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December 08 Issue - Employee Monthly Magazine Detective files: Frank Naranjowalking the physics property beat
Frank Naranjo helps Physics Division employees keep track of 4,000 pieces of equipment; everything from printers to oscilloscopes. Photo by Robb Kramer
Frank Naranjo, Physics Division's property detective extraordinaire, won't be caught holding clandestine, predawn meetings with recalcitrant printers, but he makes up for any lack of hard-boiled paperback suspense by working the property beat in the Physics Division. Naranjo's detective-like skills help 350 P Division employees keep track of 4,000 pieces of equipment, everything from printers to oscilloscopes. Throw in a few laser systems, computers, servers, 19 vehicles, and 250 people who have property transfer slips, and you've got the portfolio that makes Naranjo an indispensable part of the division's success. Naranjo studied electronics at Northern New Mexico College, worked as a car stereo installer, and earned his electrical journeyman's license in 1993 before starting his own business in home-audio installations. A short stint as a substitute teacher was followed by a job as Sergeant at Arms for the New Mexico Legislature. In the middle of all his service to the state and community, Naranjo sold his share of the home-audio business. The day came when Naranjo found himself interviewing at Los Alamos for a job with Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico. So began his three-year career as a computer technician at Technical Area 60. He soon became P Division's property administrator and has been working the “Physics precinct" seven years. Naranjo earned his Northern New Mexico College Property Management certification in 2006. Sandra Valdez, facility operations liaison officer for Plasma Physics (P-24), says Naranjo is a team player and he's quick. “When I first moved over to P-24, Frank and I teamed up and worked on emptying nine storage containers. It was a huge job, and Frank was there, part of the team, and ready to go," she said. You'll never find Naranjo hunched over a typewriter in a sparsely furnished office banging out incident reports and chain smoking by the light of a naked 60-watt bulb. No, he'll be where the action is, moving, locating, and facilitating the well-oiled property machine of Physics Division. Most of the time, he'll have a smile on his face, and so will his customers. That's the kind of detective he is. —Editor's note: This is an excerpt from an article by Robb Kramer that was published in the Physics Division publication P-Flash (http://int.lanl.gov/orgs/p/physicsflash.shtml (internal only)). Other Headlines
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