LLNL - The True Story

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2037-12-31T21:11:00.000-08:00

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Where will this end up?

2009-12-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

Anonymously contributed:

Where will this end up?

USA: layoffs
Russia:
"Russia to work on new nuclear missiles: Medvedev"

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BN10O20091224

Layoffs

2009-12-23T20:42:00.000-08:00

Anonymously contributed:

RHWM laid off 9 employees today; ftes and flex terms; More to go after the first of the year to cover a 3 million dollar screw up by rechtel.

MERRY X-MAS FROM THE RECHTEL BOYS

LLNL is Outstanding!

2009-12-22T18:20:00.000-08:00

On Dec. 8, the NNSA Livermore Site Office (LSO) released the Performance Evaluation Report presenting its assessment of our Laboratory’s performance for fiscal year 2009. The specific objectives, measures and targets we are judged upon are set out in the Performance Evaluation Plan (PEP) for each fiscal year.
I am very pleased to report that we earned ratings of “outstanding” in mission and “good” in both operations and institutional management. In addition, Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS) was awarded a one-year extension of the contract to manage the Laboratory. The contract between NNSA and LLNS was for seven years, extendable for up to 20 years in one-year increments based on performance.
The “outstanding” rating for mission reflects our many achievements in applying science and technology to meet critical national security needs. Among the accomplishments cited by the LSO in support of this top rating were the completion and dedication of the National Ignition Facility and its excellent initial experimental results, the delivery of the Dawn supercomputer and its initial results, the enhanced rigor applied to the warhead assessment peer-review process, the ahead-of-schedule progress on reducing LLNL’s inventory of special nuclear material, our leadership of a multi-lab assessment of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) on-site inspection regime, and the receipt of eight R&D 100 awards and three Federal Laboratory Consortium awards for excellence in technology transfer.
The rating of “good” for operations (up from last year’s “satisfactory”) recognizes the success of efforts to strengthen our operational and infrastructure functions, which include security and environment, safety and health. Accomplishments cited in support of this rating included the positive results received from the latest security inspection by DOE’s Office of Health, Safety and Security (HSS), the successful completion of Phase I of our Integrated Safety Management System (ISMS) reverification, and implementation of the new institution-wide work control process.
The “good” rating for institutional management reflects our performance in business operations and laboratory management. In support of this rating, LSO cited the annual property inventory in which more than 99.9 percent of all accountable items were successfully located, our progress in implementing a comprehensive integrated Contractor Assurance System, and the full implementation of project-based accounting, which in turn will make it possible to apply earned value management tools for improved project management.
All but one of 15 multi-site targets (which focused on stockpile stewardship, complex transformation and stockpile science) were successfully completed. Likewise, all but one of the five “stretch” incentive targets also were met.
The assessment process provides valuable feedback from our principal sponsor, highlights our many successes and achievements and identifies issues and concerns going forward. In the coming year, we will continue to make improvements aimed at achieving simultaneous excellence in mission science and technology, operations and business and management.
This year’s performance ratings are clear recognition of our Laboratory’s success in fulfilling our mission responsibilities and contract deliverables — all of which is due to the commitment, dedication and hard work of employees across the Laboratory. I am very proud of the Laboratory and all of you. Please accept my sincere thanks and appreciation for a job well done.

Russo's farewell

2009-12-16T15:27:00.001-08:00

A Gift I’ll Cherish

Over the past three and a half years I have had the privilege to get to know and
work with some of the finest men and women that I have ever met. Starting with George Miller and emulating out to all of you, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is truly the best and the brightest. That I had the opportunity to come here and participate in the Lab’s endeavors is a gift that I will always cherish.
I am disappointed that I am leaving before we have completed the work we have collaboratively started when you welcomed me into the Lab family in October 2007. The
nature of our work often requires that the nation’s needs subsume personal desires. The Department of Energy has determined that I am needed somewhere else. However, my
departure should not be reason to slow down on the many good things that are currently under way. Baseline budgeting, improving service delivery methods and ISMS are just a few of the things that will continue to improve operating efficiency and keep the Lab in its premier position for years to come.
Thank you for making me feel welcome at the Lab. The O&B PAD is a special team of people, and it is your efforts and hard work that have made us a partner with the programs and other directorates.
The good memories of working with all of you will be with me always.
Frank
O&B

Frank Russo leaving LLNL

2009-12-11T10:46:00.001-08:00

Anonymously contributed:
Frank Russo is leaving LLNL.

Director's response to Contra Costa Times Story

2009-12-10T19:28:00.000-08:00

Anonymously contributed:

Subject: DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE TO LAB EMPLOYEES

E-LINE: A Message to Laboratory Employees From The Director

Several local newspapers carried a story this morning with the
headline: Laboratory Hides the Cost of the Colossal NIF Laser. The
claim in the story is that the overhead charges for the NIF project
and the National Ignition Campaign have been inappropriately low.

This is incorrect. I'd like to tell you the facts.

As is the common practice for many Department of Energy construction
projects, NIF uses a construction overhead charge that ensures that
the project pays for the Laboratory-wide services that it uses and
requires. There are two reasons for this:

-- It is important to ensure that the overall finances of the host
institution are not distorted as the project initially grows and then
declines. This ensures that the true cost of the project is properly
reported. This is why the NIF and the NIC pay directly for services
that are otherwise paid for indirectly on other Laboratory programs.

-- The use of "construction rates" was explicitly approved by the
Department of Energy, with concurrence in writing by the Chief
Financial Officer of the Department. The existing and approved rate
structure forms the basis for the DOE budget for the completion of
the National Ignition Campaign.

Each year, the Laboratory discloses to the Department of Energy its
overhead structure and charges. This "disclosure statement" includes
the nature and the basis for the construction rates, and is annually
approved by the Department. LLNL accounting practices for NIF have
been consistently reviewed and approved by DOE and applied by the
Laboratory since the inception of the project. Additionally, we have
had numerous external groups review our practices, and they have
concurred that our approach is fully compliant with DOE rules and
regulations, with our disclosed and approved practices, and with
accepted interpretations of the Cost Accounting Standards. A recent
DOE-sponsored audit came to a conclusion consistent with this
approach -- that NIF must be treated as a "construction
work-in-progress"activity through completion of the National Ignition
Campaign in late 2012.

As you may have read, an accounting review by the NNSA Service Center
in Albuquerque, NM, reached a different conclusion -- a conclusion
that is not consistent with more than 10 years of prior DOE approvals
and practices.

The Laboratory stands by the DOE-approved accounting practices that
have been used throughout the construction and commissioning of the
NIF and the NIC program.

Progress in using NIF has been spectacular. We are looking forward to
achieving fusion in the laboratory. It will truly be a game changer.

George Miller
Laboratory Director

Report: Livermore National Lab hid $80 million of new nuclear fusion lab's cost

2009-12-10T10:49:00.000-08:00

Anonymously contributed:

As reported by this article in the Contra Costa Times

Lab reviews

2009-12-09T21:20:00.000-08:00

Interesting opinions at http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Lawrence-Livermore-Lab-Reviews-E35235.htm

2009-12-05T13:55:00.000-08:00

Anonymous said...

There is an email circulating to APS members asking the APS to reconsider its statement on climate change in light of the "Climategate" release of internal correspondence of members of IPCC. The lab is in a central position because of its long standing program to compare in an objective way the various models of climate. I wonder whether the lab is just reacting or seriously looking into whether any of its work might have been influenced by possible "filtering the data". See this link:

Open Letter on Global Warming

December 4, 2009 2:57 PM

2009-12-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

Anonymous said...

Man loses suit vs online pharmacy

Maybe those online prescription drug sales aren't so nifty after all.

December 3, 2009 5:17 PM

Latest rumors about LLNL/LLNS...

2009-12-05T13:44:00.000-08:00

Anonymous said...

Latest rumors about LLNL/LLNS...

December 5, 2009 7:18 AM

Highlights from the Parney Presentation

2009-12-05T13:42:00.000-08:00

Anonymous said...

Highlights from the Parney presentation today:
1) He looks a lot like George M.
2) He can't be bothered to reorganize GS even though PMC rates are through the roof due to excessive managers
3) He doesn't think we should care about criticism that we are too expensive
4) He claims LLNL is excellent in all technical areas across the board, instead of pledging to stem the growing mediocrity and attrition of excellent technical staff
5) Rather that talk about accomplishments he is proud of in his career, he made disparaging remarks about his former employers DHS and DARPA
6) He gets lost a lot at LLNL (mentioned this about 4 times)

December 3, 2009 8:59 PM

Who's Doing Who's

2009-12-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

Anonymous said...

Okay children, listen up. How's 1.5% to distribute, retroactive to Jan 1st, 2010 _NOT_ Oct 1st, 2009, and NO raise cards to be distributed. However on Feb 18th you'll be able to log onto LAPIS and see how much you're worth. LLNS not only made millions of dollars by delaying your raises by three months but they "did you", with one big stroke of the pen. Assuming I got the max of 1.5% it still was not enough to cover my increased cost for medical and state tax. This has been three years in a row so no wonder my disposable income at the end of the month has been diminishing. Do you think LLNS is telling us all a story here?

Still want to give LLNS 100%? -- I DFTS.

December 3, 2009 5:25 PM

Does an average of 1% raise motivate you?

2009-12-01T20:23:00.000-08:00

Anonymous wants to know if an average of 1% raise motivate you to excel.

A little humour!

2009-11-30T15:51:00.001-08:00

http://my.auburnjournal.com/detail/135482.html

What budget shortfalls?

2009-11-28T13:13:00.000-08:00

Anonymously contributed (title added by BLOG moderator):

Check out this Wall St Journal article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125910876247663245.html

Is salary management worth the effort?

2009-11-23T19:32:00.000-08:00

Anonymously contributed:

Why does LLNL senior management bother with the appraisal and salary management charade when the management process costs much more than the managed funds dispensed?

How much effort will a 200 really put in for the wonderful 1% average reward, when medical and tax increases take most? Why try indeed.

Consider that the full LLNS fee annually exceeds by four times the amount of the whole professional annual salary increase package. Nice, huh?

The Lab isn't the only one in Livermore facing hard times...

2009-11-21T09:35:00.001-08:00

Anonymous said...

Big cuts in store for Livermore
By Jeanine Benca
Contra Costa Times
11/20/2009

LIVERMORE — Street signs will be repainted less often, police response to non-emergencies will be slower and library hours will be fewer under a staggering proposal to scale back city services.

Across-the-board reductions are needed to fill an unanticipated $3.2 million deficit caused by statewide sales tax dips and other factors, Livermore officials said. The city council will discuss the city manager's financial update and recommended cuts Monday.

"We've been able to weather the storm for quite some time without layoffs or service reductions," said assistant city manager Troy Brown. "Unfortunately, we're to the point now where we're having to have difficult discussions."

The recession has already taken a toll on city coffers.

Since 2008, Livermore has lost some $8.7 million in sales tax, property tax and other revenues. Until now, creative accounting measures, employee salary and benefit concessions, voluntary buyouts and slashes to "non-essentials" have been sufficient to stave off deeper cuts, Brown said.

But recent, statewide developments are forcing city leaders to consider reductions that would affect city workers and community members.

California sales and use tax receipts for the 2009/10 fiscal year are expected to be about 6 percent lower than in 2008/09, resulting in a $795,000 loss to the city. Also, the state plans to "recapture" about $2.4 million in overestimated, 2008-09 sales tax reimbursements, according to staff reports.

Livermore isn't the only city affected — it is estimated state payments this year will be nearly 28 percent lower than originally anticipated for all California cities.

To cope with the budgetary blow, Livermore is proposing to cut 11.5 full-time positions from its 482-employee staff. If approved, nearly every department will be affected, including public works, maintenance, community development, traffic and public safety.

A big blow could be in store for non-emergency police services. While the response time to "first priority" police calls won't change, the time to respond to document requests, animal control and other second- and third-priority calls are likely. Changes could result in fewer property crimes being investigated, reductions to the gang unit and increased processing times, according to staff reports.

Another cut would cut Rincon and Springtown library branch hours from 53 to 23 hours, leaving them open just three days a week. Main library hours would remain the same.

That potential change drew criticism from Springtown resident Linda Avila.

"I don't know what it will take to make their budget, but I think there's other ways," she said. "We need our libraries. The libraries keep these kids off the street, give them a place to go to use the computer —and it's a safe place."

Other recommendations include reducing street sign, street light and landscape maintenance, consolidating staff in human resources, city manager and city clerk offices, and scaling back community development and engineering services.

The council meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday at the Council Chambers, 3575 Pacific Avenue, Livermore.

November 20, 2009 8:18 PM

LANL people seem happy

2009-11-20T18:54:00.000-08:00

According to employee survey.... or are they?
Post from LANL Blog

Why is the US disarming and dismantling?

2009-11-20T16:47:00.000-08:00

Anonymous said...

Russia continues to modernize its nuclear triad

November 19, 2009 2:57 AM

Big news from LLNL

2009-11-20T16:46:00.000-08:00

Anonymous said...

IBM uses Blue Gene supercomputer to model neural behavior of a cat brain.

Of all the things DOE could do with that class of computer, you would think that someone would come up with a better project than that.

November 18, 2009 7:16 PM

Positive Comment Challenge

2009-11-19T19:43:00.000-08:00

Anonymously contributed:

This blog is overwhelmed by negative comments. While any of us could certainly join in on everything from our indefensible overhead rates to stifling computer security craziness, it gets old after months and months and months! So if you need to rant, go do it in some other post. Here I challenge actual LLNL employees to say something positive about the place we all work.

I'll start: I actually enjoy my work at LLNL. Yes, you heard correctly, I get to work a great group of scientists, recognized in our field, perform cutting-edge research, publish papers, attend professional society meetings, and have access to some great equipment.

Especially compared with what some of my colleagues are going through at the Universities (cuts and furloughs) the lab remains a great place to do science.

How Desperate is LLNS?

2009-11-19T17:34:00.000-08:00

The word on the street is the LLNS is desperate to build morale. I don't think this is just a rumor either. Many departments have created "blogs" to find out what employees are thinking and now, there is the employee blog. Sorry, no need to provide a link, because you have to be on-site to get to it! No sense posting to it, because my guess is it's overly censored (you do have to sign in with your OUN to reply to any of the posts). I do see that the administrator of the LLNS blog is actually a poster on this blog - see, management is indeed reading this blog!

I heard that several departments had some type of a morale committee, but that they were disbanded when the committee members had no morale themselves. I do like the posting here where someone said that working at LLNL gave them a sense of pride. Our current management has deflated almost all of the pride any of us ever had. Me, I'm just plain emotionally drained. The article in the news where it says that the local labs are hiring 500 New Employees is just too funny. note that most are at LBL and the rest are Post Docs. Post Docs are among the hardest working and make about half of what their peers make doing the same job.I'm not quite to the point that I say they win, but I'm close.

Gross miscalculation?

2009-11-16T19:26:00.000-08:00

Bruzer said:

Did Anyone else read in the "Daily Clips" Monday, that between Sandia & LLNL they will be hiring 500 employees due to the expected number of employees that will be naturally retiring?
I think what really is going on is they just now figured out they laid off too many outstanding employees and won't have the correct talent available come 2012!!!