Lab to undergo inspection of safety management

Integrated Safety Management, the Lab’s safety management program, will undergo an external audit beginning next week.

"We’ve made a big effort to get ISM into place and get it running smoothly," Associate Director for Safety, Security and Environmental Protection Dennis Fisher said. "We’ve been working with it for a few years now, so the process is maturing and getting better. This review will provide important feedback on how we are doing."

The audit, which will occur June 10-20, will focus on Labwide implementation of the ISM program. A team from the Department of Energy’s Office of Independent Oversight and Assurance Inspection will be on site during that time to gather data.

"A team of approximately 25 people will arrive on June 10," ISM spokesman Rex Beach said, "and they will look at the work we do, the planning, and the documentation that is required by the ISM process." Since the audit is Labwide, most directorates will be contacted in some manner during the DOE team’s stay.

ISM was first introduced at the Lab in October 1999, when it also underwent a Phase I verification. The Lab’s last major ISM review was in September 2000, and "since then, we’ve been doing some improvements and upgrades," Beach said.

As Beach explained, audits typically occur about every 18 months. "If you’re doing well, you can go 24 months between audits. If you didn’t do well, you might go 12 months between audits," he said

"Each of the 25 auditors has an ISM topic to focus on," Beach explained. "The team was here in April on a scoping visit, working with Lab personnel to find key people to interview." In addition to examining daily implementation of ISM, auditors will examine the safety management system, performance of the core functions, environmental protection, essential system functionality, and emergency management.
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"Information has been distributed to all associate directors to pass on to their directorates," he explained. "We have also developed a series of flyers and brochures to remind people about the safety process."

The audit team is expected to report its findings in August, following an analysis of the data collected.

"What’s important is seeing effective and efficient integration of ISM into our workplace," Beach said. Questions concerning details of this audit should be directed to Larry Pendexter in the Assurance Review Office, 3-2799.