Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
1/9/2015
For the six-month period marking the second half of Fiscal Year 2014, Oak Ridge cleanup contractor URS-CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC, earned $3.67 million in award fee out of a total of $3.83 million available, about 96 percent. That is on par for UCOR’s fee in the first half of FY’14, when the contractor earned $3.2 million in award fee, or 94 percent of the total available that period. “UCOR has continued to do extremely well executing the scope under the East Tennessee Technology Park contract,” Department of Energy Oak Ridge acting cleanup manager Sue Cange said in a Dec. 18 award fee determination letter released by DOE this week. “UCOR completed the K-25 Facility Decontamination and Decommissioning scope in the contract (Performance work Statement C.2.12), and initiated K-31 Facility removal activities while continuing to progress in the preparation for K-27 Building Demolition. UCOR employees and its subcontractors worked 1,256,987 hours without a Los Workday Away Case during the period.”
For the period running from April 1, 2014, through Sept. 30, 2014, UCOR earned $696,519 in project management incentive fee and $2.97 million in cost incentive fee. It earned its highest marks, an “excellent” rating, in project management and business systems, and environmental management. It earned a “very good” rating in the remaining two categories: worker safety and health management and quality management.
DOE Praises D&D Work
The contractor received praise from DOE for performing D&D work ahead of schedule at the K-27 and K-31 former gaseous diffusion plants. UCOR also responded quickly to a seep detected at the Oak Ridge Research Reactor pool, according to DOE’s fee determination letter. Following the events at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in early 2014 that led to WIPP’s shutdown, UCOR also “provided strong support to DOE,” according to the letter, including working on issues with the Oak Ridge Transuranic Waste Processing Center. The contractor also completed all actions to support DOE’s request for a new mercury water treatment facility project at Y-12’s Outfall 200, and “provided excellent support to DOE” on the Oak Ridge groundwater strategy.
DOE did note several opportunities for improvement, however. Those include identification of “several unsafe work practices associated with material handling,” the letter states. “UCOR needs continued vigilance to reduce recordable injury/illness cases and restricted workday cases. In addition, the seep at the Oak Ridge Research Reactor pool was discovered in an area at risk for leaks “not being routinely observed,” according to DOE. “This indicated the need for UCOR to evaluate the thoroughness of their routine inspections of facilities by their surveillance and maintenance programs.”
UCOR ‘Very Proud’ of Evaluation
UCOR President Ken Rueter hailed the evaluation. “We are very proud of the latest DOE evaluation of our cleanup work at Oak Ridge. We received high marks in every category and are especially proud of the recognition of significant strength for UCOR in the areas of Project Management and Cost performance. This is an amazing way to finish 2014 and move into 2015,” he said. “I congratulate each of our team members for their role in compiling this impressive record of achievement.”
He added: “This level of performance does not happen by chance. It takes a concerted plan and effort by the entire team. Additionally, it is a reflection of the outstanding partnership that has been established between DOE, UCOR, Atomic Trades & Labor Council (ATLC), United Steel Workers (USW), and Knoxville Building Trades (KBTC). We look forward to even greater achievements, by this partnership in the coming year and working once again as a team to sustain this performance level through the entire contract period of performance. Ultimately, this score is recognition of the investment-worthy performance of the UCOR team, as stewards of valuable taxpayer funds.”
