Left to right, local college students Animesh Pattanayak, Madisson Olds, and Efren Alverez are busy at work in the scanning-and-filing project.

RICHLAND, Wash. – About 50 local college students hired for the summer by EM’s Richland Operations Office (RL) are cataloging human resources files to make documents from the pre-computer era available digitally.  

   For the last two years, RL has primarily hired college students during the summer to help scan and index the files from the Hanford Site’s earliest days in the 1940s to the present.

   "It was so gratifying to walk into the large scanning operation and see it occupied by 30 college students, grouped in teams, and working together so well as a unit. When I spoke with several they explained how much they appreciated the summer employment and how they had come together as a team," said Jeanne Beard, director of EM's Office of Information Services. 

   Students work four days on and four days off, with the operation running Monday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., according to Gail Splett, who oversees the project for the RL Information Management team.

   Since the beginning of summer, the workers have scanned more than 65,000 documents, surpassing the original goal of 50,000. In total, an estimated 240,000 personnel files will need to be scanned over the five-year contract, which is only operational during the summer break.

   “Scanning and filing away these documents helps to make space for high-priority files that need to be more readily accessed,” Splett said.

   Scanning personnel records cuts costs for long-term records storage and retrieval and allows the records to be available for Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act claimants in an incredibly expedient manner. The digital records also can be accessed for pension decisions and other matters.

   After the documents have been scanned and placed in an electronically safe location, the original documents will be shipped to the DOE Office of Legacy Management, where they will remain for a period of time before they are destroyed.

   Acquiring adequate equipment and finding a space large enough to accommodate the sizeable workforce have been the main challenges of the project. 

   The summer hires, ranging from college freshman to graduate students, are gaining more than workforce experience, according to Splett.

   “The students that work with us are learning great work ethic and how to interact in teams within a professional environment, skills that they will be able to carry over into any career path they choose,” she said.