Assessing Operations Turnover.

DOE-EM-STD-5505-96

6.12 Assessing Operations Turnover.

6.12.1 Discussion. Operations turnover provides on-coming operators and supervisors with

an accurate picture of the overall status of the activity. The turnover process should include a

comprehensive review of appropriate written and visual information, be guided by a checklist, and

complemented by a discussion between the off-going and on-coming shift personnel. Although

the guidelines in this section specifically address operations turnover at facilities that operate 24

hours a day, the spirit and intent of the guidance should be followed by activity management at

facilities that operate on a single-shift basis.

In many cases, the turnover in a day-to-day operation is more difficult than that encountered in

24-hour shift operations. An example is often observed in activities where the person who

normally initiates the daily activities is unavailable and an alternate person feels the need to initiate

the activity. This is common when starting up laboratories or laboratory equipment and for

sampling or inspection rounds of permitted storage. Breakdowns of turnover information may be

of considerable concern in such cases. (In these cases, there is often no continuity of turnover)

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

Operations Turnover is an integral part of shift routines. This combined approach of assessing

shift turnover with shift routines is presented in that section. Since it may be necessary to assess

Operations Turnover separately, the following sections discuss how to assess this area of conduct

of operations only.

6.12.2 Preparing to Assess Operations Turnover. To develop an assessment plan for

Operations Turnover, 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