of NNSA’s role as part of the deterrent.”

DP Awards of Excellence recipients have made — in any phase of the nuclear weapons life cycle process — an identifiable and significant achievement in providing increased quality; productivity; cost savings; creativity; or enhanced weapon safety, security, or use control. Ceremonies were held in Amarillo, Texas, to honor 10 teams and Oak Ridge, Tenn., to honor three teams of award recipients.

“Your accomplishments are crucial to our continued success and represent Pantex and Y-12 at their best. Thank you for maintaining our can do spirit,” CNS President and Chief Executive Officer Morgan Smith said. “Our sites have made significant achievements throughout our history that we often reflect on, but your work sets the stage for our future. You’re pushing us forward daily with better ways to get the job done. Each of the 13 projects recognized by Defense Programs makes me very proud — of you, your foresight, and your dedication to our mission for the nation. Thank you.”

The DP Awards of Excellence were established in 1982 to recognize significant individual and team accomplishments across the nuclear weapons complex in support of NNSA’s nuclear weapons program. The awards recognize significant achievements in quality, productivity, cost savings, safety, or creativity supporting NNSA’s nuclear weapons modernization program. Federal employees and contractors are eligible to win awards. An executive review panel, with equal representation from each office, selects the winners annually.

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.

Two hundred and twelve Pantex and Y-12 employees were singled out by the Office of Defense Programs for setting the bar high with their work and significant contributions to sustain our nation’s defense system.

“It’s important for the Office of Defense Programs to recognize the exceptional, complex, challenging, and innovative work that employees across the enterprise carry out each day, because their contributions ensure that our stockpile — the bedrock of the nation’s security — remains safe, secure, and effective,” said Phil Calbos, acting deputy administrator for Defense Programs. “NNSA’s stockpile stewardship capability is a central part of the nuclear deterrent, and it supports national and global security.”

Recently, ceremonies were held at Pantex to honor 10 teams and at Y-12 to honor three teams of award recipients.

DP Awards of Excellence recipients have made — in any phase of the nuclear weapons life cycle process — an identifiable and significant achievement in providing increased quality; productivity; cost savings; creativity; or enhanced weapon safety, security, or use control.

“Your accomplishments are crucial to our continued success and represent Pantex and Y-12 at their best. Thank you for maintaining our can do spirit,” CNS President and Chief Executive Officer Morgan Smith said. “Our sites have made significant achievements throughout our history that we often reflect on, but your work sets the stage for our future. You’re pushing us forward daily with better ways to get the job done. Each of the 13 projects recognized by Defense Programs makes me very proud — of you, your foresight, and your dedication to our mission for the nation. Thank you.”

Pantex winning teams:

• Automated Purchase and Ship Authorization
• Enterprise Logistics Management System Enhancements
• Pit Radiography Special Request for Pantex
• W78 Tooling Improvement Startup
• Accelerated Aging of New Production PBX-9501
• High Explosive Pressing Debonding
• WETL Additional Centrifuge-Drive Replacement
• PT3854 RF PTAE Development
• Qualification Evaluation Reports Cycle Reporting Process Improvements
• Highly Efficient Reliable Operations Tool

Y-12 winning teams:

• Direct Chip Melt Process Validation
• Electronic Derivative Classifier/Reviewing Official System
• Dismantlement Acceleration

These awards celebrate achievements across the entire Nuclear Security Enterprise and are presented in special ceremonies throughout the year at the laboratories, sites, and headquarters. During 2017, the 2016 special awards were distributed to 2,300 members across the Nuclear Security Enterprise.

The DP Awards of Excellence were established in 1982 to recognize significant individual and team accomplishments across the nuclear weapons complex in support of NNSA’s nuclear weapons program. The awards recognize significant achievements in quality, productivity, cost savings, safety, or creativity supporting NNSA’s nuclear weapons modernization program. Federal employees and contractors are eligible to win awards. An executive review panel, with equal representation from each office, selects the winners annually.

Congratulations to all 212 Pantex and Y-12 award winners!

The W78 Tooling Improvement Startup team of 26 met an aggressive schedule for new tooling to be implemented ahead of schedule and with a cost savings.

Pantex recently reached a major milestone when they passed 5 million hours without a Lost Time injury. From December 20, 2016 to December 2, 2017, Pantexans worked 5,979,716 hours without a Lost Time injury.

Jimmy Rogers, Pantex Safety and Industrial Hygiene manager, said in November2017 Pantex received two recognitions from the National Safety Council. The first was the Million Work Hours Award - noting the more than 5 million hours worked without a Lost Time injury and the second, the Occupational Excellence Achievement Award – awarded to companies that have Lost Time injury cases equal to or less than 50 percent of their industry classification code.

“I am very proud of Pantex,” said Rogers. “This is evidence that we are heading in the right direction. With keeping safety as our first imperative and our dedication to each other, we can continue to improve and strive for our goal of an injury-free workplace.”

Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Department of Energy records worker injuries in four categories, from the least serious to most serious:

• First aid: an injury such as minor cuts, sprains, or strains
• Recordable: an injury that require medical treatment such as prescriptions, stitches, or physical therapy
• Restricted Work: an injury that impacts regular work duties
• Lost Time: an injury that requires the employee be off work at least one shift

The last time Pantex achieved this many hours was in 2012, when the site went 14 months and more than 8 million hours without a Lost Time injury.

From left: Monte McAnear, Robin Harris, Anthony Ingersoll, and Corey Strickland showcase Pantex’s two recent safety recognitions.

Congratulations to Pantex on this significant accomplishment; shown are Jackie Mercer (left), Gerald Johnston, and Donny Perry.

Amarillo, Texas—Emergency response personnel from the National Nuclear Security Administration and Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), will conduct an emergency management exercise January 17th at the Pantex Plant.

During this exercise, between 8:00 a.m. and noon people in the vicinity of the Pantex Plant may observe response personnel simulating response activities as part of the exercise.

This event is part of emergency management exercises conducted on a regular basis by the U.S. Department of Energy Pantex Plant. These exercises test the ability of emergency personnel to respond quickly and effectively to emergency situations, and ensure that the public, Pantex employees and the environment would be protected in the event of an actual emergency.

Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) honored North Amarillo Auto Parts as Small Business of the Year at this year’s Amarillo Small Business Awards. The ceremony was a collaborative effort among CNS, West Texas A&M University, the City of Amarillo, and the 'West Texas A&M University">WTAMU Small Business Development Center to recognize small businesses in the Texas Panhandle area.

With a fleet that includes fire trucks and specialized security vehicles, many of Pantex’s requests fall outside normal auto parts requests. Paul Bently, Pantex crafts supervisor, said “Matt (Newkirk) at North Amarillo Auto Parts spends countless hours on the phone and on the internet searching for hard-to-find parts that we need every day in the shop.”

CNS has set a goal to award 60 percent of contracts to small businesses. “CNS would not be able to achieve its mission without the support of small businesses; they truly are the heart of our economy,” said Ryan Johnston, the CNS Small Business Program Manager.

Watch this short video about North Amarillo Auto Parts and its relationship with Pantex.

Pantex Emergency Management was recently granted membership in the National Information Sharing Consortium, an independent consortium of civic, federal, and private leaders in public safety, emergency preparedness and response, and information sharing technologies.

NISC was launched in 2012 to improve the state of public safety and emergency management information sharing and interoperability. The organization achieves this goal by sharing, connecting, innovating, and leading. With its NISC membership, Pantex Emergency Management has new access to tools, templates, and lessons learned that will provide value to the site’s emergency response operations.

Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC honored North Amarillo Auto Parts as Small Business of the Year at this year’s Amarillo Small Business Awards. The ceremony was a collaborative effort among CNS, West Texas A&M University, the City of Amarillo, and the WTAMU Small Business Development Center to recognize small businesses in the Texas Panhandle area.

With a fleet that includes fire trucks and specialized security vehicles, many of Pantex’s requests fall outside normal auto parts requests. Paul Bently, Pantex crafts supervisor, said "Matt (Newkirk) at North Amarillo Auto Parts spends countless hours on the phone and on the internet searching for hard-to-find parts that we need every day in the shop."

CNS has set a goal to award 60 percent of contracts to small businesses. “CNS would not be able to achieve its mission without the support of small businesses; they truly are the heart of our economy,” said Ryan Johnston, the CNS Small Business Program Manager.

Watch this video about North Amarillo Auto Parts and its relationship with Pantex.

Secretary of Energy Rick Perry tours the Administrative Support Complex construction site during his first visit to the Pantex Plant.

Secretary of Energy Rick Perry recently made his first visit to the Pantex Plant to observe operations and tour new facilities. He toured the Administrative Support Complex construction site, bays and cells used for weapon assembly and disassembly activities, and a weapon and component staging area. Secretary Perry also viewed the new Confined Large Optical Scintillator Screen and Imaging System (known as CoLOSSIS II) and a live-fire demonstration of the Common Remotely Operated Weapons System. The visit provided Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC an excellent opportunity to showcase Pantex’s important role in America’s security and the site’s ongoing infrastructure revitalization efforts.

Pantex’s Mike Bromley of Projects Management recently received the 2017 American Society for Engineering Management Best Dissertation award at the organization’s International Annual Conference in Huntsville, Alabama.

The engineering and management professionals in the ASEM remarked that Bromley’s dissertation integrated analytical and managerial concerns with quality design and data collection, resulting in conclusions with application to many organizations.

The analysis of his dissertation, Economic Analysis Model for High Reliability Organizations, required significant input related to plant operations, facilities, personnel, costs, events, incidents, and accidents. Bromley said he appreciated the helpful input from many Pantex subject matter experts on meteorology, asbestos, cost estimating, safety analysis, process engineering, and high explosives. He also added that a non-employee could never have collected the required data, and it was a challenge to keep everything unclassified.

AMARILLO, Texas –The Amarillo Chamber of Commerce is shining a spotlight on its “Top 20 Under 40” winners, and among them are two Pantexans; Joshua Cunningham and Brandy Ramirez.

To be eligible, along with being under the age of 40, the candidates must be employed in the area for at least three years, and in the same field, though not necessarily at the same businesses. Nominations were received through the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce website, and the winners were selected by judges who reviewed nominations and picked the top 20 award winners as up-and-coming Amarillo professionals who are standouts in their professions.

Cunningham currently serves as Pantex Nuclear Material Control & Accountability Manager. In this role, Cunningham is responsible for the control and accountability of all special nuclear material and accountable nuclear material. He graduated summa cum laude from West Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry in 2005, joining Pantex the next year as a Laboratory Engineering Technician. He has fulfilled several roles, including scientist, production section manager, facility manager, and senior scientist, prior to accepting his current position.

Cunningham says he is “passionate about leadership and takes great satisfaction in caring for those that are part of his team and focusing on opportunities for impacting positive change for the people he serves.”

Ramirez, a graduate of Caprock High School, received her degree from West Texas A&M University in Mechanical Engineering and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Science and System & Engineering management from Texas Tech University. She began as an intern at Pantex in 2010 and took on a full-time role in System/Facility Engineering in 2012. She serves as the president of the Amarillo Society of Women Engineers and the Pantex Women in Nuclear chapter, and hopes to inspire young women to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

“My goal is to learn more about Pantex in hopes of moving from a technical position to management, where I can inspire others and apply skills obtained through professional development that Pantex has offered me,” said Ramirez.

Jason Harrison, vice president of Business Development and Governmental Affairs with the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce, said, “The Chamber realizes the importance of our young professionals and is excited each year to recognize those business professionals under the age of 40 that exemplify the
highest of standards of professional excellence in their industry and careers and have demonstrated personal achievement in their lives, as well as brought value to the Amarillo business community.”

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.