Another Bechtel Whistleblower Settlement
"Hanford whistleblower who lost his job reaches settlement in lawsuit over safety concerns"
"Millwright Walter Ford filed a lawsuit in federal court against Bechtel National, the contractor building the $17 billion plant and Aecom, its primary subcontractor..The Department of Labor said in a ruling made in 2015 that Ford’s role as a whistleblower in his 35 years at the Hanford nuclear reservation contributed to a decision to lay him off in November 2011."
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/hanford/article230958223.html
"Hanford whistleblower who lost his job reaches settlement in lawsuit over safety concerns"
"Millwright Walter Ford filed a lawsuit in federal court against Bechtel National, the contractor building the $17 billion plant and Aecom, its primary subcontractor..The Department of Labor said in a ruling made in 2015 that Ford’s role as a whistleblower in his 35 years at the Hanford nuclear reservation contributed to a decision to lay him off in November 2011."
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/hanford/article230958223.html
29 comments:
Why are you concerned about Bechtel. The scores at LLNL have been high so Bechtel is sticking around. LLNL will get more weapons money as LANL transitions to a pit facility so why not just be happy with the situation?
How many hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of dollars did DOE reimburse Bechtel for accrued legal fees to fight Ford?
"The scores at LLNL have been high so Bechtel is sticking around."
The LLNL scores are cooked. How many LLNL career corpses did it take to maintain those scores with DOE footing the legal bill for any employee pushback? Look at other Bechtel managed DOE sites for that answer. Be situationally aware.
LLNS trying to distance itself from mismanagement with LANS, or other DOE labs where it has management of, is like the fabled cat trying to bury its poop in a marble floor. It ain't going to work, but go ahead and keep scratching.
The LLNL scores are cooked? By who? The DOE? Listen to yourself. This is not being "situationally aware".
"The LLNL scores are cooked? By who? The DOE? Listen to yourself. This is not being " aware". "
"Despite LANS’ failure to meet all the criteria for the extension", the NNSA (the who) granted LANS a waiver to allow for their contract extension, an extension they did not earn. In 2012, the NNSA (the who) COOKED the LLNS PER scores to permit a LLNS contract extension, an extension like their sister LANS received, did not earn.
Next you will argue that contractor PER "grade inflation" is rare, and the Field Offices print out their respective contractor PER for contractor signatures without material push back by the contractor when a PER section score or scores were less than expected. Yes, LLNS will receive contract extensions if they can receive extension qualifying scores*, especially if the NNSA is ill prepared as it was to rid LANL of LANS. As most understand, contractor PER scores require qualification. Either you are not being situationally aware or you prefer to tout PER scores without the pesky details.
Your situationally aware is irrelevant. The narrative on performance and scores govern. Who’s prepared, blah blah blah, is just pronouncement with no evidence.
I say they will get an extension and if the performance stays steady as it has been they will get another or even win the next contract. You try too hard to associate LANL with LLNL. We all KNOW they are two different worlds.
"I say they will get an extension and if the performance stays steady as it has been they will get another or even win the next contract."
You may gloss over LLNS "performance" criteria and score legitimacy, but despite Bechtel's influence and its key positions within the Federal Government, the NNSA did deselect Bechtel to manage LANL in favor of Triad. The LLNS LLC is just continuing on momentum, but that will not last long. Based on recent NNSA decisions, big changes are coming to LLNL.
I’m willing to wait and see. I don’t really care about who gets what contract but to try to relate LANL to LLNL I strongly disagree. We do not share a common attitude. LANL looks down their nose at LLNL, and has for a long time, but for the past 10 years, the shoe is now changing to the other foot. LANL will become a production facility. We welcome open minded, mission oriented scientists and engineers to join us here at LLNL.
" LANL looks down their nose at LLNL, and has for a long time, but for the past 10 years, the shoe is now changing to the other foot. LANL will become a production facility. "
Exactly and LLNL will not even have to look down on LANL it will simply not care. So it goes. I expect that there will be a growing number people moving to LLNL as their mission and funding expands.
6:17 you might “wait and see”. Los Alamos has, as you say, looked down upon Livermore since the latter was established. LANL has several production missions too. What will never happen is for Livermore to become the primary design agency.
"What will never happen is for Livermore to become the primary design agency.
7/22/2019 5:33 AM"
Yes it will, LANL is going go be a full production plan especially after they give up on Savanah.
LLNL will be the primary design agency in part or wholly. You need to get with the current position of the customer if you don’t know that.
7/22/2019 12:09 PM
Your spell check off?
"LLNL will be the primary design agency in part or wholly. You need to get with the current position of the customer if you don’t know that.
7/22/2019 4:24 PM"
In 15 years all design work will be in LLNL, could well be 10 but it is being moved away from LANL and many people know this. There are a couple of reasons for this. (1) LANL will become a large scale production facility and Savanah River simply will not be doing this. In about 5 years all the production goes to LANL which. Production will already be changing LANL even on the scale that is currently planed once it all goes to LANL than everything changes. I also expect that some of the partners in the contract will change. (2) If all design work goes to LLNL then there is a reason to keep it open which NNSA wants. LLNL has been the lab that has been under the most threat since California does not want it and since it does not have extra stuff like pits, so in order to make it absolutely essential it must get the lions share of real weapons science. On the other hand New Mexico will be happy with simply a pit facility, in fact it is probably better for New Mexico since it will hire more local workers with pits than science.
There is a certain logic to this, perhaps it is time to downsize the complex and if one looks at it rationality than this is best approach.
The current position of the AF customer is that a new ICBM and a new warhead are needed to replace minuteman III and W78. A consolidated multi-agency, multi-platform warhead makes sense. LANL it is.
The current position of the AF customer is that a new ICBM and a new warhead are needed to replace minuteman III and W78. A consolidated multi-agency, multi-platform warhead makes sense. LANL it is.
ROFLA. Please this will be done at LLNL.
The AF already made that decision. If you don’t know that then.....
6:04pm, you are almost a year out of date. Livermore has already hired the program team. This came out last year. It has already been to committee and funded.
W87-1 Modification Program: The W87-1 program will replace the aging W78 warhead, with planned first production in 2030 to support fielding on the Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) missile system. In September 2018, the NWC authorized restart of Phase 6.2, Program Feasibility Study, activities on the W78 replacement warhead and renamed it the W87-1. The W87-1 program will improve safety and security, addressing antiquated design, material obsolescence, evolving performance expectations, and emerging survivability threats.
Look LANL is on the way in terms of weapons science. LANL is getting out of the science business.
LANL will get to make some of the pits for the LLNL/SNL W87-1 though. Their congressman fought for that. Baaahahaha.
"Their congressman fought for that. Baaahahaha.
7/24/2019 10:10 PM"
Correct, but New Mexico would be much happier making pits. It probably means more jobs and more
jobs for locals. This however is not just about New Mexico there is some real rational for turing LANL in the pit facility. We need pits, LANL maybe the only place to do it if Savannah River falls through which many are saying is a real possibility. We only need one NNSA science lab and it makes no sense to have science at a pit factory. The idea that LANL is somehow better is pretty weak since one could simply move a portion of the science and people from LANL to LLNL, which happens all the time anyway.
" LLNL will be the primary design agency in part or wholly. You need to get with the current position of the customer if you don’t know that.
7/22/2019 4:24 PM"
I'm not sure that you should be shouting this from the rooftops. Once the Left Coast and the Republic of Kalifornia (or is it Jefferson?)catches on that the major design agency for weapons of mass destruction (horror!) is in their very own Sanctuary back yard ... Sayonara, brother!
7/26/2019 4:14 PM
I hate to tell you but California is ahead of the game. As California goes so goes the nation. California is the future like it or not but that is they way it is. It may be faster or slower depending how the elections go but the trajectory is going one way. So with that said...LLNL it is! LANL or more precisely, LAPF, Los Alamos Pit Facility will still play a vital role in the complex but LANL will be no more. Change or die and things change and change is good. The other point is that if you below 45 it is time to start your exit plan, be it to LLNL or some other place but if you stay you taking your chances and they are not good...not good at all.
" As California goes so goes the nation. California is the future like it or not but that is they way it is."
7/28/2019 9:18 PM
Oblivious much?
Oblivious much?
7/29/2019 7:59 PM
You are simply in denial of the numbers. The demographics of California is what lead to the changes in the state. Some for the better and perhaps some not for the better but that is the reality. The same thing is happening in the rest of the United States just look at Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and so on. LLNL will do just fine in California just as it always has. If the plan is to convert LANL to a full pit facility than
LLNL will become the core of science in the NNSA and the NTS will also grow to get more facilities. Money wise this makes sense.
Such absolute certainty based on so few facts and so little reality. Must be nice. Does your crystal ball also make you rich?
"Such absolute certainty based on so few facts and so little reality. Must be nice.
Does your crystal ball also make you rich?"
Demographics is destiny.
Demographics is destiny.
7/30/2019 10:13 PM
A set of local data does not predict anything useful, unless you already believe it.
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