Extrinsic and intrinsic complexities of the Los Alamos Plutonium Processing Facility

Analysis of the data obtained in one year of plutonium accounting at Los Alamos reveals significant complexity. Much of this complexity arises from the complexity of the processes themselves. Additional complexity is induced by errors in the data entry process. It is important to note that there is no evidence that this complexity is adversely affecting the accounting in the plant. We have been analyzing transaction data from fiscal year 1983 processing. This study involved 62,595 transactions. The data have been analyzed using the relational database program INGRES on a VAX 11/780 computer. This software allows easy manipulation of the original data and subsets drawn from it. We have been attempting for several years to understand the global features of the TA-55 accounting data. This project has underscored several of the system's complexities. Examples that will be reported here include audit trails, lot-name multiplicity, etc.