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At least 1,495 records · Page 83

Transition of Site Programs and Implementation of Decommissioning Agent Oversight - 18653

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), acting as the Decommissioning Agent (DA), retained its NRC License and contracted a Decommissioning General Contractor (DGC) to manage plant programs and execute the Demolition and Dismantlement (D and D) of the site. To support this effort, over twenty-one programs transitioned to the DGC, including Occupational Health and Safety, Radiation Protection, Maintenance, and Engineering. In addition, SONGS effected a cultural shift from an operating station performing work to one of overseeing it. The framework and road map for this kind of D and D model is new to the industry. This presentation shares the SONGS' experience and lessons learned associated with this transition. SONGS and the DGC entered an Agreement that established the contractual requirements and responsibilities of the parties, the Scope of Work, and the mechanisms to ensure effective transition of DA programs. As a part of defining the Scope of Work, the contract established functional areas and divisions of responsibilities divided into the roles of Governance, Oversight, Support, and Performance (GOSP). SONGS, as the site licensee, retained the Oversight Role, with exception of those areas that, as the licensee, would be considered 'non-transferrable'. Examples of those programs were Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs and the Employee Concerns Program. While the Company retained responsibility for those programs the DGC developed their own 'parallel' programs that the Company provided Oversight for. In 2017, SONGS completed program transition within one-year following the notice-to-proceed. The overall strategy was driven by three high-level principles: - Allow the DGC the most unfettered execution of the Scope of Work with limited interference and maximum self-governance. With the overriding principle that transitioned programs have a direct link to a basis in regulation or law. - Identify safety and compliance risks, and then bridge the transition of programs from the SONGS to the DGC such that identified risks are minimized and/or mitigated. - Allow the SONGS organization to transition from a Performance role to a primarily Oversight role as the DA. Working collaboratively with the DGC, programs were strategically grouped and sequenced for turnover. Central to the success of transition was fostering a collaborative environment with the DGC, facilitating knowledge transfer, applying schedule rigor, and keeping the team horizontally and vertically aligned to management expectations. SONGS achieved this alignment by embedding the formal process with management expectations for review and acceptance of proposed programs. SONGS' transitioned core programs to a general contractor and transition from a 'perform' organization to an 'oversight' organization. Lessons learned from this experience may benefit other nuclear generating station owners currently evaluating options for site D and D. (author)

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Continuous Risk Management at NASA

NPG 7120.5A, "NASA Program and Project Management Processes and Requirements" enacted in April, 1998, requires that "The program or project manager shall apply risk management principles..." The Software Assurance Technology Center (SATC) at NASA GSFC has been tasked with the responsibility for developing and teaching a systems level course for risk management that provides information on how to comply with this edict. The course was developed in conjunction with the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, then tailored to the NASA systems community. This presentation will briefly discuss the six functions for risk management: (1) Identify the risks in a specific format; (2) Analyze the risk probability, impact/severity, and timeframe; (3) Plan the approach; (4) Track the risk through data compilation and analysis; (5) Control and monitor the risk; (6) Communicate and document the process and decisions. This risk management structure of functions has been taught to projects at all NASA Centers and is being successfully implemented on many projects. This presentation will give project managers the information they need to understand if risk management is to be effectively implemented on their projects at a cost they can afford.

Hammer, Theodore F.↗

Coupling Big Data Analytics and Reactive Transport Modeling for Cost-effective Groundwater Monitoring - 17163

This study presents an innovative approach for sustainable and cost-effective groundwater monitoring. This approach takes advantage of recent advances in various technologies: (1) in situ autonomous sensors, (2) big data analytics, and (3) parallel high-performance computing for flow and reactive transport modeling. In situ sensors are used to periodically measure the key variables (such as pH, redox potential, electrical conductivity, and groundwater level), which control contaminant mobility and the plume spatial and temporal distribution. Based on a limited number of groundwater sampling, the data analytics methods-data mining and machine learning-allow us to identify and quantify the correlations between the in situ-measured variables and contaminant concentrations, and also to detect significant changes associated with the plume mobility. In addition, a state-of-the-art parallel numerical flow and reactive transport simulator Amanzi, and uncertainty quantification software Agni are used to provide an improved physical and mechanistic understanding of the contaminated groundwater system behavior, and to predict the long-term plume distribution for optimizing and adapting the monitoring strategy. Amanzi and Agni were developed as part of the Advanced Simulation Capability for Environmental Management (ASCEM) program of the DOE Office of Environmental Management. Such modeling is critical, particularly, for assessing the impact of climate change and associated hydrological shifts. The developed approach is expected to significantly reduce the groundwater sampling frequency and associated cost. In addition, the real-time information on plume mobility serves as an early warning system, improving the resiliency of contaminated or potentially contaminated sites. We demonstrate this approach using as an example the Savannah River Site (SRS) F-Area, where groundwater is contaminated by various radionuclides, including uranium, tritium and technetium. (authors)

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Funding and Strategic Alignment Guidance for Infusing Small Business Innovation Research Technology into NASA Programs Associated with the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

This report is intended to help NASA program and project managers incorporate Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) technologies that have gone through Phase II of the SBIR program into NASA Aeronautics and Mission Directorate (ARMD) programs. Other Government and commercial program managers can also find this information useful.

safety system↗

Developing Advanced Support Technologies for Planetary Exploration Missions

The United States Vision for Space Exploration calls for sending robots and humans to explore the Earth s moon, the planet Mars, and beyond. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is developing a set of design reference missions that will provide further detail to these plans. Lunar missions are expected to provide a stepping stone, through operational research and evaluation, in developing the knowledge base necessary to send crews on long duration missions to Mars and other distant destinations. The NASA Exploration Systems Directorate (ExSD), in its program of bioastronautics research, manages the development of technologies that maintain human life, health, and performance in space. Using a systems engineering process and risk management methods, ExSD s Human Support Systems (HSS) Program selects and performs research and technology development in several critical areas and transfers the results of its efforts to NASA exploration mission/systems development programs in the form of developed technologies and new knowledge about the capabilities and constraints of systems required to support human existence beyond Low Earth Orbit. HSS efforts include the areas of advanced environmental monitoring and control, extravehicular activity, food technologies, life support systems, space human factors engineering, and systems integration of all these elements. The HSS Program provides a structured set of deliverable products to meet the needs of exploration programs. these products reduce the gaps that exist in our knowledge of and capabilities for human support for long duration, remote space missions. They also reduce the performance gap between the efficiency of current space systems and the greater efficiency that must be achieved to make human planetary exploration missions economically and logistically feasible. In conducting this research and technology development program, it is necessary for HSS technologists and program managers to develop a common currency for decision making and the allocation of funding. A high level assessment is made of both the knowledge gaps and the system performance gaps across the program s technical project portfolio. This allows decision making that assures proper emphasis areas and provides a key measure of annual technological progress, as exploration mission plans continue to mature.

Berdich, Debra P.↗

Developing Advanced Human Support Technologies for Planetary Exploration Missions

The United States Vision for Space Exploration calls for sending robots and humans to explore the Earth's moon, the planet Mars, and beyond. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is developing a set of design reference missions that will provide further detail to these plans. Lunar missions are expected to provide a stepping stone, through operational research and evaluation, in developing the knowledge base necessary to send crews on long duration missions to Mars and other distant destinations. The NASA Exploration Systems Directorate (ExSD), in its program of bioastronautics research, manages the development of technologies that maintain human life, health, and performance in space. Using a system engineering process and risk management methods, ExSD's Human Support Systems (HSS) Program selects and performs research and technology development in several critical areas and transfers the results of its efforts to NASA exploration mission/systems development programs in the form of developed technologies and new knowledge about the capabilities and constraints of systems required to support human existence beyond Low Earth Orbit. HSS efforts include the areas of advanced environmental monitoring and control, extravehicular activity, food technologies, life support systems, space human factors engineering, and systems integration of all these elements. The HSS Program provides a structured set of deliverable products to meet the needs of exploration programs. These products reduce the gaps that exist in our knowledge of and capabilities for human support for long duration, remote space missions. They also reduce the performance gap between the efficiency of current space systems and the greater efficiency that must be achieved to make human planetary exploration missions economically and logistically feasible. In conducting this research and technology development program, it is necessary for HSS technologists and program managers to develop a common currency for decision making and the allocation of funding. A high level assessment is made of both the knowledge gaps and the system performance gaps across the program s technical project portfolio. This allows decision making that assures proper emphasis areas and provides a key measure of annual technological progress, as exploration mission plans continue to mature.

Berdich, Debra P.↗

A Comprehensive Approach to Management of Workplace and Environmental Noise at NASA Lewis Research Center

NASA Lewis Research Center is home to more than 100 experimental research testing facilities and laboratories, including large wind tunnels and engine test cells, which in combination create a varied and complex noise environment. Much of the equipment was manufactured prior to the enactment of legislation limiting product noise emissions or occupational noise exposure. Routine facility maintenance and associated construction also contributes to a noise exposure management responsibility which is equal in magnitude and scope to that of several small industrial companies. The Noise Program, centrally managed within the Office of Environmental Programs at LRC, maintains overall responsibility for hearing conservation, community noise control, and acoustical and noise control engineering. Centralized management of the LRC Noise Program facilitates the timely development and implementation of engineered noise control solutions for problems identified via either the Hearing Conservation of Community Noise Program. The key element of the Lewis Research Center Noise Program, Acoustical and Noise Control Engineering Services, is focused on developing solutions that permanently reduce employee and community noise exposure and maximize research productivity by reducing or eliminating administrative and operational controls and by improving the safety and comfort of the work environment. The Hearing Conservation Program provides noise exposure assessment, medical monitoring, and training for civil servant and contractor employees. The Community Noise Program aims to maintain the support of LRC's neighboring communities while enabling necessary research operations to accomplish their programmatic goals. Noise control engineering capability resides within the Noise Program. The noise control engineering, based on specific exposure limits, is a fundamental consideration throughout the design phase of new test facilities, labs, and office buildings. In summary, the Noise Program addresses hearing conservation, community noise control, and acoustical and noise control engineering.

Cooper, Beth A.↗

Geographic Information System Based Emergency Response Training Assessments for DOE Radioactive Materials Transport - 20027

Safety and security are priorities of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) radioactive materials shipping campaigns. In the more than 70-year history of domestic transport of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), there has never been a transportation-related radiological injury. To support transportation planning, among the tools that DOE uses is the Stakeholder Tool for Assessing Radioactive Transportation (START). START contains geospatial data and transportation route analyses capabilities designed to support a range of DOE transportation planning initiatives. One of those functions is the capability to support emergency response planning and training for State and Tribal jurisdictions located on routes used for DOE shipments of radioactive materials. As part of the Department's commitment to public safety, DOE provides federally-funded radiological response training to emergency responders along DOE radioactive materials transportation corridors through its Transportation Emergency Preparedness Program (TEPP). START contains spatial data representing the locations and emergency-response capabilities of fire departments, police, hospitals, State emergency response centers, and where TEPP-trained personnel are based. The START tool supports State and Tribal users' ability to evaluate emergency-response coverage on active and potential DOE radioactive materials transport routes through their jurisdictions, provide expected response times to reach the scene of an incident, identify equipment available to support a response, and identify the number of response personnel and their respective training levels. In addition, START can be used to identify gaps in coverage along a transportation corridor where additional radiological emergency response training may be needed. This paper describes the data, features, and functionality DOE uses to provide a resource for emergency response training needs assessments for States and Tribes along active and potential routes for transporting radioactive materials, and illustrates its use. It also discusses future plans to integrate TEPP and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) radiological training data to provide a more comprehensive source of geospatial information on personnel who have received equivalent radiological response training. (authors)

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Human Health Countermeasures (HHC) Element Management Plan: Human Research Program

NASA s Human Research Program (HRP) is an applied research and technology program within the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) that addresses human health and performance risk mitigation strategies in support of exploration missions. The HRP research and technology development is focused on the highest priority risks to crew health and safety with the goal of ensuring mission success and maintaining long-term crew health. Crew health and performance standards, defined by the NASA Chief Health and Medical Officer (CHMO), set the acceptable risk level for exploration missions. The HRP conducts research to inform these standards as well as provide deliverables, such as countermeasures, that ensure standards can be met to maximize human performance and mission success. The Human Health Countermeasures (HHC) Element was formed as part of the HRP to develop a scientifically-based, integrated approach to understanding and mitigating the health risks associated with human spaceflight. These health risks have been organized into four research portfolios that group similar or related risks. A fifth portfolio exists for managing technology developments and infrastructure projects. The HHC Element portfolios consist of: a) Vision and Cardiovascular; b) Exercise and Performance; c) Multisystem; d) Bone; and e) Technology and Infrastructure. The HHC identifies gaps associated with the health risks and plans human physiology research that will result in knowledge required to more fully understand risks and will result in validated countermeasures to mitigate risks.

Norsk, Peter↗

Sociological survey in a municipality with a high level separate collection programme in an area of historic unpopularity

Highlights: • Behaviours, opinions and knowledge of citizens on MSW management were investigated. • The knowledge level was better than that of nearby university students and citizens. • The higher the education level, the greater the level of knowledge was. • The local authority showed a leading role in terms of waste management. • Trust is the key to any social program success including waste management programs. - Abstract: Behaviours, opinions and knowledge of citizens on MSW and separate collection were investigated in the city of Mercato San Severino (about 22,000 people), in the Campania region of Southern Italy that is an area suffering from a serious solid waste emergency that has lasted over 17 years due to the absence of treatment facilities. The image of heaps of rubbish in the streets of Naples and other nearby cities is only one side of the coin. Mercato San Severino has adopted an effective kerbside collection system since 2001 and a pay-as-you-throw program during 2005, guaranteeing more than the minimum level of recycling required by the Italian legislation. Structured questionnaires were administered to a sample of 500 people in 2010. Chi-square tests of independence were applied to state whether the differences were statistically significant (5%). About 90% of the sample stated that the success of the separate collection program was due to either the citizens and local authority or only the local authority, highlighting the leading role of the local authority and confirming that trust is the key to any social program success. The registered level of knowledge was better than that of nearby university students and citizens. The higher the education level, the greater the level of knowledge was.

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The NPG 7120.5A Electronic Review Process

The use of electronics to review a document is well within the technical realm of today's state-of-the-art workplace. File servers and web site interaction are common tools for many NASA employees. The electronic comment processing described here was developed for the NPG 7120.5A review to augment the existing NASA Online Directives Information System (NODIS). The NODIS system is NASA's official system for formal review, approval and storage of NASA Directives. The electronic review process worked so well that NASA and other agencies may want to consider it as one of our "best practices." It was participatory decision making at its very best, a process that attracted dozens of very good ideas to improve the document as well as the way we can be managing projects far more effectively. The revision of NPG 7120.5A has significant implications for the way all elements of the Agency accomplish program and project management. Therefore, the review of NPG 7120.5A was an Agencywide effort with high visibility, heavy participation and a short schedule. The level of involvement created interest in supplementing the formal NODIS system with a system to collect comments efficiently and to allow the Centers and Codes to review and consolidate their comments into the official system in a short period of time. In addition, the Program Management Council Working Group (PMCWG), responsible for the revision of the document and the disposition of official comments, needed an electronic system to manage the disposition of comments, obtain PMCWG consensus on each disposition, and coordinate the disposition with the appropriate Headquarters Code that had submitted the official comment. The combined NASA and contractor talents and resources provided a system that supplemented the NODIS system and its operating personnel to produce a thorough review and approval of NPG 7120.5A on April 3, 1998, 7.5 months from the start of the process. The original six-month schedule is indicated. All milestones occurred on time, except for completion of comment disposition, which required an additional 30 days. Approval of the document occurred sixteen days after completion of the "Purple Package."

McBrayer, Robert↗

Concept Development for Software Health Management

This report documents the work performed by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (LM Aero) under NASA contract NNL06AA08B, delivery order NNL07AB06T. The Concept Development for Software Health Management (CDSHM) program was a NASA funded effort sponsored by the Integrated Vehicle Health Management Project, one of the four pillars of the NASA Aviation Safety Program. The CD-SHM program focused on defining a structured approach to software health management (SHM) through the development of a comprehensive failure taxonomy that is used to characterize the fundamental failure modes of safety-critical software.

Riecks, Jung↗

Cross-Cultural Barriers to Effective Communication in Aviation

Communication is essential to safe flight, as evidenced by several accidents in which crew communicates was found to have contributed to the accidents. This chapter documents the essential role of explicit efficient communication to flight safety with a global context. It addresses communication between flight crews and air traffic controllers in regions a the world where pilots and controllers speak different native languages, as well as cases in which crew members within the flight deck represent different native languages and cultures. It also addresses problems associated with "exporting" crew resource management training programs to parts of the world which values and norms differ from those of the United States, where these programs were initially developed. This chapter is organized around several central questions: (1) What are various kinds of communication failures and what are their consequences; (2) What are the causes of communication failure; (3) What are features of effective crew communication; (4) What can be done to enhance communication success? To explore a wider range of communication failures than available from accident reports, we examined a set of incident reports from the Aviation Safety Reporting System. These could be classified into three major categories: those in which language actually interfered with transmission of a message; those in which transmission was adequate but the context was not expressed unambiguously and thus the message received was not the same as the message intended; and those in which the message was received as intended, but was not adequately understood or acted upon, mainly because of cultural factors. The consequences of failed communication can be flight errors (such as when a clearance is not received correctly), loss of situation awareness, or failure of crew members (or ATC and pilots) to build a shared understanding of a situation. Causes of misunderstanding can be traced to a number of sources, often grounded in faulty assumptions held by one or both parties to a conversation. Speakers and listeners often experience "illusionary understanding" in which they think they understand each other, but in fact do not. While this problem can exist within a single culture, it is much more serious across cultures. Training in effective explicit communication is a component of Crew Resource Management training programs developed in the U.S. These programs are being adopted by airlines around the world, with varying degrees of success. The level of success in part depends on how similar the conversational and social styles of those cultures are to those of the U.S. A factor that influences conversational style is a culture's relative positioned on two major dimensions that distinguish national cultural groups: individualism vs. collectivism and degree of power distance. The chapter concludes with a discussion of techniques for overcoming the various classes of communication failures and for effectively adapting training programs to fit the values and norms of cultures around the globe.

Fischer, U.↗