Frequently Asked Questions cont'd

DOE-HDBK-1148-2002

basis for depending upon fidelity as a measure of Process effectiveness is the

demonstration that the Process requirements draw plentifully upon the recognized DOE

Integrated Safety Management concepts, plus the fact that application of such concepts

has demonstrated its value in numerous other high technology, high hazard industries.

The N&S Process Elements follow the logic of the Core Functions of ISM. Through

frequent iteration among the various intermediate closure points, the Process elements

progressively develop an agreed upon and integrated expression of work, hazards, and

controls that always starts from and returns to the need to Do Work Safely. The

structure for reaching agreement is robust, with multiple, explicit, and semi-independent

levels of definition (Process Leadership and Convened Group), analysis (Teams) and

verification (Confirmation Team and Approval Parties). The ISM Guiding Principles of

clear roles and responsibilities, demonstrated team competence, tailoring, and balancing

of priorities are all explicitly incorporated in Process Manual requirements. Process

documentation is required for both WSS set components and for records of decision-

making that support the justification of WSS set as adequate and feasible; thus the N&S

Closure Process ensures that readiness for operations proposed to be authorized, on

the basis of the identified standards and implementing assumptions, can in fact be

reached.

Throughout the Process application, Line Management bears the lead responsibility for

the WSS set, its development, and its justification of adequacy. With elaborate process

logic detail, and frequent reference to performance attributes that must be addressed in

order to make the WSS set both adequate and feasible, the N&S Closure Process

manual requirements self-define the elements of demonstrating fidelity to the Process.

However, precisely because the N&S Closure Process is built on ISM principles, "fidelity"

can rarely be deduced from a simple verification checklist. It is a matter of practical

experience that Convened Group understanding (or "profound knowledge" in the words

of W. Edwards Deming) about the kind of safety management system needed to

embody the ISM principles is a predictor for achieving evident demonstration of Process

fidelity. Manual requirements provide many effective lines of inquiry for Confirmation

Teams and Approval Parties to test this understanding.

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