EM headquarters and field office leaders gathered for a one-day workshop to examine the various contractor oversight programs in place across the EM complex.

RICHLAND, Wash.EM’s senior leaders recently met at the Hanford Site to discuss ways to strengthen how EM oversees the work of its cleanup contractors.

   Leaders from EM headquarters and field offices attended the one-day workshop led by EM’s Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Whitney and hosted by EM's Richland Operations Office. The workshop was intended to provide EM leadership an opportunity to examine and discuss the various contractor oversight programs in place across the EM complex.

   “We had really good engagement,” said Ted Wyka, director of the Waste Treatment Plant/Tank Farm Program Office at EM headquarters. Wyka and EM Deputy Assistant Secretary for Safety, Security and Quality Programs Jim Hutton organized the workshop.

   The idea for the workshop came out of discussions of the lessons learned from the investigations into the 2014 haul truck fire and radiological incident at EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. The workshop involved six modules, developed with input from senior EM headquarters management and field office managers, to help facilitate discussion. 

   EM had “the best of the best around the complex” provide input in the development of the modules, Wyka said.

   The modules covered topics such as:

  • Improving the effectiveness and consistency of existing oversight mechanisms; 
  • Key tools available to assess and improve oversight programs; 
  • Metrics to track and improve oversight performance; 
  • Ensuring adequate oversight resources are available and maintained;
  • Authorization basis alignment; and
  • Organizational safety culture.

   Going forward, EM staff will address common areas of concern, including:

  • Reinvigorating oversight resources, such as EM’s facility representatives, safety system oversight personnel, and other subject-matter experts with critical roles in oversight programs; 
  • Clarifying elements and expectations of an effective EM oversight model, especially in the areas of evaluating the effectiveness of the site contractor assurance systems (CASs); and determining the right balance of federal oversight based on the condition of the CASs;
  • Improving management assessments across the EM complex; 
  • Assessing safety culture at EM sites; and
  • Strengthening the performance evaluation and measurement plans used to help assess contractor performance.