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Assessment of Energy Department Contractors Reveals Weaknesses in Safety Issue Management
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Assessment of Energy Department Contractors Reveals Weaknesses in Safety Issue Management

The Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments, or EA, conducted from fiscal year 2019 through 2023 an evaluation of the way nine DOE contractors managed safety issues at their respective facilities and has observed three “significant and extensive weaknesses” across the organizations.

The contractors demonstrated inadequacy when it comes to fully identifying safety issues, determining their causes and resolving them in a timely manner, EA said in the report titled “Independent Assessment of U.S. Department of Energy Contractors’ Management of Safety Issues,” which was released Wednesday.

EA noted that the weaknesses resulted in worker and nuclear safety hazard controls as well as the “defense-in-depth” approach to nuclear safety being compromised. The office also expressed concern that the same weaknesses may be affecting Energy Department contractors that were not evaluated.

To address the weaknesses and their likely causes, several recommendations were proposed, including the articulation by the DOE of clear goals and requirements concerning issue identification and correction; the sharing of best practices between contractors; and the establishment of performance objectives to promote yearly improvement in issue identification and correction.

Navy’s Virtualized Aegis Combat System Helps Destroyer Intercept Target in Qualification Trials
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Navy’s Virtualized Aegis Combat System Helps Destroyer Intercept Target in Qualification Trials

The USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81), the U.S. Navy’s first ship running a fully virtualized Aegis Combat System, has intercepted an air target with a missile during the final phase of the ship’s combat system ship qualification trials.

Rear Adm. Seiko Okano, the program executive officer for integrated warfare systems, said the milestone indicates that the Navy has “gone from a testbed virtualized combat system on USS Monterey (CG 61) that was not connected to the ship’s weapons to a fully virtualized system that controls all of the weapons and sensors.”

DDG 81 has been operating with a virtualized Aegis Combat System since July 2023, becoming the first Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to use the automated weapon control system.

The Navy anticipates installing the virtualized system into another Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, the USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee, and five more ships and four land-based test sites.

SBA Unveils Stage One Winners of 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition
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SBA Unveils Stage One Winners of 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition

The Small Business Administration has selected the stage one winners of its 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, which aims to build a national innovation support ecosystem that advances small business research and development.

The stage one winners will each receive a $50,000 cash prize for their approaches to fostering a collaborative innovation ecosystem in three areas: national and economic security, domestic manufacturing and production and sustainability and biotechnology, SBA said Tuesday.

“In its tenth year of driving our nation’s innovation ecosystem forward, this competition provides a unique opportunity to recognize the critical importance of those who help entrepreneurs from all backgrounds access opportunities to scale and grow,” said SBA Administration Isabel Casillas Guzman.

Since 2014, the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition has awarded over $26 million in cash prizes to 314 winners across the U.S. and U.S. territories.

The competition’s second stage will focus on advancing the commercialization of selected innovations.

The Catalyst Accelerator, in collaboration with the Air Force Research Lab Space Vehicles Directorate, is one of the stage one winners in the national and economic security area.

Under the stage one award, the Catalyst Accelerator will facilitate a Boot Camp model to build relationships among Small Business Innovation Research winners.

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DOD Issues Directive on Reporting Sustainment Health Metrics in Support of Materiel Availability
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DOD Issues Directive on Reporting Sustainment Health Metrics in Support of Materiel Availability

The Department of Defense has released a directive that assigns responsibilities, establishes policy and offers direction for monitoring and reporting sustainment business health metrics in support of materiel availability.

The document defines materiel availability and operational availability as the two superordinate sustainment health metrics that enable DOD to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of the department’s sustainment enterprise.

The directive took effect Wednesday, April 24, and was approved by William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment and a 2024 Wash100 awardee.

The DOD Instruction 3110.05 outlines metrics that seek to allow decision makers across DOD to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of weapon system sustainment using a standard structure.

Under the directive, the assistant secretary of defense for sustainment should monitor materiel availability and operational availability reporting for weapon systems and use the superordinate metrics and supporting data to oversee sustainment programs and operations.

The document directs the secretaries of military departments to review the methodology and procedures on an annual basis, recommend revisions, maintain superordinate metrics and supporting data and identify and address the primary causes of high non-availability or excessive cost per day of availability.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should manage the approval of sustainment metrics in the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System process and review all changes to materiel availability and operational availability requirements pursuant to a 2022 memorandum and sustainment reviews, according to the directive.

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Michael Boyce to Lead DHS AI Corps
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Michael Boyce to Lead DHS AI Corps

Michael Boyce was tapped by the Department of Homeland Security to lead its new team of artificial intelligence experts who are tasked to help DHS enhance its responsible use of AI and machine learning technologies across the homeland security enterprise, Nextgov/FCW reported Wednesday.

Boyce will bring to his role as the DHS AI Corps director experience in serving as chief of the innovation and design for enhanced adjudication division at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate, a post he has held for over five years. Before that, he was a fellow with the Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer at the Office of Management and Budget focusing on AI policy and cloud governance program modernization.

At the USCIS directorate, he was responsible for supervising a team of 50 staff and 150 individuals, driving the launch of the first U.S. online Asylum application, creating a digital overseas refugee process and helping streamline Asylum processing.

Boyce’s career also includes time serving as a product and strategy lead at the U.S. Digital Service and as a refugee officer at the DHS.

During the time of the initiative’s launch, Alejandro Mayorkas, DHS secretary and a previous Wash100 awardee, said, “The DHS AI Corps will enable the Department of Homeland Security to keep up with the pace of innovation as we enhance our work combating fentanyl traffickers, rescuing victims of child sexual exploitation, countering cyberattacks, assessing disaster damage, and much more.”

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Final DOD Rule to Impose Limitation on LRIP Procurement Under Certain Circumstances
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Final DOD Rule to Impose Limitation on LRIP Procurement Under Certain Circumstances

The Department of Defense has released a final rule to implement a section of the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act that puts a limitation on the procurement of low-rate initial production, or LRIP, lots related to a major defense acquisition program under certain circumstances.

The final rule takes effect Thursday, April 25, according to a Federal Register notice.

Under Section 808 of the FY 2023 NDAA, the U.S. government may not purchase more than one LRIP lot associated with a major acquisition program if the milestone decision authority, at the time of Milestone B approval, authorizes the use of a fixed-price contract and the scope of work of such a contract includes both development and LRIP.

“Risk to a contractor is higher when the contractor must propose prices for multiple production lots of an item before the development and initial production of that item are complete,” the notice reads.

According to the final rule, the limitation may be waived by the service acquisition executive.

DOD released the final rule as an amendment to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement.

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Vendors Must Submit Plan to Consolidate MAS Contracts by May, GSA Says
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Vendors Must Submit Plan to Consolidate MAS Contracts by May, GSA Says

Holders of two or more General Services Administration Multiple Award Schedule contracts that share a unique entity identifier — or UEI — must submit by May 24 a plan to consolidate those awards as part of phase 3 of the MAS Consolidation effort.

The GSA made the announcement on the MAS Program Interact community blog on Wednesday, warning affected contractors that non-compliance would result in a 30-day suspension from GSA eTools.

The GSA launched the MAS Consolidation effort to consolidate the 24 legacy Schedule contracts managed by the agency into a single Schedule. The ultimate aim of the initiative is to simplify and modernize acquisition and contract management for government agencies and vendors alike.

The effort also calls on recipients of more than one Schedule award to consolidate them into one contract per UEI. The plan required under phase 3 details how and when that consolidation would take place.

Suspension due to non-compliance with the requirement would result in contractors having their information removed from the eLibrary, not being notified of new opportunities in eBuy, not being given new orders under their Schedule contract and not receiving modifications to current tasks.

Additions or pricing modifications outside of phase 3 would also be rejected until the consolidation plan is submitted.

Non-compliance beyond the 30-day suspension would result in the cancellation of MAS contracts associated with the relevant UEIs.

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Daniel Karbler Selected as Advisory Board Member at TCOM
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Daniel Karbler Selected as Advisory Board Member at TCOM

Retired Lt. Gen. Daniel Karbler has joined TCOM’s advisory board.

He brings a wealth of experience in military leadership roles and in air and missile defense and space operations, the Columbia, Maryland-based company announced on Thursday.

“Our Advisory Board is integral to helping shape TCOM’s short- and long-term strategies that define our future business and technology roadmaps. Dan’s extensive experience will provide the guidance needed to help us navigate evolving customer requirements,” said Ron Bendlin, president and CEO of TCOM.

Karbler spent over 30 years serving in the U.S. military before retiring. During that time, Karbler helmed large military commands; conducted operations, requirements and capability development, test and evaluation; and formulated budgets. He is experienced in creating elevated sensor requirements.

TCOM expects his addition to the board to support its development of next-generation unmanned aircraft systems and counter-UAS technologies.

Karbler’s most recent role was commanding general of the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command, where he was the Army’s proponent for Space and High Altitude. Prior to this position, he served as special assistant to the commanding general of the Army Materiel Command. His other previous roles include chief of staff for the U.S. Strategic Command, commanding general of the Army Test and Evaluation Command and director of joint and integration for the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G8.

His appointment, said Bendlin, “is another major milestone for TCOM and our customers and a welcome addition to the team.”

Google, Others Sign Pledge to Increase Energy Efficiency of US Semiconductor Sector
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Google, Others Sign Pledge to Increase Energy Efficiency of US Semiconductor Sector

The Department of Energy has named new organizations that have committed to advancing the energy efficiency of the U.S. semiconductor industry to increase economic competitiveness and strengthen domestic supply chains.

DOE said Tuesday Google, Vital Integration of Environmental Electronics, Los Angeles Trade-Technical College and the Florida Semiconductor Institute signed a pledge under the Energy Efficiency Scaling for 2 Decades, or EES2, initiative to reduce energy consumption from semiconductor applications.

With 65 signatories, the EES2 pledge aims to reduce semiconductor energy consumption at the material and device scale, guide new technology investments funded through the CHIPS and Science Act and diversify the future workforce.

“We’re committed to developing and deploying artificial intelligence to help address the challenge posed by climate change,” said Kate Brandt, chief sustainability officer at Google.

“As we look to the future, it’s essential that the technology industry build on our longstanding focus on improving energy efficiency at all levels of the value chain, including at the materials and hardware level,” Brandt said.

Intel, Microsoft, Micron, Synopsys, ARM and AMD are among the inaugural partners of the EES2 initiative.

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NASA Concludes CloudSat Mission
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NASA Concludes CloudSat Mission

NASA’s CloudSat mission was decommissioned in March and moved into position for eventual deorbiting, marking the end of nearly 18 years of operation.

CloudSat was launched in 2006 and was originally meant to be a 22-month mission, NASA said Tuesday.

The satellite carried with it the Cloud Profiling Radar, the first W-band radar to be operated in space. The radar was powered down for the last time in December.

The mission offered superior sensitivity compared to ground-based weather radars, generating 3D slices of cloud layers and helping scientists better understand and achieve key discoveries about weather systems and the climate.

Issues concerning the spacecraft’s battery and the mechanism controlling the spacecraft’s orientation repeatedly threatened to end the mission but CloudSat team members were able to offer solutions.

Deborah Vane, the CloudSat project manager at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, touted the dedication and talent of the agency’s personnel, saying, “We recovered from these anomalies with techniques that no one has ever used before.”

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