ML20236K223
| ML20236K223 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 08/03/1987 |
| From: | Murley T Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| NRRL-103, NUDOCS 8708070037 | |
| Download: ML20236K223 (12) | |
Text
- - - -
thylY AUG 3 1987 MEMORANDUM FOR: All NRR Employees FROM:
Thomas E. Murley, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation SUBJf.CT:
NRR OFFICE LETTER NO. 103 HANDLING OF CONTROLLED CORRESPONDENCE PURPOSE This office letter summartzes the procedures for handling controlled correspondence. This directive supersedes and replaces NRR Office Letter No.
4, Revision 3, dated June 2, 1986.
DEFINITIONS WITS (work item tracking system) is an automated information system designed to provide NRC offices with the capability of monitoring the status of controlled correspondence. This is accomplished by providing managers with computer generated reports that identify and track all work items. All NRR controlled correspondence is ertered into the WITS.
Priority green tickets are ED0 actions assigned to NRR for correspondence designated to receive special attention (e.g., substantive Congressional, State and Federal inquiries; letters to be prepared for the Chairman's signature; requests from the Commission; and other significant and time-sensitive items).
Green tickets are ED0 actions assigned to NRR and include VIP u,a executive correspondence and mail addressed to the Chairman, Commissioners, or EDO.
Unless approved by the ED0's office, all responses to priority green / green tickets must be completed by the established deadline date (usually 10 workdays f
after the assignment by ED0).
Appropriate action green tickets are ED0 actions assigned to NRR for corre-spondence that might or might not require a written reply. A cover sheet is placed on the " appropriate action" and forwarded to the responsible division with a request for confirmation of action and due date. This cover sheet is to be returned to the NRR mailroom within 3 workdays. When it is determined a re-ply is appropriate, a 3 week due date is placed on the ticket unless a shorter time-is specified.
If the assignee determines that no response is required, the NRR mailroom personnel should be so notified and the original green ticket package returned. This will close out the action.
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CONTACT:
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DMossburg, PMAS/NRR f
49-28970
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All NRR Employees AUG 3, M Yellow tickets are NRR office-level requests for action within NRR's area of responsibility, either from within or outside of NRC, addressed to the NRR Director, or other NRR personnel.
NRR nailroom personnel (PMAS/PMSB) normally establish a due date for yellow ticket items at 3 weeks from receipt in the NRR mailroom unless some other date is specified in the incoming request.
EDO WITS items generally are long term actions assigned directly by the ED0 or by a Commissioner's Office through the EDO. These actions usually are in the form of memoranda from the Office of the Secretary (Chilk memoranda). They are identified by a numbering system that uses the current year followed by a zero and the assigned number, e.g., 860123. For each such EDO-assigned item, the ED0's office enters the description, suspense date, and other supporting information into the WITS.
No slip priority tasks are normally tracked through the EDO WITS. Any exten-sion requests for these items must be requested by a memorandum from the EDO to the Commission at least 10 workdays in advance of the due date.
Sufficient justification must be provided in the memorandum for the Commission to determine whether the delay should be authorized.
The ED0's office advises NRR by memorandum as to those tasks so designated by the Commission. They are not to be confused with priority green ticket items.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITIES Director, NRR. The Director, NRR, ensures that the staff meets the established due dates. Minor adjustments may be acceptable but repeated delays of the same task and requests for lengthy extensions of time are not normally allowed.
Associate Director /NRR Deputy Director. The appropriate Associate Director or the NRR Deputy Director must approve all due date changes.
NRR policy on due date changes for green ticket items is that the assigned division may request a change to the original due date from the appropriate Associate Director or the NRR Deputy Director within 3 workdays of receipt.
Requests to revise the original due date of a yellow ticket item must be made within 5 workdays of l
receipt of action. Due date change requests must be approved by the ED0's Office for all controlled actions, except for yellow tickets, before the change can be effected.
NRR mailroom personnel will coordinate all due date changes.
A due date changed and approved in this manner is considered the "new current due date,"
which is then used as the basis for determining timeliness of the response. The original due date is not changed and is not considered in tracking timeliness.
Priority green ticket due dates are not permitted to slip except in the most extraordinary circumstances.
I PMAS/PMSB (the NRR mailroom): PMAS/PMSB mailroom determines responsibility for l
l controlled correspondence, assigns actions and appropriate due dates.
Upon request, the mailroom staff revises due dates with prior approval from the Associate Director /NRR Deputy Director and transfers assigned controlled correspondence.
ED0 actions assigned to NRR and NRR-assigned items are tracked
All NRR Employees 'T 3 1997 i
and reviewed for accuracy and format prior to being submitted to the NRR Director for concurrence / signature. The Assignee Status Report is prepared for division / office updating and the Correspondence Summary Report is prepared for management information. After items have been signed and dispatched, the mailroom staff closes out assigned actions for the office.
DIVISION DIRECTORS.
Assign a Division Correspondence Coordinator.
Division Correspondence Coordinator. The Division Correspondence Coordinator receives assigned correspondence for the division / office and forwards the in-coming item, after management review, to the appropriate branch / person to complete action. The Division Correspondence Coordinator has the responsibility of ensuring action items get assigned to branches expeditiously. When division management review for assignment may cause delays, concurrent copies should be sent to the branch (es) most likely to receive the assignment. The weekly Assignee Status Report is coordinated and updated and management is alerted to potential slippage problems.
Final packages are reviewed for proper format and typographical errors prior to being submitted to the NRR mailroom personnel.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS Each controlled correspondence item received by NRR is screened by PMAS/PMSB (the NRR mailroom personnel) to determine responsibility for the reply. Assigned actions are given to the appropriate division / office Correspondence Coordinator within 1 workday of receipt in NRR; priority items within 3 workhours.
In order to meet schedules, all controlled correspondence must be in the hands of the person responsible for preparing the response within one workday of receipt by the Correspondence Coordinator. When the turnaround times are short, actions should be hand-carried through the process rather than mailed.
Priority actions should be hand-carried in all cases.
Occasionally the responsibility for a controlled correspondence action will need to be transferred. Requests for transfer should be made to the NRR mailroom within 1 workday of receipt of the action, because such a transfer usually does not relieve the deadline date.
Tracking Tracking begins with the original assignment of controlled correspondence to NRR and subsequently to the appropriate division and ends when mailroom personnel are provided a copy of the response. Therefore, the mailroom (Attention: D.
Mossburg, Ticket No. ) should be on distribution for all responses to ticketed actions.
Several types of reports can be generated from the WITS. The most frequently used are the Assignee Status Reports and the Open Items Report.
The Assignee Status Report contains all actions due within 31 days of the date of the re-port.
It is provided to the Correspondence Coordinators for review and updating weekly, usually at the beginning of each week. All information on each item should be reviewed and updated as necessary with a concise, self-explanatory, j
current status added. After providing all pertinent information, the
)
l All NRR Employees ?,
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Correspondence Coordinators must return the marked-up report to the NRR mailroom personnel for final review and updating.
The Open Items Report is given to the Correspondence Coordinator for each division / office for information.
This report contains all actions within each division / office regardless of the due date.
The Correspondence Summary Report is issued to all the Directors every Friday and contains a listing of items past due and due during the coming week.
Handling Controlled Correspondence The following actions should be taken to assist in meeting the scheduled deadlines for controlled correspondence.
1.
Immediately upon receipt of an action, the assignee should review the document for needed concurrence and input from other branches, divisions or offices. The assignee is responsible for getting such concurrence or input within the allotted time given to complete the action.
2.
All responses, starting with the first draft, should be typed on word processing equipment (e.g., 5520 or Displaywriter) and should receive the appropriate priority for typing.
Conflict with other priority work should be resolved at the Division Director level, if necessary.
1 3.
Limit the number of concurrences on the response to the minimum necessary. 0GC concurrence should be sought only when required by the nature of the response. Division Directors should establish guidelines on which items need legal review and on concurrences within their division. When 0GC's concurrence is necessary on documents requiring the Director, NRR, concurrence, OGC's concurrence should be obtained after Division Director's concurrence and before the Office Director's Concurrence.
4.
Concurrence should be acted on promptly by each concurree and should not be permitted by the assignee to take more than 1 workday at any level without valid reason.
If concurrence cannot be obtained within that time because of the unavailability of the person involved, that concurrence level may be waived, a notation to that effect entered on the concurrence line, and the package taken to the next person for concurrence.
5.
Green and priority tickets as well as Commission correspondence require editorial review by the Technical Editors prior to submittal to the NRR mailroom.
6.
Where necessary to ensure a timely completion of the response, copies of the proposed response should be routed for simultaneous, rather than serial, review and concurrence.
If possible, provide the NRR mailroom personnel a draft of the proposed response for review.
7.
Any controlled correspondence action that can be resolved by a telephone call should be handled in that manner. The responsible person should then describe on the ticket the action taken and return it to the NRR mailroom personnel in lieu of a response memorandum or letter.
i
'E All NRR Employees 8.
Each division must establish and implement procedures and responsibilities to ensure that each package is thoroughly reviewed for: administrative-type errors. The Division Director should designate an-individual who will be responH ble for reviewing final packages for administrative errors (e.g.,
typographical, format, and number of copies). All packages must be delivered directly to the NRR mailroom personnel so that they can be properly logged, reviewed, and tracked.
Controlled Correspondence Performance Measurement To ensure timely completion of controlled action items, they are continuously tracked and each division is given a quarterly report on action item completion.
An action item will be considered to be completed on time by the assignee if it is delivered to the NRR mailroom personnel at least 3 workdays in advance for green tickets and WITS items and 2 workdays before the due date for yellow tickets. The due date is either the " original due date" or the " current due date" which has been requested and approved in accordance with the above procedures.
The following delays will not alter the due date:
1.
If the package must be returned to the originator to correct typographical, format or other administrative-type errors found in the course of PMSB (the mailroom)/ Director's Office review, the action is not considered complete until the package is returned to the NRR mailroom free of such errors.
Therefore, a package initially submitted on time could end up being late because of errors.
2.
If the package is returned to the originator for further work following technical / programmatic review by the Director's Office and, because of this, it leaves NRR after the due date, the action will be considered late even though it might have been originally delivered to the NRR mailroom within the required lead time.
NRR is comitted to ensuring that controlled correspondence actions are completed on schedule and with high quality responses.
Suggestions for improvements in processing policies and procedures are welcome at any time. Questions regarding controlled correspondence should be directed to the NRR mailroom personnel.
EFFECTIVE DATE This office letter is effective upon issuance.
Original signed by ThcmasI. Murley Thomas E. Murley, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Distribution:
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All NRR Employees DISTRIBUTION CentralTiTds NRC PDR V. Wilson D. Mossburg H. Smith DCOSU Rdg File l
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Document Name:
NRR OFFICE LETTER Requestor's ID:
MULLEN Author's Name:
VALERIA WILSON Document Comments:
HANDLING OF. CONTROLLED CORRESPONDENCE
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION l
WASHINGTON, D, C. 20555 5
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%**...j AUG 3 1987 MEMORANDUM FOR: All NRR Employees FROM:
. Thomas E. Murley, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
SUBJECT:
NRR OFFICE LETTER NO. 103 HANDLING OF CONTROLLED CORRESPONDENCE PURPOSE This office letter summarizes the procedures for handling controlled correspondence. This directive supersedes and replaces NRR Office Letter No.
4, Revision 3, dated June 2, 1986.
DEFINITIONS WITS (work item tracking system) is an automated information system designed to provide NRC offices with the capability of monitoring the status of controlled correspondence. This is accomplished by providing managers with computer generated reports that identify and track all work items. All NRR controlled correspondence is entered into the WITS.
Priority creen tickets are EDO actions assigned to NRR for correspondence designatec to receive special attention (e.g., substantive Congressional, State and Federal inquiries; letters to be prepared for the Chairman's signature; requests from the Commission; and other significant and time-sensitive items).
Green tickets are EDO actions assigned to NRR and include VIP and executive correspondence and mail addressed to the Chairman, Commissioners, or EDO.
Unless approved by the ED0's office, all responses to priority green / green tickets must be completed by the established deadline date (usually 10 workdays after the assignment by EDO).
Appropriate action green tickets are EDO actions assigned to NRR for corre-spondence that might or might not require a written reply. A cover sheet is placed on the " appropriate action" and forwarded to the responsible division with a request for confirmation of action and due date. This cover sheet is to be returned to the NRR mailroom within 3 workdays. When it is determined a re-ply is appropriate, a 3 week due date is placed on the ticket unless a shorter time is specified.
If the assignee determines that no response is required, the NRR mailroom personnel should be so notified and the original green ticket package returned. This will close out the action.
CONTACT:
j DMossburg, PMAS/NRR
)
49-28970 l
__ _ _____ o
4 All NRR Employees Yellow tickets are NRR office-level requests for action within NRR's area of
~
responsibility, either from within or outside of NRC, addressed to the NRR Director, or other NRR personnel.
NRR mailroom personnel (PMAS/PMSB) normally establish a due date for yellow ticket items at 3 weeks from receipt in the NRR mailroom unless some other date is specified in the incoming request.
EDO WITS items generally are long term actions assigned directly by the ED0 or by a Commissioner's Office through the EDO. These actions usually are in the form of memoranda from the Office of the Secretary (Chilk memoranda). They are identified by a numbering system that uses the current year followed by a zero and the assigned number, e.g., 860123. For each such ED0-assigned item, the ED0's office enters the description, suspense date, and other supporting i
information into the WITS.
l No slip priority tasks are normally tracked through the EDO WITS. Any exten-u sion requests for these items must be requested by a memorandum from the EDO to the Commission at least 10 workdays in advance of the due date.
Sufficient justification must be provided in the memorandum for the Commission to determine whether the delay should be authorized. The ED0's office advises NRR by memorandum as to those tasks so designated by the Commission. They are not to be confused with priority green ticket items.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITIES Director, NRR. The Director, NRR, ensures that the staff meets the established due dates. Minor adjustments may be acceptable but repeated delays of the same task and requests for lengthy extensions of time are not normally allowed.
Associate Director /NRR Deputy Director.
The appropriate Associate Director or the NRR Deputy Director must approve all due date changes.
NRR policy on due date changes for green ticket items is that the assigned division may request a change to the original due date from the appropriate Associate Director or the NRR Deputy Director within 3 workdays of receipt. Requests to revise the original due date of a yellow ticket item must be made within 5 workdays of receipt of action. Due date change requests must be approved by the ED0's Office for all controlled actions, except for yellow tickets, before the change can be effected.
NRR mailroom personnel will coordinate all due date changes.
A due date changed and approved in this manner is considered the "new current due date,"
which is then used as the basis for determining timeliness of the response. The original due date is not changed and is not considered in tracking timeliness.
Priority green ticket due dates are not permitted to slip except in the most extraordinary circumstances.
PMAS/PMSB (the NRR mailroom): PMAS/PMSB mailroom determines responsibility for controlled correspondence, assigns actions and appropriate due dates.
Upon request, the mailroom staff revises due dates with prior approval from the Associate Director /NRR Deputy Director and transfers assigned controlled correspondence. EDO actions assigned to NRR and NRR-assigned items are tracked
4, d
and reviewed for accuracy and format prior to being submitted to the NRR Director for concurrence / signature. The Assignee Status Report is prepared for division / office updating and the Correspondence Summary Report is prepared for management information.
After items have been signed and dispatched, the mailroom staff closes out assigned actions for the office.
DIVISION DIRECTORS.
Assign a Division Correspondence Coordinator.
Division Correspondence Coordinator. The Division Correspondence Coordinator receives assigned correspondence for the division / office and forwards the in-coming item, after management review, to the appropriate branch / person to complete action.
The Division Correspondence Coordinator has the responsibility of ensuring action items get assigned to branches expeditiously. When division management review for assignment may cause delays, concurrent copies should be sent to the branch (es) most likely to receive the assignment. The weekly a
Assignee Status Report is coordinated and updated and management is alerted to potential slippage problems. Final packages are reviewed for proper format and typographical errors prior to being submitted to the NRR mailroom personnel.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS Each controlled correspondence item received by NRR is screened by PMAS/PMSB (the NRR mailroom personnel) to determine responsibility for the reply. Assigned actions are given to the appropriate division / office Correspondence Coordinator within 1 workday of receipt in NRR; priority items within 3 workhours.
In order to meet schedules, all controlled correspondence must be in the hands of the person responsible for preparing the response within one workday of receipt by the Correspondence Coordinator. When the turnaround times are short, actions should be hand-carried through the process rather than mailed.
Priority actions should be hand ~ carried in all cases.
Occasionally the responsibility for a controlled correspondence action will need to be transferred.
Requests for transfer should be made to the NRR mailroom within 1 workday of receipt of the action, because such a transfer usually does not relieve the deadline date.
Tracking Tracking begins with the original assignment of controlled correspondence to NRR and subsequently to the appropriate division and ends when mailroom personnel are provided a copy of the response. Therefore, the mailroom (Attention:
D. Mossburg, Ticket No. ) should be on distribution for all responses to ticketed actions.
Several types of reports can be generated from the WITS. The most frequently used are the Assignee Status Reports and the Open Items Report. The Assignee Status Report contains all actions due within 31 days of the date of the re-port.
It is provided to the Correspondence Coordinators for review and updating weekly, usually at the beginning of each week. All information on each item should be reviewed and updated as necessary with a concise, self-explanatory, current status added. After providing all pertinent information, the 1
d f..-
All NRR Employees Correspondence Coordinators must return the marked-up report to the NRR mailroom personnel for final review and updating. The Open Items Report is given to the Correspondence Coordinator for each division / office for information. This report contains all actions within each division / office regardless of the due date.
The Correspondence Summary Report is issued to all the Directors every Friday and contains a listing of items past due and due during the coming week.
Handling Controlled Correspondence l
The following actions should be taken to assist in meeting the scheduled deadlines for controlled correspondence.
1.
Immediately upon receipt of an action, the assignee should review the document for needed concurrence and input from other branches, divisions or offices. The assignee is responsible for getting such concurrence or a
input within the allotted time given to complete the action.
2.
All responses, starting with the first draft, should be typed on word processing equipment (e.g., 5520 or Displaywriter) and should receive the appropriate priority for typing.
Conflict with other priority work should be resolved at the Division Director level, if necessary.
3.
Limit the number of concurrences on the response to the minimum necessary. OGC concurrence should be sought only when required by the nature of the response. Division Directors should establish guidelines on which items need legal review and on concurrences within their division. When 0GC's concurrence is necessary on documents requiring the Director, NRR, concurrence, 0GC's concurrence should be obtained after Division Director's concurrence and before the Office Director's concurrence.
4.
Concurrence should be acted on promptly by each concurree and should not be permitted by the assignee to take more than 1 workday at any level without valid reason.
If concurrence cannot be obtained within that time because of the unavailability of the person involved, that concurrence level may be waived, a notation to that effect entered on the concurrence line, and the package taken to the next person for concurrence.
5.
Green and priority tickets as well as Commission correspondence require editorial review by the Technical Editors prior to submittal to the NRR mailroom.
6.
Where necessary to ensure a timely completion of the response, copies of the proposed response should be routed for simultaneous, rather than serial, review and concurrence.
If possible, provide the NRR mailroom personnel a draft of the proposed response for review.
7.
Any controlled correspondence action that can be resolved by a telephone call should be-handled in that manner. The responsible person should then describe on the ticket the action taken and return it to the NRR mailroom personnel in lieu of a response memorandum or letter.
All NRR Employees ~v^
8.
Each division must establish and implement procedures and responsibilities to ensure that each package is thoroughly reviewed for administrative-type errors. The Division Director should designate an individual who will be
~
responsible for reviewing final packages for administrative errors (e.g.,
typographical, format, and number of copies). All packages must be delivered directly to the NRR mailroom personnel so that they can be properly logged, reviewed, and tracked.
Controlled Correspondence Performance Measurement i
To ensure timely completion of controlled action items, they are continuously tracked and each division is given a quarterly report on action item completion.
An action item will be considered to be completed on time by the assignee if it is delivered to the NRR mailroom personnel at least 3 workdays in advance for green tickets and WITS items and 2 workdays before the due date for yellow o
tickets. The due date is either the " original due date" or the " current due date" which has been requested and approved in accordance with the above procedures.
The following delays will not alter the due date:
1.
If the package must be returned to the originator to correct typographical, format or other administrative-type errors found in the course of PMSB (the mailroom)/ Director's Office review, the action is not considered complete until the package is returned to the NRR mailroom free of such errors.
Therefore, a package initially submitted on time could end up being late because of errors.
2.
If the package is returned to the originator for further work following technical / programmatic review by the Director's Office and, because of this, it leaves NRR after the due date, the action will be considered late even though it might have been originally delivered to the NRR mailroom within the required lead time.
NRR is committeci to ensuring that controlled correspondence actions are completed on schedule and with high quality responses. Suggestions for improvements in processing policies and procedures are welcome at any time. Questions regarding controlled correspondence should be directed to the NRR mailroom personnel.
EFFECTIVE DATE This office letter is effective upon issuance.
Thomas E. Murley, D h tor Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
<