Frequently Asked Questions cont'd

DOE-HDBK-1148-2002

requirements will, equally clearly, be greater than that required to insert boilerplate, one-

site-fits-all requirements. However, this added effort in defining necessary and sufficient

sets of contract requirements and a focus on work planning involving necessary and

sufficient work controls will save the enormous effort that used to be devoted to stove-

piped implementation plans and assessments of compliance with inappropriate

requirements which added little to the level of protection.

Q20

How can the Confirmation team approach its responsibility to determine whether the

proposed Work Smart Standards set is "feasible"?

A20

The confirmation test that the Work Smart Standards set is "feasible" is a process

safeguard against adopting standards that those responsible for implementation might

not reasonably be expected to achieve. Feasibility focus is not on the ability of the

standards to guide performance (i.e. "adequacy"), but rather on a potential future failure

to achieve standards-based and safe work. Such failures could occur if management

systems and processes are not capable of delivering work based on the WSS set or if

resources are not sufficient to design and perform the work consistent with the WSS set.

The N&S Closure Process requires the Identification and Confirmation Teams to assess

both the adequacy and feasibility of the standards set. The agreed upon definition of the

work and the institutional implementing assumptions about how that work will be carried

out are first developed as a description of initial conditions by the Convened Group

during Process Element 1: Defining the Work and Hazards. The requirements for

describing both work objectives and a relationship of those work objectives to some

organized system for the delivery of that work are equally important to the ultimate utility

of the WSS set. By starting with the Convened Group's core of guidance, the

Identification Team is reasonably expected to further refine the definition of work,

hazards and controls in a way that integrates implementability and technical sufficiency

to provide for adequate protection.

In the N&S Closure Process Element 4: Identifying the Necessary and Sufficient Set of

Standards, relevant knowledge of the work and the available mechanisms of

performance are brought to bear to achieve an adequate and feasible WSS set. The

requirement that the Identification Team confirm and document implementing

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