Discussion.

DOE-EM-STD-5505-96

postings required by other DOE Directives, and exit postings required by Federal law. Because

the content, format, and use of these postings is controlled by other entities or programs, they are

not operator aids.

A second aspect of what constitutes an operator aid concerns how the information is used. An

operator aid provides information that is useful to operators while performing their duties. This

aspect removes from consideration postings, such as bulletin boards or personal notes at one's

desk, because these items do not affect activity operations.

The third element of the test addresses changes to posted information. In general, if changes to

posted information can affect an operator's work, the posting should be controlled as an operator

aid. Consider a vendor's nameplate that is welded to a valve in the activity. If the vendor's name

changes, the new information would not affect operation of the system, and therefore, this

information should not be controlled by the operator aid program.

Finally, some postings in an activity can be either copies of operating procedures or contain

information specified by procedures. These postings should be controlled by the operator aid

program unless the activity controls the information under another program such as the procedure

change and revision system. In summary, a posting is an operator aid if:

The information is used by operators to perform their duties, and

Changes to the information would affect the quality of the operator's work, and

The posting is not controlled or required by some other program (e.g., RCRA, Radcon,

OSHA, etc.),

The information is taken from or referenced in an operations procedure.

This test provides assessors with a tool to determine if a posting is an operator aid.

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