Y-12 Blog
Y-12 process engineer and Society of Women Engineers member, Ann Shih, at the 2017 National SWE Conference where she was a speaker. |
Passion is one of the many attributes Ann Shih credits for her perseverance in helping others continuously improve. As a process engineer, there is no such thing as cutting corners. She specializes in improving safety and productivity by observing work processes, implementing cost-savings strategies by reducing key strokes, and persistently championing a better way to do things. Above all, teamwork and collaboration are her key strengths to success.
“My process improvements,” she said. “I couldn’t have done them by myself. By working with a variety of people who have different experiences, you can really perform.”
In addition to helping others, Shih is involved in the Society of Women Engineers and served as vice president of her local Smoky Mountain section for two years. SWE is the world’s largest advocate for women in engineering and technology. During her time as vice president, Shih grew the local society by leading outreach efforts to guide young females aspiring to become engineers or scientists.
From those efforts, Shih partnered with the University of Tennessee’s student SWE section to mentor students into their career. Each year, SWE also participates in Introduce a Girl to Engineering hosted by CNS.
“It brings me joy being able to mentor the girls and help them learn about what kind of opportunities are open to them in the future,” Shih said.
Are you doing what you envisioned as a young adult? If so, describe how you got here.
In ninth grade, I decided I wanted to work in some type of industry. It was a mechanical drawing class that drew me toward engineering. I went to John Hopkins University for my B.S. in chemical engineering. After college, I earned both my M.S. and P.E. in chemical engineering. During my career, I worked as a process engineer for approximately 10 years in the semiconductor, carbide cutting tools, and nuclear fuel industries. Then, I had my first daughter and took 10 years off from work to become a stay-at-home mom. After that, I came back to work on the Uranium Processing Facility project as a design engineer for 10 years.
What top strength do you bring to your organization and why?
The ability to take a process and develop a way to make it safer and more efficient. All of my process improvements have been through collaborative effort. For example, my first improvement was to decrease the height of a can to make a cutting process safer through improved ergonomics. This change also benefitted two downstream processes. This effort began with a suggestion by Dwayne Beaty while he was performing the cut and later accomplished with the help of Matt Thomas in reconfiguring the can contents. Doug Perry, Environment Safety and Health, also provided insight to this safety concern.
I’m at my best when I am:
Being a tiger mom. By tiger, I mean that I was born in the year of the Tiger. I’ve raised my two daughters with encouragement for them to be self-expressive. I had them take dancing and piano lessons and gave them a stream of books and unlimited art supplies, all starting before the age of 5.
What is one thing your coworkers would be surprised to know about you?
I like being outdoors hiking, biking, and camping. I love visiting national parks. My favorite ones are Zion and Banff national parks. My family and I plan to visit Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion national parks.
What do you consider to be your most significant contribution so far?
My most significant contribution was being selected to be a speaker at the National SWE Conference in Texas in 2017 and giving a speech on how to start a mentoring program. There were 15,000 attendees at the conference. I researched my topic for several months and consulted with Y-12’s Black Belt Mentoring program along with Pantex’s Outreach and Leadership Organization affinity group for new hires. I was very proud to represent our local SWE section, CNS, and Bechtel at the conference.
His smile is one you miss when you visit the sandwich area at what is now known as the Larry Garner Cafeteria. Garner, owner of Oliver’s, the food vendor that manages the Y-12 cafeteria and canteen, passed away last August. Bobby “Homey” Mullins, facility manager for the Y-12 Jack Case and New Hope centers, suggested naming the cafeteria after Garner. In Mullins’ own words, here is why.
“Larry was a team player when it came to Y-12. Whenever called upon to provide food service for employees or the CEO, whatever he was asked to do, he delivered. From Christmas parties for kids to short-notice events for VIPs, whether it was a guest box lunch or fine dining on china, Larry and his crew would have food ready for Y-12 employees and guests.
“Larry fed all the Y-12 veterans every Veterans Day at no cost to them. All of it came out of his pocket. If a U.S. service member in uniform was visiting Y-12, Larry fed them for free. At Thanksgiving, he would provide a good meal for about the cost of the food.
“He was always looking for better, faster ways to get employees through the cafeteria line and checked out because he knew that the employees only had so much time for lunch. He wanted them to be able to sit, eat, and enjoy their food. If something wasn’t right or wasn’t what was asked for, he would make it right.
“Larry was a leader who led from the front. He would run the grill, make sandwiches, run the deep fryer, whatever it took to make things run smoothly. He would jump in and make it happen. He always considered himself and his company part of the Y-12 team. He was a professional with a smile on his face and a can do attitude who loved what he did. He had a way of making people smile. He was our friend, and we will miss him.”
In 2015, Y-12 firefighter Ryan Ladd’s daughter, Kennedy, was diagnosed with Hurler syndrome (MPS 1), a rare genetic lysosomal storage disease. Life for Ladd, Kennedy, and Allie (his wife) has been busy since as they have shared with others the need for research on MPS and welcomed Lincoln, their now 2 year old who also has MPS 1.
Children with Hurler syndrome are characterized by skeletal abnormalities, cognitive impairment, heart disease, respiratory problems, enlarged liver and spleen, characteristic faces, and reduced life expectancy. Patients live life in and out of the hospital and will endure many surgeries. Without treatment, kids with Hurler syndrome have a life expectancy of 5 10 years of age. There is no cure.
Ladd wanted to surprise Allie with a fun trip — somewhere besides Cincinnati and its children’s hospital. He chose New York City, and while they intended to educate others about MPS 1, what neither of them expected was the platform they got to share their story on: NBC’s live TODAY show.
At the time, the couple had no idea their story would be shared multiple times. “We didn’t even comprehend we would get to say ‘MPS 1’ on national TV! Allie’s makeover went viral, and we are grateful,” Ladd said. “We were interviewed by our local NBC station (WBIR), and we gained followers, prayer warriors, and donors on our journey to hopefully find a cure. We need a cure, and with awareness, comes a cure!”
The Ladds ask for your help to educate others about MPS 1. “Tell someone about MPS,” said Ladd. Learn more about the disease from the National MPS Society.
“Something easy everyone can do is to wear purple on Rare Disease Day, February 29, and on MPS Awareness Day, May 15,” he said. “We are so grateful for the love and care that has been shown to our family through this journey. We have been so blessed by donations, vacation donation, messages, and support. We are forever grateful and so appreciative of the love that has been shown by all of our Y-12 family.”
With 811 acres spanning 2.5 miles more than 6,000 personnel. You might wonder who tracks all those people and corresponding vehicle traffic on site. Well, it’s actually a council of representatives from various departments who are tasked with bringing integration and decision making to site wide activities and projects that impact the development and utilization of site infrastructure, facilities, and/or plant personnel. And the chair of that council is Jane Nations, Y-12 site master planner.
Nations has worked at Y-12 for more than 25 years. She has a degree in electrical engineering but loves what she does planning for Y-12’s future, and working with drawings and plans. She started out in the Condition Assessment Survey Group, then moved on to become manager of the CAS and Facility Information Management Systems, space management, and served as the Y-12 Energy manager. She eventually made her way to her current role, where she also serves as chair of the Site Planning Council.
SPC was first organized in 2007, but the heavy influx of personnel in the last 18 months has kept the council busy. Recent projects such as the Uranium Processing Facility, Mercury Treatment Facility, and Biology Building demolition has brought in so many new employees that buildings and parking spaces became congested quickly.
“The Site Planning Council is a forum to address and track site wide issues and concerns, including impacts to the protected area resulting from UPF and the West End Protected Area Reduction projects,” Nations said.
In terms of office space, Jack Case Center is at currently at 108% capacity. New Hope Center, Building 9110, the guard headquarters, and HEUMF are all at or above capacity. Parking is also limited around the site.
“We are working hard to improve the congestion felt on site, in the buildings, and in the parking lots. We are developing some guidelines to help manage office space and are working to identify additional parking spaces, but we have limitations when it comes to security and mission needs,” Nations said.
All employees have a role in meeting the Pantex and Y-12 mission, but it’s easier to see that role when you hear about how it all comes together. Take the FY19 record-setting year for Y-12 in purified metal production. For the year, 512 kg of metal was produced, exceeding the goal of 500 kg — the highest of in specification material produced since 1992.
There were many teams working to meet the goal and then striving to surpass it. It comes as no surprise that working in 70 year old buildings is tough.
Glen Culver of Enriched Uranium Production said, “When you’re processing material in an old facility and have to apply the appropriate and different rules for each discipline, it can get tricky. One item can have nuclear criticality safety rules, another have nuclear materials control and accountability rules, and another item have waste management rules. It doesn’t matter what type of rules; they all have to be met.”
Culver’s teams (the reduction team just one of them) receive and process highly enriched uranium salvage to an accountable state. “The teams prepare the material for one of three paths: process in wet chemistry and make uranium metal, prepare it for long-term storage, or discard it as low-level waste,” he said.
When their coworkers on the UO3 and UF4 teams experienced challenges, it filtered down to Culver’s crews, causing them to be delayed in making uranium metal.
“Once the UO3 and UF4 teams resolved their challenges and had produced enough feed (UF4),” Culver said, “our group had a short timeframe to meet the FY19 deliverable of 500 kg of metal.”
But meeting the goal is what they did. “If we didn’t have a team that believed what they did was important and went out and made things happen,’ we wouldn’t have met the goal. Teamwork is what EUO is all about,” he said. “The work is essential to our nation, and we take that to heart and always aim for success.”
Because Culver’s teams are also responsible for disposition of enriched uranium materials, there are many additional forms of material that the teams process during the year. They have to balance what works across the year, and in FY19, they delivered again, meeting or exceeding all milestones for the Material Recycle and Recovery Program.
Eric Sampsel, Material Recycle and Recovery Program manager said, “Without processing these materials in a timely manner, 9212’s operations would rapidly run out of space for delivering on its multiple missions.”
As work gets underway for this calendar year, the team is prepared to support CNS and the nation while getting EUO ready for the Uranium Processing Facility.”
