# Presentation: 581332

## Dr. Inés R. Triay
Chief Operating Officer, DOE/EM

DOE FacRep Workshop Keynote Speech
Knoxville, Tennessee
May 16, 2006

**Chief Operating Officer, DOE/EM**
**DOE FacRep Workshop Keynote Speech**
**Knoxville, Tennessee**
**May 16, 2006**

- Safety Oversight of EM  Activities

**Notes:**
The EM program is significantly different today than it was in 2000.  One of the reasons it is significantly different is because we have tremendous support from Congress and the Administration and the folks working on the program are making real progress in areas where 5 years ago we would have been tempted to say it was too hard.  For, example 5 years ago the WIPP facility was just a big hole in the ground—today we have safely stored over 26,000 cubic meters of TRU in that facility.  

In the last 2 or 3 years , we have developed a tremendous momentum on this program which is important to maintain.  We have the largest budget that EM has ever had this year at $7.2 Billion and some people have expressed concern that our fiscal year 06 budget is less, but remember we will be closing RF and Fernald and Mound during this time period.  I want to talk to you about how we can maintain that momentum and how we can achieve our goals of cleanup by 2035.  First I want to talk about safety.  A  few weeks ago the new Secretary Bodman in his first speech to DOE employees stated that his number one priority was safety.  That has been our message consistently and the only way we will be able to continue to perform and accelerate our work is if we are able to do it safer.  Next I ask you to remember accountability.  Everyone in this room should remember that the money we spend in this program comes from our own pockets and the pockets of our fellow citizens.  While we have made substantial progress in getting a better return on that investment we need to do even better in 2005.  A recent NAS study criticized EM for  “self imposed obstacles” and recommended that EM aggressively pursue opportunities to simplify and expedite waste characterization, treatment, and disposal. We need from YOU more out of the box thinking.    We also need from you more communication and sharing of information from site to site.  We have very little in the way of proprietary or “far out” technology, but we find inconsistencies in the way that jobs are handled from site to site and in assumptions that are made with regard to the waste acceptance criteria and in variations of requirements from site to site.  

You all are familiar with our Gold Chart performance goals and in this talk I will give you some statistics on progress we have made, but the statistics do not tell the whole story.  When you visit Rocky Flats and see a bare hillside where once stood a building called by 60 Minutes Program the most “dangerous” building in the US, when you see a high-level waste tank empty and closed at Hanford and all of the spent nuclear fuel removed from the K-Basins and when you see the cleanup at Fernald and Mound nearing completion then you cannot help but feel very proud of the work which has been accomplished in this program. Now, let me just give you a quick summary of the status of the program today.

## Presentation Outline

**EM Program Overview**
**Safety Performance & Oversight**
**Safety Improvement Initiatives**
**Roles of Facility Representatives**
**Summary**

## EM is the world’s largest cleanup program . . .

- 31
- 2,000,000
- $6,500,000,000
- 34,200

**Sites**
**States**
**Acres**
**Cost:  ****FY-2006 Congressional Appropriation**** **
**Workforce ****(Federal and contractor)**

**EM is the world’s largest cleanup program . . .**

## The EM workforce performs complex, high-hazard, and first-of-their-kind tasks under difficult conditions on a daily basis . . .

## Therefore, effective safety oversight is essential to successful EM operations

- HQ
- (PSOs)
- Field
- Element
- Contractors

- Central Technical Authorities

- Independent Oversight

- DOE Oversight Model

## EM Safety Performance  

**DOE and Contractor TRC Rate**
_**(**_**FY99:2.8, FY00:2.5, FY01:2.5, FY02:2.2, FY03:1.9, FY04:1.6, FY05:1.6)**

**The trend is in the right direction . . .**

##  . . . but, there are still areas of concern.  

**Area of Concern**

**EM Events During First Two Quarters of FY06**

**Electrical Safety**
**Worker Injuries**
**Conduct of Ops**
**Equipment Failures**
**Authorization Basis **
**Near Misses**

**37**
**18**
**19**
**40**
**67**
**40**

_**Major contributing factors**_
- Inadequate management oversight
- Incomplete job planning – failure to identify all hazards/conditions
- Insufficient work controls
- Inadequate corrective actions to prevent recurrence
- Defective or failed parts due to age, poor maintenance, improper procurement, or improper use

## We have made substantial progress in enhancing our safety oversight capability . . .

**Safety System Oversight Program**
**DOE Implementation Plan for DNFSB Recommendation 2000-2, *****Configuration Management of Vital Safety Systems***
**Federal SSO personnel qualification & assignment**
**Structured safety system configuration management program**
**Contractor Safety System Engineer qualification & designation**
**Federal Technical Capability Program **
**Workforce Analysis & Staffing Planning**
**Qualification Standards**
**Senior Technical Safety Managers**
**Facility Representatives**
**Other safety & operations oversight positions (Fire Protection, Nuclear Safety, etc.)**
**Career Intern Program**

- SSO

- FTCP

## . . . and there is still much work to do . . .

**Our Goal:**
- 0
**Zero **Accidents and Injuries

## We continue to strive for excellence in safety . . .

**Integrating Safety into Design and Construction**
**Safety Improvement Initiatives**
**Just-in-Time Lessons Learned (Pilot Sites: ORP & INL)**
**Time Out for Safety (SRS & WIPP)**
**Human Performance Improvement (RL & ORP)**
**Electrical Safety (Complex-Wide)**
**EM-1 Safety Reminders**

## Field Events Requiring Immediate Notification to EM/HQ

**Activation of an Emergency Operations Center at ALERT or higher level **
**Release (above legal limits) to the environment**
**Security incident involving potential loss of control, or compromise of classified or nuclear material**
**On-the-job injury where an employee is taken to the hospital for something other than observation**
**Any transportation incident/accident  **
**Radiological contamination of workers, general employees, or the public **
**Violation of LO/TO controls where there is no credible barrier left between the worker and the energy source**
**Intentional violation of a criticality safety operating limit**
**Any highly visible situation that is ongoing **
**Fire on-site or those off-site that might affect EM operations/facilities**
**Any situation the Field Manager believes warrants attention or notification to EM Headquarters **

**Notes:**
Many of these events will fall below the ORPS reporting thresholds listed in DOE M231.1-2.  That does not matter --- still report them.
Prompt reporting ensures that myself and Mr. Rispoli are aware of events or site conditions prior to the Under Secretary, Deputy Secretary or Secretary.  We are better able to provide information when a request is made allowing you to continue your work uninterrupted.   
It is not necessary to know all the facts prior to calling.  However, timely follow-up on missing facts is important.  
A phone call is required to me, Dae Chung or Bob Murray.  A follow-up email is also required.   
Points to make:  
Prevent big problems by taking care of the small ones.
Manage the non-reportable events before they become reportable.
Electrical Events: every electrical event or LO/TO will be personally followed by someone on my staff.  Calls will be made to either the site manager or someone on his staff and to his contractor counterpart to determine the cause of the incident and what CA will be put in place to keep the incident from happening again.   

## Roles of FacReps in Safety Oversight

**Serve as the frontline Federal defense for safety operations**
**Serve as the Department’s eyes and ears in the field**
**Provide effective oversight to determine that the contractor is operating facilities in a safe, efficient, and compliant manner **
**Provide feedback to M&O and DOE site management**
**Status of EM FacReps**
**92% positions filled (FacReps onboard: 98, staffing analysis:106)**
**86% fully qualified**

## Your input is requested . . .

**Your input is requested . . .**

- Should FacReps serve as the eyes and ears of the Federal Project Director?

**Each site is expected to assemble Integrated Project Teams (IPTs) for each Project Baseline Summary (PBS) led by the Federal Project Director (Charlie Anderson memo, 4/24/06)**
**Should FacReps be plugged into the Federal Project Director’s portfolio?****  **

## Career Opportunities for FacReps

**Career Opportunities for FacReps**

**Transferability of FacRep qualifications among DOE sites**
**Upward mobility --- examples of  former FacReps who are in management positions:**
**W. Don Seaborg, NSO Deputy Assistant Manager**
**Zack Smith, Assistant Manager, Tank Farms (ORP)**
**Ken Ivey, YSO Assistant Manager, Safeguards and Security**

## Summary

**EM is the largest environmental cleanup effort in the world**
**Safely accomplishing complex, often first-of-their kind tasks is our business**
**We have made significant progress in enhancing our safety oversight**
**There is still much to do**
**We all need to do our part to work toward our goal of zero accidents and injuries**
**FacReps play a key role in operational safety and effectiveness**