Although their actions have gone virtually unnoticed this year, a dedicated team of Property Management (SUP-2) professionals has doggedly pursued and validated the whereabouts of much of the Laboratory’s diverse complement of property, which runs the gamut from grams of gold to Howitzers.
And, says John Tapia, the Lab’s property manager in SUP-2, the success of this year’s various property inventories is testament to improvements in control and accountability mechanisms put in place the past two years as part of the Laboratory’s commitment to improving business processes.
Several different types of inventories currently are underway at the Laboratory, while others have been completed or are in the process of completion. Earlier this month, the Laboratory completed its firearms inventory. Property management specialists physically touched every one of the more than 1,700 weapons belonging to the Laboratory, which include everything from handguns to Howitzers with a total value reaching nearly $4 million. As a result of the audit, the Laboratory accounted for 100 percent of its weapons inventory—garnering an outstanding rating that has been validated by auditors from the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Meanwhile, property management personnel have been busy confirming the existence of nearly $3 million worth of precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum and other rare materials like iridium, which are used mostly in research and development applications.
“The Laboratory is required by NNSA to control precious metals down to one-gram quantities,” said Tapia. “If you think about it, that’s a pretty stringent requirement. For precious metals, we in Property Management work closely with the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Division, which manages the precious metals database and accounting functions. The fact that the Laboratory beefed up its control and accountability functions significantly as part of the Business Process Improvement Project has helped make these inventories easier and more reliable for everyone.”
Property management has accounted for more than 98 percent of precious metals so far and expects to complete its audit this week, weeks ahead of schedule, Tapia added.
Still in progress is the Laboratory’s sensitive property inventory. Sensitive property includes any attractive items that are susceptible to theft and could be quickly converted to cash, such as cameras, printers, computers, personal data assistants, etc. Many Laboratory employees already have been paid a visit at their worksites by property administrators, who are armed with bar-code readers and round stickers signifying that an item has passed muster. About 50 property administrators support the entire Laboratory population.
So far, the sensitive property inventory is proceeding eight weeks ahead of schedule and is well on its way toward the 98.7 percent accountability mark required for a “satisfactory” rating by NNSA. Tapia not only credits the hard work of SUP-2 staff, but also employees who are the custodians of sensitive property.
“The work force in general has shown their concern for property awareness,” he said. “The ease with which we’ve conducted this audit really shows that the Laboratory has become more responsible when it comes to personal property.”
Property management personnel have seen similar success in the ongoing inventory of Laboratory equipment, which includes scientific apparatuses, large machinery and similar items. This audit so far is about six weeks ahead of schedule, with nearly 90 percent of items accounted for.
Tapia is quick to remind people that it is not the Laboratory, but rather the NNSA, that is responsible for determining the structure, scope and scoring criteria for the audits.
“The Laboratory looks good in property management because we meet the benchmarks set out for us, not because we set the benchmarks,” he said.
This year’s final audit will be the inventory of the Laboratory’s more than 1,600 vehicles. SUP-2 is scheduled to begin the fleet inventory in May, he said.
“In addition to the work we’ve done on the actual inventories themselves, Property Management has made tremendous strides in improving the integrity of its property management databases,” Tapia said. “The hard work and conscientiousness shown by Laboratory employees in the arena of property management, as well as ongoing improvements to our control and accountability mechanisms have helped the Laboratory reach distinction in its property management practices.”
