ISM Messages
JLab ISM Assessment Teams Report Preliminary Findings
After hundreds of interviews and the review of hundreds of documents, those involved in a review of Jefferson Lab's Integrated Safety Management System have issued their preliminary
findings.
The review is part of the Lab's effort to continuously improve its safety culture and to prepare for a Department of Energy inspection of the Lab's ISM System in June.
Approximately 30 JLab supervisors and staff, working in five teams (ISM Core Function teams) reviewed the documents and conducted the interviews, including dozens of work-process interviews. They
used the results to assess the Lab's compliance with DOE expectations and to identify areas where the Lab can improve. The team's report is being reviewed and will be posted on the ISM webpage
(http://www.jlab.org/ehs/ISM/) after it is approved later this month.
In a parallel effort, JLab invited three outside ISM experts to study the experimental facilities operated by the FEL and Physics divisions. This focus was chosen primarily because it was these
types of activities that received the most scrutiny when DOE conducted an ISM inspection at Brookhaven National Lab. One of the experts was a member of BNL's ESH&Q staff. A report by these
experts will be posted on the ISM webpage when it becomes available.
Although the assessment activities by JLab staff and the experts were conducted independently, both arrived at similar conclusions:
- There is still general confusion or a lack of knowledge of the meaning and impact of ISM throughout the Lab.
- That the way the Lab plans and executes its work is not consistent across its organizations, or sometimes within organizations, and that the processes are not always in strict compliance
with JLab policies and procedures.
- That the Lab is not documenting and sharing lessons learned appropriately.
- That the Lab needs to pay more attention to housekeeping in its workspaces.
Because the Lab has been constantly assessing and improving its safety program since it was established, the findings were not new and activities are in process to address the gaps. The
assessments, however, did highlight the need to focus Lab efforts and to make some real changes in a short time period.
"These efforts will impact every staff member, subcontractor and user at JLab, and the continued support of all staff is expected and appreciated," added Lab Director Christoph Leemann.
For more detail on the ISM upgrade efforts and the upcoming DOE inspection, please visit the website.