Sandia News

Infrastructure Operations


Image of 4000-08
NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby cuts the ribbon at the opening of the Emergency Operations Center.

Emergency Operations Center completed

A new, state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center was completed within cost, scope and schedule in accordance with an NNSA-approved pilot approach. The new facility will help responders protect the workforce and be prepared to deal with a variety of hazards and threats. The 25,000-square-foot building is dedicated to incident management and response using enhanced equipment, technology and other tools to support Sandia’s mission 24/7. • 4000

Team finishes alarm system conversion ahead of schedule

The California Site Security Systems team exercised creative thought, team building, full accountability and commitment to complete the OnGuard conversion project six weeks early and within budget. The access control and alarm systems conversion faced several challenges, including hardware that was difficult to buy. • 8000

Delivering construction projects for mission success

Facilities completed 1,969 construction projects at an estimated total project cost of $215 million to support mission work and meet NNSA objectives. The teams completed the projects safely with a recordable safety case rate of 0.31, significantly lower than the Labs’ goal of 0.7. • 4000


Image of 4000-05
A facilities manager catches up on work in one of the many shared spaces deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Mexico site set up for hybrid work

The hybrid work team achieved Labs milestone “Foster Sandia’s culture transition to a long-term hybrid work model” by establishing new hybrid work environments and cultural norms. When over 850 individuals moved to home offices, on-site space opened for other program and organizational needs. The team reworked multiple policies, processes, success metrics, trainings and job aids, and transformed the work environment. The Strategic Capital Space Plan was accomplished through the completion of two collaboration centers, as well as a new resource center in the Innovation Parkway Office Center to assist the hybrid work community. • 4000

Safety Culture Academy recognized as a best practice across DOE

Sandia showed continued commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment by developing and implementing the Safety Culture Academy training program, which streamlined safety performance objectives, success measurements, the commitments tool and the ES&H event management process. The academy focused on teaching participants how to establish and maintain a safety culture to create productive and safe working environments. • 4000

Providing career opportunities to youth

Infrastructure Operations partnered with large organizations in New Mexico such as Meta, Intel, Associated Builders and Contractors and the Associated General Contractors associations to develop a pipeline of opportunities for young people to consider careers in the construction industry. New Mexico faces labor shortages to meet construction and facilities project demands, so Sandia is collaborating with those organizations and the community to promote jobs through career fairs, develop creative solutions to integrate curriculum into public schools and create greater awareness of opportunities available through careers in the trades. • 4000

Image of 4000-06
A Construction Services team member performs work safely.

DAT initiative completes phase one

The Division Agility Transformation initiative provides agile and timely infrastructure services to meet mission needs. Infrastructure Operations established the Facilities Design and Engineering center and Construction Services organization to design and construct in-house projects. Five new construction trade job descriptions were created under the existing collective bargaining agreement. Sandia purchased $4 million in construction equipment to support operations, and the architecture and engineering design team started new projects. The Construction Services team worked with Kirtland Air Force Base to approve design of a construction laydown yard to enhance security and appearance at the Eubank gate. • 4000


CREST project awarded subcontracts

The Combined Radiation Environment for Survivability Testing project made progress toward critical decision approval by awarding subcontracts for the Nuclear Facility and Central Utilities-Building Alarm Station conceptual design, reactor conceptual design, Office Light Lab final design and issuance of the accelerator conceptual design request for quotation. The team evaluated a campus approach delivery, aligning scope into numerous smaller packages for critical decision approval, balancing funding availability with incrementally delivering value and mitigating risks associated with the aging Annular Core Research Reactor facility. • 1000, 4000, 10000

ES&H focuses on Labswide partnerships

Partnerships across divisions led to the success of a hazardous machining activity that never had been attempted at the Labs. A test unit containing explosive, radioactive and toxic material was part of a drop-tower test with recovery of key components, which provided critical data for the next steps in the development of a nuclear deterrence modernization program. The multidisciplinary team included System Environmental Qual Test, Modernization Hardware and Assembly, Explosive Testing Fab and Ops, Radiography, Mechanical Measurements, Mechanical Design, Radiation Protection, Explosives Safety and Industrial Hygiene. • 4000


Image of 4000-10
A biologist from the Ecology Program holds a western long-nosed snake captured during routine reptile and amphibian monitoring at the Sandia field site in the sagebrush habitat.

Developing an environmental impact statement

Sandia continues to develop a new version of its Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement, which is on schedule for completion by fiscal year 2026. The statement will be used to analyze environmental impacts of proposed facilities and operations through 2041. The Labs completed fiscal year 2023 milestones, including stakeholder meetings with the Pueblo of Isleta, Kirtland Air Force Base and the U.S. Forest Service; public scoping meetings; data collection and delivery on mission programs, planned facilities, waste, ecology and utility forecasting; and review of early chapters. • 4000

Sandia California continues recap program

Sandia California continued its robust recapitalization program, with $53 million of work executed in fiscal year 2023. The projects enhanced capacity and new capabilities, replaced aging assets and significantly improved infrastructure. Many projects met specific efficiency and energy-saving requirements. The upgrades are crucial to meet current and future mission demands, support plans for continuous evolution and workforce needs and reduce the site’s energy consumption. • 8000

Image of 4000-03
Macroencapsulation process for low-level waste.

Safe and efficient radioactive waste management

The Facilities Waste Management and Pollution Prevention team delivered effective, safe and secure management of accountable radioactive and classified waste by converting a storage building to a vault-type room at the Radioactive and Mixed Waste Management Facility. The vault-type room provides greater security and operational agility during treatment and shipment operations. The team also participated in a successful audit of the Nevada National Security Site Radioactive Waste Assessment Program, with no findings. • 4000