On January 25, 2021, an era that will be marked with increased integration efforts, infrastructure upgrades and state-of-the-art technology officially began at the Hanford site.

Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) began its work on the Hanford Mission Essential Services Contract, taking over after more than 11 years of leadership by Mission Support Alliance.

While two of the corporate entities of the companies remain the same, with Leidos as majority owner and Centerra as secondary, HMIS also includes Parsons, as well as critical subcontractor North Wind Solutions.

Building on MSA’s foundation of excellence, HMIS will provide critical support to the U.S. Department of Energy and other Hanford contractors, enabling cleanup work as part of the One Hanford mission. With a $4 billion contract up to 10 years, HMIS will expand from a service provider to the sitewide integrator and will focus on providing what is in the best interests of the government and taxpayers.

The integration of services is complex, but a core capability of the HMIS team.

It requires our team to have an in-depth understanding of cleanup, experience and ability to innovate to ensure Hanford’s old and aging infrastructure is reliable and able to support treating tank waste using the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) approach and assist ongoing risk-reduction work.

HMIS is responsible for providing reliable water, power, road maintenance, information technology, safeguards and security, sitewide safety standards, training and countless more integrated services and deliverables across the Hanford site.

With the transition to a tank waste operations posture, demand will increase annually to more than 350,000 megawatts of electricity, 1.4 billion gallons of water treated and supplied, 1 million gigabytes of data, 150,000 student training days at the federal HAMMER training facility, and of course, protecting thousands of Hanford site workers and hundreds of square miles of land.

This year, we will begin construction of a new water treatment plant, a critical component for Hanford’s future success to produce up to 5 million gallons of clean water a day, as site needs increase with DFLAW operations and around-the-clock shift work.

Our service delivery model will support Hanford through four main foundations:

• HMIS will deliver value through a skilled workforce, established processes and proven tools, which will result in delivery of hundreds of specialized Hanford services to integrate, strategize, innovate, and, ultimately, enable cleanup.
• Through early engagement, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, and an unparalleled understanding of the scale and types of services needed for Hanford success, we will align and collaborate. HMIS will collaborate with DOE, our fellow Hanford contractors and our community, to ensure the best value and delivery of excellence in all services.
• HMIS will transform and govern through the Hanford governance model for more informed decision-making and increased situational awareness across the site. Our governance model will continue to increase transparency and effective communication to ensure safe and effective operations of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. The 24/7 pace of operations has not existed at Hanford for 30 years, and the governance framework is a critical cornerstone in establishing an enhanced operations culture.
• Our team will evolve and enhance as we implement proven technologies in innovative ways to better support our Hanford customers. Some of these innovations will include a connected enterprise technical road map, improved mobile data capabilities and use of real-time imaging with mixed-reality for more streamlined decision-making and awareness.

Beyond serving the Hanford site and One Hanford mission, we also look forward to serving and bettering our community.

Over the next 10 years, we will invest $10 million as part of our community commitment plan, focused on improving education, supporting the local small business community and enhancing the quality of life for many in need.

Some of the highlights our community can look forward to are investments in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education; awarding up to $500,000 in scholarships; employee development efforts; regional purchasing programs, including a “business in a box” model; continuation of the successful Connect Tri-Cities event in 2022; charitable donations to local nonprofits; a dynamic employee volunteerism program; and much more.

The HMIS team is excited to support the One Hanford mission and we look forward to demonstrating our commitment to excellence over the next 10 years. We are proud of the work we do and will identify ways to continuously improve through collaboration and teamwork.

Our “SIMPLE” values, which stands for safety, inclusion, motivation, passion, learning and ethics, will be at the core of every task we perform as we serve our Hanford customers, the environment and our community.

Robert Wilkinson is president of Hanford Mission Integration Solutions.