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Pantex Uses Data Virtualization to Share Sensitive Information across Facilities, to Maintain the Nuclear Weapons Stockpile
Technology Category
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
Applicable Industries
- National Security & Defense
Applicable Functions
- Discrete Manufacturing
- Product Research & Development
Services
- Data Science Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
The challenges that led to the PRIDE program include impeded data sharing within and across facilities due to different legacy systems and applications storing data in multiple formats, making information difficult to share. This problem was intensified by the high security restrictions between facilities. There was no central repository from which data could be quickly accessed. Information delivery was delayed because of overnight file extract requirements, multiple emails and calls, and a lack of data ownership. Governance challenges included data sharing through email, the lack of a version control system, and document based information sharing, often cut off lineage information and made it difficult to trace data back to its source. Across multiple facilities, data in transit was susceptible to breaches.
About The Customer
Pantex Plant is the production integrator for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), as well as a provider of nuclear deterrence solutions for the U.S. Department of Energy. Pantex is the primary nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility in the United States and is responsible for maintaining the safety, security, and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. The facility is located on a 16,000-acre site 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, in Carson County, Texas. Faced with rising costs and increasing security risks, the NNSA established the Product Realization Integrated Digital Enterprise (PRIDE) program to securely deliver weapon product lifecycle information to engineers, scientists, and other users across different sites in North America. Sponsored by the NNSA, and with funding of about $30 million a year, the PRIDE program is a multi-year initiative to develop and manage a portfolio of applications.
The Solution
To address these issues, NNSA planned to build an 'Integrated Digital Environment (IDE)' to provide unified access to weapon lifecycle data across different facilities and enable the timely, secure sharing of data. Pantex migrated data and documents from a legacy Document Management System (DMS) to a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution from PTC Windchill. After the migration of document-based information, Pantex leveraged Denodo data virtualization to set up virtual data marts for downstream users and to feed IBM Data Stage Extract Transform Load (ETL) processes for loading data into the data warehouse. Pantex Plant works in collaboration with several national laboratories to test surveillance assemblies that are manufactured at Pantex. This process requires Pantex to provide the complete list of assembly components, so personnel at the laboratory can put together a bill of materials report before the testing process commences. Previously, this information was extracted from an Oracle database at Pantex, copied to a spreadsheet, and emailed to the laboratory, where it was manually entered into a Maximo Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP) system. Pantex deployed data virtualization to present a normalized view of the as-built component data to several members of the laboratory team. The data virtualization platform plugged into the source databases, extracted data for the necessary equipment parts and sub-assemblies, and published this data as a secure SOAP web service, that could be easily accessed by laboratory engineers.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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