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Nature & Nurture

Influencing operator retention. Nature & Nurture. Working Environment. Nature – Influences which are generally beyond the influence of individual managers and operations staff Nurture – Areas that management, and in some cases even individual operators can control.

flynn-william
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Nature & Nurture

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  1. Influencing operator retention. Nature & Nurture

  2. Working Environment • Nature – Influences which are generally beyond the influence of individual managers and operations staff • Nurture – Areas that management, and in some cases even individual operators can control.

  3. Where do operators come from? • At JLab operators primarily come from 2 groups. • University, primarily from physics departments • Military, primarily the Naval Nuclear Power Program • Additionally • Other DOE facilities • Commercial/technical organizations

  4. JLAB Staffing • JLab Original Staffing • PhD – Crew Chiefs • Operator – Technicians • Commissioning • Worked rotating shift • Present Staffing • Crew Chief & 2 Operators • Duties include: Accelerator operations, System Safety Operator, Assigned Radiation Monitors. • Fixed Rotation

  5. Shift Work • Nature or Nurture? • 24/7 running a aspect of accelerator operations. So Nature. • Turning shift work from Nature to Nuture • Pattern initially used at JLab: Three shifts • Days – 08:00-16:00 • Swings – 16:00-2400 • Owls – 0000-0800 • Works work a different shift each week with a varying number of day off in between shifts.

  6. Long rotation shifts • Six shift teams • Operators assigned to specific day, swing, owl shift for entire accelerator run (Shutdown to shutdown). • Work seven days on shift first week, three days outside control room next week. (Activities which occur during off week will be covered later.)

  7. Effect on Operator Retention • Initial dip @ end of commissioning period. • Subsequent period retention ~2-3 years. • Retention continues to increase as operator turnover has decreased.

  8. Effect on Operator Retention • In the period of 1996 -1998 operations lost 9 individuals. This represented fully one-third of the operations staff. • In the 1998-2000 period typical retention was ~ 3 years. • More than half of the operations staff left operations in this 1996-2000 period.

  9. Effect on Operator Retention • In 2000 Operations group moved from rotating shifts to long rotation shift schedule. • Retention numbers have continued to increase. • Majority of individuals leaving operations have moved to other positions at JLab vs. leaving lab.

  10. Filling Fixed Shifts • Owl Shift (0000-0800) not as difficult to fill as might be expected. • Operators consistently able to get first choice of shift. • Money factors contributes to achieving balanced rotation. • Operators receive percent bonus for working Swing(1600-2400) and Owl (0000-0800) shifts. • Crew Chiefs must work a certain number of back shifts a year to retain shift differential. • Number of times staff has been asked to work third choice can be counted on one hand for period since 2000.

  11. Off shift time • With six shifts rotation supports a schedule of 7 days in the Machine Control Center on shift and 3 days working outside the MCC in each two week period. • Operations meetings held on Wednesday. All off shift personnel must work Wednesday. • Other days in off shift week may be flexed.

  12. Where do Operators Go? • To other positions in the Lab. Operations is a conduit to recruit and evaluate individuals for placement in other positions in the facility. • Nowhere. They stay in Operations. Core of operation experts. • Dual Track. • What happens if they don't leave? • Senior Crew Chief. • Tasking.

  13. Tasking. • Hire individuals who possess a range of skills useful outside operations. • Exposes operator's perspective to other groups. • Exposes operators to other areas at a deeper level. • Allows completion of tasks which would otherwise be under resourced. • Allows better utilization of operation's staff during downs. • Pathway out of operations for those who wish it.

  14. Formal Training/Formal Procedures • Important nurturing influence. • Pushed by high turnover during 1990s • Formal procedures is the linch-pin upon which a formal training program is built. • Formal procedures provides a better work environment by requiring a lower level of theoretical knowledge to perform tasks. This reduces stress and results in better machine reproducibility • Formal training prepares operators for operation and for advancement.

  15. Educational benefit • Another specific advantage to the long rotation schedule is the opportunity that it gives to individual who wish to pursue continuing education. • Standard rotating shift work made taking advantage of Lab tuition assistance and job relate training program almost impossible for operations staff. • Long rotation shift makes it quite easy for operators to engage in continuing education.

  16. Conclusion • All of these benefits have in some way flowed from the willingness of the JLab Operations Management to look beyond the standard shift rotation cycle. They are also based on a premise that it is productive to utilize operators outside the operations “ghetto”. The laboratory has benefited by hiring individuals with a higher threshold of experience and education and utilizing these individual's non-operational skills in other tasking.

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