Update on Safety Progress Since the

NIST Blue Ribbon Commission on Management and Safety II (BRC II) Report

and

Proposal for the Formation of a VCAT Subcommittee on Safety

Rich Kayser

Chief Safety Officer

Office of Safety, Health, and Environment (OSHE) 

Tony Haymet

VCAT Member

Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology

Gaithersburg, MD

June 19, 2012 
Agenda

NIST

• OSHE Mission

• NIST SH&E Priorities

• NIST SH&E Metrics

• NIST External Assessments

• OU Hazard Review Program Highlights

• Summary

VCAT

• Proposal for a VCAT Subcommittee on Safety 
OSHE Mission

What:

• To partner with the rest of NIST to make safety, health, and environment (SH&E) integral 

core values and vital parts of the NIST culture.

How:

By working with the rest of NIST to:

• Develop and maintain NIST’s SH&E management systems;

• Implement NIST’s SH&E management systems; and 

• Provide oversight of and continually improve NIST’s SH&E management systems and their 

implementation.

Why:

• To protect employees, associates, and visitors from occupational injury and ill health;

• To minimize NIST’s impact on the environment and to conserve natural resources; and 

• To comply with applicable SH&E laws, regulations, and other requirements.
NIST SH&E Priorities

• Continue to develop and implement NIST’s SH&E management systems

– Develop and deploy SH&E programs

• Implement a comprehensive NIST assessment program

– Provide feedback to NIST management and staff on how NIST’s systems are 

working

– Make adjustments as needed

• Improve performance through data-based SH&E management

– Implement metrics

BRC II Recommendations:

• Develop a suite of metrics 

• Establish an audit mechanism
NIST SH&E Metrics

Metric v. Measure

• Metric: More abstract, higher-level, 

more subjective attributes, e.g., 

personal health

• Measure: More concrete, lower level, 

more objective attributes, e.g., weight, 

amount of exercise, blood pressure, 

glucose and cholesterol levels

Fundamental purpose of metrics

• To improve performance

Keys to success

• Leadership commitment to continual 

improvement

• Shared goals

• Team effort by NIST as a whole

Factors in selecting metrics

Potential impact

• SH&E impact , including SH&E culture

– Risk

• Compliance

• Efficiency

Alignment with management priorities

Practical considerations 

• Program maturity / formalization

• Suitable frequency

• Mechanics

• Balance
NIST SH&E Metrics (cont’d)

• Safety Culture: Effectiveness of incident reporting and investigation

• Safety Management System Development: Progress of SH&E program development 

and deployment

• Hazard Management: Effectiveness of hazard management practices with regard to 

select carcinogens and other hazardous chemicals

• Ionizing Radiation Safety: Effectiveness of ionizing radiation safety program 

implementation in radioactive material facilities 

• Fire and Facilities Safety: Effectiveness of collaboration between OSHE and OFPM on 

fire and life safety issues in construction and renovation projects

• Environmental Management: Effectiveness of environmental management practices
Incident Reporting & Investigation Measures

• Primary Measure:

– Average completeness of incident investigation reports

• Additional Measures:

– Percentage of OUs with implementing procedures for reporting and investigating incidents

– Percentage of OU staff trained on OU implementing procedures

– Percentage of OU staff performing incident investigations who have completed incident-investigation 

training

– Percentage of initial incident reports submitted to IRIS “on time”

– Average length of time to submit incident investigation reports (from date of incident)

– Number of incident investigations open beyond 20 days, 40 days, 60 days, ... (from date of incident)

• Future Measures:

– Percentage of corrective actions taken

– Percentage of corrective actions taken on time
External SH&E Assessments Since BRC II

External

• Evaluation of NIST’s occupational safety and health program by the Department of 

Commerce Office of Occupational Safety and Health

• Annual assessments of the reactor facility by independent Safety Assessment Committee 

– Industrial safety added to scope

• Peer review of reactor operations and maintenance by the International Atomic Energy 

Agency (in process)

• Annual inspections of the CNST NanoFab by external safety experts

• Peer evaluation of MML safety program implementation by Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

• Annual external audit of NIST’s radioactive materials licenses

– “Deep cut” assessment scheduled for summer 2012

• Regular external audits and inspections by regulatory authorities

Combined External/Internal

• Assessment of the NIST Hazard Review Program

– Completed June 2012
Assessment of NIST Hazard Review Program

Rationale:

• The NIST Hazard Review Program is at the heart of NIST’s efforts to conduct its work safely

• Program has been fully implemented by the OUs for 1-2 years

Initial Scope:

• NIST Laboratory OUs

Approach:

• Commission an independent third-party review of the NIST-level hazard review program and OU 

implementing procedures

• Have internal assessment teams review selected hazard review documents and conduct field 

assessments 

Deliverables:

• Strengths and opportunities for improvement at all levels: NIST, OU, individual hazard reviews

Next steps:

• Analyze the results

• Identify and take actions at all levels to strengthen NIST’s management of hazards
Recent / Next Steps on SH&E Assessments

• Have hired an expert SH&E assessor to lead and manage NIST’s 

SH&E assessment program

– Lead, arrange, and coordinate SH&E management-system and operationlevel internal and external assessments

– Provide feedback to NIST management and staff on strengths and 

opportunities for improvement

– Provide technical support to effect improvements

• Formalize NIST’s overall SH&E assessment program

– Finalize NIST’s written assessment program

– Finalize NIST’s corrective and preventive actions program

– Develop and implement near- and longer-term SH&E assessment plans 
OU Hazard Review Program Highlights

NCNR Provided an NCNR-specific course to all NCNR staff on hazard identification, 

assessment, and control

CNST Completed 46 OU-level hazard reviews for all CNST labs and lab activities

MML Deployed a sophisticated hazard review and approval database system that can 

produce reports by building, person, room, hazard, etc.

PML

Developed and implemented a harmonized hazard review policy after the NIST 

realignment combined parts of 5 different OUs into the new PML; reassessed all 

hazard reviews

EL

Implementing significant changes to its hazard review program (over 400 hazard 

reviews per year) based on a comprehensive self assessment of the entire EL safety 

management system 

ITL, PML, and 

OISM

Collaborating on the development of briefing/training materials to communicate 

hazard review results effectively to all occupants of Building 225 at NIST 

Gaithersburg, both laboratory and non-laboratory staff

Boulder Labs Evaluated and revised the Boulder hazard review program for the third time

OFPM Conducted 350+ job hazard analyses over the past 2 years with in-depth reviews by 

OFPM’s in-house safety group
Summary

• NIST has a balanced, initial set of metrics and measures in 

place

• NIST has implemented a variety of assessment mechanisms to 

obtain independent third-party feedback

• NIST has hired an SH&E assessor to lead and manage its SH&E 

assessment program

• NIST has made significant progress in other key SH&E areas, 

such as hazard reviews