AIKEN, S.C. – Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) generated more than $78 million in validated savings during fiscal year (FY) 2026 through practical solutions that enhanced efficiency, reduced costs and strengthened support for the Savannah River Site’s (SRS) growing National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) missions.
Throughout FY26, Continuous Improvement (CI) teams partnered across organizations to streamline processes, improve compliance, reduce cycle times and eliminate inefficiencies. Nearly 22% of SRNS employees participated in more than 200 CI initiatives, demonstrating the workforce’s commitment to continuous improvement. As a result, SRNS exceeded productivity and efficiency goals established by both NNSA and DOE-EM, surpassing the NNSA savings goal by 154% and the DOE-EM goal by 159%.
“We want to reinforce a culture of continuous improvement by recognizing projects that help our company move with urgency,” said Mandy Sims, SRNS Senior Manager, Business Optimization. “The success of this program is driven by the hundreds of employees who are dedicated to finding smarter, more efficient ways to accomplish their work. These efforts demonstrate how innovation, collaboration, and engagement create lasting value for our customers, workforce and the nation.”
Key contributors to FY26 savings results included super intelligence and enterprise digital solutions that generated more than $16.8 million in cost avoidance; employee-submitted improvement ideas that delivered more than $2.3 million in cost avoidance; and innovative material reuse initiatives that avoided more than $1 million in procurement and disposal costs.
“SRNS CI initiatives and operational excellence tools have played a huge role in many NNSA capital projects and will continue to ensure the Site’s processes are prepared to meet national security requirements,” said Blake Leaphart, SRNS Lead CI Specialist. “We will continue to strategically transform business and operational management systems to keep pace with changing priorities.”
The SRNS CI team consists of certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belts supported by divisional experts who identify opportunities and implement sustainable solutions. Their efforts are reinforced through the nationally recognized IDEAS™ (Individuals Developing Effective Alternative Solutions™) Program, which empowers employees to recommend improvements to everyday work processes.
In FY26, employees submitted 533 ideas, 189 of which were implemented, resulting in more efficient operations and more than $2.3 million in cost avoidance.
Lead blankets repurposed to reduce waste
SRNS identified 100 excess lead blankets that had been designated for disposal. At the same time, additional material tanks were identified that required lead blankets to provide enhanced worker shielding. Rather than procuring new materials, the organization repurposed the excess blankets for use on these tanks, resulting in more than $1 million in avoided procurement and disposal costs.
Super intelligence accelerates productivity
Among SRNS’ most impactful innovation initiatives was ChatSRS, a centralized digital assistant that provides employees with a single access point for procedure searches, system navigation assistance, personnel contacts and operational documentation. By reducing time spent navigating multiple legacy systems, the platform has increased access to information and enhanced workforce productivity.
Container transfer generates complex-wide savings
The program delivered value across the Nuclear Security Enterprise by leveraging existing resources to avoid unnecessary costs. SRNS maintained more than 1,000 excess nuclear material storage containers that were no longer needed. When Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) identified a need for additional containers, SRNS shipped 425 Cogema cans and more than 600 3013 containers to support the mission. The transfer freed more than 1,000 cubic feet of storage space at SRS while enabling LANL to avoid approximately $4.4 million in new procurement costs.
Through programs such as IDEAS and the deployment of operational excellence tools, SRNS continues to strengthen a culture of innovation, accountability and performance excellence.
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, a Fluor and HII partnership company, is responsible for the management and operations of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, located near Aiken, South Carolina.
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