AIKEN, S.C. - Workers have finished removing more than 11,000 items from Savannah River Site excess inventory by disposing or giving them to other DOE sites, universities and the local community reuse organization.
“Meeting this major milestone is not only a good management practice for the site’s resources, but it also helps us to work safer," said Renée Stewart, asset management and distribution operations business manager with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the site’s management and operations contractor. “Part of our 360-degree safety net, which involves looking at your business holistically from beginning to end, is knowing what we have available and how to use and maintain it safely."
The initiative to review inventoried items five years or older began in fall 2014 with 23,713 things valued at $25.5 million, ranging from electrical component parts to equipment motors and fans.
The team completed extensive technical reviews, ensuring compliance with the DOE Personal Property Management Program and other federal regulations. SRNS organizations appointed field division spare parts inventory coordinators to work with engineers to determine whether to keep items.
Workers optimized the inventory to meet demand, minimized excess inventory, strengthened controls of usage tracking and ensured compliant disposal of unwanted items.
The 11,379 items pulled from inventory were valued at $7.5 million. The team transferred laboratory supplies, instruments, industrial fans, pressure regulators and other items to other DOE sites, the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO) and universities in the Laboratory Equipment Donation Program.
SRNS Environmental and Generator Certification Official Matt Hammett said some inventory items became obsolete.
“With those items, we would check to see if someone could use them internally on other projects, or if organizations outside of SRS would benefit," Hammett said. “Our team would study all special disposition items, such as asbestos-containing materials, mercury-containing devices, lead, chemicals and other items to ensure we weren’t releasing potentially hazardous items off-site."
SRNS will conduct an annual review to prevent keeping outdated or unnecessary items in the site’s inventory for extended periods.
“As missions change at SRS, different materials or supplies are needed to support these new missions," SRNS Senior Vice President of Business Services Norm Powell said. “This project gave us the opportunity to remove those supplies and materials no longer needed and give them a second lease on life by offering them to universities, the SRSCRO or recyclers."
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
