A new article in the New Mexican "Federal audit finds more management problems at LANL" describes a DOE audit of health and safety issues at LANL.
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/federal-audit-finds-more-management-problems-at-lanl/article_bb9add0f-cc21-5306-ad42-fa02c9630d91.html
It explains that "Without understanding the causes of such problems, managers can’t come up with the right fixes." Further "the reluctance of upper-level managers to listen to concerns from workers" was part of the cause of the WIPP accident but then went on to say that, "The auditors did find that a program established by lab managers to handle employee concerns was 'generally effective.'” Perhaps they should look into the creative fiction in reports in that program for a clue about why it might not be as effective as it and LANS claim it to be.
The bottom line is employees know never to say "no," question or to complain to a manager. This was not such a severe problem under UC but managers who started under UC and still at LANL have learned to adapt to the way things are done in the corporate, for-profit world. As managers have less and less expertise and no tolerance for technical detail, questions, or careful consideration, things get more and more dangerous.
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/federal-audit-finds-more-management-problems-at-lanl/article_bb9add0f-cc21-5306-ad42-fa02c9630d91.html
It explains that "Without understanding the causes of such problems, managers can’t come up with the right fixes." Further "the reluctance of upper-level managers to listen to concerns from workers" was part of the cause of the WIPP accident but then went on to say that, "The auditors did find that a program established by lab managers to handle employee concerns was 'generally effective.'” Perhaps they should look into the creative fiction in reports in that program for a clue about why it might not be as effective as it and LANS claim it to be.
The bottom line is employees know never to say "no," question or to complain to a manager. This was not such a severe problem under UC but managers who started under UC and still at LANL have learned to adapt to the way things are done in the corporate, for-profit world. As managers have less and less expertise and no tolerance for technical detail, questions, or careful consideration, things get more and more dangerous.
Comments
BTW, Doug, I used to like your blog until you "retired". For the record, much of what LANL does cannot be done elsewhere because the DOE isn't willing to spend the BILLIONS required to build a zero-risk facility.
If you look at the recent management changes at LANL, there is something to note. The more recent management additions made by Charlie has been to promote from within, and in that effort, he has appointed former LANL people who started when UC ran the place. It might be newsworthy to ask why...but it is because the "corporate partners" send us incompetent people who are taking a rest between climbing the corporate ladder, or are recycled "formerly of ..." Failed contract bids from elsewhere. Aside from The UC folks, they have no long term plans to remain here, solve problems, or become vested with the people and the area. They bring in "their ways", and fail to bring in the tools to improve the place. You do the impossible with what they give because you believe in the laboratory, the mission and the nation. What we do has hazards, and we do it safely. We are successful 99% of the time. The Santa Fe New Mexican profits from the 1%.
LANL is a great place to work. A diverse and talented group of people come in every day to serve the nation. We have morons for managers. If you doubt me, just look at the management at the Plutonium Facility. Unfortunately, we look like the entity that runs the place...the DOE/NNSA.
Besides the lack of management acumen or perspective, one problem is that the clarity of mission continues to fade with time and the distance from WWII and the Cold War. The weapons labs have become insurance hedges but the deteriorating infrastructure and erosion of current design knowledge and application make one wonder if the capability and capacity exist to cash in the insurance policy.
The pending contract competition will once again be an opportunity for the government to address real problems or exacerbate the conditions that have resulted in the current management FUBAR. I guess I know where I would put my bet.
The real problem that needs to be addressed is the "culture". Culture is hard see and even harder to define, and that is why it has been so difficult to root out and change, or eliminate. This has been the failure of UC and to some extent LANS. After the fall of Nanos the cultural elements went deep, underground, become unseen, which makes it just all the more dangerous. It is the most important problem that LANL faces. What is this culture? it is arrogance, hubris, skepticism, doubt, whining, vanity, sloth, hatred, brutality, silence, screaming, in your face, behind your back, sneakiness, lack of insight, and so on. It is everywhere and yet when you confront people it is nowhere, it hides behind "science" and all of the bad attitudes that comes with it. Culture is a dirty word and LANL is nothing if it is not culture. There are those that have been saying the obvious for years only to denied by the hidden culture or to be asked to "prove it" yet the very act have saying "prove it" is exactly the proof of its existence. Asking how it came to be, who started it, or why it exists to pointless, we must... he have to now accept it, there is no choice. We have to become obsessed with culture, those of us on right side of the fight must guard against fall victim to culture. You must renoucnce those who are part of the culture, you must report them, shame them, and see to that they know they are not part of Los Almaos. If the question you, do not listen, and say "No questions, you are trying to trick me me your false logic!" . Be careful of these men of "culture", they are very "clever" and can use words to play tricks with your mind, they will say "this cannot be so because of that"...do not listen it is lie. They may say that certain critics are wrong or even crazy and again I tell you do not listen. It is up to you.
Exactly right. That kind of fascist thinking (do not listen to them, reply as such"..." is simple brainwashing, a la 1933 Italy and Mussolini. Or Trump. No rational, individual thought allowed.
March 16, 2016 at 6:32 AM
No, he's living in his new $400,000 cabin in Northern NM that Charlie McMillan bought for him in his undisclosed settlement with LANS. No worries about Chuck coming back. He was bought out or as they say in Spanish he was "comprado".
The next time you see Chuck, ask him how much his settlement was. Everyone has a price to shut up, and certainly Chick did.
March 16, 2016 at 6:43 PM
Don't forget Mason's Deputy, Stu McKernan. Former Navy swabbie, it seems the only thing he does is jog around TA-55. Or about Brad "Bad" Storey. The place is infested was horrid managers. Oh and don't forget Hugh "Horrible" McGovern, who is now Mason's Operations Manager for RULOB and RLW. The former FOD of WETF/WFO, who failed there and was then re-hired by Mason, both former Savannah River Site (SRS) weenies.
The next time you see Chuck, ask him how much his settlement was. Everyone has a price to shut up, and certainly Chick did.
March 17, 2016 at 3:42 AM
Interesting post. After several drinks one time, had heard from a senior LANL official that is no longer with us that Charlie had paid off more than one former lab employee, some with well into the seven figures. If so, what a way to run a nuclear weapons lab.
LLNL to just be shadow of LANL. What ever happens in LANL will happen to LLNL. It is s just a matter of time before they close LLNL and move the rest to the other NNSA labs. California does not want it, Livermore does not want it, and no one cares about it. What is done at LLNL that cannot be done cheaper or better elsewhere?
Gee, you guys at LANL have a real mess on your hands. Most of you opted for TCP1. Not so at LLNL. What you did at LANL had zero bearing on what we did at LLNL. LANL is a waste land from what I have read here. You guys could screw up a peanut butter sandwich.
March 17, 2016 at 7:48 PM
Huh? That was only possible at the transition in 2006. Everyone hired since then (thousands) is in TCP2 (i.e., the 401k) just like every corporate employee in the country. TCP1 will continue to pay pensions for enrollees for many years without cutbacks or failures, until the last member is dead. TCP2 will always be subject to the contractor decision on matching payments and the vagaries of the market. BTW, what was the LLNL split between TCP1 and TCP2 at your transition?
March 17, 2016 at 3:27 PM
Well apparently LLNL cares. Isn't that why you sent us Mara, Knapp, Anastasio, and McMillan. Oh, LLNL cares, they care a lot, all the way to the bank!
LANL people should create their own blog.
March 17, 2016 at 7:44 PM
Why bother when we can usurp yours? Steal your lunch too, while we're at it!
What went wrong with the Los Alamos contract?
David Kramer
Citation: Physics Today 69(3), 22 (2016); doi: 10.1063/PT.3.3103
View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.3103
View Table of Contents: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/69/3?ver=pdfcov Published by the AIP Publishing
What went wrong with the Los Alamos contract?
David Kramer
Citation: Physics Today 69(3), 22 (2016); doi: 10.1063/PT.3.3103
View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.3103
View Table of Contents: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/69/3?ver=pdfcov Published by the AIP Publishing
The article gets it right, the problem is the culture. Those smart sneaky LANL people, they are very very clever and instantly figured out that they could wait out the industrial contractors. Bechtel thought they where dealing with normal people who had a shred of dignity but not LANL, they totally underestimated how deep the culture is and that scientists especially LANL scientists are not like normal humans. I feel bad for Bechtel in many ways but they should have brought in a scorched earth policy right away, they realized this solution too late. As someone said Bechtel can easily work with warlords in the Congo, rebuild Iraq in a warzone, undertake and flawlessly complete largest and most complex engineering projects ever seen by mankind, yet they could not deal with LANL people and the culture. Unreal.
To deny there is a cultural problem at LANL is proof that there is a cultural problem. Nanos said to those people that they "did not get it" and the amazing thing is they in fact "did not get it". How can you defeat an enemy like that? An enemy that does "not get it". You cannot reason it with, it will just say "get what" what is "it". It just waits you out, tell me how do you answer that?
Great, defending Nanos. Man, you are sick. Really.
And that fallacy, ladies and gentlemen, is what we scientists must deal with day in and day out. I miss the days when we were managed by individuals with both brains and integrity. Then again, I forthrightly deny the stolen mustang, Wen Ho spy rings, missing CREM, and, yes, the culture of complacency. I don't deny them to prove anything. I deny them because they do not exist.
All good, except about Wen Ho Lee. He existed and he copied SRD data to an unsecured network and then wrote it to tape and took it away. No one disputes that; the computer forensics were crystal clear, following his every step. The fact that the public never got to hear those facts in an open trial doesn't negate them.
So than there is a cultural problem, UC is the bad guy, and we needed to privatize LANL and LLNL.
It all makes so much sense now.
March 22, 2016 at 3:53 PM
"Never convicted" is not the same as "never did anything wrong." What Wen did is also historical fact.
March 23, 2016 at 9:04 PM
Funny, I also know people who claim "they know the truth" in the WHL case and say
he is innocent. Either they are lying, you are lying or the hidden evidence is not as hard as you claim and open to interpretation. In any case WHL was found not guilty.
Again this is only your opinion and goes against what others have said. We could just take your word for it by why should we?
A more likely scenario is that the FBI did have all the information but was not convinced it had a case. You on the other hand being a fan of CSI and Miami Vice know what real evidence is when you see it and what will or will not hold up in court and are much more knowledgeable than the entire FBI. Unfortunately the world will never know what a super genius detective you are and how much more you could figure out than the FBI. What a good thing you could post your insider information on the blog. You scream pure credibility.
The thing is other people have claimed the opposite of what you are saying. If everyone said they have seen the real information came to the same conclusion that would give you some credibility. This however is not the case, how is it that others who claim they know come to the opposite view of things than you? Again either you are lying, they are lying or it is just a matter of opinion. There is no moral equivalence just differing accounts with no way to distinguish them. There is a truth out there but why should we believe you over other people? Maybe the best thing is to stick with the FBI outcome. Also whether the FBI screwed up is again a matter of your opinion.
March 25, 2016 at 6:24 AM
Agreed, except you don't know the "FBI outcome," only the judicial outcome. The FBI outcome was suppressed by their higher-ups.
How would you know? Of course you read "true detective" listen to Alex Jones and coast to coast so you know the "truth".
You sound a bit off if you know what I mean.
March 25, 2016 at 11:55 AM
Think about how many people "know." Lots of Justice Dept. and FBI people, including US Attorney and staff, other lawyers, agents, clerks, etc. Lots of DOE and LANL attorneys, technical experts, security people, upper management, etc. Lots of court officials, judges, clerks, etc. Maybe hundreds of people, maybe more, know the real story here. The main reason you don't is that many of the details are still classified by DOE and DoJ. Which is why the only official report of the entire investigation has more blacked out areas than text.
You should never have had a clearance.
You are obviously so stupid it seems unlikely you would understand anything at a briefing classified or not. Are your initials WHL?
March 25, 2016 at 9:15 PM
How do we know you are not a person with the initials of WHL or working with WHL. You could well be a disinformation agent or some kind of phishing troll. Your persecution of WHL is just a little to intense to be genuine.
March 25, 2016 at 7:25 PM
Hey Mister "I know everything but it is classified", I bet you are the kind of guy who hangs out in drive bars and tells women or men " let me tell you about the world, since I know all this classified stuff", or " I was high level agent heading the navy seal ranger sniper team, won multiple medals and personally worked in Oliver North but of course it is all classified so there is no public information about it". If you really did know anything you sure as hell would no be bragging about it on a blog. Sorry but you simply are a lying sack of crap. Sure, you know all about Wen Ho Lee, won the congressional iron cross medal of honor, was on combat missions in Jamaica with the dirty bakers dozen, and got the first zero g kill in the NASA special forces but all this is classified and sealed. F off you offing fake.
Because that is what the weak minded would assume.
Agreed these are the actual facts, not thet " I know secret information that is seald under court docs that prove WHL was beyond guilty, LANL is full of cowboys with a cultural problem".
You sound like a Bechtel manager who tried to get the PhDs to say the sky was red and they refused or was a PhD somehow involved in your potty training going wrong?
Bechtel bad.
Broken records just keep on playing the same song, over and over again.
March 28, 2016 at 9:04 PM
Your mocking proves that LANL culture of arrogance is alive and well. The next contractor will have to deal with this culture. How on earth can people have respect for arrogance is beyond me. I had to watch the Big Bang Theory once and I was just disgusted. If there is a subsection of the United States population that thinks like this than it explains why this country is so screwed up and why LANL is such a failure. Sandia has less Phds than LANL and it works 100 times better. What does that tell you? Oh I know some nerd is going to say that I am a dumb hick who hates education. I do not hate eduction I just hate what eduction does to people. If your minds are so great how come we get the same thing over and over, LANL good, Bechtel bad? Denial is not just river in Brazil.
March 29, 2016 at 7:53 AM
Yeah, well, you can say you don't hate education, but it's obvious you never tried it. I learned where the Nile River is in third grade. Hint: it's not in Brazil. You're right about one thing, though. You don't need anyone mocking you; you do a fine job of it yourself.
March 29, 2016 at 10:03 AM"
Your arrogance is starting to show again. You just cannot help it can you.
March 29, 2016 at 10:14 AM
Your ignorance is starting to show again. You just cannot help it can you.
March 29, 2016 at 7:53 AM
Interesting since I have absolutely no connection to LANL. Paranoid much?
March 29, 2016 at 1:35 PM
This is exactly how the LANL culture corrupts, you may think it has no connection to you, but you watch Big Bang Theory, you read Carl Sagan, you think highly of education, you question, you doubt, and you mock, this is the LANL culture, beware, because, LANL is not good, Bechtel is not bad. LANL is bad Bechtel is good. Repeat this over and over. LANL bad, LANL bad.
March 29, 2016 at 7:53 AM obviously doesn't know what she is talking about. Sandia has never designed, built, or tested a nuclear explosive.
Yeah, I do think highly of education. The fact that you don't says all that anyone needs to know about you. Ignorant and happy about it. No need for actual knowledge when unfounded opinions can suffice. No difference between right and wrong. Money is all that matters (even though you can't figure out why you don't have any). You are happy to go through your life never knowing anything that is even the slightest bit outside your own anecdotal (sorry for the big word) experience. Luckily for the rest of us, you are inconsequential to anyone else's life.
So your entire well thought and deep argument is: LANL Good, Bechtel Bad. Thats it, thats all your have? Can't you think of something better? Wow I am impressed by the so callused best and brightest. And you deny that there is a mass cultural problem at LANL? And on top of that you mock those that are just pointing out the truth for the whole world to see. You imply that critics of the lab have an agenda or are even possibly mentally unstable. Tell me how that is not a culture of arrogance?
April 2, 2016 at 9:38 AM
Not at all. You missed my point completely. My point is: March 29, 2016 at 2:08 PM Bad; everyone else Good.
Now that is one crazy idea, or one mentally unstable idea.