Safety Culture: Taking ISMS to the next level (Revised 5/27/09)

Safety Culture and its impact on the safe execution of work and overall safety performance has been widely discussed. Much attention has been directed toward assessing and improving Safety Cultures thereby driving down the number of injuries and illnesses, improving morale, reducing property damage and eliminating negative impacts to operations. As an example, one effort currently underway across the complex sponsored by DOE and EFCOG is directed at improving ISMS by assessing and improving Safety Culture and garnering the associated benefits to employees, DOE, and Contractors.

This session may include any initiatives to improve safety culture in the complex including Human Performance Improvement (HPI), high reliability operations (HRO, a science-based process that focuses on breaking the chain between the threat (human error) and the hazards of the plant to avoid catastrophic events), VPP, or any other related program.

Topics may include: Assessment of safety culture, activities to improve safety culture, the identification and prioritization of resources to address the most significant consequences, the processes to reduce plant hazards, the identification and reduction of human error precursors via traditional HPI and Behavioral Based initiatives, the effective use of barriers, and efforts to identify and understand organizational and safety culture issues in order to remove roadblocks by using causal factors analysis techniques, effective processes to promote healthy safety culture such as employee involvement, management field time, problem identification and resolution, training, and assessment, and the active use of lessons-to-be-learned. Presentations can focus on improvements to existing mature programs or the implementation of new initiatives from worker or management perspective.

Worker Engagement

The concept of Worker Engagement has long been recognized as a fundamental ISM principle. It involves a personal commitment to safety, participation in work planning and execution, the use of Safety Committees, and recognition of hazards and controls. Trust, teamwork, and mutual respect must be in place for it to be effective. Topics for this track may include the development and use of criteria for assessing worker engagement and methods to increase worker involvement in the planning and execution of work activities. Methods used to establish new programs or improve existing ones should also be presented.

Exposure Hazards: Industrial Hygiene and Radiological

This track will focus on work programs and processes that are pertinent to promoting excellence and practical experience involving the identification and mitigation of Industrial Hygiene and Radiological workplace hazards. The track presentations will facilitate dialogue between Research, Operations and ES&H professionals for the purpose of better understanding initiatives and issues of mutual interest. Topics may include: Exposure Assessments, RAD versus Non-RAD controls, development of new IH/Radiological practices and processes, Nanotechnology hazards and controls, and Oversight/Communication programs.

Employee Health and Wellness

Employers continue to be hit by the soaring costs of providing employees with health care benefits. Almost 50% of corporate profits now go for health care costs versus only 7% 30 years ago. This track will focus on employer initiatives seeking new ways to reduce health care costs without jeopardizing their ability to attract and retain workers. Topics may include corporate fitness programs for productivity improvement and error reduction, disease management programs, early detection and intervention programs, health screenings, and the use of incentives to encourage participation. Methods for establishing new initiatives or improving existing programs should be included.

Integration of Safety Into Design

In an effort to ensure the safety and health of workers, the public, and the environment, a strategy to fully integrate safety into the design of new equipment and facilities at the Y-12 Plant has been adopted. An Integrated Management Plan was developed to identify disciplines that systematically submit design features and controls. Safety-in-Design Integration Teams were formed to ensure collaboration and consensus between design and safety support functions to achieve consensus. Design integration tools such as 3D/4D computer-aided design programs were a major part of this initiative. Topics may include: the use of Rapid Upper Limb Assessments and other ergonomic evaluation methods to test activities known to contribute to repetitive strain injuries, 3D visualization and human modeling techniques.

Integrating Safety Into Security Operations

Previous ISM conference efforts in this arena have focused on the protection of Special Nuclear Material, classified matter, property, and cyber systems. The focus of this track will be on the integration of Safety into daily security operations by safety and security professionals, managers, and workers. Topics may include: the deployment of security systems that meet personnel safety requirements, accidental or inadvertent weapon discharges, case management, reduction of musculoskeletal injuries, use of night vision devices, fitness evaluations, and the use of smoke grenades in exercises. Methods used to establish or improve existing programs should be presented.

Environmental Protection, Environmental Management System (EMS), "Greening Initiatives"

Consistent with the requirements of the DOE Environmental Protection Program, the Environmental Management System (EMS) has been integrated with ISM. The EMS functions in a continuous cycle of planning, implementing, evaluating, and improving processes and actions to achieve environmental goals. Topics in this track should focus on minimizing the impact of our operations on the environment and may include sustainable practices in energy efficiency, fleet management, water consumption, pollution prevention, and "greening" initiatives at the federal and contractor levels. Examples of incorporating engineering controls to reduce or eliminate hazards should also be included. Methods used to improve existing programs or establish new ones should also be presented.

Safety of Work Created Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

The ARRA program will provide an unprecedented opportunity for the DOE, NNSA, and Contractors to address lingering environmental, infrastructure, and science related issues. As we prepare to perform this work, we must focus on keeping new and existing workers safe. This track will focus on processes that will insure new or increased ARRA work is ready from a safety perspective prior to conducting the work. Topics may include the use of ISM systems and programs that cover new work, the addition of safety and quality assurance requirements in contracts, new worker training and medical surveillance requirements, oversight of sub-tier contractor work, the packaging and transport of waste materials, and the development and use of performance metrics to monitor this work.

Quality Assurance

Effective integration of ISM and QA processes and practices is an important element of Integrated Management. In addition, effective QA Programs are needed for items serving vital safety functions at DOE nuclear facilities. Methods used to establish the initial implementation of these programs or the improvement of existing ones should be presented. Topics in this track may include: Software QA criteria and standards for safety analysis, Safety System software assessments, Operating Experience Reviews, Corrective Action Processes, Causal Analysis, Performance Metrics & Analysis, performing work "correctly", flowdown of appropriate QA requirements into contracts, the use of internal/external interface control points, and the implementation of other QA Programs.

Feedback and Improvement Initiatives

A wide range of programs exist to meet the ISM principles for performance monitoring, assessment, and feedback. Assessment programs, lessons learned programs, operational critiques, and various oversight programs provide tools by which line management and workers can take advantage of previous mistakes or feedback from others on how work might be accomplished better in a safe and secure environment. This track focuses on how ISM systems drive continuous improvement. Topical areas for consideration are the methods used to establish or improve feedback and improvement programs, the development of leading and lagging performance indicators, performance based trending, impacts of operating experience programs, and the development and implementation of Contractor Assurance Systems (CAS).