Background Many of the existing facilities and systems at Hanford were constructed in the 1950s or earlier, and have since been modified many times, often without the attendant funding and support needed to update drawings, labeling, and maintenance and operating procedures. This results in extensive system walkdowns for even minor operations, which in turn results in frustrated workers and excessive costs. Drawings and labels are supplemented by the knowledge of long-tenured employees who know which drawings and labels are or are not reliable. This mode is only as reliable as the quality and continued presence of these key employees. This mode also breeds contempt for written instructions, which the workers know to be incorrect or incomplete.
Work is conducted with trust in the correctness of drawings and labels.
This is often a basic assumption of new or inexperienced employees, including subcontractor workforces. None of the above methods is fully effective at protecting against unknown or mislabeled system configurations. In the last mode listed, the workers may be proceeding at considerable risk because the drawings and labels that are assumed to be accurate are not reliable. The examples cited below illustrate the extent to which these problems are encountered. Discussion Evidence of a Site-Wide Configuration Management Problem.