The annual DOE Project Management Workshop provides an opportunity to recognize and reward excellence in project management across the complex. This Year, the Department recognized eight (8) individual and team successes in project management. Award presentations were made by Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Deputy Secretary of Energy.
Award for Project Management Improvement
Salt Waste Process Facility (SWPF) Project
The Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) project experienced significant delays because of the failure of a Nuclear Quality Assurance (NQA-1) vendor to supply critical tanks required for project completion. Working closely with senior leaders in the field and at Headquarters, an innovative acquisition strategy was developed. The project team negotiated contract changes, incorporating a construction cost cap to drive contractor accountability and align contractor and taxpayer interests. The project team partnered with the contractor to improve project relationships and establish discrete, measurable performance metrics tied to common goals. Comprehensive monthly briefings improved communications and transparency, increased senior leadership engagement and positioned the project for the completion of construction activities ahead of the target date and under the target cost.
Achievement Award
Presented to: Uranium Processing Facility Site Readiness Sub-Project (UPF)
The Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) Site Readiness Subproject Team is recognized for delivering the first UPF subproject $20 million under budget and on schedule in February 2015. Successful completion of the $65M UPF Site Readiness Subproject represents a significant step towards achieving NNSA’s commitment to completing the UPF Project and ceasing enriched uranium programmatic operations in Building 9212 (1) by 2025, and (2) for a cost not to exceed $6.5 billion. The project team used the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as the construction manager, which allowed NNSA to (1) reduce project costs and risks, (2) advance the Deputy Secretary’s policy to align contract incentives with taxpayer interests, and (3) leverage core USACE strengths, including its experience with infrastructure construction and using firm fixed-price construction contracts.
Achievement Award
Presented to: Nuclear Facility Risk Reduction Project (NFRR)
The Y-12 Nuclear Facility Risk Reduction (NFRR) Project Team is commended for delivering the $76 million project $6 million under budget and 11 months ahead of schedule. The NFRR Project Team managed numerous complex challenges associated with upgrading the structures, systems, and components in operating nuclear facilities that were constructed in the 1940s. The nature of the project required daily interface with the operating facility, during both the design and construction phase. Successful completion of the NFRR Project allows the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Defense Programs to ensure the continued safety, security, and reliability of our Nation’s nuclear weapon stockpile.
Achievement Award
Presented to: Research Support Building & Infrastructure Modernization (RSB) Project
The Research Support Building (RSB) project team successfully delivered 132,000 square feet of new and renovated space, offering modernized, sustainable work space for 30 percent of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory staff. The $97 million project features: (1) Office Support Building, which is used for industrial fabrication and collocating the Facilities and Operations staff; (2) Administrative Support Building, which created a modern, progressive work environment for four of the laboratory’s support divisions; and (3) the Research Support Building, which collocated the DOE Site Office as well as several other key programs. All three buildings received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification. The success of the RSB project is credited to the experienced and dedicated project management team, effective strategic planning, and robust risk management.
Achievement Award
Presented to: High Resolution and Mass Accuracy Project (HRMAC)
High Resolution and Mass Accuracy Capability (HRMAC) project, at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, successfully delivered the world’s highest resolution, first-of-its-kind mass spectrometer. The $17.5 million project developed a high field magnet (21 Tesla) and a control system and integrated them to produce a one-of-a-kind mass spectrometer system. This project closes a capability gap; improves the ability to resolve, or distinguish, molecules with nearly similar size and mass; and measures molecules to a very high level of accuracy. This effort enables advances in microbial community biology; biomass conversion to biofuels; carbon sequestration and climate change; environmental remediation; energy efficiency; and national security. The project team is recognized for its outstanding ingenuity and innovative solutions to complex technical and vendor problems that enabled the project to compress the schedule and maintain the original Critical Decision 4 date in the face of significant vendor delays.
Achievement Award
Presented to: Micro Booster Neutrino Experiment (MicroBooNE)
The Micro Booster Neutrino Experiment (MicroBooNE) project team successfully fabricated a unique, first-of-its-kind, 100-ton neutrino detector for the high energy physics program of discovery in neutrino science. The $19 million project is a new type of experimental instrument called a Liquid Argon (LAr) Time Projection Chamber. This instrument is designed to reconstruct, in space and time, the ionizing tracks of particles emanating from the interaction of an incident neutrino with an argon atom in the detector’s cryostat. The project team initiated several new techniques never before tried at this scale: (1) achieving required LAr purity without prior evacuation of the vessel; (2) use of passive insulation as an economical solution over vacuum insulation; and (3) the first-ever implementation of cryogenically cold front-end electronics in a Lar Time Projection Chamber. This effort marks a major contribution to the ultimate neutrino detector planned in the U.S.—the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. The project team is recognized for its ingenuity and outstanding planning to successfully complete the project early and achieve commissioning of the experiment prior to Critical Decision 4 approval.
Award of Excellence
Presented to: National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS II) Project
The National Synchrotron Light Source-II (NSLS-II) project team successfully constructed the Nation’s newest and most advanced light source. The $912 million project provides researchers with x-rays more than 10,000 times brighter than the original NSLS, and capable of probing material structures as small as individual atoms and molecules. Outstanding features of this immense project, which took over a decade to complete, include 600,000 square feet of conventional facilities — consisting of a one-half mile “storage ring” building and five laboratory office buildings; 2,500 tons of steel and 41,000 cubic yards of concrete; a 220 MeV linac; and more than 900 magnets. The highly successful NSLS-II is a flagship, world-class light source, publishing its first scientific research prior to the project’s Critical Decision 4 approval. The NSLS-II project is an extraordinary achievement for the Department of Energy and the Nation.
Federal Project Director of the Year
Presented to Mr. Frank Crescenzo
For demonstrating exceptional leadership and project management acumen as Federal Project Director for the $912 million National Synchrotron Light Source-II (NSLS-II) Project at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Mr. Crescenzo led the NSLS-II project, the Nation’s newest and most advanced light source, for more than 10 years with exemplary communication and troubleshooting skills, a sense of humor, and a seldom-matched dedication to the mission. Mr. Crescenzo provided clear and constructive guidance to the project team, without being prescriptive; empowered team members; enabled flexibility in developing solutions; and fostered an environment of open communication and cooperation. Mr. Crescenzo represents the best of DOE leadership and management—his dedication to project success and his team’s exceptional performance contributed greatly to the NSLS-II project’s successful completion.