Kansas City Field Office (2020 Presidential transition)
The Kansas City Field Office (KCFO) oversees a multibillion dollar contract at the state-of-the-art Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC) in Kansas City, MO. The KCNSC, managed and operated by Honeywell FM&T, manufactures and procures about 80 percent of non-nuclear weapon components of the nuclear stockpile, including electronic, mechanical and engineered materials. The KCNSC also develops field-ready engineering solutions for other governments’ national security missions; supports Secure Transportation and emergency response activities in New Mexico; and manages the Supply Chain Management Center (SCMC), which was created to more effectively manage about $4 billion of annual purchasing across NNSA and many DOE sites. The KCFO provides day-to-day oversight for contractor operations to ensure mission success. Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies now has more than 5,000 employees in Kansas City and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Mission Statement
The Kansas City Field Office, in cooperation with our stakeholders, is entrusted by the NNSA and the public to manage the resources of the KCNSC in an effective and efficient manner that will: accomplish the mission of the NNSA; comply with laws and regulations; value our employees and their contributions; minimize risk to the public and the environment while providing a safe and secure working environment; protect NNSA facilities and resources; identify, document, and measure processes to assure the quality of products and services to fulfill customer requirements; continually improve all processes, products, and services; and maintain the public trust and foster positive relations with our neighbors and the community.
The Kansas City Field Office, the onsite federal presence, executes the NNSA and other customer missions and provides day-to-day oversight for contractor operations to ensure mission success. The Field Office ensures compliance with laws and regulations and works closely with the M&O contractor to ensure safe, secure, and cost effective performance. KCFO oversees the contractor’s budget process and funding priorities. In the public arena, KCFO staff interacts with federal, state and local governments and remains responsible and accountable to stakeholders. The Kansas City Field Office uses a unique system of oversight called the Kansas City Governance Model. This model, developed by Honeywell and NNSA, applies best-in class commercial standards in managing operations, transforming business functions, and delivering mission results. It is a mutual operating model that maximizes trust, cooperation, and opportunity.
Budget
Kansas City Field Office Budget
| Fiscal Year | Budget |
|---|---|
| FY 2019 enacted | $7,600,000 |
| FY 2020 enacted | $7,580,000 |
| FY 2021 requested | $7,630,000 |
Kansas City National Security Campus Budget
| Fiscal Year | Budget |
|---|---|
| FY 2019 enacted | $753,950,000 |
| FY 2020 enacted | $1,013,000,000 |
| FY 2021 requested | $1,199,000,000 |
Human Resources
FY 2020 authorized full-time equivalents (FTEs): 38
History
The KCFO began in 1949, along with the Kansas City Plant, when the Atomic Energy Commission selected the Bendix Corporation to manufacture parts. The first part produced at the Kansas City Plant was an ordinary machined bushing and was a forerunner to the highly sophisticated and complicated components built in the years that followed. James Stowers was the first manager of the Kansas City Field Office. In the mid-1960s, the KCFO grew to almost 150 employees and the Kansas City Plant had about 8,300 employees. Over time, both numbers have considerably lowered to the 38 federal and the more than 5,000 contractor employees working today at the LEED Gold facility and three leased office spaces in Kansas and Missouri.
Functions
The KCFO is responsible for many functional areas that support the NNSA’s mission. In addition to overseeing the various weapons missions that include performing inspections and audits, the functional areas also include communicating with internal and external stakeholders; administering the M&O contract; providing financial administration support; ensuring federal employees receive human resources support; and working with regulators on permits and compliance. The unique public/private partnership governance model changed the focus of the KCFO from transaction based oversight to system-based oversight, resulting in more effective use of resources. Specific KCFO functions include the following:
Security (physical and cyber)
Includes management oversight of security risks, physical security information, personnel security, and protective force.
Information technology
Includes planning and executing effective processes for IT project management and service delivery.
Environment, Safety and Health
Includes regulatory permits and compliance as well as industrial hygiene, radiation protection, and emergency preparedness.
Facilities Management
Includes the Roof Asset Management Program, utilities, and leased office spaces.
Weapon Quality Assurance
Includes Quality Index of M&O contractor’s performance, Quality Improvement initiatives and Quality Assurance surveys.
Weapons Programs/Nuclear Nonproliferation
Includes Performance Evaluation Measurement Plan (PEMP), Performance Evaluation Report (PER), and M&O Oversight.
Strategic Partnership Project
Includes ensuring work complies with DOE Order 481.1, offsets operational/overhead costs for Work for Others customers and NNSA, and helps maintain critical NNSA capabilities.
KCNSC New Mexico Operations
Includes PEMP and PER, support cost validations, QA support of KCNSC New Mexico Operations, and support of NA-20 and NA-80 missions.
Contract Administration/Procurement
Includes Supply Chain Management Center, contract administration, M&O purchasing oversight, and PEMP/PER schedules.
Human Capital Management
Includes site strategic activities, performance management, technical training programs, Individual Development Plans, employee development, Employee Concerns Program, and equal employment and diversity. Finance and Business Administration Field Office program direction budget execution, review of M&O internal controls oversight, IG/GAO audit coordination, M&O financial assessments and validations, and M&O budget development and planning oversight.
Public and congressional affairs
Includes internal/external communications, oversight of M&O communications activities, liaison with Headquarters External Affairs.
Records Management and Disposition
Includes physical records, electronic records, Vital Records, and FOIA research and support.
Legal
Includes contractor litigation support.
Recent Organization Accomplishments
M&O Contract
The NNSA recently approved the first one-year option of the multi-billion dollar M&O contract for Honeywell FM&T which began Oct. 1, 2020. In 2015, NNSA awarded a multi-billion dollar five-year contract with five one-year options valued at $4.584 billion.
SCMC Cost Savings
Under KCFO leadership, the KCNSC has led the Nuclear Security Enterprise to save money by consolidating contracts through the Supply Chain Management Center (SCMC) to buy commodities for multiple sites. Cost savings generated by SCMC strategic sourcing tools surpassed the $1 billion mark in August 2020. The SCMC, managed by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies (FM&T), was created in 2006 to more effectively manage $4 billion of annual purchasing across National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and later DOE Environmental Management and Office of Science sites. The SCMC works with DOE contractors to combine their purchasing power to award multi-site commodity agreements for operating supplies; information technology; transportation and logistics; and services. The most visible savings have been generated through one of SCMC’s eSourcing, a proposal portal where requirements are placed online for a reverse auction that drives down the purchase price.
Bannister Federal Complex Disposition
Construction on private industrial buildings began in late 2020 for the former Bannister Federal Complex site, which the DOE/NNSA successfully transferred in November 2017 to a private developer for demolition, remediation, and redevelopment. This 227-acre transfer saved the federal government $500 million in estimated remediation and demolition costs and contributed to the continued resurgence of the economically depressed south Kansas City area, and served as a template for future property disposition challenges. While initial cost projections and indicators from normal property disposition tools led to a conclusion that the Bannister property would remain undeveloped after departure of its Government occupants, the Bannister Disposition Team’s efforts overcame these obstacles and secured a future for the site with substantial cost savings to the Government. In 2013, the DOE/NNSA moved its Kansas City operations from the World War II era Bannister Federal Complex to the newly built Kansas City National Security Campus.
ISO Certification
This year, the KCFO successfully completed another annual ISO audit to maintain ISO certification, the only NNSA field office to have this distinction. The certification is one of the contributing factors to KCNSC operating like a commercial facility.
Modern, State-of-the Art Campus
The KCNSC is an award-winning, state-of-the-art LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold manufacturing and engineering facility. The modern campus reduces our footprint by 50 percent and reduces costs by $150 million annually. The building was part of a strategy that included a unique lease agreement for the facility. The GSA, acting as the government’s broker, signed the lease agreement with CenterPoint Zimmer LLC, for the $687 million campus in June 2010. Construction was completed in 2012 and the largest industrial move in the United States completed in 2014. The new campus exemplifies NNSA’s mission to transform into a more cost-effective, energy efficient, adaptive, and sustainable model while supporting the nuclear deterrent.
Leadership Challenges
Managing Change
Managing change is the biggest challenge at the Kansas City Field Office. KCFO leadership works with KCNSC leadership to develop solutions to the ever-evolving landscape which includes dealing with workforce challenges; managing infrastructure needs; responding to unforeseen situations such as COVID-19; handling new and emerging life extension programs through different development phases; and addressing key stakeholders. Here are just a few challenges related to change:
• Doubled workforce in 4 years; 63 percent of employees with less than 5 years of service at KCNSC.
- Facility designed for smaller workload scope; executing short-term plans but need long-term solution.
- Partnership with Design Agencies critical to producing manufacturable designs and maintaining scope/schedule.
- Supply chain management critical to success with 70 percent of products outsourced; suppliers have similar growing pains.
- Technology maturation has dramatically reduced the time, cost, risk, required infrastructure, and hazard of the processes to develop, produce, and test the next generation of deterrent capabilities.
- Showcased agility throughout COVID-19 response by successfully accomplishing Mission Critical scope, partnered with industry for COVID solutions, and maintained safe operations
Response to the COVID-19 pandemic
The most significant leadership challenge in 2020 has been our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a short period of time, KCNSC went from fully operational to mission critical, which meant a continual series of meetings, planning sessions, and communications with Headquarters, KCNSC, KCFO leadership, other NSE sites, suppliers, other government agencies, and our defense customers to ensure a safe and orderly transition through the different stages. Key mission activities related to stockpile stewardship and modernization, and key infrastructure and reestablishment of production capabilities were identified based on national security needs. We also maintained all processes, systems, and facilities in safe and secure configurations. We continued to perform required checks, inspections, surveillances, and time-critical mission-essential work while securing the site and maintaining mission capabilities. As of June 15, 2020, the site is in limited operations with an estimated return to full operational status in midsummer.
At KCFO, meetings with federal staff were held daily throughout the height of the pandemic to manage accountability and transmit important information about changing operations and health and safety guidelines. All federal staff teleworked during the height of the pandemic. On June 1, 2020, KCFO federal employees began an A and B schedule for employees.
Meeting Commitments
Most of the work done at KCNSC has been on schedule and without issues, but some areas need special focus to keep roadblocks from developing. Those areas include our long-term infrastructure needs, our negative trends in weapon quality metric performance, and meeting post FPU production requirements.
Infrastructure Needs
Our KCFO team is working with KCNSC on our infrastructure needs. When KCNSC was designed in the 2008-2010 timeframe, workload forecasts included only one program in production and one program in development. Today KCNSC has three programs in production and two programs in development. Current mitigation efforts should help the site meet increased workload and capacity demands. For example, KCNSC is now using three work shifts to support capacity. Long-term planning includes the recent issuance of a Request for Information to better understand what opportunities lie in the Kansas City area for a potential campus consolidation. A Strategic Infrastructure for Nonnuclear Components Planning study stemming from NNSA Headquarter is expected to identify and analyze strategies for meeting the long-term infrastructure requirements at Kansas City to support the weapons mission. We have leased three office spaces, two in Missouri and one in Kansas. Tenant improvements recently began at Building 23 at the newly leased 275,000 square foot light manufacturing facility as the first effort to expand manufacturing space and capabilities.
Communications with Stakeholders
The KCFO leadership asked KCNSC to establish a customer engagement group to ensure that we are communicating with all of our stakeholders in a timely, accurate manner. This has resulted in significantly increased attention to keeping stakeholders informed about our progress and any delays in order to improve output. KCNSC and KCFO leadership have been holding Partnership meetings, which have resulted in a better understanding of what is going well and what is not. In addition to the customer engagement group, we also have been looking at how to better implement the governance framework outlined in the Strategic Vision, Strategic Integrated Roadmap, and our Governance and Management (G&M) Framework. We are moving forward with training and other ideas to ensure all employees understand their roles and responsibilities; ensure a culture of risk management is incorporated; and determine how we can work with the entire Enterprise as a team rather than operating separately.
Critical Events and Action Items
None.