Battelle

[Rennhack]

Talk About: Battelle

[Rennhack]

Please reply to this topic if you have (or know who has) a contract at this facility.  If you (they) have multiple contracts (i.e. QC & NDE) please mention all of them.  Also, please remember to post company contact information, including but not limited to company phone number, email and web site address.  Also, if there is a specific person at the company people should ask for, you should mention their name and extension. We maintain a chart of contracts, the information posted here will be added to the contract chart.
 
This includes any information on Local Unions!
Chart: http://www.nukeworker.com/jobs/contract_lists

[Rennhack]

Don't forget to vote.  Keep your comments civil.

[vikingfan]

Mike, Bartlett Nuclear has both the decon and the HP contract at battelle. you can either call teh bartlett home office or you may call Ed Carl the site manager at 614-424-3133.

[MAGICMAN]

not much of a subject right now? maybe people having nothing but bad things to say about that place  or the company in general.  

[allforthenukie]

I can say a few things about working at Battelle but I don't know what use it is since I last worked there almost nine years ago.
I was there in 1994 and was working at the King Avenue site right in Columbus Ohio, across the street from OSU campus. The job was in building #5, I think. Task... decon the machine shop!
I can only say good things about my experience there. I was younger and this was my first time being away from home. The decon work was fun, I thought, and most of the time the contamination we found in the shop was barely detecable levels. The hottest rad I saw in the building was 1 mR/contact on a ventillation duct T section. Just wipe down tools, metal stock, etc. and have HP survey them for free release. That was about it! Simple. A little boring at times, I guess, but not too bad.
This is where I meet Moke. He was kind of running the operation at the time as I remember. Moke went out of his way to make the job a fun work environment for everyone, and to help us newbies in the business by teaching us about the basics of radiation and health physics. A really great guy.
Meet some great friends there, and had lots of fun.
One bad thing I remember was that the buildings had radon in them, so at times, when the weather was right, it was nearly impossible to pass a personelle monitor because we were "all gassed up". Kind of annoying.
Over all, this had to be one of the better road job experiences I've had in my life so I give 'er a 9 out of 10. Liked it there!  
Last I heard of that place was the main work was at the "West Jefferson" site. Personally I don't know anything about that end of the project.  

[SloGlo]

what's the latest on the contract change over?

[vikingfan]

as for my experiences at battelle they mostly are good times working there since 1993 until april of this year gave alot of us "roadies" the chance for some long term stability. O do say that with the slightest of hand considereing nothing is ever perm. in the nuke industry. since we are essentially working ourselves out of a job from the beginning of the project until the end of the closure project. even with this in mind we stay here hoping for the best. well i left in april since i could see the end coming soon and now am working the NASA plumbrook site.  as far as the battelle job goes met a lot of good folks there and also got to see some famiiar faces such as moke ( ed young) whom i had with with a few years earlier at san onofre.  well hope everything works out for you remaining at the battelle site but do remember ther are other projects out there.

[vikingfan]

yes mike, the light at the end of the tunnel has been closing for sometime now I think that is why myself and some others have bolted from the comforts of home to persue other adventures. I myself left in April and am currently working the NASA plumbrrok project well hope all is good for everyone.


           JJ

[DecommMan]

I see where ECC and E2 are moving in to take over the D&D work and the protest filed against the award to them was not upheld.

Whats the role of Batelle in the future D&D work ??

 

[JIMBOMAFF]

Seem like everyone rembers the second wave in.  Does anyone remember DDH (Al Holmes).  DDH was there to write the procedures, Russ Hall was the BMOC.  Seems like Moke arrived several months later.  The prime players were DDH, Interstate, and I forget the other one.  This is even before Bart-Let.  I believe that ARC took over in June of 1993...  Any one remember Bobby Splaine???

My wife informed me that we were married on May 21 1992 in Columbus Ohio, while working at King Ave..

[SloGlo]

arc contacted me in '92 to go to battelle.  we parted ways on the diem issue... the lack thereof.  i had no problem going there with out diem, but i wanted them to close on my house so i had cash in hand to go there with and buy a new house.  they had no sense of humor on that line.

[vikingfan]

I hear a rumor on the nuclear grapevine that the project is going to be shut down effective wednesday untill ECC gets their plans and procedures in place is this true? and how many people do they plan to employ on the remaining  D&D work ? and any anticipated restart date? well thanks for the input.

[DecommMan]

I am trying to talk to a friend up there - will see what I hear back from him.

[Haz-Mater]

The last word I heard from here was that the last day for all Bartlett and Battelle staff working for the BCLDP(D&D Project)was Tuesday (11/18/03).  I do not know when ECC is taking over.

[Rennhack]

The last word I heard from here was that the last day for all Bartlett and Battelle staff working for the BCLDP(D&D Project)was Tuesday (11/18/03).  I do not know when ECC is taking over.

Haz-Mater is our inside guy.  Please keep us informed.

[MAGICMAN]

Yes he is right 11/18/03 is almost all of bartletts workers will be let go except for four hp's and three supervisors and two decon techs. Right now people are ready for a change.   or   you choose.

[radwst]

that's the word on the street here.  

[vikingfan]

so with ECC coming on board what is the future for the bartlett techs? will they have to find new employment? or does ECC plan to hire some of them back?

[SloGlo]

rumor on the streets of the 'burgh is that ecc is coming in with almost a full complement of personnel.  herd they only needed 4 hp tex to swap hats.

[vikingfan]

I guess it is "the end of an era" for the folks who had until recently worked there.

[Rennhack]

so with ECC coming on board what is the future for the bartlett techs? will they have to find new employment? or does ECC plan to hire some of them back?

I heard that Ed Carl, and several others are comming here to Oak Ridge ETTP (K-25)

But you know how rumors are.

[Haz-Mater]

I know Ed Carl is headed to Oak Ridge, but I do not know about others.

[radwst]

the day has come and passed now.  3 hp's left contracted to ECC thru Bartlett. a sad day for a lot of the old timers that were still there.

[moke]

I just wrote to our ES&H Manager and mentioned how we got off our feet at Battelle during the year 1992. It was extremely painfull at times yet many on the team sucked it up and took on the challenge. Many worked at home after hours on their own dime.

After 8 months or so we were the first DOE entity to maintain compliance with 5480.6 that was authorized by President Reagan. Not bad for a bunch of RATS who possessed some killer passion to beat the odds.

Many on the team were expected to write procedures and head-up a different facets of the program and everyone had some sort of collateral responsibility. Thereafter, they were expected to provide their expertise during the procedure implementation phase.

I remember asking a boss if we could get paid extra for taking on the procedure writing responsibility yet the answer was no. He did'nt say we could not take compensation time; it came out in the wash.

What the collateral duties did was provide each team member a chance to learn new skills and sharpen the old; walla, professional growth. Many now can write and better express themselves using the Kings language. Personally, it was one facet that I too learned at Battelle.

Key component was friend, mentor and boss; Russ Hall. Russ is the smartest HP I have EVER been associated with and the kicker is he did not need the prestigious degree to lead the way. A former Navy Nuke yet special. He was a clear thinker and one with a photogenic memory that you can't teach. Go Bama! "Good ole Country Boy!"

When I see people bragging about their education and their learning institutions, I just chuckle because many arent worth a damm; just a big gust of warm air and especially when matched against the Benchmark that Russ held his actions against.

Don't let the degree fool you as some mentioned about on this site. If you don't have passion and leadership abililty none of the other stuff matters.

Another item of importance is the fact that Russ was not afraid to lose his job but was more interested in doing what was right and what was good for his staff. He maintained high standards yet much of the way we aligned the HP program was practical and all procedure intertwined with great transition and complementary to one another. Russ served as the "Clearinghouse" the during program development phase yet he passed it on to his subordinates for professional growth. He knew that we were only as good as our weakest link.

There is a method to be safe yet productive and he had many of the answers. After 10 years, there are many still trying to figure it out? I wonder why? No passion? Just a bunch of wheels burning rubber.

We had about eight or so procedures when I arrived and ended up with over 40. Much thanks goes to John Fee of SCE and others for helping us build the program we called SONGS East! SONGS had the best program so why not follow suit?

I'd like to say that much of Battelle's success was because of Russ and his leardership abilities yet I tip my hat to Dr. Brog and others atop the food chain for letting us run with the ball.

I hope that Todd is wrong about having another Battelle Crew because under the right leadership that possesses BALLS (True Gonadal Capacity) it could be even better!

Todd mentioned socializing that remains as one of the most inexpensive methods to solidify a team much like that of our cultures that socialized around the kitchen during family gatherings; it provided the glue to achieve a cohesiveness!

Personally, I try never to look back since the future is much more important yet it was a commemorable experience.

Have an Awesome Week!

Ed