Neutron generator production mission in a national laboratory.

Abstract

In the late 1980's the Department of Energy (DOE) faced a future budget shortfall. By the spring of 1991, the DOE had decided to manage this problem by closing three production plants and moving production capabilities to other existing DOE sites. As part of these closings, the mission assignment for fabrication of War Reserve (WR) neutron generators (NGs) was transferred from the Pinellas Plant (PP) in Florida to Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico (SNL/NM). The DOE directive called for the last WR NG to be fabricated at the PP before the end of September 1994 and the first WR NG to be in bonded stores at SNL/NM by October 1999. Sandia National Laboratories successfully managed three significant changes to project scope and schedule and completed their portion of the Reconfiguration Project on time and within budget. The PP was closed in October 1995. War Reserve NGs produced at SNL/NM were in bonded stores by October 1999. The costs of the move were recovered in just less than five years of NG production at SNL/NM, and the annual savings today (in 1995 dollars) is $47 million.