August 28, 2015

Security Improvements at the Y-12 National Security Complex

The Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) is a manufacturing facility that plays a vital role in the Department of Energy's nuclear security and weapons enterprise.  In June 2004, the Office of Inspector General's report on Management of the Department's Personnel Security and Access Control Information Systems (DOE/IG-0651) recommended that the Department develop a comprehensive framework for managing and integrating personnel security and access control systems.  In response to the report, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) indicated that it intended to implement the Argus security system to provide integrated access and physical security controls at Y-12.  To help meet its security goals, Y-12 focused its planned Security Improvements Project (SIP) on replacing its aged and obsolete security system with Argus.  The project was completed in 2013 at a cost of more than $50 million.

Our review found that the SIP was implemented within the established schedule and budget, and it achieved all baseline requirements.  However, we found that the SIP was not scoped or funded to address all Argus implementation issues at Y-12.  As a result, while Y-12 spent more than $50 million to upgrade its physical security system, it had not met NNSA's mandate to develop and implement a comprehensive method for managing and integrating the site's security and access control systems.  

NNSA and Y-12 officials encountered a number of challenges that affected the ability to fully implement needed security upgrades.  We found that management weaknesses existed that contributed, at least in part, to the issues identified with the implementation of the security enhancements.  In particular, a lack of effective communication and cooperation between operations personnel and project managers contributed to the identified system issues.

Topic: Management & Administration