scholarly journals Los Alamos National Laboratory Lessons Learned for Fiscal Year 2018: SAVY-4000 Lid Bar Stock Issue

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul H. Smith ◽  
Jude Oka ◽  
Tristan Karns ◽  
Timothy Stone ◽  
Kirk Reeves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Laboratory ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Fiscal Year ◽  
Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Los Alamos ◽  
Los Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Stock Issue

scholarly journals Lessons Learned from Occurrences Involving Procedures at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1994

1995 ◽  
Vol 39 (15) ◽  
pp. 1033-1037 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candace K. Frostenson
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Near Miss ◽  
Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Los Alamos ◽  
Los Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
One Year

This study used the Department of Energy (DOE) Occurrence Reporting and Processing System (ORPS) data to investigate occurrences reported during one year at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). ORPS provides a centralized database and computerized support for the collection, distribution, updating, analysis, and validation of information in occurrence reports about abnormal events related to facility operation. Human factors causes for occurrences are not always defined in ORPS. Content analysis of narrative data revealed that 33% of all LANL 1994 adverse operational events have human factors causes related to procedures. Procedure-caused occurrences that resulted in injury to workers, damage to facilities or equipment, or a near-miss are analyzed.

Lessons Learned From Automation of Nonconformance Reporting (NCR) Process at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shyla A. McFarland ◽  
Taunia S. Van Valkenburg ◽  
Gary M. Sandquist ◽  
Daniel J. Tepley ◽  
Ernie F. Petru
Keyword(s):  
Process Development ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Nuclear Facility ◽  
Engineering Project ◽  
Los Alamos ◽  
Wide Audience ◽  
Los Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Engineering Project Management

The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Quality Performance and Assurance (QPA) Division was tasked with the opportunity to improve the NCR process and to support ASME NQA-1-2008 and ASME NQA-1A-2009; Quality Assurance Requirements for Nuclear Facility Applications [1] compliance. This process improvement plan involved input from NCR Coordinators, Engineering, Project Management, Facility Operations, Suspect Counterfeit Item Coordinators, and Waste Certifying Officials, among others. The focus of the project was to fully automate the NCR process through a phased systematic approach that would be useable to a wide audience. During the short and long-term automation process development for nuclear and non-nuclear facility nonconforming items, noteworthy benefits and lessons learned were identified and implemented.

Transuranic (TRU) Waste Volume Reduction Operation at a Plutonium Facility

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Cournoyer ◽  
Archie E. Nixon ◽  
Keith W. Fife ◽  
Arnold M. Sandoval ◽  
Vincent E. Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Laboratory ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Breathing Zone ◽  
Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Improvement Program ◽  
Los Alamos ◽  
Los Alamos National Laboratory ◽  
Reduction Operation ◽  
Airborne Contamination

Programmatic operations at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Plutonium Facility (TA-55) involve working with various amounts of plutonium and other highly toxic, alpha-emitting materials. The spread of radiological contamination on surfaces, airborne contamination, and excursions of contaminants into the operator’s breathing zone are prevented through use of a variety of gloveboxes (the glovebox, coupled with an adequate negative pressure gradient, provides primary confinement). Size-reduction operations on glovebox equipment are a common activity when a process has been discontinued and the room is being modified to support a new customer. The Actinide Processing Group at TA-55 uses one-meter or longer glass columns to process plutonium. Disposal of used columns is a challenge, since they must be size-reduced to get them out of the glovebox. The task is a high-risk operation because the glass shards that are generated can puncture the bag-out bags, leather protectors, glovebox gloves, and the worker’s skin when completing the task. One of the Lessons Learned from these operations is that Laboratory management should critically evaluate each hazard and provide more effective measures to prevent personnel injury. A bag made of puncture-resistant material was one of these enhanced controls. We have investigated the effectiveness of these bags and have found that they safely and effectively permit glass objects to be reduced to small pieces with a plastic or rubber mallet; the waste can then be easily poured into a container for removal from the glovebox as non-compactable transuranic (TRU) waste. This size-reduction operation reduces solid TRU waste volume generation by almost 2-1/2 times. Replacing one-time-use bag-out bags with multiple-use glass crushing bags also contributes to reducing generated waste. In addition, significant costs from contamination, cleanup, and preparation of incident documentation are avoided. This effort contributes to the Los Alamos National Laboratory Continuous Improvement Program by improving the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and formality of glovebox operations. In this report, the technical issues, associated with implementing this process improvement are addressed, the results discussed, effectiveness of Lessons Learned evaluated, and waste savings presented.

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