ML20056A179

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Responds to NRC Re Violations Noted in Insp Rept 50-267/90-07.Corrective Actions:Electrical & Mechanical Craft Personnel Assigned to Planning & Scheduling Organization
ML20056A179
Person / Time
Site: Fort Saint Vrain Xcel Energy icon.png
Issue date: 07/30/1990
From: Crawford A
PUBLIC SERVICE CO. OF COLORADO
To:
NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
References
P-90243, NUDOCS 9008060054
Download: ML20056A179 (6)


Text

4 h Public Service' O%

P,0, Box 840 July 30, 1990 Denver CO 80201 0840 Fort St. Vrain Unit No. 1 A. Clegg Crawford P-90243 pgjegg,  ;

U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission l ATTN: Document Control Desk Washington, D.C. 20555 Docket No. 50-267

SUBJECT:

NRC Inspection Report 50-267/90-07

REFERENCES:

1) NRC Letter, Collins to Crawford, dated June 22,1990(G-90145)
2) PSC Letter, Crawford to Document Control Desk Dated July 20,1990(P-90234)

Gentlemen:

In the referenced letter (Reference 1) which transmitted Notice of Violation Number 267/9007-01, you described events which may i

" indicate a decline in performance with regard to sufficient planning and implementation of management controls". The concern addressed some events that had occurred at Fort St. Vrain, including the i failure to make a four (4) hour report within the allotted time which resulted in the Notice of Violation.

Our response to the Notice of Violation (Reference 2) indicated that we would provide a written response to the possible decline. in performance. This letter provides that response.

We have carefully evaluated the cited 'i nstances on both a case-by-case basis, and from a more programmatic perspective. As a result of these reviews, we.have identified a number of improvements to address the specific items. These improvements are in various stages of compl etion, but in all cases, .the root cause of the specific problem has been identified and corrective measures implemented.

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P-90243

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.. July 30, 1990 From the programmatic perspective, we have evaluated possible contributors to the problems and have identified two (2) areas that j needed further investigation. These areas are the impact of schedule  !

delays on work performance and employee fatigue, and the attitude of l the employees towards the quality of their work. ,

As a result of the repeated delays in the shipment of spent Fort St.

Vrain fuel to DOE in Idaho, there had been a number of situations for which scheduled priorities have had to be revised and which have-resulted in a significant amount of overtime work to be performed by the employees. None of these situations resulted in overtime being worked in violation of the Fort St. Vrain Technical _ Specifications.

However, we have concluded that- the repetitive nature of-these situations could have had an adverse impact on employee fatigue.

As a result 'of this conclusion, we have instituted a number of changes to minimize the impact of schedule changes'on our personnel. /

A Plan of the Week meeting is chaired by the Station Manager each '

Monday morning._ The purpose of this meeting is to review -physical work activities scheduled for the week, to prioritize these work activities, and to confirm to higher level station management that l the resource allocation is adequate to meet the schedule without l undue overtime, j

-l Second, greater emphasis on alternative work plans has been factored j into the schedule. This allows the job priorities to -be relatively i easily shifted to another activity without requiring the assignment  !

of substantial overtime work. The work schedule, and alternative work plans, are reviewed daily to ensure that they are maintained .

current. '

Finally, we have assigned electrical and mechanical. craft personnel i to the Planning and Scheduling organization. This direct input from the ' floor' has enabled us to better foresee circumstances;which  !

could result in delays that would otherwise have been required to have been made up with overtime'. It has also resulted in a greater j

' buy in' to the schedules. '

As a result of these initiatives, the overtime for plant personnel has been_ reduced from.a high of 31.7% in March 1990, to an average of' '

5.4% over the last four (4)- months, with no two (2) week period  :

exceeding 7.5%.

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3 P-90243

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.. July 30, 1990 The second programmatic area reviewed has been that of employee attitude towards their work. Obviously, the permanent shutdown of Fort St. Vrain as a nuclear generating station has had an impact on ,

our employees. As was discussed in our meeting of April 16. 1990, management of Public Service Company had developed a number of ,

programs prior to the shutdown with the intent of minimizing the consequences to our employees. We have continued to assess the effectiveness of these programs throughout the period since the shutdown, with additional emphasis as a result of the events

[ discussed in the Inspection Report.

We believe that the best defense against a degradation in employee attitude is comunication with the employees. To this end, we have initiated programs to enhance our communication. Several of these programs were initiated prior to the shutdown of the plant, while others have been initiated since that time. A brief summary of some of these programs follows.

Public Service Company of Colorado has initiated a Service Excellence program that enables the Company to be more effective, efficient and productive. The Nuclear Operations Service Excellence program develops interpersonal relationships which are based on.

communications, trust, and knowing your internal and . external customers. The foundation for the Service Excellence program is improved communication between management and performance level personnel. The Communication Plan was formalized in April, 1990,. as l part of our Conduct of Business Manual (Attachment 1). The program has been endorsed by Nuclear Operations, and has resulted in l seventeen (17) sessions to discuss the Service Excellence Program between executive management and the Nuclear Operations work force.

Each session is devoted to discussing the concept of Ser,1ce Excellence, and presents an open forum for direct access to the Vice l

President of Nuclear Operations. Fort' St. V. rain persor;iel have received training on this program which has resulted in a ;iumber of suggestions for improving communications.

Regularly scheduled meetings between the Union and senior Fort St. <

Vrain management have been instituted.- As a follow-on, meetings between the ' Shop Stewards and the selected departmental management-are being conducted on a weekly basis. Finally, frequent discussions are being held between the Chief Steward and,the. Station Manager.

Each of these sessions are . utilized to discuss areas of mutual interest and to improve communications.  ;

P-90243

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,. July 30, 1990 Staff meetings are a mandatory requirement of all management in Nuclear Operations including the Fort St. Vrain site. Typically, these staff neetings are conducted on a weekly basis. Frequently, personnel from other departments are invited to the staff meeting to discuss areas of inter-organizational interest. As a result, personnel are~not only made aware of information that may be unique to their work group, but are also kept abreast of activities in other departments.

Finally, we continuetousetheExecutiveLeadershipTeam(ELT)and the Senior Planning Team (SPT) as primary communication tools. The ELT is composed of.the Vice President and his direct reports, whereas the SPT is composed of the ELT together with departmental and project managers. These teams meet on alternate weeks and focus their '

attention on strategic and near-term issues. Minutes from these meetings are published and are discussed throughout the organization at staff meetings.

With respect to the events described in the Inspection Report, each of the cited instances was specifically evaluated to determine _ 'f degradation in employee attitude was a contributing factor. Where applicable, the INP0-endorsed Human Performance Enhancement System (HPES) was utilized for personnel interviews. Additionally, the Fort St. Vrain Safety Committee evaluated safety implications of the events and made recommendations to preclude recurrence. Safety Committee recommendations are aggressively pursued at Fort St. Vrain, as demonstrated by. our excellent safety record.

We have concluded that the programs discussed above, and others, are being effective in improving employee morale. Finally, we have also concluded that we need to continue ~our communications efforts to preclude any future decline in attitude from affecting our work efforts.

Should you have further questions in this area, please contact me at (303) 480-6904.

Sincerely -

?&-

A. C. Crawford Vice President, Nuclear Operations-Attachment ACC/alk:tmk i

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cc:' Regional Administrator, Region IVT '

i Attn:- Mr.::-J.. B. Baird 1 Technical Assistant-Division'of Reactor. Projects' 1

'Mr; D. Garrison .;

Site Resident-Inspector- St Fort St. Vrain

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Attachment 1 l to P-90243 July 30. 1990

., MANAGEMENT APPROACH l 6. COMMUNICATION PLAN:. The Approach to Achieving our Mission, Goals, and Objectives l In Nuclear Operations, communication is defined as the open and effective I interchange of facts, thoughts or opinions, coupled with appropriate actions l l resulting from the information transmitted.

I Clear and effective communication with our internal and external customers I will result in a common understanding of our values and direction; will l Identify and resolve issue *, resulting in excellent service and performance; ,

l and will encourage and Nriure trust between all levels of employees within .

l Nuclear Operations.

l Communication is ore of the three key components of l' he Nuclear Operations l Service Excellence program, the other two being trust and knowledge of ,

'I i Internal / external customers.

l . Key elements of our communication plan include:

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  • Nuclear Operations values the free flow of fresh ideas in the pursuit of l- new approaches and solutions.

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  • Face to face communication is encouraged whenever possible.

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  • Vertical communication must flow openly up and down.

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  • Horizontal communication must flow openly across . organizational I boundaries.

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  • Communication includes the sharing of both positive. and negative l l Information.

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  • Staff meetings are held regularly and provide for interactive exchange of l information and ideas; joint staff meetings are encouraged.

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  • Problem resolution is handled through an interactive process between all l affected partles; remember to ask,"Who have we left out?"

l * - Management responds to any. issue in the shortest time possible with an l

l action or explanation. l l .I
  • Management By Walking Around provides a valuable forum for. improving l communication between management and per ormance employees.

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  • All staff members are accountable for championing communication. l l

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