December 2019

Lessons Learned from Assessments of Work Planning and Control at U.S. Department of Energy Laboratories

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environment, Safety and Health Assessments, within the independent Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA), conducted assessments of work planning and control (WP&C) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) from January 2017 through July 2019. The objective of each assessment was to determine the effectiveness of specific elements of the WP&C programs, as well as certain contractor assurance systems (CASs) and DOE field element oversight. The lessons learned presented in this report are based on a collective analysis of these assessments. Three of the laboratories are under the direction of the Office of Science, while the other three are under the direction of the National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Environmental Management, and Office of Nuclear Energy. This report focuses on issues affecting multiple laboratories and identifies commonly observed strengths and weaknesses, best practices, and recommendations, with the goal of promoting organizational learning and improving performance throughout DOE.