Grading cont'd

DOE-STD-1073-2003

Configuration Management

Consequently, contractors should use good judgment to determine what level of grading

is both appropriate and cost effective.

DOE defines graded approach as a process of ensuring that the level of analysis,

documentation, and actions used to comply with a requirement are commensurate with:

the relative importance to safety, safeguards, and security;

the magnitude of any hazard involved;

the life cycle stage of a facility;

the programmatic mission of a facility;

the particular circumstances of a facility;

the relative importance of radiological and nonradiological hazards; and

any other relative hazard.

The main purpose of using a graded approach is to determine and apply a level of

resources that is appropriate when implementing a program. The goal is to apply the

highest level of resources to the most important equipment in the most important

facilities and to avoid such expenditures where they are not warranted. For a highly

hazardous facility such as a large nuclear reactor, which could potentially have serious

off-site personnel safety consequences, a significant investment of resources is

appropriate for the systems that prevent, detect, or mitigate such consequences. At the

other extreme, for a low-hazard facility--a glovebox operation, for example--where the

greatest hazard is localized (i.e., offsite persons and workers at other collocated facilities

are not affected), the same investment of resources may not be necessary. The grading

system should take into account both facility grades and SSC grades in determining the

appropriate level of resources to be applied.

In applying the graded approach to the configuration management process, the following

factors should be considered:

Situational/Circumstantial Considerations1

Relative Importance Factors

Facility grade

Facility type and technical characteristics

SSC grades

Facility remaining lifetime

Facility operational status and life cycle

phase

Programmatic and technical issues

Existing programs and procedures

The first column lists factors that can be used to grade based upon relative importance.

That is, one item can be identified as more important than another and therefore can be

One item from the 1993 list was removed (Phased Implementation) and two were combined (operational

status and life-cycle phase). Phased implementation was removed because it is no longer necessary,

because configuration management is no longer a new issue.

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