Laboratory selects new team for support services contract

Contact: Steve Sandoval, steves@lanl.gov, (505) 665-9206 (02-090)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Aug. 8, 2002 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory has selected a team led by Kellogg Brown and Root Inc., as its new site support services contractor.

The newly formed joint venture includes partners Shaw Infrastructure Inc. and Los Alamos Technical Associates Inc. in addition to KBR.

The Laboratory selected the KBR-led team after a competitive procurement process that generated six proposals. The contract, valued at about $145 million per year, carries a five-year term and is the largest contract at the Laboratory. Services provided under the contract include facilities maintenance and repair, utility operations, waste removal, roads and grounds maintenance and custodial services.

The KBR-led team will bring in its own senior managers but will retain the other employees of the current contractor, Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico.

"We are extremely pleased that the KBR team will join the Laboratory as one of our key operating partners," said Laboratory Director John Browne. "We will draw upon the demonstrated experience and expertise of the team members in our continued drive toward sustained excellence in facilities management and operations."

"We were fortunate to have received proposals from six outstanding teams. The competition was rigorous, and our final decision was not an easy one," said Joe Salgado, principal deputy Laboratory director who served as the source selection official. "I am fully confident that we selected the team that offered the best value and capability to the Laboratory, and I look forward to working with KBR and its partners to continue the process begun by Director Browne to strengthen Laboratory management and operations."

The proposal from the KBR-led team includes several features that Laboratory officials believe will strengthen facilities management and operations, including

• outstanding demonstrated leadership by the key personnel, including the general manager and the deputy general manager;
• exceptional approach to workforce management and revitalization and clear plans for engaging with the unions to support apprenticeship programs;
• standards-based work control processes and a risk-based approach to facility maintenance;
• a service delivery model that incorporates project formality;
• fixed-price job order contracting strategy; and
• innovative cost-reduction initiatives.

The management team for the new support services contractor will be led by General Manager Gary Thurber, currently vice president of strategy and operations for KBR in Arlington, Va., and Deputy General Manager Len Pasquini, currently senior vice president of Los Alamos Technical Associates in Denver, Colo.

KBR's headquarters are in Houston, Texas; Shaw's headquarters are in Baton Rouge, La., and LATA's headquarters are in Los Alamos.

"In addition to helping the Laboratory strengthen facilities management and operations, KBR and its partners are committed to playing a key role in the economic and social vitality of Northern New Mexico," said Browne, "I look forward particularly to their expanded use of small business contractors in the area and to their support of the Northern New Mexico Math and Science Academy and other community initiatives."

The transition from JCNNM to the KBR-led team is expected to begin Oct. 1, according to Salgado. "We appreciate the service provided to Los Alamos National Laboratory by Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico since 1997 and for the leadership of General Manager Mike Barr. Mike and his team have assured us of their commitment to a smooth transition period and we have agreed to facilitate the transition process for both companies," he said.

Salgado reiterated that the decision to compete the contract was driven by internal realignment efforts and changes in the way the Laboratory approaches facility maintenance. "Our decision to compete this contract was not based on dissatisfaction with Johnson Controls. Johnson Controls is an outstanding company and the Laboratory is open to working with them on opportunities of mutual interest that may present themselves in the future," he said.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy and works in partnership with NNSA's Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to support NNSA in its mission.

Los Alamos National Laboratory enhances global security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health and national security concerns.

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