Hundreds contribute to Labs’ strategic direction
The strategic planning team led and collaborated with a cross-functional, multi-level team and drew upon perspectives of roughly 1,000 external and internal participants to aid the senior leadership team in developing the Labs’ seven strategic priorities, using a 20-year outlook and a robust environmental scan. The result was the publication of the Labs’ strategic direction document, Creating the Future, which was shared with NNSA and the workforce.
Labs safety record improves by 28.2 percent
Sandia’s safety performance has improved, with a 28.2 percent reduction in the total recordable case rate. In response to increased overexertion and struck-by or -against injury rates, ES&H partnered with the line in rolling out a Labswide overexertion and industrial ergonomics initiative. Training, ergonomic evaluations and a strong Labswide communication plan contributed to the reduction. Division-level improvements and increased focus on safety through safety improvement plans positively impacted performance.
Environmental commitment certified
The Environmental Management System was certified to the ISO 14001:2015 standard, a requirement of the management and operating contract. Continuous improvements in risk analysis and management review assisted in moving toward the 2015 standard. The recertification is an achievement for all Sandia personnel and demonstrates a continued commitment to protect the environment in all operations. It is a well-defined management system designed to reduce the impact on the environment from the Labs’ activities, products and services.
Labs 100 percent compliant for wastewater, hazardous waste
The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Authority awarded Sandia and NNSA Gold Awards for six waste water permits, achieving 100 percent compliance with the Waste Water Discharge Permit reporting requirements and zero Notices of Violation during the reporting period. Additionally, the New Mexico Environment Department’s hazardous waste inspection resulted in no violations and Sandia was found to be in full compliance, an indication of the success of continuous improvement activities implemented since the 2015 audit.
Audit and ethics efforts highlight risks, recommendations
The audit, ethics and business conduct center conducted 42 internal audits in areas that highlighted risks and recommendations in such areas as financial and business operations, ES&H and information technologies. Center staff also conducted 97 contract audits to validate contractors’ claimed costs of approximately $159 million. During the year, ethics advisory and investigative services successfully merged with equal employment opportunity investigations to create a single investigative organization, with the goal of improving consistency and increasing efficiency.