Area Inspection

DOE-STD-1041-93

Inspection tours in radiation and hazardous material areas should be carefully reviewed,

planned, and coordinated with the ALARA program to minimize personnel exposure.

Tours need to be made in these areas, but the frequency and duration must strike a balance

with personnel exposure. Rounds in these areas should be coordinated with other duties

and responsibilities (e.g., system alignments, equipment startup or shutdown) as appropriate

to minimize exposure. Other methods of minimizing exposure to radiation or hazardous

materials is to install microphones, surveillance cameras, and using binoculars.

Personnel should conduct a thorough tour of their work station at the designated times. A

tour should be made early in the shift, before the person attends to other duties, to become

familiar with the condition and status of equipment at the work station. During the tour,

equipment should be inspected to ensure that it is operating properly or, for standby

equipment, that it is fully operable. To ensure the tour is effective and efficient, personnel

should remain inquisitive; asking themselves questions about their work station and then

answering the questions using what they see, hear, smell and touch on the tour.

Personnel should be instructed on proper touring techniques during initial training and

qualification. The amount of instruction should depend on the complexity of the work

station. Training on how to read parameter-indicating devices (e.g., gauges, meters, chart

recorders), how to check equipment temperature (e.g., using the back of the hand for a

general indication of the equipment's normal operating temperature), and how to check for

system leakage (e.g., using a mirror to check for small steam leaks) should be included, as

appropriate. In addition, training should include information on acceptable equipment and

system operating parameters (e.g., temperature, pressure, level, flow), including proper

trends for all approved operating conditions.

Each facility should establish guidance for handling deficiencies found during inspection

tours. At a minimum, abnormal conditions found during tours should be reported to the

appropriate supervisor and documented in the narrative log. Each facility should also

decide which types of problems can be immediately corrected by personnel before notifying

their supervisors and which types should be immediately reported to a control area so that

supervisors can initiate corrective action.

Personnel should be encouraged to clean up trash and oil, grease, and water spots

discovered during tours to prevent small problems from deteriorating into safety or

operational hazards. Problems that might distract personnel from their normal duties should

be reported and handled by other appropriate personnel. Equipment deficiencies that

cannot be immediately remedied should be documented according to the facility's work

control system. Guidelines and information related to work control systems are contained

in DOE Order 4330.4B, "Maintenance Management Program."

4.1.3.1 Area Inspection

Personnel should perform a thorough inspection of their work station and note

any deficiencies. Personnel should document and correct deficiencies as