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Sunday, September 11, 2016

Stressed out!

I recall Tom McNaughton (retired, PF-4 Maintenance Manager) calling a meeting (at the request of Bob Mason, TA-55 FOD) of all PF-4 Cognizant System Engineers (CSEs) to immediately reduce all maintenance on safety class and safety significant vital safety systems (VSSs) to the absolute "bare bones". As an other example, Bill Kerley was the Chief Engineer at PF-4 for 4-years, while he sat idle on Larry Goen's (ES-Division Leader) office. We were informed that Bill was "stressed out". Poor Bill. Really, so were all the CSEs there! Operations, Maintenance, and Engineering are a "joke" at PF-4. and TA-55 in general.
Anonymous said...
September 11, 2016 at 11:58 AM

With contract change coming up there is lots of very "stressed out" managers particularly those that are closest to Bechtel. Some of the stress may be due to things being uncovered about the way certain operations have been done.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't feel sorry for Bill Kerley. He remains an Engineering Manager 6. Really! That's another systemic problem with LANS, they don't demote or reduce the pay of their leaders when they step down from esteemed positions.

Anonymous said...

Don't feel sorry for Bill Kerley. He remains an Engineering Manager 6. Really! That's another systemic problem with LANS, they don't demote or reduce the pay of their leaders when they step down from esteemed positions.

September 12, 2016 at 6:56 AM

It is odd indeed, they have to go through some bizarre convulsions to keep the same pay for some of these guys. Just last year one of the worse divisions leaders of all time stepped down/forced to step down from their position but was tuned into a scientists 5 so they could stay in the same salary band as before. It was a total insult the scientist rating systems. Why do they do this?

Anonymous said...

I have seen two group leaders converted to scientist 5 after stepping down as GL.
In both cases it was to keep the same salary. What is so frustrating is that everyone knows that as a GL you have absolutely no time to do science; so the idea that during this time you performed work worthy of a scientist 5 is just ridiculous.

Another sign that science at LANL is really not the most important topic.

Anonymous said...

Don't feel sorry for Bill Kerley. He remains an Engineering Manager 6. Really! That's another systemic problem with LANS, they don't demote or reduce the pay of their leaders when they step down from esteemed positions.

September 12, 2016 at 6:56 AM

ES-division is fraught corruption with issues. This is a service organization with three Deputy Division Leaders, all of which are all Engineering Manager 6's, the same as the Division Leader. In addition, the Division Leader is hiding two other Engineering Manager 6's (Bill and Joni) in the Division Office that are "stressed out". The job category hierarchy system has failed miserably at LANL. Also, consider the cost of the Lab operating this service organization; Engineering Manager 6's gone wild.

Anonymous said...

September 13, 2016 at 4:08 AM

There is some document out there that there are twice as many mangers 6's than there are scientist 6's. (Can someone post that). The hierarchy system is totally insane in how it works. Your overheard rate increases in nonlinear fashion so mangers 6s do not have to generate their own funding this is fine, however for scientists 6's the overhead leads them to be so expensive that they simply cannot afford themselves or have to spend all there time after funding and that is why so many are leaving. Several have even stated this that there is simply no path forward for them at the lab to do science. It is just beyond messed up, it also creates some weird incentives for some scientist not wanting to be promoted since it would make their lives much harder while for managers there is only upside to being promoted. Crazy just absoutly crazy. The job category hierarchy was made after the contract change.

Anonymous said...

Remember when this job category system was rolled out to the Lab to replace the long standing TSM, and also that Terry Wallace was soooooo very supportive of the change.

Anonymous said...

also that Terry Wallace was soooooo very supportive of the change.

September 13, 2016 at 9:44 AM

I am not sure you can put the entire blame on Terry Wallace for the whole fiasco and he may have had good intentions but it turned into a total cluster that actually led to loss of top talent.

Anonymous said...

Also, consider the cost of the Lab operating this service organization; Engineering Manager 6's gone wild.

September 13, 2016 at 4:08 AM

With all the grandiose visions of Bechtel, a World Class Engineering organization, you would have thought they would have outsourced the support services that ES-Division provides. ES-division has run the operating costs of LANL into the ground, particularly due the Management "overhead", I mean, three Deputy Division Leaders, really!

Anonymous said...

The job category system is broken. People internal to the lab move around on job ads that have minimum requirements. They get the job and a raise, only to move again in a year to a different job, at a higher level. Again they get a raise. The only requirement that they meet is the fact that they already have a clearance. Conversely, parts of LANL get ride of certain job categories outright, forcing people to do a job in a category that does not have the R2A2 necessary to support the category and level. And when they move to a different job with lower R2A2, there is no reduction in salary. HR is broken, and the Bechtel folks blame it on a system held over when UC ran the lab.

Anonymous said...

"and the Bechtel folks blame it on a system held over when UC ran the lab."

That is odd considering the "broken job" category system was something that was put in after Bechtel came in. Perhaps they should reconsider who is to blame.

Anonymous said...

That is odd considering the "broken job" category system was something that was put in after Bechtel came in. Perhaps they should reconsider who is to blame.

September 15, 2016 at 11:22 PM


I seem to remember a guy by the name of Bennie Glover (HR) who came from Becthel to "dump" the job category system on LANL and then leave. Based on this, I'd say another Becthel "heap" dumped on LANL.

Anonymous said...

What exactly is wrong with the job category system at LANL? What would these people been in the old system? These people you are talking about only one I think is a bechtel person and I don't think she is actually a 6.

Anonymous said...

How many engineers at LANL? Isn't it hundreds?

Anonymous said...

Nobody lost their salary before bechtel either. I know a team with 2 ex group leaders and 1 ex division leader and their salaries are so ridiculous they had to make a whole new job family for them.

Anonymous said...

Too bad that the problem of keeping salary after losing management assignment was not corrected by LANS. This legacy of UC control was abused for decades and led to needless high salaries for many people. It was so bad that the near rotation of group leader was done so lots of staff would have big retirements. The defined benefit pension encouraged such bad actions and it really is too bad that LANS didn't fix it when they came.

Anonymous said...

The defined benefit pension encouraged such bad actions and it really is too bad that LANS didn't fix it when they came.

LANS made it much worse, much worse.

Anonymous said...

"This legacy of UC control was abused for decades and led to needless high salaries for many people. It was so bad that the near rotation of group leader was done so lots of staff would have big retirements."

Oh please this is just nonsense, why do you make this stuff up? Again what is your problem, you obviously have some issues that are are so bad it drives you to just out and out lie on this blog.

Anonymous said...

What exactly is wrong with the job category system at LANL? What would these people been in the old system? These people you are talking about only one I think is a bechtel person and I don't think she is actually a 6.

September 17, 2016 at 7:17 AM

What's wrong with? LANS Management is abusing the job category system to benefit themselves and use it to freeze worker salaries. Look at the Engineering Services, ES-division, three Engineering Manager 6 Deputy Division Leaders, the Division Leader is also an Engineering Manager 6 as well. Where's the hierarchy here? And that is a support organization!

Anonymous said...

The LANL job category system implemented by LANS has instigated a HUGE cost of doing business for LANL. The Manager salaries are hugely inflated from the UC days. Example, Anastasio/McMillan salaries, plus $1M, plus bou, Hecker, $200K, no bonuses. The estimate is a factor of 10 in management salaries since LANS took over. All this information is also private information under the veil of the LLC.

Anonymous said...

September 17, 2016 at 4:06 PM

I see you point however I was fired/let go under UC so my hate is for UC and not so much LANS. I will focus on blaming UC for anything and everything. Of course I could face up to realty that it is I who just sucks but that is not something I am just not willing to do so my hate of LANL and UC will continue.

Anonymous said...

The salaries are not really hidden. Pay bands are posted and with a little analysis you can easily do the math. The old system was ridiculous and made accountants and engineers the same. Total crap. Think it is hard to get talent now?

Anonymous said...

Alright posters, how many people are in your division? I see a lot of crap talking about number of level 6 managers in ES (still not vetted I will add) but nobody willing to address that there are hundreds of ES employees and hundreds more in subcontract employees. How many millions of dollars is ES managing before you sling mud. Support org? This is also the problem withLANL. Let the support and ops go and LANL is less than a third of its current size. Good luck funding your LDRD from overheads with that.

Anonymous said...

"The salaries are not really hidden. Pay bands are posted and with a little analysis you can easily do the math. The old system was ridiculous and made accountants and engineers the same. Total crap. Think it is hard to get talent now?

September 18, 2016 at 9:15 AM"

Odd before 2006 the data was visible and the analysis was done and accountants where not paid the same as engineers so I have no idea how you could come to such a conclusion. You can say what you want about the old system but it is pretty clear the new system is a disaster.

Anonymous said...

Oh it gets better in ES-Diviision, Goen has two (Joni Weamer and Bill Kerley) of his five Deputy Division Leaders, Engineering Manager 6's apparently playing checkers in his Division Office. Both are Joni and Bill are stressed out and are in therapy while making handsome salaries.

Anonymous said...

LANS Management just plays games and skirts around policy. The system is broken and those of us who try to do what's right only get pissed off, come in and punch the clock.

Anonymous said...

Why would Bechtel managers be scared? They will have a job.

Anonymous said...

How many millions of dollars is ES managing before you sling mud. Support org? This is also the problem withLANL. Let the support and ops go and LANL is less than a third of its current size. Good luck funding your LDRD from overheads with that.

September 18, 2016 at 9:26 AM

ES-division doesn't manage any money or any of its people. While I was in ES-division, the division office provided absolutely no support to me, zero. The FoDs provided my support and funding. ES-Division Leader and his 6 Deputy Division Leaders are "worthless". They could go away and no one would notice or care, it's a phantom leech organization, with most of it's people assigned to the LANL facilities.

Anonymous said...

Following the leadership of Dan Steinberg, ES-Division went to shit with the current "leadership". An example, was the implementation of the ES-division engineering principles of "perfect vs. good enough" aka "band aide engineering on the cheap". Goen lost all credibility to try to sell that concept (with a straight face) to his engineers. What an absolute joke! With this model its no wonder LANLs infrastructure is falling apart. The current ES-Division leader, Goen is merely a puppet of AD Cheryl Cabbil who's another wicked witch at LANL.

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