Tuesday, March 2, 1999
Ombudsman asks users to evaluate services
The Ombuds Office wants to know how it's doing.
The office staff has developed an on-line survey for users of the Ombuds Program to anonymously share their experience using the program. Those who have used the services of the Ombuds Office can fill out a survey they will find on the Ombuds website at http://www.lanl.gov/surveys/ombuds. The Ombuds Program Evaluation asks a variety of questions designed to help the staff assess and improve the services of the program. The Ombuds Office staff is especially interested in the responses of those who have had direct experience with the services the office provides.
"We honestly want to know what people's experiences with us have been," said Bruce MacAllister, the Laboratory's ombudsman. "We're eager to receive constructive criticism. We'd like to have examples of what we've done well, and where we could improve."
"Blanket statements of 'It was good,' or 'It didn't meet my needs,' won't be as helpful as specifics. We would like to use the information to adjust services," MacAllister said. "The Ombuds Office staff will rely heavily on the information provided in the survey to develop staffing plans and to implement changes to ensure that they are meeting the needs of the workforce." The 15-question survey can be completed on-line; for those who do not have Internet access, hard-copy forms are available at the Ombuds Office, 113 Central Park Square, behind Daylight Donuts, in downtown Los Alamos. Staff at the Ombuds Office also will mail a survey to those who request one by calling 5-8662. The mission of the Ombuds Program is to enhance the overall productivity of the Laboratory by providing a confidential and impartial alternative for assistance with informal complaint resolution, problem solving and communication. It is available to anyone in the Laboratory workforce, including managers and special employment program participants, who may not know where to go to get needed services. The Ombuds Program offers an alternative for those who need advice about how to deal directly with a concern, are uncertain about taking a problem through other established channels, want to maintain the greatest possible flexibility in how to approach a concern, or simply want to discuss strategies or possible options for resolving a concern. The Laboratory Ombudsman adheres to The Ombudsman Association Code of Ethics. The level of confidentiality demanded by both this organization and the Lab's Ombuds Office staff dictate that there be as little hard-copy documentation as possible and that any electronic data be carefully secured. To this end, the Ombuds Office has a stand-alone server that resides behind a firewall, and any working notes are encrypted with the latest technology. The Ombuds Office can be contacted several ways: By telephone at 5-2837 (5-BUDS) or fax at 7-3119; by mail at Ombuds Program, Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Mail Stop M897, Los Alamos, NM 87545; or by e-mail at ombuds@lanl.gov. The Ombuds Office staff asks that you use e-mail for nonconfidential communication only. Regular office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Special appointment hours may be arranged if needed. --Kevin Roark |
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Astronaut shares challenges and love of space flight
On Friday, NASA astronaut Donald Pettit spoke at the Physics Building Auditorium about the technical challenges of putting a manned rocket into outer space. His talk, "Some Technical Aspects of Space Flight," was informative and entertaining.
Pettit, a man who obviously loves his job, began his talk by discussing how a rocket's mass fraction impacts its design and how the thrust required to lift a rocket into various orbits affects various design considerations. To demonstrate how these design considerations continually challenge NASA's rocket engineers, Pettit played a videotape showing a series of rocket malfunctions, most leading to explosions. While the videotape of explosions clearly entertained the crowd, his point was to show how repeated failures eventually lead to success.
Success in rocket science, it seems, is often hard won. According to Pettit, "Flying rockets into space is really on the ragged edge of our engineering capabilities." To illustrate his point, Pettit explained how 85 percent of his training goes toward preparing for the critical first and last hour of a space flight. Much of the science that comes in between the first and last hours of the flight is almost secondary. The emphasis is on getting up and getting back down safely. For all its successes, it seems NASA is still learning with every flight.
Pettit, who spent twelve years at the Lab as a researcher and is still a member of Energy and Process Engineering (ESA-EPE), is fresh from two years of astronaut flight training and evaluation at Johnson Space Center.
Pettit seemed to surprise his audience by telling them that the effort required to turn around the space shuttle after each flight, before it could be certified ready for another flight, was 300 man-years. Man-years are the number of hours a person works in a year. In this case it would take one person 300 years or roughly 600, 000 hours to prepare the shuttle vehicle. He estimated it required only a man-month, or roughly 160 hours, to prepare a commercial airliner for another flight. He wondered aloud if it just might be easier and cheaper to use expendable launch vehicles. "We are orders of magnitude away from real reusable hardware (rockets)," he said.
Nonetheless, Pettit had plenty of kudos for NASA. "NASA makes flying rockets look really easy," he said, "which might be a disadvantage. Space flight is tough."
Pettit spent the last few minutes of his talk answering questions from the audience, both young and old. He handled the obviously painful comparison of the exploding engine videos to the tragic Challenger Shuttle explosion by detailing the differences between the two. The Challenger explosion was due to malfunctioning O-rings, he noted. The engine explosions shown in his video were typically due to turbine failures. When asked by a child how old you have to be to be an astronaut, Pettit smiled broadly and quipped, "There's no limit." It was here, more than anywhere else, that it became obvious Pettit was a man who saw few limits in what science and scientists can achieve.
--Todd Hanson
NASA astronaut Donald Pettit, left, uses a yo-yo to demonsrate the effect of gravity during a talk to fifth- and sixth-grade students at Barranca Elementary School in Los Alamos last Friday. Pettit gave another talk later in the day at the Laboratory about the technical challenges of putting a manned rocket into outer space. Pettit, who is fresh from two years of astronaut flight training and evaluation at Johnson Space Center, spent twelve years at the Lab as a researcher and is still a member of Energy and Process Engineering (ESA-EPE). Photo by LeRoy N. Sanchez
George Salazar of Information and Records Management (CIC-10) is the winner of a $100 gift certificate to Ten Thousand Waves for completing the Take Care of Yourself survey. About 700 University of California Laboratory employees and subcontract personnel completed the survey. The "Take Care of Yourself" medical self-care guide is part of the Lab's Positive Health Directions program, said Jessica Kisiel of Occupational Medicine (ESH-2). The survey was taken as part of "Wise Health Consumer Month" in February at the Lab, she said. Employees can obtain a copy of "Take Care of Yourself" from Kisiel. The book provides advice on how to treat an illness after the user enters symptoms of an illness, Kisiel explained. It then tells the user to see a doctor, make an appointment with his or her health-care provider, call a trained physician for advice or take care of the problem at home. More information about the Positive Health Directions program can be found at http://www.hr.lanl.gov/html/positive_health/ online. --Steve Sandoval |
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