Something I like to remind our team is that we at HMIS are only successful if our customers are successful. Our role at Hanford continues to evolve, while we remain focused on ensuring integration across all prime contractors and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to enable success for the One Hanford team. 

With more than 250 unique services and infrastructure responsibilities, HMIS’ work is pivotal to the Hanford cleanup mission. Our efforts support progress made on Hanford’s Central Plateau and in preparing for Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) operations by ensuring site infrastructure is ready to meet current demands and decades into the future. 

Safety and security will always be our top priority, and in 2024 HMIS was honored with three DOE Voluntary Protection Program Star of Excellence awards, recognizing us for achieving outstanding levels of performance in meeting established safety and health goals, actively conducting outreach and achieving an injury and illness rate significantly below industry averages.

As the Hanford site integrator, HMIS delivers more than 250 unique services and infrastructure responsibilities, providing critical support to the cleanup mission. 

| Courtesy HMIS

Innovation

As we maintain a safe and secure workplace, including managing sitewide safety programs, we strive to bring innovation to the One Hanford team. A significant innovation we’re incredibly proud of is our recent launch of the Hanford Artificial Intelligence Liaison (HAL) tool. HAL is a safe and secure Hanford-specific AI tool. It authenticates users through their logins and unlike external AI apps like ChatGPT, HAL does not train other models. Input and output remain within our secure network to safeguard Hanford’s data. HAL is available to all Hanford workers, who are using it to become more efficient, assist with repetitive tasks and more.

We’ve also taken our unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) program (aka drones) to new heights. We used the UAS program to inspect 95 electrical poles, capturing top-down imagery of the poles and hardware and GPS coordinates. This inspection method allows HMIS to reference pole conditions at any time and creates an image library.

HMIS also completed a multi-month project to strengthen the framework of Hanford’s computer network. Our team upgraded dozens of backbone and distribution switches, which facilitate data transfers between users, data centers and essential facilities, ultimately allowing users to reach critical apps and services. The upgrades will allow us to increase bandwidth in the future, which is increasingly important to support the One Hanford mission as more industrial control systems come online.

In 2024, HMIS was honored with three DOE Voluntary Protection Program Star of Excellence awards for achieving outstanding levels of performance in meeting established safety and health goals. 

| Courtesy HMIS

Site integration

Our support of tank waste cleanup efforts last year included working with Washington River Protection Solutions to remove and replace two aging pumps in the AP Tank Farm. We also assisted with the construction of a new laydown area for the High-Level Waste construction complex at WTP, and finalizing construction and start-up of the necessary water infrastructure that will service the site for decades.

Our work to support remediation efforts included collaborating with Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) to offload more than 60 tons of specialized equipment that will assist with future transuranic waste shipments. We also played a key role in assembling a canister storage system at the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility (WESF) for CPCCo. In a true One Hanford effort, HMIS will provide critical staff resources to assist CPCCo in moving more than 1,900 radioactive capsules at WESF into this new, safer dry storage system this fall, a significant step in risk reduction. 

We established emergency preparedness support for WTP as they prepare for operational readiness. Accelerating WTP drill activities was critical, including Hanford Fire Department participation, to ensure WTP can meet Cold Commissioning Management Assessment certification criteria.

HMIS played a key role in assembling a new canister storage system at the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility. In 2025, HMIS will provide critical staff resources to assist Central Plateau Cleanup Company in moving more than 1,900 radioactive capsules into this new, safer dry storage system, a significant step in risk reduction. 

| Courtesy HMIS

Cost savings

Fiber modernization projects provided additional network system and facility redundancy to critical Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste program systems, while allowing for cost deferral or avoidance of about $10 million. 

HMIS migrated data files for more than 8,500 Hanford employees from local servers to a cloud-based OneDrive, reducing the onsite storage footprint by 60 terabytes and avoiding future costs by eliminating the need for more storage servers.

A significant update to Hanford’s Air Operating Permit database eliminated the need for new application license fees while providing better functionality and reducing required resources, as well as cost savings.

In response to employee feedback, rising health care costs and to help contractors remain competitive in recruitment and retention, HMIS (via the Hanford Employee Welfare Trust) implemented new medical and vision plans for the first time in more than 20 years. Nearly 13,000 Hanford employees, retirees and dependents were successfully enrolled in the new plans. 

HMIS supports more than 60 local organizations and events every year, and its employees donate thousands of hours of volunteer time to events like the Bikes for Tikes build event in December. 

| Courtesy HMIS

Community

HMIS was named 2024 Large Private Employer of the Year by the Washington State Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues & Employment for our commitment to creating an inclusive workplace that values diversity and provides equal opportunities for all employees. To further these values, we are launching a new employee resource group, VIBE, which stands for Vision, Inclusion, Boldness and Excellence. VIBE is designed to foster relationships across the company and Hanford site and empower employees to be active participants in their development. VIBE joins VALOR, our veteran employee resource group.  

We remain committed to making a difference and improving local quality of life through volunteerism, corporate donations and workforce investment. Annually, we support more than 60 local organizations and events, and our employees donate thousands of hours of volunteer time.

Our achievements are driven by our steadfast commitment to partnership and innovation. With a focus on safety, technological advancement and engagement, HMIS is poised to continue to support the One Hanford team in overcoming challenges and achieving new milestones. The dedication and collaboration of our team and partners remain the foundation of our success, ensuring progress for Hanford and the surrounding community.

Amy Basche is president and general manager of Hanford Mission Integration Solutions.