NIST Director’s Update on

Safety Improvement Actions 
NIST must fully integrate safety into decision-making processes for all aspects of 

our mission, from planning through mission delivery, over the full life-cycle of 

programs and projects. 

We recognize that we must fundamentally change our culture and our way of 

doing business to achieve lasting and meaningful change to improve safety at 

NIST.

Starting Point
Building Momentum and Leading Change

elevate/flag safety topics for the organization

instill safety culture from bottom up

not see safety as a chore integrate safety through lens of equal opportunity

integrate safety into regularly scheduled discussions

solicit staff reactions

reinforce importance of safety in office environment

hold ourselves accountable 

communicating safety expectations 

champion and live a new safety culture 

check in on staff more frequently

be example to colleagues

ask questions

help staff feel empowered to ask questions in safety 

make resources available for excellence in safety
Purpose: Oversee and track 

to completion safety 

improvement actions 

intended to address specific 

NIST Safety Commission 

recommendations

Chartered Executive Safety Improvement Team

Areas

Leadership

Stronger 

OSHE

Process 

Improvement

Process: Convene teams 

and empower staff to 

develop and implement 

actions, communicate 

changes

Accountability: Report 

regularly to the NIST 

Director, inform NLB and 

staff of progress
Committing Resources

• New Hires

• Facilities Repairs

• Safety Assessments 

• Professional External Safety Consulting
Leadership Expectations and Accountabilities. NIST must make safety an integral part of the 

NIST culture, commit to continuous improvement of safety systems, processes and culture.

OSHE’s Role and Authorities. NIST must strengthen the role of the Chief Safety Officer by 

ensuring the CSO has organizational responsibilities within ERM and SCMMR, and a formal 

accountability to the NIST Director and of safety professionals by requiring OSHE staff to 

specify hazard mitigation measures during inspections, investigations and hazard reviews.

Processes, Tools and Communications. NIST must develop new and enhance existing 

operational safety processes and tools to actively manage safety related risks, and have 

processes to assess and elevate risk to enterprise level in a timely manner, and ensure 

strategic and practical communications that are essential to achieving culture change.

Executive-level Key Action Areas
NIST must make safety an integral part of the NIST culture and commit to continuous 

improvement of safety practices and culture

Importance: We recognize that leadership plays an essential role in driving culture change 

by creating the conditions for positive changes to occur and thrive, and by supporting 

continuous improvement in safety systems, processes and safety culture NIST-wide.

Strategy: Our strategy is to set clear expectations, enforce accountability, ensure 

communications are strategic and targeted, engage staff at all levels, develop, implement 

and maintain a Safety Culture Improvement Plan informed by survey data, relevant KPIs, 

supervisor and staff feedback, and best practices.

Leadership Expectations and Accountability
Strategic Communications

Completed: NIST leadership Safety Off-site was held to 

discuss the circumstance of the incident, discuss safety 

practices, and require leaders to define their 

commitment to taking personal responsibility for safety

Completed: All-staff Town Hall meeting held; NIST 

Director committed to taking meaningful actions to 

improve safety at NIST, conveyed the expectation that 

all staff must accept personal responsibility for safety 

and participate in continual improvement of safety

Completed: NIST Director meetings with OSHE staff

Planned: NIST Director will host focus groups to discuss 

safety concerns and safety culture improvement actions

Planned: Strategic communication plan to support roll 

out of safety improvements

Underway: Management by walking around

Key Actions: Leadership Expectations and Accountability 

Safety Culture 

Completed: Survey, report issued and posted 

Completed: Safety Culture Improvement Plan 

drafted (May 15, 2023), 

Planned: Facilitated employee focus groups to 

develop bench-level actions (June, 2023)

Planned: Safety culture benchmarking activities

Accountability

Underway: Team lead by Human Resources is 

strengthening safety performance elements

Underway: CSO formally accountable to NIST 

Director, required regular reports and briefings
NIST must strengthen the role of the Chief Safety Officer by ensuring organizational responsibilities 

within ERM and SCMMR and requiring formal accountability to the NIST Director. NIST must 

strengthen the role safety professionals by requiring OSHE staff to specify hazard mitigation measures 

during inspections, investigations, and hazard reviews.

Importance: NIST recognizes that its post-2008 approach of assigning responsibility for safe operations 

to line management unintentionally undervalued the expertise of NIST safety professionals, and 

provided no authority to competent safety staff to enforce basic safety requirements. NIST recognizes 

value of competent safety professionals and the role they must play in ensuring workplace safety.

Strategy: NIST is adopting a strategy that ensures that the CSO is accountable to the NIST Director, 

informs enterprise-level risk assessments and resource allocations for facility improvements, and that 

empowers OSHE safety professionals to ensure workplace hazards are properly mitigated.

OSHE’s Role and Authorities
Chief Safety Officer

Completed: CSO became a voting member of the 

ERM Council (May)

Completed: CSO to hire additional staff to meet 

increased responsibilities for workplace inspections, 

incident investigations, and hazard reviews (May)

Completed: NCNR embed position posted

Underway: CSO is meeting with OU Directors to 

assess need for embedded safety staff to enhance 

services and strengthen partnerships (ongoing)

Underway: Assessment of organizational structure 

to raise safety to NIST director; CSO reporting to 

director 

Key Actions: OSHE’s Role and Authorities

Safety Staff

Completed: OSHE staff member detailed to ERM to 

assist with risk assessment method development

Planned: Revise workplace inspection program to 

specify OSHE lead on inspections of workspaces 

covered by hazard reviews

Planned: Revision of Hazard Review Program to require 

OSHE staff to participate in hazard assessments for 

hazardous work.

Planned: Building master keys will be provided to 

BSHED and GSHED Chiefs to ensure safety inspectors 

and investigators have access to all campus spaces
NIST must develop new and enhance existing operational safety processes and tools to actively 

manage safety related risks, and have processes to assess and elevate risk to enterprise level in a 

timely manner, and ensure strategic and practical communications that are essential to achieving 

culture change.

Importance: NIST recognizes that safety must be incorporated into administrative and operational 

processes to achieve a systematic inclusion of safety considerations in all aspects of resource 

management. Easy to use tools and straightforward, practical communications are essential to 

support these changes.

Strategy: NIST’s strategy is to develop a world class safety management system based on 

established international standards and best practices for continuous improvement, supported by 

easy to use systems that facilitate completion of safety-related tasks. Communications on safety 

requirements will include practical training, case studies and lessons learned from incidents to 

facilitate proper implementation of requirements and improve workplace safety.

Processes, Tools, and Communications
Processes

Completed: A new process to facilitate OSHE review of 

facilities maintenance, testing, and inspections for regulatory 

compliance 

Underway: A comprehensive change management program to 

proactively manage safety is in development

Underway: Safety checklist for exit-from-duty added to Service 

Now to ensure proper management of hazardous materials 

and transfer of safety roles and responsibilities

Underway: ERM team to develop methods for assessing safety 

related risks, incorporating these into enterprise level risk 

portfolio

Planned: External ISO 45001 assessment and experts to assist 

OSHE in developing an audit and assessment program 

Planned: Safety program revisions for investigations, hazard 

reviews, and workplace inspections to improve risk 

assessments and improve consistency across NIST

Key Actions: Processes and Tools

Tools

Underway: Evaluation of COTS IT tools for integrated 

safety management

Underway: Benchmarking visit to NREL and ORNL 

scheduled for June to evaluate tools, safety training

Underway: Complete the development of NIST safety 

dashboard display of workplace inspections, incident 

investigations and training actions

Practical Communications

Underway: Use of Safety Advisory Committee to 

provide practical communications to targeted 

audiences to communicate lessons learned 

Planned: Revise training to improve relevancy to 

work conducted, include practical applications that 

incorporate lessons learned from incidents

Planned: Provide training that discusses the 

incident and lessons we have learned or must learn.
NCNR
Moving Forward

Safety as a core value