ML060660072

Artificial Island SCWE Questions

ML060660072
Person / Time
Site:	Salem, Hope Creek
Issue date:	02/07/2006
From:	- No Known Affiliation
To:	Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
FOIA/PA-2005-0194
Download: ML060660072 (13)

Text

ARTIFICIAL ISLAND SCWIE QUESTIONS State your name, plant affiliation, and position, how long you have been in your present position and total time on site.

Bargaining unit?

On January 28, 2004, the NRC sent a letter to Mr. Ferland outlining several concerns relating to Hope Creek and Salem work environments for raising and addressing nuclear safety and quality issues. In that letter, the NRC called into question the openness of management to concerns and alternate views, the strength of communications, and effectiveness of the stations' corrective action and feedback processes. It directed that the station management understand what messages the staffs at Salem and Hope Creek have taken from the various events over the past few years. In an effort to comply with the NRC requests, I have been asked to perform interviews of the staff to help better assess the safety conscious work environment and provide recommendations.

1.

Would you raise a nuclear safety or quality concern? If not, why not?

a.

If reluctant, why?

b.

What needs to happen before you would be willing tc raise concerns? Is there a threshold you would apply?

2.

How would you go about raising a concern?

3.

Have you raised safety or quality concerns with management?

a.

If no, is this because you have had no concerns, or were reluctant to raise them?

b.

If yes, to whom did you raise them and what were the circumstances?

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c.

Were you treated any differently by management or your peers after raising the concern?

d.

Do you think management treated your concerns appropriately and were you satisfied with the actions taken?

e.

Are you willing to escalate a concern or issue if you don't feel it is properly resolved?

f.

Has your experience affected your willingness to raise issues in the future?

Discuss why.

g.

Do you fear retaliation for raising nuclear safety or quality concerns?

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4.

Are you aware of others in your work group who have raised concerns with their immediate supervision or upper management?

a.

If yes, were they treated any differently by management or their peers?

Was there any retaliation for raising the concerns?

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b.

Did the person(s) receive appropriate answers to their concenls? Were they satisfied, and, if riot, why not?

5.

Is your immediate supervision able to voice their views and opinions on nuclear safety and quality issues to their department management?

a.

Are they able to voice their opinions to station management?

b.

Are they able to voice their opinions to other department managers?

6.

How would you rate the level of teamwork and cooperation within the facility?

a.

If there are problem areas, what are they and why do you feel they exist?

b.

Are you aware of unresolved conflicts between any of the various organizational levels at your plant?

7.

Have you been involved in plant operating events where you observed the supervision and management decision making process?

a.

Were you consulted on the resolution of the problem or did you attempt to provide your perspective on the solution?

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b.

Was the issue resolved to your satisfaction?

c.

Were you informed of the results of the decision making process?

8.

What is your view of station management's commitment to nuclear safety, and provide examples that demonstrate that commitment in their decision making?

9.

What is your view on corporate's support to the site's needs and objectives? What is the basis for you position on this issue?

10.

In your view, are there current operator workarounds and longstanding equipment issues?

If so, why are these allowed to persist, and what is the impact?

11.

How would you describe the effectiveness of the corrective action program"

12.

Have there been any recent changes tin management's attitude and practices toward the staff regarding event resolution and problem solving? If so, when and to what do you attribute the change?

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13.

How would you assess or rate your immediate supervisor's receptivity to the raising of concerns? What is the basis for your opinion?

a.

Department management's receptivity to the raising of concerns?

b.

Station management's receptivity to the raising of concerns?

14.

How would you describe the level of trust?

a. Between you and your immediate supervision?

b. Between you and higher management?

15.

Are there clear and candid communications between individuals within your work group?

a. With other work groups?

b. With station management?

c. With corporate?

16.

Are you aware of other resources, other than your chain-of-command, who are available to receive your concerns (i.e. ECP, NRC)? Would you use them if you felt the situation warranted it?

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17.

Have you received any training on the attributes of a safety conscious work environment at the site?

18.

If you could change anything to improve the safety conscious work environment at Artificial Island, what would you do?

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ARTIFICIAL ISLAND, MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS NAME:

PLANT AFFILIATION:

CURRENT POSITION/LENGTH OF TIME IN IT:

POSITION 18 MONTHS AGO:

TOTAL TIME AT THE PLANT:

On January 28, 2004, the NRC sent PSEG a letter outlining several concerns relating to the Salem and Hope Creek work environments for raising and addressing nuclear safety and quality issues. In that letter, the NRC called into question management's openness to concerns and alternate views, the strength of communications, and the effectiveness of the Station's corrective action and feedback processes. It directed that Station management understand what messages the staffs at Salem and Hope Creek have taken from various events over the past few years. In an effort to comply with the NRC request, an Assessment Team has been asked to perform interviews of the staff to better assess the safety conscious work environment and provide recommendations.

1. Do you believe your views and opinions are considered or acted upon by (arid if not, why not):

a. More senior department management?

b. Station management?

c. Corporate management?

2. Would you raise a nuclear safety or quality concern? If not, why not?

a. Do you have any reluctance in raising such concerns?

b. Is there any threshold that has to be met before you are willing to raise a nuclear safety or quality concern?

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3. Have you raised nuclear safety or quality concerns with higher management?

a. If not, is this because you haven't had any concerns or were reluctant to raise them?

b. If yes, to whom did you raise them and what were the circumstances?

c. After raising them, were you treated any differently by:

Your peers?

More senior management?

d. Were you satisfied with the actions taken on your concerns? If not, why not?

e. Are you willing to escalate a concern or issue if you do not feel it has been properly resolved? If yes, how would you do so?

f. Have your experiences to date affected your willingness to raise nuclear safety or quality issues in the future? If so, why?

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g. Do you have any fear of retaliation for raising such concerns'

h. Are you aware of anyone raising such concerns experiencing retaliation or some form of reprisal? If so, detail?

4. Have your feelings on the issue of raising nuclear safety and/or quality concerns changed in the past year or two? If so, why did they change?

5. As a supervisor/manager what actions have you taken to encourage personnel within your work group/department to raise nuclear safety and quality concerns?

6. Do you face any particular obstacles in resolving issues within your scope of responsibility? If so, what are they and why do they exist?

7. Is your supervision/management able to voice their views and opinions on nuclear safety and quality issues to higher department management, and has it always been that way?

a. To the management of other departments?

b. To Station management?

8. How would you rate the level of teamwork and cooperation within:

a. Your department?

b. Did anyone in your work unit/dept. who was asked to participate in this assessment, choose not to? If so, do you know why?

c. The facility/unit as a whole?

9. Relative to teamwork and cooperation, if there are any problem areas where are they and why do you feel they exist?

10. Have there been any specific incidents or issues that have had a negative impact on the work environment within any functional group or the site as a whole and are they still having an impact today? If so, details?

11. Are you aware of unresolved conflicts between any of the various organizational levels or groups at the plant? If so, detail?

12. Have you been involved in plant operating events where you have observed management's decision-making process? Details?

a. Was your opinion/view considered on the resolution of the problem?

b. How receptive was management to your views? Did it vary at different levels?

c. Were you informed of The results of the decision making process?

13. What is your view of Station management's commitment to nuclear safety, and can you provide examples that reflect that commitment in their decision-making? Have you always felt this way?.

14. Have you noticed any changes in management's attitude and practices in regard to event resolution and problem solving? ]f so, to what do you attribute the change?

15. How did command and control work prior to the 2002 reorganization?

16. In your view, are there current operators workarounds and longstanding equipment issues? If so, why are they allowed to persist and what is their impact on the site?

17. How do you see your role in the site's corrective action process (CAP)?

18. How would you describe the effectiveness of the CAP? Why do you feel that way?

a. What could be done to improve the effectiveness of the CAP?

19. How would you describe the quality of communications within your department?

a. With other work groups?

b. With Station management?

c. With corporate?

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20. Do you have any insight into the interaction between the site and corporate/Newark?

If so, how does it work?

21. What is your view of corporate management's commitment to nuclear safety? What is the basis for your belief?

22. What is your view on corporate management's support, including the expenditure of funds and application of human resources, to the site's needs? What is the basis for your view?

23. In your view has the corporate interaction changed since deregulation? If so, how?

24. Are there currently, or have there been in the past, greater demands placed on generation and production over safety?

a. If so, how did the demand manifest itself, who communicated it, and how was it communicated?

25. Have you ever participated in a meeting or teleconference with corporate personnel that discussed the commitment of funds lo the site? If so, details (with whom, what discussed etc.)?

26. Would you be willing to use other resources, other than the chain of command, to raise nuclear safety and quality concerns if you felt the situation warranted it? If so, which ones?

27. What does a safety conscious work environment (SCWE) mean to you?

28. What could be done to improve the SCWE at the Station?

29. If your work group/unit received a low SCWE score as a result of the Synergy survey, to what do you attribute that?

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: