ML19273A052
| ML19273A052 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 09/30/2019 |
| From: | Baker B NRC/OIG |
| To: | Margaret Doane NRC/EDO |
| References | |
| OIG-19-A-05 | |
| Download: ML19273A052 (6) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL September 30, 2019 MEMORANDUM TO: Margaret M. Doane Executive Director for Operations FROM: Dr. Brett M. Baker /RA/
Assistant Inspector General for Audits
SUBJECT:
STATUS OF RECOMMENDATIONS: AUDIT OF THE NRC LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST ACCEPTANCE REVIEW PROCESS (OIG-19-A-05)
REFERENCE:
DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION (NRR) MEMORANDUM DATED AUGUST 28, 2019.
Attached is the Office of the Inspector Generals (OIG) analysis and status of recommendations as discussed in the agencys response dated August 28, 2019. Based on this response, recommendations 1 and 2 are closed. Recommendation 3 remains open and resolved. Please provide a status update for the open recommendation by March 30, 2020.
If you have questions or concerns, please call me at (301) 415-5915, or Paul Rades, Team Leader, at (301) 415-6228.
Attachment:
As stated cc: C. Haney, OEDO D. Jackson, OEDO J. Jolicoeur, OEDO S. Miotla, OEDO RidsEdoMailCenter Resource OIG Liaison Resource EDO_ACS Distribution
Audit Report AUDIT OF THE NRC LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST ACCEPTANCE REVIEW PROCESS OIG-19-A-05 Status of Recommendations Recommendation 1: Strengthen data verification and validation measures to ensure completed acceptance review reports and data are processed accurately.
Agency Response Dated August 28, 2019: The staff agrees with the recommendation.
The NRC [U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission] deployed the Replacement Reactor Program System (RRPS) on October 21, 2016. The Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) has introduced several RRPS software updates to remedy programming problems as they are discovered by the users (staff), to make improvements based on staff feedback, and to better attune the software to evolving office needs.
These updates have improved the RRPS acceptance review status reporting capability and, as with any software, the staff will continue to introduce updates periodically to address office needs.
NRR staff reviews RRPS acceptance review reports to identify the need to edit data (e.g., due to data input errors) to provide the most accurate accounting of milestones. NRR management review of the metrics reports is performed on a monthly basis. NRR expects this combination of software updates, staff validation, and management review to continue indefinitely.
Planned Action: NRR staff will continue to update the RRPS, including improving the automated reporting capability. NRR staff and management will continue to review and edit automated RRPS reports manually, as needed to ensure the most accurate information is reported, until RRPS updates described in Recommendation 3 of this audit response resolve RRPS reporting issues. NRR staff will document the manual review and validation process for RRPS reports in a NRR Division of Operating Reactor Licensing (DORL)
Audit Report AUDIT OF THE NRC LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST ACCEPTANCE REVIEW PROCESS OIG-19-A-05 Status of Recommendations Recommendation 1 (contd.):
memorandum that will be posted to the internal DORL workload management SharePoint site.
Target date for documenting the manual process: August 31, 2019 Current Agency Response:
NRR staff has documented the manual review and validation process for NRR monthly acceptance review performance reports in a DORL desktop guide issued August 2019 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), the actions taken to identify the scope and cause of acceptance review data integrity issues in the RRPS-Licensing module that require manual review and validation, and the additional actions taken and planned to correct and prevent the data integrity issues. The guidance and memorandum have been posted to the internal DORL workload management SharePoint site.
Actual Completion Date: August 21, 2019
Contact:
Sujata Goetz, (301) 415-8004 OIG Analysis: OIG has reviewed the referenced documentation and determined that the actions taken by NRR to address data verification and validation measures to ensure data accuracy have been completed. This recommendation is closed.
Status: Closed
Audit Report AUDIT OF THE NRC LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST ACCEPTANCE REVIEW PROCESS OIG-19-A-05 Status of Recommendations Recommendation 2: Identify a single, consistent process for calculating the number of workdays for the acceptance review metric and communicate it to DORL staff.
Agency Response Dated August 28, 2019: The staff agrees with the recommendation.
Planned Action: DORL will provide a reminder of the guidance in LIC-109 regarding acceptance review milestones to its staff to help ensure consistent understanding. This information will be included in the DORL memorandum described in Recommendation 1 of this audit response and provided to all applicable DORL staff.
Target Date for Completion: February 28, 2019 Current Agency Response The NRR staff work to provide a reminder of the LIC-109 guidance has not been completed. Work continues on this effort and an updated target completion date is provided below.
Updated Target Completion Date: August 31, 2019
Contact:
Sujata Goetz, (301) 415-8004 Current Agency Response:
Enclosure 2 to the DORL memorandum described in the status update for Recommendation 1 provided reminder guidance for all DORL staff on the timeliness goals in LIC-109, how performance against these goals is calculated and assessed in performance reports, and the requirements for entry of acceptance review data in the RRPS-Licensing Module to ensure performance reporting is accurate. The DORL staff assessment described in the status update for Recommendation 1 also identified the need for additional
Audit Report AUDIT OF THE NRC LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST ACCEPTANCE REVIEW PROCESS OIG-19-A-05 Status of Recommendations Recommendation 2 (contd.):
guidance in two areas regarding how to calculate working days for acceptance reviews. The additional guidance is included in Enclosure 2 to the DORL memorandum and will be incorporated in the next update to LIC-109. The guidance was provided to all applicable DORL staff and will be reinforced in a refresher training session that will address RRPS-Licensing data entry requirements for acceptance reviews.
Actual Completion Date: August 21, 2019
Contact:
Sujata Goetz, (301) 415-8004 OIG Analysis: OIG has reviewed Enclosure 2 to the DORL memorandum and has verified staff guidance addresses LIC-109 standards for calculating the number of workdays for the acceptance review metric and verified that the DORL memo was communicated to staff. This recommendation is closed.
Status: Closed.
Audit Report AUDIT OF THE NRC LICENSE AMENDMENT REQUEST ACCEPTANCE REVIEW PROCESS OIG-19-A-05 Status of Recommendations Recommendation 3: Complete the RRPSLicensing Module upgrade efforts to generate automated reports.
Agency Response August 28, 2019: The staff agrees with the recommendation.
Planned Action: The NRC is working to improve all aspects of the RRPS with updates. Funding for a task order was implemented in January 2019 to support dedicated resources for improvements to RRPS automated reporting and advanced search capabilities that are, in part, intended to support workload planning and metrics reporting. NRR staff will continue to work with RRPS contractors to implement these improvements.
Target Date for Completion: February 28, 2020 Current Agency Response Work to implement RRPS improvements continues.
Target Date for Completion: February 28, 2020
Contact:
Sujata Goetz, (301) 415-8004 OIG Analysis: The actions proposed by the agency continue to meet the intent of the recommendation. OIG will close this recommendation after verifying that RRPS has been upgraded to include automated reporting capabilities that support workload planning and metrics reporting.
Status: Open: Resolved.