V. WORK MANAGEMENT PROCESS

A. Work Management

1. Performance Standard

Work is identified and selected based on value to maintaining reliable plant operation. Work is planned, scheduled, coordinated, controlled, and supported with resources for safe, timely, and effective completion.

2. Assessment Guidelines

A. Work Identification and Selection

1. Equipment deficiencies and work activities are identified using a simple, efficient method. Necessary elements include the following:

a. Operating personnel are notified of deficiencies and work activities that potentially affect equipment performance or operability.

b. Equipment deficiencies are identified early to avoid further degradation and to support resolution using routine or simple corrective actions. Affected personnel are informed of the equipment condition.

c. Requested work activities and equipment deficiencies are clearly described so the work scope, significance, and need are evaluated.

2. Criteria are established and used to identify, categorize and evaluate work activities based on the extent of detailed reviews, approvals, documentation, planning, or scheduling required to safely execute the work. These criteria provide a means to enhance efficiency without compromising plant reliability and personnel safety.

3. Knowledgeable personnel using approved criteria and guidelines evaluate work activities. This evaluation addresses priority, category, and plant conditions required to do the work.

4. Requested and approved work activities are tracked until dispositioned. The status of incomplete and pending work activities is maintained and readily accessible.

5. Pending work activities are periodically reviewed for continued need.

6. Work requests are screened and approved based on value to the station and alignment with station and company business plans and long-term performance goals.

7. Modifications and major maintenance activities are integrated into a long-range plan that identifies appropriate staffing and budget resources.

8. Identification and selection of work activities incorporate applicable lessons learned from operating experience.

B. Work Planning

Not all work will require rigorous planning. But all work will require at least an assessment, at some designated level, to determine what level of planning, if any, beyond assignment to craft will be required.

1. Knowledgeable personnel using approved criteria and guidelines that include factors such as the following perform work planning:

a. Operational configuration constraints

b. Materials, tools, work duration, and manpower needs

c. Intra and interdepartmental coordination

d. Special skills

e. Equipment testing for functionality and operability following maintenance or modifications

f. Industrial safety considerations for worker and equipment protection and environmental protection

g. Special engineering features (such as fire or flood barriers, temporary staging, and shielding)

h. Previous work history

i. Quality control considerations

j. Industry experience

2. Work planning for in-service and outage maintenance, modification, and testing activities incorporates the above factors and the following:

a. Contingency plans to the extent practical to restore equipment to service if emergent problems occur during maintenance

b. Actions to reduce event initiators or augment mitigation systems when removal of a system or component from service would result in a significant increase in risk

3. Emergent work activities are evaluated for impact on operational plans and scheduled activities and resources.

4. The level of work planning detail and instructions is based on the complexity and operational significance of the activity and takes into consideration the training, experience, and skills of the workers.

5. Tools, equipment, materials, and parts are identified sufficiently early in the planning process to support the schedule.

6. Clearly defined post maintenance and post modification testing criteria are identified that include the following:

a. Written and approved test instructions or procedures, including prerequisites

b. Sufficient test scope to verify that work has corrected the deficiency

c. Quantitative test acceptance criteria, where appropriate

7. Troubleshooting activities are planned using a systematic method to identify the causes of equipment problems. Where appropriate, such activities are controlled by work documents or instructions that have appropriate approvals, limitations, and precautions on the scope and boundaries of the activities and control over configuration changes.

C. Scheduling and Coordination

1. Work activities are analyzed and scheduled to minimize operational limitations and manage risk.

2. Integrated scheduling is used to coordinate work activities, minimize the impact on operations, manage risk, and align priorities. Milestones and schedule freeze dates are established and used to monitor schedule adherence.

3. Work activities are scheduled to allow preparation and coordination among participating organizations.

4. Related and similar work activities are scheduled concurrently or sequentially, as appropriate, to optimize use of resources and minimize impact on plant status and status changes.

5. Emergent work activities are evaluated for inclusion in the work schedule considering inoperable and out-of-service equipment, the impact on operations, status of work planning, and the disruption of scheduled activities and resources.

6. Long-range plans are implemented to optimize availability, reliability, and capability of important plant equipment.

7. Work is scheduled to allow personnel to perform pre-job activities such as work package familiarization walkdowns and to interact with cognizant personnel so that timely changes can be made.

8. The integrated schedule is periodically assessed and adjusted to resolve conflicts and reduce risk. Schedule changes are evaluated against predefined criteria with management approval.

9. Work schedule reports are tailored to the users and provide information necessary to effectively coordinate the work.

10. Scheduling and coordination incorporate applicable lessons learned from operating experience and plant risk analyses.

D. Resource Availability

1. Sufficient plant personnel, with the appropriate training , qualification, and plant specific experience, including specialty expertise, are available to support scheduled and other work activities.

2. Materials and parts meet quality and design specifications and are available to support scheduled and other work activities. Necessary elements include the following:

a. Procurement sources and services are selected and approved based on vendor qualifications and performance.

b. Nonconforming and damaged materials and parts are controlled to prevent unauthorized use.

c. Methods are established to acquire replacement materials and parts not available from the original supplier. Engineering support is provided to qualify substitutions that affect plant configuration.

d. Traceability of materials and parts is maintained, as required.

e. The quality of stored equipment, materials, and parts is maintained by means such as environmental and shelf-life controls and preventive maintenance.

f. Issued materials and parts are controlled and are returned to storage if not used.

g. Equipment, materials, and parts brought in by non-plant personnel are subject to inspection, storage, and issue controls equivalent to items received through normal processes.

h. Flammable and hazardous materials are identified, segregated, and controlled during receipt inspection, storage, issue, and disposal or return to storage.

3. Facilities and equipment such as lifting equipment, scaffolding, and tools are available to support the integrated schedule and other work activities safely and effectively.

E. Implementation and Control of Work

1. Work is implemented and controlled consistent with the planning and schedule such that personnel qualifications, procedure guidance, and supervision are commensurate with the complexity of the activity.

2. Prior to implementing work activities, involved personnel are aware of applicable lessons learned from prior experience and plant risk and have planned countermeasures to minimize the potential for repetitive problems.

3. Pre-job and post-job briefings are used to promote effective work performance.

4. Equipment configuration changes to protect people, equipment, and the environment during work activities such as safety tagging are effectively controlled, implemented, and verified.

5. Equipment removal from service for maintenance, modification, or testing is authorized by operations personnel based, in part, on plant/system conditions and configuration in conjunction with the work schedule. Operations personnel maintain cognizance of maintenance, modification, and testing activities.

6. Work backlogs are maintained at a manageable level that supports safe and reliable station operation.

7. Good housekeeping in work areas are maintained and industrial safety work controls are used to achieve a high degree of personnel safety.

8. Field changes to maintenance, modification, or testing activities receive technical reviews and approvals similar to the original.

9. Infrequently performed tests or evolutions are conducted using established controls that address the criteria for and guidance covering the development, review, and preparation of these activities.

10. Controls are established to prevent foreign material intrusion from affecting equipment performance.

11. Post-maintenance and post-modification tests are conducted to verify that work was performed correctly and that equipment functional and operational criteria were met.

12. Once equipment is removed from service it is repaired and returned to service in a timely manner.

13. Maintenance, modification, and testing activities are adequately documented.

14. Work status is accurate and accessible for review and follow-up.

15. Work completed is compared to work planned and scheduled to identify improvement opportunities.

B. Plant Status and Configuration

1. Performance Standard

Station activities are effectively managed so plant status and configuration are maintained to support reliable and efficient operation.

2. Assessment Guidelines

A. Plant Status Control

1. Operations personnel are cognizant of the status of plant systems and equipment under their control and of the nature of work being performed.

2. Operations personnel authorize activities that affect the status of installed systems and equipment.

3. Operators maintain a focus on important plant parameters during maintenance situations and identify and address conditions that may be affecting plant parameters as a result of the work activities.

4. Operations personnel are responsible for assessing the operability of important equipment. Information about equipment deficiencies, existing plant configuration, and the design bases for the equipment is used in the assessment. Other personnel, such as in engineering, maintenance, or chemistry, provide technical support for the assessment.

5. Policies and procedures for controlling plant status are effectively implemented. Provisions for special situations, such as extended outages, and post trip recovery, are included.

6. Controls for infrequently performed tests and evolutions maintain the plant within the design basis. Procedures used to control infrequently performed tests and evolutions are reviewed for operational impacts and safety concerns before each test or evolution. Prior training and walkthrough of procedures by the affected personnel verify the controls and identify appropriate contingency actions. Pre-evolution briefings are conducted.

7. The position of valves important to operation are known and accurately recorded. Administrative controls for clearance tagouts or locked valves prevent unauthorized and inadvertent operation while allowing access for off-normal operation.

8. Independent (or concurrent, if appropriate) verification of component position is performed for equipment important to safety and/or critical to reliable plant operation.

9. Checklists or other comparable means are used to verify that proper conditions are established for each mode of plant operation and for mode changes.

10. Procedures are implemented to control the placement of caution, warning, information, and other similar tags on plant equipment and operator aids in the plant.

11. Procedures are implemented to control the placement, removal, and periodic review of temporary modifications for equipment, such as electrical jumpers, lifted leads, mechanical jumpers, hoses, pipe blanks, and spool pieces.

B. Configuration Control

1. The design authority is clearly defined, including organizational responsibilities and scope of application. Interfaces are controlled to coordinate design change activities.

2. The design control process is defined and communicated and is understood by affected personnel.

3. Operational specifications and restrictions imposed by the plant design, are appropriately communicated and incorporated into station programs, procedures, practices, and training.

4. Plant design and status documents are accurate and accessible to station personnel.

5. Lessons learned from user feedback, maintenance history, and operating experience are used to improve configuration control processes.

6. Modification designs undergo interdisciplinary technical reviews, and the results are incorporated into the plant design basis.

7. Each modification is planned, scheduled, and tracked throughout design, installation, testing, turnover to operations, training of affected personnel, and completion of document revisions.

8. Temporary modifications are controlled and periodically reviewed for continued need. The number of temporary modifications is minimized. Those needed on a permanent basis are converted in a timely manner.

9. Designs and supporting information, including computer software and special or unique calculations are verified and approved prior to use.

10. Design field changes receive technical reviews and approvals similar to the original.

11. Documents affected by plant modifications such as drawings, procedures, and equipment indexes commonly used for system operation, tagouts, and maintenance, are updated before the modifications are turned over to operations.

12. The as-built configuration of modified systems is verified.

13. Personnel are trained on changes prior to operating or maintaining modified equipment. Affected procedures, operational drawings, and work documents are revised before modified equipment is operated or maintained.

14. Modifications of station simulators and training materials should coincide with or precede the modification of the station.