Los Alamos National Laboratory

Before you leave for the winter closure

By Kathy Delucas

December 15, 2005

The Laboratory’s annual winter closure is Dec. 24 through Jan. 2, 2006. While facilities management teams will inspect major and problem buildings during the closure, all employees should take precautionary steps to help secure their work space before leaving for the break.

To that end, the Facility Maintenance (FMD) Division offer the following guidelines:

• Turn off and unplug all electrical equipment, including coffeepots, space heaters, humidifiers, office machines and all experimental equipment that can be turned off.

• Leave thermostats at their normal settings.

• Close all exterior doors, windows and blinds to conserve heat. Where feasible, leave internal doors open to allow heat to circulate.

• Remove all private vehicles from Lab parking lots and park government vehicles where they will not interfere with snow removal operations.

• Make sure plants have enough water to survive through the holidays.

• Secure or lock all exterior doors from the outside.

“The procedural guidelines for closing up leased space during the winter break should be the same as for Lab facilities, with regard to tenants unplugging their equipment and checking and securing doors and windows. However, residents of Lab-leased space should communicate with their landlord about specific concerns and procedures related to their facilities during the closure,” said Kenneth Schlindwein, responsible division leader in the associate directorate for security and facility operations (ADSFO). The Security and Safeguards (S) Division also offers the following reminders to ensure that security controls work smoothly during the closure:

• On the last business day before the closure, authorized workers must properly secure all classified matter.

• Area-access custodians with travel plans or other holiday activities that will prevent them from performing duties on Dec. 24, such as end-of-day checks, should designate an alternate, authorized worker ahead of time to ensure that a substitute is available.

• Ensure that one or more of the authorized workers on the area-access list is available during the closure to make contact with the fire department and protective force personnel during emergency situations or in case a vault/vault-type room has to be re-entered. Update the access list if necessary by completing Form 1088 and send it to Security Systems (S-3) at Mail Stop G725 or by fax to 5-8477. If the available workers are at the bottom of the list, consider posting a memo on the vault/vault-type room indicating which authorized workers to get in touch with during the closure to speed up the contact process.

Information about who is assigned to a particular facility and emergency-contact information for Facilities Management Unit (FMU); Health, Safety and Radiation Protection (HSR); Supply Chain Management (SUP); Chief Financial Officer (CFO); Project Management (PM); and S divisions and KSL Services will be published in the online Daily Newsbulletin.

To read an all employee memo, click here (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).


 Operated by the Los Alamos National Security, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's NNSA   
Inside
| © Copyright 2007-8 Los Alamos National Security, LLC All rights reserved | Disclaimer/Privacy