07/01/2010

LANL Pu Workforce Assessment – Approach and Definitions

Robert Parker, Raj Vaidya, and Terry Helm

AET-2, Process Modeling and Analysis Group

Background

Shifting nuclear/Pu missions and the changing program landscape require flexibility and agility in program, facility, and personnel management. A better understanding of the current Pu workforce at Los Alamos is needed to plan for and respond to new program opportunities. To that end, a baseline capabilities assessment of the current LANL Pu workforce is being undertaken. The scope of the assessment includes collecting and compiling several pieces of information about individuals within the SMS directorate boundary, and perhaps some supporting organizations in the Pu work. Factors being compiled include education, trainings and certifications, nuclear work experience, and others. This assessment will assist with integrated workforce planning, program planning, and will highlight the need to maintain and nurture the Pu workforce capability.

Spreadsheet Tool

A spreadsheet will contain raw data with information about each individual within the scope of the assessment. Several pieces of information about the individuals will be compiled and organized. The spreadsheet tool enables analysts and management to slice and filter and graph the data various ways. The spreadsheet will contain the raw data obtained from HR and other databases, as well as information from interviews with line managers familiar with the individuals.

The example below demonstrates how a portion of the spreadsheet tool with associated results may eventually look. The data shown is not real and is included for illustration purposes only.

Select pieces of spreadsheet information will be aggregated and summarized in a visual grid of attributes for each individual. The colored grid is a way to visualize select pieces of information quickly for an individual for the specific attributes listed in the next section. The spreadsheet tool can also be used to visualize select information, but is more useful for data analysis and capabilities assessment for multiple individuals or groups.

Workforce Colored Grid Key and Descriptions

NOTE: The color gradients used below help distinguish differences for a given attribute. The information can be used in many ways such as for staffing plans, programs marketing, skills matching, etc. For example, if there is a need for personnel with glovebox operations experience, that attribute will be emphasized, and the other attributes may not matter as much. Another example might be where a specialized skill is needed, in which case one end of the Breadth/Flexibility attribute may be emphasized for an individual because they have specialized in a particular aspect of their expertise.

Examples:

Ed = Equivalent Education

GB = Glovebox Experience

NPx = Nuclear Program Experience

Fx = Breadth/Flexibility

Education (Ed)

None/HS Assoc. BS/BA MS/MA PhD Other

Definition – Education is reflective of the level of an individual’s formal education. Special training and certifications may also be noted and identified. The “Other” category may include law degrees, MBAs, etc.

Part of this attribute is directly related to an individual’s formal education level, and is obtainable from HR databases (though it may not be available if an individual has not provided that information to HR). Equivalent experience or specialized trainings and certifications can be added to enhance the information displayed here (see examples above). Management interviews or detailed reviews of additional documentation are needed to verify/obtain this additional information and to reconcile missing data and inconsistencies observed in the HR data set.

Glovebox Experience (GB)

None 0-2 yrs 2-5 yrs 5-10 yrs >10 yrs

Definition – Glovebox Experience can include glovebox experience at LANL or another site, experience working in gloveboxes containing different materials (Pu238, Pu239, 3H, etc.), and experience working in gloveboxes for different programs (Pits, Pu238, WETF, etc.).

Management interviews or detailed reviews of additional documentation are needed to obtain more information on this attribute. Type of glovebox experience (materials, etc.) can be appended to the GB grid box (see examples illustrated on previous page).

Nuclear Program Experience (NPx)

None Limited Moderate Significant Extensive

0-5 yrs 5-10 yrs 10-15 yrs >15 yrs

Definition – Nuclear Program Experience can include nuclear program experience at LANL or at other sites (such as nuclear program or project management, program development, or other experience with the program side of nuclear operations as opposed to actual hands-on glovebox experience which is captured in the “GB” attribute ). Examples of programs might include pit manufacturing, analytical chemistry, actinide chemistry, Pu or U programs, nuclear power, etc.

Management interviews or detailed reviews of additional documentation are needed to obtain information on this attribute.

Breadth/Flexibility (Fx)

1 2 3 4 5

Narrow/ Broad

Deep/

Specialized

Definition – Breadth/Flexibility is an assessment of an individual’s span of experience and demonstrated flexibility in the context of their own job. Cross-training may come into play here, where an individual has successfully shown the ability to work in many areas with a broad skill base. On the other hand, specialization and in-depth development of a certain skill may limit the breadth of experience, but enhance the depth of experience.

Management interviews or detailed reviews of additional documentation are needed to obtain meaningful information on this attribute.