Anonymously contributed:
LANL Managers Rewarded
By John Fleck / Journal Staff Writer on Thu, Jan 5, 2012
Federal officials this week awarded a Bechtel-University of California team $83.7 million for its management of Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2011, plus a one year extension of its lab management contract as a bonus, but refused to release the performance evaluation report on which the decisions were based.
The one-year extension means the current team will be in charge at Los Alamos through 2017.
“The award is a tribute to our employees’ dedication to delivering on our commitments,” lab director Charlie McMillan said in a statement. “2011 was an outstanding year for science and mission execution at the Laboratory.”
Refusal to make public the Los Alamos “Performance Evaluation Report” and a similar report evaluating Lockheed Martin’s performance managing Sandia National Laboratories, which the Journal has been requesting for more than a month, continues an agency practice that has drawn criticism from watchdogs who say the information is vital to understanding whether the agency is being a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars.
28 comments:
Everyone in my group including the group leader where really disappointed after this was announced. Moral at the lab just got lower.
Silence is golden. Mediocrity has become the norm at the labs. NNSA is a joke and Bechtel are just plain crooks.
Fortunately, Knapp will still get his bonus.
Unfortunately the Obama Transparency Policy apparently doesn't apply to LANS/LLNS.
Government should be transparent. Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing. Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset. My Administration will take appropriate action, consistent with law and policy, to disclose information rapidly in forms that the public can readily find and use. Executive departments and agencies should harness new technologies to put information about their operations and decisions online and readily available to the public. Executive departments and agencies should also solicit public feedback to identify information of greatest use to the public.
Barack Obama, The White House
“The award is a tribute to our employees’ dedication to delivering on our commitments,” lab director Charlie McMillan said in a statement.
Let's give LANS workers a "pad on the back" and LANS Senior Managers a "fistful" of dollars for this hard work!
If you at least want to see what they were being judged against, look at
PDF of LANL FY2011 Performance Evaluation Plan
The headline says "Bechtel awarded..." but this is not the full picture.
Performance fee for LANS goes to the four partners: University of California, Bechtel, URS, and Babcock and Wilcox.
Even if you restrict it to the major players, that's still UC and Bechtel.
I get that people like to bash Bechtel-- 12:09 PM, I'm looking at you-- but let's stay factual.
Follow the money.....
I get that people like to bash Bechtel-- 12:09 PM, I'm looking at you-- but let's stay factual.
January 10, 2012 4:22 PM
Looks like to pissed of NNSA or Bechtel 4:22. I can't help but being reminded when Nixon stated "I'm not a crook" when he was one in the truest sense of the word. One thing for sure, "crooks don't like being called crooks".
If you at least want to see what they were being judged against, look at
PDF of LANL FY2011 Performance Evaluation Plan
January 10, 2012 3:54 PM
Not good enough, the public wants to see the distribution of wealth (award fee) to LANS/LLNS Senior Executives. After all, they paid for it!
MORE DETAILS ON LLNL FEE FOR FY 2011
Lawrence Livermore National Security, the Bechtel and University of California-led manager of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, earned $12.8 million in fixed fee during Fiscal Year 2011 and was paid a total of $47.0 million for managing the lab, according to details of the contractor's performance released by the National Nuclear Security Administration late last week. The fixed fee is in addition to $26.3 million (out of $29.7 million) of at-risk fee-reported last week by NW&M Monitor-and $7.95 million in fee for Work for Others activities at the lab. LLNS could have earned up to $50.5 million, and in receiving 88.7 percent of its at-risk fee, it earned a "very good" rating from the NNSA and a one-year "award term" extension to its contract, stretching the deal through 2016. LLNS earned $45.7 million out of $49.8 million available in FY2010.
I'm told a Becthel corporate jet lands every day at Los Alamos Airport to unload a bunch of "suits" to meet with McMillan to divvie up their fee.
I'm told a Becthel corporate jet lands every day at Los Alamos Airport to unload a bunch of "suits" to meet with McMillan to divvie up their fee.
January 11, 2012 8:09 PM
You're told?? What the hell does that mean? By whom? Have you ever seen such a jet at the Los Alamos airport daily? Why don't you go sit by the runway and see if it's true? No-nothing rumormonger.
I'm told a Becthel corporate jet lands every day at Los Alamos Airport to unload a bunch of "suits" to meet with McMillan to divvie up their fee.
January 11, 2012 8:09 PM
Funny you should say that, 8:09 PM. I've actually been seeing small corporate jets at the Los Alamos airport lately. I never saw corporate jets at the airport before last month and I've lived here for many years.
Does make one wonder if something is up with the Bechtel "suits" who now pretty much call the major shots at LANL. Perhaps the plan is to RIF as much of the current staff as they can to make way for more Bechtel transplants in the future?
Miss Mike yet?
At least he had the spine to resist some of the worst ideas. Charlie is cut from a different cloth.
Miss Mike yet?
At least he had the spine to resist some of the worst ideas. Charlie is cut from a different cloth.
January 13, 2012 6:23 AM
Mike had no spine! He struck me as being afraid to address Knapp's hateful behavior. I guess he condoned it.
Does make one wonder if something is up with the Bechtel "suits" who now pretty much call the major shots at LANL. Perhaps the plan is to RIF as much of the current staff as they can to make way for more Bechtel transplants in the future?
January 13, 2012 12:53 AM
Well duh! $85,000,000 just showed up in the LANS bank account. These Bechtel folks are like flies. When then "heap" is dumped, they are all over it!
NEWS FLASH
THE NATIONAL DEBT GOES UP 4.2 BILLION PER DAY. Report below.
Would expect to see both LLNL and LANL get budget cuts.
(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama has been increasing the national debt during his presidency by an average of $4.24 billion per day ($4,240,506,004.34) putting him on a pace to increase the national debt by $6.2 trillion ($6,195,379,272,340.74) by the end of his term on Jan. 20, 2013, according to the debt figures published by the U.S. Treasury.
That $6.2 trillion is more debt than was accumulated by all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Bill Clinton combined.
In fact, the U.S. national debt did not eclipse the $6.195 trillion level—the amount Obama is on pace to increase it in one term—until August 19, 2002, during President George W. Bush’s second year of office.
The national debt was $10.6 trillion ($10,626,877,048,913.08) on Jan. 20, 2009, the day Obama was inaugurated. As of the close of business on Jan. 11, 2012, it was $15.2 trillion ($15,236,307,075,631.58.) In Obama’s first 1,087 days in office, the debt increased $4.6 trillion ($4,609,430,026,718.50)—or an increase of $4.24 billion ($4,240,506,004.34) per day.
At that daily rate, the debt would increase a total of $6.2 trillion ($6,195,379,272,340.74) over the entire 1,461 days of Obama’s four year term.
I never saw corporate jets at the airport before last month and I've lived here for many years.
January 13, 2012 12:53 AM
B.S. Small corporate jets have been landing in LA routinely since the contract competition began in late 2004. Bechtel, Lockheed-Martin, etc., even UC. Find another suspicious activity to "make one wonder." Paranoia generally springs from ignorance.
Those are some big figures you "rolled-up" January 13, 2012 11:31 AM. Who cares anymore?
“The award is a tribute to our employees’ dedication to delivering on our commitments,”
"But because they are such saps" he continued, " we froze their salaries and kept the tribute for ourselves".
"We have truly learned much about management from studying the intel on the Chinese and Russian kleptocracies and are now implementing their best practices".
The ugly managerial greed that has destroyed Wall Street and Congress is now destroying the labs.
Not a single metric in the scores that determine the annual profit fee payouts relate to research or the quality of science at the NNSA labs.
That tells you almost everything you need to know about the new LLC run weapon labs and the values of the corporate management team (Bechtel et al) that profit from these labs.
January 17, 2012 11:14 PM, you're wrong.
Page 58 of the LANL Performance Evaluation Plan, PBI 12 and seven sub-points: Excellence in Science, Technology and Engineering.
Several others scattered throughout.
What does this tell us about you?
The ugly managerial greed that has destroyed Wall Street and Congress is now destroying the labs.
January 17, 2012 10:59 PM
Right. Wall Street(assuming you mean the US stock market) is rebounding well, although some brokerage houses are experiencing lesser bonuses for their traders than in previous years. Otherwise, the market is doing quite nicely, considering, for which I, as a middle income investor, am exceedingly grateful. My stock funds are doing much better than I expected, but since I am diversified in the market, the ones that aren't don't hurt me that much. My net worth is up about 10% for 2011.
As for Congress, the members are all still in office, collecting their salaries, lobbying perks, and pensions. Who is it that you think has been "destroyed"??? If you think that public opinion polls about Congress' performance affect anything, think again after the election.
You need to grow up and stop the class-warfare asininity. If you can't get your own life in order, it's your fault.
January 17, 2012 11:14 PM, you're wrong.
Page 58 of the LANL Performance Evaluation Plan, PBI 12 and seven sub-points: Excellence in Science, Technology and Engineering.
Several others scattered throughout.
What does this tell us about you?
January 18, 2012 1:41 PM
Going forth and producing excellence in science and technology is not a metric. What the measure?
bechtel is such a joke. They are currently in charge of hiring ironworkers for the power plant in Florida. Hundreds of men have showed up to take all tests and passed with flying colors but their inspector has denied them work only to find that each person that is denied...Bechtel gets $1500 in their pocket. These men have spent their own money on hotels, food and flying here only to be turned away for no reason!!! Bechtel is a scam artist. Research them and see all the money on jobs they go over my MILLIONS!!!
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