Winter 2005, Vol. 2, Issue 4

Private‑sector partners

An engineer examines a recently delivered shipment of aluminum. Click image for larger view.

Approximately a quarter of the materials and components in a typical weapon system has been procured from qualified private‑sector vendors ranging in size from major national corporations to small local companies. These vendors are partners in Y‑12's national security mission.

Who are these qualified vendors? How does a vendor become qualified? These are two good, but difficult to answer, questions. Because all espionage services, both the industrial variety and traditional government‑sponsored efforts, are adept at winnowing nuggets of sensitive information out of ordinary news, good operational security requires that Y‑12 mask the identity of vendors supporting weapon‑related activities, even when the materials or components they provide are, by themselves, unclassified.

To become a qualified vendor of weapon‑related materials and components, a company must be able to meet NNSA quality standards and requirements as set forth in Weapon Quality Policy (QC‑1). This policy establishes the quality management system requirements for the weapon‑related activities of NNSA and its contractors and ensures compliance with other applicable orders and regulations, such as Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 830) and DOE Integrated Safety Management requirements.

Starting with the specifications and design requirements issued by the weapon design agency at one of the national laboratories, Y‑12 solicits data from potential vendors using a standardized form letter that requests detailed information on the vendors' equipment, capabilities, facilities, customers and quality assurance programs and practices. These data are evaluated by Y‑12 subject matter experts. After initial evaluation, an assessment team from Y‑12 then visits a prospective vendor's site to observe work practices and evaluate the QA program in action.

The key factor in obtaining qualified vendor status is the ability to meet the same stringent quality standards and rigor that Y‑12 does in its production work. The use of QC‑1 in weapon‑related procurements by the other Nuclear Weapons Complex sites ensures that quality standards are consistent across NWC.

Materials Y‑12 procures from vendors include stainless steel, aluminum and polymers. Many of these materials are similar to those used in making high‑precision components for a race car or aircraft.

In addition to bulk materials, some processed items, such as tubing, are used as stock material in Y‑12 manufacturing efforts. Also, some machined components and parts, especially fasteners, are obtained from vendors.

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