The 1997 Department of Energy (DOE) Technical Standards Program Workshop will be held on July 8-10, 1997, at the Loews L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, D.C. The workshop theme is "Striking The Right Balance: DOE's 'Work-Smart' Implementation of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995."
The goal of the 1997 workshop is to promote implementation of this legislation (referred to as Public Law 104-113) as an important element of DOE's continuing transition to a standards-based operating culture. The workshop will provide a forum for panel discussions concerning the features of the new law that are relevant to Department operations. The panel discussions will reflect on the many performance improvement initiatives (i.e., "work smart" standards, safety issues management, transition to external oversight, etc.) currently in progress within the Department and address how the new law may influence these initiatives. In addition, workshop participants will learn from representatives of other Federal agencies how the new law affects their business practices and technical operations. Participants will also have the opportunity to interact directly with representatives of voluntary standards developing organizations. The target audience for this workshop includes individuals within the DOE community that either use technical standards in the conduct of their work, participate in standards writing/management activities (through voluntary standards developing organizations or DOE "topical" standards committees), or need to better understand and support the Department's performance improvement initiatives.
The workshop is being sponsored by the Office of Nuclear Safety Policy and Standards, EH-31. There is no registration fee for the workshop. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Loews L'Enfant Plaza Hotel for workshop participants from outside the Washington, D.C. area. A group room rate of $101 per night (plus 13% tax and $1.50 occupancy tax) is available under the "DOE TECHNICAL STANDARDS" room block name. Provisions have been made for some early check-ins before the workshop; however, the number of rooms available is limited and will be filled on a "first-come" basis. The hotel is accessible via the "Metro" rail system by taking the "Yellow" or "Blue" line train from the Washington National Airport to the "L'Enfant Plaza" station. Room reservations can be made by contacting the hotel at 202-484-1000 (FAX: 202-646-4456).
A final agenda of the workshop panel discussions and speakers will be distributed in April 1997. If you would like to register your planned attendance for the 1997 workshop, please contact either Amy Bush, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), P.O. Box 2009, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-8065, 423-576-2395 (voice), 423-574-0382 (FAX), az3@ornl.gov (e-mail); or Lori Lane, ORNL, 423-574-7886 (voice), 423-574-0382 (FAX), lj8@ornl.gov (e-mail). In addition, you can visit the Technical Standards Program World Wide Web site http://apollo.osti.gov/html/techstds/techstds.html to learn more about the 1997 workshop and the Technical Standards Program.
This is the fifth annual workshop of the DOE Technical Standards Program. The workshop has proven to be an effective medium for communicating information to all organizations and disciplines within the Department of Energy on technical standards activities and strategic approaches to standardization. We hope you will take the opportunity to participate in and contribute to this important national forum.
*********************************
Amy Bush
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Bldg. 9201-3
MS-8065
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-8065
(423) 576-2395
Fax: (423) 574-0382
*********************************