Operations Assessments; DOE Limited Standard, DOE-EM-STD-5505-96

Washington DC: U. S. Department of Energy, Environmental Management Office of Safety and Health (EM-4), 1996. Presumed first Edition, First printing thus. Spiral bound. Good. xiv, 176, [2] pages. Appendixes A. through F. Index. Cover has some minor soiling. This Department of Energy limited standard was approved for use by all DOE-EM field components. Conduct of operations includes those attitudes, processes, and precautions taken in the interest of safety. The exact features of a system of conduct of operations may be different at different activities. The common feature is a formality of operations which will vary in form and degree depending on the conditions and hazards of the activity. The most intensive application of conduct of operations would be found at the most hazardous activities subject to repetitive types of evolutions. Operational formality is a structured and systematic way of performing work. It is not simply a listing of functional areas, but rather a mind set, or way of doing business. A comprehensive program of operational formality should provide detailed guidance for performing essential elements of operations, such as: shift routines, communications, control of equipment, lockouts and tagouts, logkeeping, operations procedures, and equipment labeling. DOE Directives which require implementation of conduct of operations throughout the DOE complex are based on well-developed industrial operations practices. The guidelines in those DOE Directives were written to be flexible so that conduct of operations could be implemented at any Environmental Management (EM) activity. To ensure that DOE contractors have appropriately implemented conduct of operations, contractor operations must be assessed periodically. The purpose of this Department of Energy (DOE) limited technical standard is to (1) provide DOE Field Element assessors with a guide for conducting operations assessments, and (2) provide DOE Field Element managers with the criteria of the EM Operations Assessment Program.