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Success is in the bag

Parts no longer fail because of moisture now that they are stored in $1 to $2 Mylar bags. Savings are more than $1 million and climbing.

In a complex world, it can be hard to remember that the best solution is often the simplest one. When Technology Development's Dean Little tried to reduce the high failure rate of a moisture-sensitive part, he remembered an elegant solution first suggested a decade ago: bag it.

“Mylar bags—multilaminates of plastic and aluminum foil—provide a great moisture barrier,” said the engineer. “These bags are used everywhere, especially for pharmaceuticals and electronics. Our other option was to redesign the current containers for these moisture-sensitive parts, which would be very expensive and make them heavy and difficult to move. We thought the $1 to $2 Mylar bags were worth a try.”

Little tested Mylar bags with Ziploc seals using a material that usually reacts immediately with moisture from the air. But when sealed in the bags, the contents stayed dry for hours, then days. Because the bags protected the material under rigorous testing conditions, it seemed likely that if combined with the current containers, the bags would provide the extra protection needed to keep parts from failing.

Implementing this simple concept turned out to be the real challenge. Nothing about the project's execution was easy, but dozens of people from six organizations across the site persisted. Technology Development's Robert Townsend made the bag work on the manufacturing floor and through testing and checkout. Quality Assurance's Don Newman guided the production details into Quality and Manufacturing, which meant months of unyielding efforts to get new equipment and procedures approved.

Production's Judy Russell worked with operators instituting new machining techniques, and process engineer Tom Cady shepherded the packaging changes through safety reviews. Product engineer Michelle Williams worked with the design agency to satisfy its needs and keep the project on track.

Five months of testing proved the concept; as the bags were used, the parts failure rate because of moisture plummeted to zero. Savings are estimated at more than $1 million and counting. Improvements are already under way as workers begin heat sealing the bags for even greater protection.

The bags are being considered for other uses at Y‑12 and perhaps at the national laboratories. A British laboratory is interested, too, although the scientists were confused by Y‑12's terminology.

“We described the bags as a 'belts and suspenders' approach, meaning redundant systems,” said Little, “and they just looked at us strangely. We found out that in Great Britain, suspenders are what ladies use to hold up their stockings.”

No matter how it is described, the Mylar bag has demonstrated its worth. “It's quick, it works and it's cheap. We're proud of that,” said Little.

“I think it's great the plant can cross boundaries to include all organizations and working groups to do a project designed to save money, save jobs and give us a better product, cheaper,” said Don Newman, Quality Assurance.

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