Distinguished Performance Award » Small Team Sample Package
Small Team Nomination Form - Form 1832 (pdf)
Project Leader Sr. Customs Specialist
As the BUS-6 Group Leader, it is my pleasure to nominate the Customs Team for a distinguished performance award. The Customs Team is responsible for exporting commodities and software, importing, and performing reviews of property requested for excess or transfer for proliferation-sensitive and weapons-related concerns (high risk property). The Customs Team constantly looks for ways to improve processes and provides exemplary customer service to the Laboratory's exporters and importers.
Performance at a level far above normal job assignments: In 1999, the Customs Team along with seven customers from NIS, CST, and P Divisions developed a Voice-Of- The-Customer (VOC) survey to measure importance and satisfaction with Customs Team services. The team had a 29% response rate. The survey showed that customers thought the services provided by the Team were very important and they were very satisfied with the service. Please see the attached scattergram. The quality specialists in BUS Division said that had never seen such outstanding results from a VOC survey. Comments received from the survey follow: "The Customs Office is very friendly and quick to resolve any problems within their control." "These folks are really great. They are always helpful, timely, and follow through." "Customs office is more than knowledgeable -they are customer oriented, friendly, and pleasant to work with." "We could not even begin to do our work without the Customs Office personnel. They know what they are doing and maybe more important, they care about what they do and it very much seems to me they care about those of us they help." "Great! The Customs Office has been very valuable in processing, tracking, and expediting my shipping needs."
The Customs Office is open from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. so team members can be available to Laboratory personnel here and overseas. Team members have provided home phone numbers that customers have called when having problems overseas. In order not to inconvenience their customers, team members have delivered paperwork to customer's homes because their last-minute request did not allow for completion until after hours or on weekends when they are getting ready to leave on foreign travel. Customs Team members worked in excess of 924 hours of overtime in 1998 in order to meet the export requests (up 33% from 1998), imports (up 21%) and high risk property reviews (-6601month).
Under often extremely tight deadlines to accommodate last-minute requests, this team always accomplishes the tasks at hand. This includes working after hours, weekends and through lunch hours. All requests are received with a smile. Each team member demonstrates the highest level of professionalism in her willingness to make the extra effort to accomplish the goals of the Laboratory.
An example was when the Customs Team was contacted on Friday afternoon. April 20th. by NIS-6 with a request to export two GN-4 Rangers to the IAEA/United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) for use in the palace inspections about to take place in Iraq. The }xport had to leave the Lab on Monday. the 23rd. The Team dropped everything. researched the regulations and found certain citations that allowed such a request (15 CFR 740.11, 746.3. and 31 CFR 575.507). They obtained State Department approval on Friday afternoon, sent instructions to the UNSCOM Chief Inspector, prepared shipping documents. registered the Rangers with U.S. Customs and tendered the export to DHL on April 23rd. This was not an easy task as Iraq is under embargo. By exporting the GN-4 Rangers to UNSCOM personnel. their capability to conduct the palace inspections was significantly enhanced and hidden radioactive materials were able to be detected.
Innovative Thinking, Approaches and Results: The Team has worked with customers who don't know exactly who they will give export-controlled software to until they arrive at a conference or don't know all foreign destinations they will be visiting before they leave the Laboratory. The Team found a way to allow those customers to take the software and other equipment out of the country legally and then fax/e-mail back to the Laboratory the conference participants and locations so facilities/denied party checks/approvals can be done before the reexports take place.
During 1998, the majority of Lab exports went to facilities in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) to support the Nuclear Materials Protection Control & Accountability (MPC&A) Program. These were approved under a DOE-held International Cooperative License (ICL). In order to automate the ICL approval process, a Customs Team member participated on a team of DOE contractors that work in transportation, legal, the MPC&A Program, procurement, and DOE NN-40 (now NN-1) on the development and maintenance of an export license and equipment database. The team member (being the only export control expert involved) was instrumental in determining the facets of export control and transportation that were required for the database. The team member gave valuable input about how the database was being developed and what improvements needed to be made. The export portion of the database was completed in May, 1998, and all DOE laboratories involved in the MPC&A Program are using it. The database is also being used by II1PC&A Program personnel who are responsible for assurance reporting. The database makes it much easier for DOE to get listings of all equipment exported for their program and locations where the items are supposed to be,
The Customs Team has further supported the MPC&A Program by going back and forth with DOE and Department of Commerce (DOC) to get a regulatory interpretation that allows us to transfer funds to purchase material and equipment off-the-shelf in the FSU. After the final interpretation was received, a team member drafted contract language for funds transfers. The language was approved verbatim by Laboratory Legal and DOC General Council. Funds transfers have saved the program time and money by no longer having to export many items that can be purchased in the FSU. If the Laboratory was not allowed to make the funds transfers, it could take more than three months to obtain export approval for items not covered by the ICL.
Broad Impact and Recognition: The knowledge, ability and determination of the Customs Team ensures that Laboratory exports are compliant and at the same time meet programmatic deadlines. During Commerce enforcement interviews with program staff in 1998, a Customs Team member was always present to handle export control questions (e.g., licensing/regulatory questions) that should have been directed at them instead of to program personnel.
The innovations in exporting for the MPC&A Program have made the export of material and equipment a more expeditious process. This helps to ensure that material and equipment is at the FSU facilities when our customers arrive to install, service or use it. With the help of the Customs Team, the MPC&A Program has made great progress toward safeguarding the nuclear materials at weapons facilities in the FSU.
The high risk property reviews that the Team conducts ensure that items like bullet-proof vests don't fall into the hands of militia groups when we no longer need them at the Laboratory. One team member developed and teaches a course module on high risk property at the Nonproliferation and National Security Institute for NN-43 and MA-53. She takes time away from the busy Customs Office about three times a year to represent and support DOE in this effort. This course helps keep other sites in the DOE complex in compliance with the latest regulatory/policy changes and provides an example of a good, cost-effective high risk property program.
Because of the knowledge, dedication, and customer-service attitude of the Customs Team to their profession many sites in the DOE complex are constantly calling anyone of the team members for information on how to proceed with an import, export or disposal/transfer of high risk property. Team members assisted Argonne National Laboratory and Federal Manufacturing & Technologies (Kansas City Plant), with establishing their export control programs. The team provided procedures, guides, contacts, training material, policy statements, course information, publications, etc. and is always available to answer their export control questions. Team members also assisted FM&T with exports for the Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention Program.
The Customs Team along with the Laboratory's Export Working Group developed a tool that was presented at the 1998 Export Control Coordinator's Organization conference in Washington D.C. to aid DOE contractors in ensuring they address all aspects of an export control program. This has not only helped sites put programs together, but gives them a good tool for self-assessment.
In support of the Medical Radioisotope Production and Distribution Program (MRPDP), the Customs Team continues to look for new ways to expedite the transport of targets between Russia and the Laboratory .The newest member of the team took initiative and found a cost-effective special courier to deliver paperwork to and from Albuquerque so schedules are not missed because of last minute requests to clear imports through Customs. The MRPDP provides physicians the ability to determine the location of plaque deposits in coronary arteries and it also works to develop commercial outlets for Russian nuclear scientists to discourage them from selling their weapons skills.
Skill. Teamwork and Dedication beyond Normal Expectations: The Customs Team members are very knowledgeable of the myriad of export/import regulations/policies of the Departments of Energy, Commerce and State, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and U.S. Customs, including anti-boycott regulations and restricted trade practices. Team members learn as much as they can about all Customs Team functions so when a team member is called away, another can step in to take care of their customers' needs.
This team is as close to a self-directed work team ideal as I have ever seen. Together with the Project Leader, they make decisions on hiring new team members, work assignments, resources, work procedures, office policies, and export management systems. When one team member makes a mistake, she does a root-cause analysis and shares the situation with the rest of the team so they do not make a similar mistake. This takes a lot of guts, but has been extremely beneficial to the team.
Customs Team members improved several processes in 1997/1998 which allowed them to cut costs. These included combining forms, using on-line regulations, obtaining prepaid expense checks, and eliminating steps in processes that no longer added value. The Team also worked with the Export Working Group to put export control training and the Requester's Guide to Exporting/Importing on-line. Updates and distribution are much easier and more cost-effective. While costs at the Laboratory keep going up, the Team was able to lower their recharge rate to their customers from $91.35 in 1997 to $78.00 in 1998.
These are just a few of the Customs Team's accomplishments in 1998. Their knowledge and customer service, validated by the VOC survey and unsolicited compliments I receive regularly, is outstanding. I cannot say enough about the time and effort this team puts forth every day to meets the needs of the Laboratory .
Attachments: VOC Scattergram
Endorsement letters from D. Cobb, E. Wood, J. Phillips, R. Wallace, Z. Hollander, E. Kolsto, and A. Rittel
Cys: Allan Johnston, BUS-DO, MS P119 BUS-6 GrouD Office File
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