Paper (6): Program Management Improvement Team: a Best Practice Based Approach to Process Improvement and Program Governance at the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Abstract: The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) within the U.S. Department of Energy maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; works to reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad. NNSA’s Office of Safety, Infrastructure and Operations (NA-50) is responsible for enabling safe operations, ensuring effective infrastructure and providing enterprise services to NNSA programs and national laboratories to meet the 21st Century needs of the NNSA Nuclear Security Enterprise.
NA-50 plans, directs and oversees the maintenance, operation and modernization of infrastructure and facilities at eight national labs, a vast and complex enterprise of 41,000 employees, 36 million square feet of buildings including 400 nuclear facilities, 2,000 miles of roads, 9.1 trillion BTUs of energy use, and 15.2 million tons of hazardous materials, on 2,160 square miles of land. With an annual budget of approximately $1.5 billion, NA-50 plans, funds, directs and oversees hundreds of projects each year. In September 2015 NA-50 established a Program Management Improvement Team (PMIT) to enhance program, portfolio and project performance through the identification, development and sharing of best practices and to help ensure the achievement of cost-effective, timely, measurable and quality results in support of the NNSA mission. The PMIT is comprised of a small cadre of private industry program management experts who meet with NA-50 federal program managers quarterly to discuss and share successful leading-edge program management practices. This paper will describe the purpose, activities and results to date of the NNSA’s PMIT.
Biography: Mr. Haase has over 21 years of experience in Program Management and Strategic Planning. Mr. Haase currently serves as the manager for headquarters support contracts with the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Office of Global Material Security and the Office of Infrastructure and Operations. Mr. Haase has provided program management and policy support to DOE/NNSA programs for the past 21 years focusing on strategic planning, program management, policy analysis and development, budgeting, and communications planning. Mr. Haase is currently President of M-Con Strategic Solutions providing program management consulting services to government clients in the area of program management, strategic planning, and project management support including the U.S. Department of Energy. He is leading program management process improvement efforts for the Office of Radiological Security including development of project work plans for over 40 projects; strategic planning, branding, and outreach efforts; and review and update of program management and policy guidelines. Mr. Haase served on an independent project review team that assessed the Office of Global Material Security program management processes and made recommendations to increase efficiencies and integration across the program. Mr. Haase also provided communications planning and strategic planning support to the NNSA Office of Nuclear Materials Integration and program management support to the NNSA Office of Infrastructure and Operations.
Mr. Haase has previously provided program management support to the Office of Global Threat Reduction, which included development of security strategies to enhance the security of nuclear and radiological materials including coordination of response strategies, interactions with local law enforcement, response training program development, and coordination of table top exercises. He served as Vice President of Aquila Technologies where he directed Washington DC-based government and commercial consulting/ technology programs and served as program manager for initiatives with NNSA for program management and technical support in the area of weapons of mass destruction security including remote monitoring technology solutions. Mr. Haase also has experience serving as a Program Manager for Mele Associates, Canberra Industries, and Booz Allen Hamilton.
Mr. Haase also has experience as a federal manager for U.S. Department of Energy nonproliferation program from 1993-2000. Mr. Haase served as a Division Director for the Office of International Material Protection and Cooperation where he managed a $65M U.S. nonproliferation program aimed at securing weapons-grade nuclear material at 20 civilian and military nuclear sites in Russia. Prior to that he was a Foreign Affairs Specialist for the
Russia/Newly Independent States Nuclear Material Security Task Force and Office of International Safeguards where he initiated and coordinated national security projects in Russia, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, and Uzbekistan including implementation of nuclear security, control and accounting system projects at over 20 nuclear facilities. Mr. Haase holds a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University.