(Direct Report to the Deputy Director for Environment, Health and Safety)
Mission
The Office of Worker Protection and Nuclear Safety develops and maintains worker safety and health, nuclear safety, safety management program, and quality assurance requirements and guidance for the Department to ensure protection of its workers and the public from the hazards associated with DOE nuclear and non-nuclear facilities and operations. The Office collects, summarizes and shares lessons from workplace occurrence and event information from across the DOE complex to improve environmental, safety, and health performance at DOE sites and provides training, consultation, and assistance to DOE Headquarters and Field Elements and Contractors to support mission accomplishments across the entire DOE enterprise. The Office works proactively with DOE Headquarters and Field Offices to identify and resolve shared issues and to foster continuous improvement and health and safety excellence.
Functions
- Coordinates the promulgation of Rules and Directives to establish Departmental expectations for Worker Safety and Health, Radiation Protection, Contractor Substance Abuse Prevention, and Contractor Employee Assistance Programs.
- Maintains liaison with regulatory agencies with respect to worker safety and health matters.
- Provides recommendations to the Director, Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security regarding approval of requests for planned special exposures in accordance with 10 CFR 835.204.
- Provides recommendations to the Director, Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security regarding approval or denial or variances to 10 CFR 851.
- Serves as the responsible office for DOE Order 226, Implementation of Department of Energy Oversight Policy.
- Serves as the Department’s Co-Champion for the Integrated Safety Management Council.
- Maintains effective liaison to Headquarters and field organizations to identify and address safety culture issues and concerns.
- Ensures meaningful and easily understood assessments of the Department’s overall effectiveness in protecting the public, the worker, and the environment are produced in a timely manner and communicated broadly.
- Leads the Department’s Human Performance Improvement and Behavior Based Safety efforts and coordinates associated training.
- Develops and maintains DOE requirements and guidance for nuclear safety, facility safety, quality assurance, and safety management programs, including the areas of hazard and accident analysis; nuclear facility design; and operations, maintenance, training and readiness assessments.
- Coordinates information exchange and communication mechanisms through the annual Nuclear Facility Safety Programs Workshop, quarterly Communities of Practice, Nuclear Safety mailbox, and the Nuclear Safety Newsletter. Maintains effective liaison with line managers and other offices within EHSS and external organizations to assist in identifying and resolving site-specific and crosscutting issues and concerns related to nuclear safety, facility safety, and QA.
- Maintains liaison with regulatory agencies and interagency and international committees with respect to nuclear safety, facility safety, facility design, and quality assurance matters.
- Manages the Differing Professional Opinion Program for the Department of Energy.
- Leads the DOE Corporate Operating Experience Program and Human and Organizational Performance Program.
- Conducts analysis of DOE-wide performance in protecting workers, the public, and the environment while performing agency missions.
- Develops and deploys safety planning and analysis tools for use across the Department.
- Manages the Departmental Accident Investigation Program to ensure a cadre of qualified investigators and the use of appropriate analysis techniques to support organizational improvement.
- Manages required corporate information and reporting systems integral to the Department’s safe execution of its mission activities.