August 16, 2006
Under the Department of Energy's (Department's)
Corrective Action Program (CAP), the Yucca Mountain
Project staff was instructed to report potential conditions
adverse to quality (hereafter referred to as conditions) or
safety into the Program database. Potential conditions
include all failures, deficiencies, defective items, safety
issues, and nonconformances with Quality Assurance
requirements, which could affect the quality of the
supporting technical information. As an alternative,
employees who wish their identity to remain confidential
can report potential conditions through the Employee
Concerns Program (ECP). However, all conditions
reported in the ECP and other tracking systems that are
adverse to quality, must also be entered into the CAP
database and assigned to a line management organization to
develop and implement timely corrective actions. The
benefit of a single tracking system is that deficiencies can
be screened for significance, common cause analyses can
be performed, and trending analyses can be used to identify
repeat occurrences and potential significant problems.
The CAP process also provides for the assignment of a
significance level to the condition, ranging from Level A to
Level D, depending on the actual or potential consequences
of the condition. Level "A" condition reports, the most
significant, include conditions, which if uncorrected could
have a serious effect on safety, or serious effects on the
performance of the repository, such as the ability to isolate
waste. Level "D" condition reports are the least significant.
Of the approximately 5,600 condition reports in the
Corrective Action Program system, 14 were Level A; 783
were Level B; and, approximately 4,800 were Level C
or D.
Office of Inspector General
