Assessing Control Area Activities.

DOE-EM-STD-5505-96

6.3 Assessing Control Area Activities.

6.3.1 Discussion. Because most control areas or control rooms function as the coordination

point for important activity work and operations, activities in the control area or room must be

formalized and conducted in a professional, businesslike manner. Control Area Activities

addresses important elements that are necessary to support safe and efficient activity operation.

6.3.1.1 Approach. As discussed in Assessing Shift Routines and Operating Practices, control

area activities are an integral part of shift routines. This "combined" approach of assessing

activities in the control area with shift routines is presented in that section. Since it may be

necessary to assess activities in the control room separately, the following sections discuss how to

assess Control Area Activities only.

6.3.2 Preparing to Assess Control Area Activities. To develop an assessment plan for Control

Area Activities, assessors should first review the activity-specific graded-approach document and

determine which guidelines are applicable at the activity. This will allow them to determine the

scope of the assessment and which applicable activity policies and procedures to review when

developing the assessment plan. Sections 5.4 and 5.8 provide a detailed explanation of

assessment planning and the use of assessment techniques.

6.3.3 Observation. Control Area Activities is an observation-intensive area of conduct of

operations to assess. Observations of activities in the control area should be conducted during

activity walkthroughs and tours, and during the conduct of operations and drills. The activity plan

of the day and plan of the week should be reviewed to determine the time and place for observing

operations and drills. The following situations are good candidates for conducting observations:

Startup and shutdown of systems and equipment

Process or rate change operations