Assessing Control of Equipment and System Status.

DOE-EM-STD-5505-96

accomplished consistently and completely.

6.8 Assessing Control of Equipment and System Status.

6.8.1 Discussion. The purpose of control of equipment and system status is to ensure that

activity operations personnel know the status of all equipment and systems and maintain

appropriate control at all times. This element of conduct of operations provides an overall

perspective on control of equipment and system status and discusses the use of a broad range of

administrative control systems and programs such as lockouts and tagouts, equipment and system

alignments, equipment deficiency identification, and work authorization.

6.8.1.1 Approach. Since the observations, interviews, and document reviews conducted to

assess Control of Equipment and System Status will normally provide leads in other elements of

conduct of operations, such as Lockouts and Tagouts and Independent Verification, the

assessment of equipment control can be combined with these elements of conduct of operations.

This "combined" approach is presented in the following sections.

6.8.2 Preparing to Assess Control of Equipment and System Status. To develop an

assessment plan for Control of Equipment and System Status, assessors should first review the

activity-specific graded-approach document for conduct of operations 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.

6.8.3 Observation. Observations should be conducted during walkthroughs and tours with

operators and shift supervisors, and during the conduct of special activities. The activity plan of

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