General Guidance - std30060021

DOE-STD-3006-95

4.0 GENERAL GUIDANCE

4.1 Purpose and Coverage. It is the Department's policy that program work shall not be started or

resumed in nuclear facilities until the facility has been brought to a state of readiness to safely conduct

that program work and that the state of readiness to operate has been verified (DOE 0 425.1). In

some circumstances, the Order requires that an Operational Readiness Review (ORR) be conducted

by both DOE and the responsible contractor to provide the verification. Procedures and requirements

for the ORR are described in this technical standard. This standard also provides procedures and

guidance for conduct of alternative readiness reviews such as Readiness Assessments.

The Operational Readiness Review is an activity to verify that management has brought the facility to

a state of readiness to commence or resume program work. The management effort may include

management self-assessment activities in preparation for the ORRs. Once management concludes

that readiness has been achieved, this state of readiness is independently verified by the contractor

ORR and confirmed by the DOE ORR. Only then will the nuclear facility be authorized to resume

program work.

There are two types of ORR, a contractor ORR and a DOE ORR. The DOE ORR is different from a

properly executed contractor ORR. The DOE ORR should start with an assessment of the adequacy

and accuracy of the contractor ORR. Because the contractor ORR provides the substantial basis for

acceptance of readiness, the DOE ORR should include an assessment of the scope of the contractor

ORR, and it should include actual verification of a sampling of contractor ORR results (e.g.,

verification of the conduct of operations by walk-down of procedures, observation of normal and off-

normal operations or training evaluations, quizzing of personnel on training material, etc.). The DOE

ORR should place significant emphasis on the effectiveness of the contractor's preparations through

actual demonstrations of normal operations, abnormal events, emergency drills, etc. Additionally, the

DOE ORR should assess the readiness of the responsible DOE line organization(s) to safely manage

operations, and the effectiveness of coordination among organizations.

A foundation for readiness of the nuclear facility is an approved safety basis as defined in approved

facility safety documentation, approved environmental documentation, a satisfactory safe working

environment, and compliance with DOE Orders and requirements. The ORR team must verify that