MASS—AN AUTOMATED ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM*

All Department of Energy contractors who manage accountable quantities of nuclear materials are required to implement an accountability system that tracks and records the activities associated with those materials. At Los Alamos, the automated accountability system allows data entry on computer terminals and data base updating as soon as the entry is made. It is also able to generate all required reports in a timely fashion. Over the last several years, the hardware and software have been upgraded to provide the users with all the capability needed to manage a large variety of operations with a wide variety of nuclear materials. Enhancements to the system are implemented as the needs of the users are identified. The system has grown with the expanded needs of the users and has survived several years of changing operations and activity. The user community served by this system includes processing, materials control and accountability, and nuclear material management personnel. In addition to serving the local users, the accountability system supports the national data base (NMMSS). This paper contains a discussion of several details of the system design and operation. After several years of successful operation, this system provides an operating example of how computer systems can be used to manage a very dynamic data management problem.