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Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The assault on LANL, part two
Anonymously contributed by a different contributor:
"American nuclear weapons scientists are now finding that the main threat to their craft comes from an unexpected source: politicians and administrators who are supposed to be on their side."
If the administrators refer to LANS/LLNS management I completely agree. In the past, I had confidence in my Lab management to support and protect me. I respected them and they respected me. The current LANS/LLNS managers (e.g. Bret Knapp) are self-promoting and ruthless.
It's pretty much all about the money at the "for profit" LLC-managed NNSA labs. Lab Directors who once made about $350,000 back in the early 2000s are now pulling down over a million dollars plus a set of very nice perks. Likewise, salaries for lab PADs and ADs have gone up by extremely healthy amounts.
Efficient "business operations" and the subsequent spin-off of profits for Bechtel and their business partners take top billing. PBIs, baby et al.
Science and research are in decline at the labs. That, along with the fact that almost none of the staff who are left seem to really care about the labs since the managers with big, fancy cars and shiny shoes began showing up to pillage the place.
Numerous reports have now documented the destruction of the NNSA labs. All have been ignored. This new report will do little to stem the decline.
It is true that the cost of a staff member has gone through the roof after the contract change. A senior scientist can now cost over half a million a year on an external grant.
Only one third of that goes to support the actual salary of the scientist doing work. The rest ... Well, we have layers upon layers of management, some of which didn't exist before the contract change and all of which are now more expensive. We also pay for asinine computer changes (in the name of "security", of course) that do nothing but impede work, the folks who write and rewrite new rules and procedures, who gave us UTrain and pee tests and took away clean drinking water... The list goes on and on.
For every person at LANL trying to do work there are now two parasites working to impede the said work. And to think that the LLCs were sold to the taxpayer as a way to improve efficiencies.
But the most important thing is this. This bloated system is designed to deliver to the NNSA what they want. The scary thing is what the NNSA actually wants. They want compliance. Only compliance. That's the sole product of the LLCs, piles and piles of compliance paperwork. There is not a single incentive tied to science. So, the ultimate evil here comes from DOE and NNSA, the shiny-shoe people are simply there to oblige.
The strict "culture of compliance" has destroyed these once great research labs. Bechtel has implemented "six sigma"/zero-rate accident risk avoidance schemes and nothing much now gets done. NNSA likes it.
However, we do have a lot of new, highly paid Bechtel managers coming and going throughout the complex. Bechtel likes to "park" them at the labs during the slack times between big Bechtel engineering projects that happen outside of the NNSA labs.
Keep wearing those famous "shoes that GRIP!", folks. Winter is almost here.
According to Dir. McMillan at the Tuesday "All Hands", the weapons budget at LANL is looking at some serious short-falls this year. Something in the range of around $200 million.
No word, yet, though from LANS management about layoffs. They'll probably keep mum about it until just before any layoff is executed.
Not sure how LANL would manage paying severance with the budget problems, though. Perhaps they won't even bother and just remove it from the benefits offered to employees before any layoffs. That would be sleazy, but LANS could follow the Bechtel corporate game plan for doing layoffs. A round of mass firings would also have the same effect (i.e., staff reductions with no severance or unemployment payments for LANS to worry about).
7 comments:
The observations in this excellent article are all true. Unfortunately, nobody cares any longer, esp. Congress.
"American nuclear weapons scientists are now finding that the main threat to their craft comes from an unexpected source: politicians and administrators who are supposed to be on their side."
If the administrators refer to LANS/LLNS management I completely agree. In the past, I had confidence in my Lab management to support and protect me. I respected them and they respected me. The current LANS/LLNS managers (e.g. Bret Knapp) are self-promoting and ruthless.
It's pretty much all about the money at the "for profit" LLC-managed NNSA labs. Lab Directors who once made about $350,000 back in the early 2000s are now pulling down over a million dollars plus a set of very nice perks. Likewise, salaries for lab PADs and ADs have gone up by extremely healthy amounts.
Efficient "business operations" and the subsequent spin-off of profits for Bechtel and their business partners take top billing. PBIs, baby et al.
Science and research are in decline at the labs. That, along with the fact that almost none of the staff who are left seem to really care about the labs since the managers with big, fancy cars and shiny shoes began showing up to pillage the place.
Numerous reports have now documented the destruction of the NNSA labs. All have been ignored. This new report will do little to stem the decline.
It is true that the cost of a staff member has gone through the roof after the contract change. A senior scientist can now cost over half a million a year on an external grant.
Only one third of that goes to support the actual salary of the scientist doing work. The rest ... Well, we have layers upon layers of management, some of which didn't exist before the contract change and all of which are now more expensive. We also pay for asinine computer changes (in the name of "security", of course) that do nothing but impede work, the folks who write and rewrite new rules and procedures, who gave us UTrain and pee tests and took away clean drinking water... The list goes on and on.
For every person at LANL trying to do work there are now two parasites working to impede the said work. And to think that the LLCs were sold to the taxpayer as a way to improve efficiencies.
But the most important thing is this. This bloated system is designed to deliver to the NNSA what they want. The scary thing is what the NNSA actually wants. They want compliance. Only compliance. That's the sole product of the LLCs, piles and piles of compliance paperwork. There is not a single incentive tied to science. So, the ultimate evil here comes from DOE and NNSA, the shiny-shoe people are simply there to oblige.
The strict "culture of compliance" has destroyed these once great research labs. Bechtel has implemented "six sigma"/zero-rate accident risk avoidance schemes and nothing much now gets done. NNSA likes it.
However, we do have a lot of new, highly paid Bechtel managers coming and going throughout the complex. Bechtel likes to "park" them at the labs during the slack times between big Bechtel engineering projects that happen outside of the NNSA labs.
Keep wearing those famous "shoes that GRIP!", folks. Winter is almost here.
According to Dir. McMillan at the Tuesday "All Hands", the weapons budget at LANL is looking at some serious short-falls this year. Something in the range of around $200 million.
No word, yet, though from LANS management about layoffs. They'll probably keep mum about it until just before any layoff is executed.
Not sure how LANL would manage paying severance with the budget problems, though. Perhaps they won't even bother and just remove it from the benefits offered to employees before any layoffs. That would be sleazy, but LANS could follow the Bechtel corporate game plan for doing layoffs. A round of mass firings would also have the same effect (i.e., staff reductions with no severance or unemployment payments for LANS to worry about).
If the loss to weapons at LANL is only $200 million this year, someone should hire Hank, Jr. and be ready for a party. Not.
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