EM’s Packaging Certification Program Honored With Deming Award

In recognition of outstanding efforts to encourage more professionals to obtain the skills needed to enter and advance in the nuclear packaging industry, EM’s Packaging Certification Program (PCP) has been awarded the 2022 W. Edwards Deming Outstanding Training Award, presented by Graduate School USA this fall.

The award is given to a federal, state or local government organization that exemplifies excellence with an initiative or project that focuses on enhancing quality processes within that organization. Recipients demonstrate innovative training through workforce initiatives that have benefited their organizations.

Since 1986, there has been a shortage of professionals with experience in regulations and practices needed to design, regulate and use nuclear material packages.

PCP, University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) and Argonne National Laboratory collaborated to develop 14 courses taught by world-class subject matter experts at five DOE national laboratories, as well as a unique hands-on internship program. Students who successfully complete the courses earn accredited university graduate units. The collaborators also developed two graduate certificates, one in nuclear packaging and the second in transportation, security and safeguards.

Over 100 students have earned graduate credit in the courses. Seven have completed graduate certificates since 2017, and they are currently employed or interning at DOE sites, working on nuclear-packaging-related topics. In the past two years, the rate of certificate completion accelerated, with four of the completions in spring 2022.

Motivated by that success, the collaborators are working to develop seven new courses, including ones taught at two national laboratories. They also are determining the feasibility of a research-based Master of Science in nuclear packaging.

“Advancing our cleanup mission relies on the ingenuity of our workforce to attract the right talent and expertise into our pipeline — professionals who will encourage innovation and efficiency in every project we start and finish,” EM Senior Advisor William "Ike" White said. “Students who receive training and certification through the Packaging University program are representative of EM's next generation of well trained, technically skilled and diverse team members. Hats off to the Packaging Certification Program team. This award is well deserved.”

The collaborators are also conducting course instructor training, assembling a council to assess and continuously improve the program, and sharing results by presenting papers at international conferences. These statistics and activities show that this educational program is developing the next generation of highly qualified nuclear packaging professionals. It is also supporting the DOE and related industry’s environmental management missions, as well as UNR’s educational mission.

Students and program leaders agree that the pioneering partnership meets a critical and growing need for expertise in nuclear packaging.

“Nuclear packaging is a specialized activity that is performed by a relatively small number of professionals,” explained Ed Cagle, a May 2022 graduate. “The combination of academics and process knowledge presented in the program helps to ensure that students learn how to perform compliant shipments.”

Graduate School USA uses the bald eagle as the symbol for the award to illustrate the strength and power that can be associated with adhering to high-quality standards. The eagle is also known for its sharp eyesight, a characteristic emblematic of having the foresight to embark upon initiatives that have the potential to transform an organization for the better. The award is named after W. Edwards Deming, considered by many to be the master of continual quality improvement.