Y-12 Blog
Y-12 employees unload school supplies donated to ADFAC.
Anita Hazlewood, Y-12’s United Way chairperson, presents a check to ADFAC in support of the agency’s annual school supply drive.
Students in Anderson and Morgan counties are heading back to class with a backpacks full of school supplies thanks, in part, to the generosity of many Y-12 employees. The program, which assists children from low-income families, is managed by ADFAC, Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties. The ADFAC School Supply Drive is part of this year’s Y-12 United Way Campaign. Y-12 United Way Chair Anita Hazlewood said, in addition to the supplies collected, employees donated $1,297. UPF employees also donated school supplies and $400.
Some of Y-12’s leading ladies at the Leading Ladies Luncheon fundraiser for United Way of Anderson County.
CNS employees enjoy the Leading Ladies Luncheon for United Way of Anderson County.
CNS hosted four tables at the Anderson County United Way Leading Ladies Luncheon. Guest speaker Tracey Vlahos, also known as The Lady V, shared a message of empowering women to achieve the thriving business, stylish lifestyle, and personal wellness they deserve, all with a greater sense of worklife harmony.
Y-12’s Lean Six Sigma team visited DENSO Manufacturing Athens Tennessee, Inc. to learn about how the company uses lean tools.
Y-12 Lean Six Sigma recently hosted a visit to the DENSO Manufacturing Athens Tennessee, Inc. to see lean tools and principles in action.
Josh McDaniel of Lean Six Sigma said, “We looked for ideas on how we could apply their use of lean tools to our work. DENSO’s plant employs more than 1, 500 and is a supplier to some of the top automobile manufacturers in the world, with one of those being the Toyota Manufacturing Company, the model we chose to base our Performance Enterprise System on.”
Meghan Lovelace of the Oak Ridge Metrology Center said, “From the moment we entered the building, you could tell that DENSO runs lean. I liked the management boards posted in the various work areas. It was a great way to keep lines of communication open between workers on the line and supervisors.”
Infrastructure’s Brandon Peters said, “Lean is a vision and journey that takes time, but results in great teamwork. We saw the importance of taking the consideration and thoughts from the folks doing the jobs and then implementing them.”
“One thing that really impressed me was how they incorporated 5S (sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain) in to all parts of their operations,” Tony Beal of Production Support said. “Seeing the 5S sign as you are entering the visitors’ parking lot made me realize that it is not just something that they do, but something that is part of who they are.”
McDaniel said, “It was evident at the heart of DENSO’s lean culture was employee involvement. Just like our PES lean approach, none of this works without empowering people to drive change. This trip gave us opportunity to brainstorm areas of new applicability to use the lean methodologies at CNS.”
Pantex’s Leonardo Lerma and Y-12’s Joseph McVeigh, both of Mission Engineering, will be following in the footsteps of this group as part of the Sandia Weapon Intern Program, Class of 2019.
Pantex’s Leonardo Lerma and Y-12’s Joseph McVeigh, both of Mission Engineering, are the CNS selected nominees for the Sandia Weapon Intern Program, Class of 2019. The 24th class of the program will receive instruction through a large contingent of subject matter experts in weapon areas including technology, design, and management.
“I have interacted with talented, committed men and women who have opened the door for me to learn about our operations and mission from a regional perspective,” Lerma said. “This internship will further increase my understanding of how multiple organizations within the NNSA operate in pursuit of the greater mission of global security.”
McVeigh said, “I am honored to represent Y-12 in the program. It is humbling to know that I will learn all of the subject matter of the systems that were designed by our nation’s greatest scientists.”
Both men look forward to what they will gain from the program. “The experiences and training I obtain will allow me to better support Y-12’s mission and the people who make it happen,” McVeigh said.
“The prospect of building bridges within the NNSA and teaming with others to solve some of the technical challenges ahead is exhilarating. I am humbled and honored to represent CNS and Pantex in this program,” Lerma said.
At a recent Manufacturing Practices Lean Summit, held at Y‑12, a working group focused on complex-wide transparency and continuous improvement.
CNS recently hosted the Joint Working Group 39 Manufacturing Practices Lean Summit to grow continuous improvement through a community of sharing and practice. The summit, held at Y‑12, included attendees from each site within the Nuclear Security Enterprise as well as the United Kingdom’s Atomic Weapons Establishment.
“A significant part of our operation is continuous improvement, and we learn from others in the complex,” said Pantex Site Manager Todd Ailes. “The summit has given us an opportunity to share lean strategies to help us continue forward. Our work is about people, core missions, and techniques for continuous improvement.”
Reed Mullins, senior director of Production Operations at Y‑12, said, “We’re coming together as a complex to break out of our silos, to learn from our mistakes, and to look at what did and did not work well. Our goal is to better support our people daily.”