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| number = ML16155A159
| number = ML16155A159
| issue date = 06/03/2016
| issue date = 06/03/2016
| title = 05/24/2016 - Watts Bar Public Meeting Summary
| title = Watts Bar Public Meeting Summary
| author name = Blamey A
| author name = Blamey A
| author affiliation = NRC/RGN-III/DRP/B6
| author affiliation = NRC/RGN-III/DRP/B6
Line 15: Line 15:


=Text=
=Text=
{{#Wiki_filter:UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION II 245 PEACHTREE CENTER AVENUE NE, SUITE 1200 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303
{{#Wiki_filter:UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION II 245 PEACHTREE CENTER AVENUE NE, SUITE 1200 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303-1257 June 3, 2016 Mr. Joseph W. Shea Vice President, Nuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street, LP 3D-C Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801
-1257   June 3, 2016 Mr. Joseph W. Shea Vice President, Nuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street, LP 3D-C Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801


==SUBJECT:==
==SUBJECT:==
Line 22: Line 21:


==SUMMARY==
==SUMMARY==
FOR WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, DOCKET NO. 50-390 and 50-391
FOR WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, DOCKET NO. 50-390 and 50-391


==Dear Mr. Shea:==
==Dear Mr. Shea:==
This refers to the meeting conducted at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region II Office on May 2 4 , 2016. The purpose of the meeting was to brief the NRC staff on the current status and progress of the actions taken to improve the chilled work environment in the Operations Department at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN)
. As of March 23, 2016, the NRC issued a Chilled Work Environment Letter (CEL) to Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in an effort to ensure a clear understanding of the scope of concerns related to the chilled work environment in the Operations Department. According to TVA, the work environment in the WBN Operations Department was inconsistent with TVA core values. Therefore, TVA has taken immediate actions following receipt of the CEL which include d Chief Nuclear Officer communication to the TVA fleet acknowledging ownership of the issue; Watts Bar Site Vice President met with the site staff to reinforce safety culture, ownership and the roles and responsibilities of the license d reactor operators; conducted independent observations of the Watts Bar Control Room and Outage Control Center; and began a Root Cause Analysis. Based on the Causal Analysis performed, the following root causes have been determined: 1) Senior leaders failed to recognize potential impacts on the work environment associated with initiatives to drive improvements in overall station performance
; and 2) A failure by management to communicate the rationale and bases for some personnel actions that wer e taken which led to an atmosphere of fear by some workers.
TVA's corrective actions include, but are no t limited to, perform periodic safety conscious work environment (SCWE) observations and trends; establish and communicate a vision for a strong and healthy SCWE, implement a Watts Bar Shift Manager mentoring program; revise the adverse employment action procedure, including establishment of an executive review board. TVA reemphasized their commitment to core values and behaviors emphasizing safety over competing goals, employees feeling free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation, and ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner. Corrective actions have been taken to prevent recurrence, and actions taken to address the safety conscious work environment at WBN will continue to be monitored for effectiveness by TVA.


J. Shea 2 In closing the NRC acknowledged the management ownership of the Operations Department SCWE issue, the importance of completing CEL actions, and sustained improving work environment. The NRC noted the importance for all TVA employees to continue using the corrective action program, the Employee's Concerns Program, and other available avenues to raise concerns. The NRC also noted that no serious safety violations or instances involving significant plant safety issues associated with the work environment were identified; however, t he NRC will continue to assess TVA's actions to improve the Operations Department SCWE
This refers to the meeting conducted at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region II Office on May 24, 2016. The purpose of the meeting was to brief the NRC staff on the current status and progress of the actions taken to improve the chilled work environment in the Operations Department at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN).
. A list of attendees and a copy of the presentation handout are enclosed. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice,"
As of March 23, 2016, the NRC issued a Chilled Work Environment Letter (CEL) to Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in an effort to ensure a clear understanding of the scope of concerns related to the chilled work environment in the Operations Department. According to TVA, the work environment in the WBN Operations Department was inconsistent with TVA core values.
a copy of this letter will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading
Therefore, TVA has taken immediate actions following receipt of the CEL which included Chief Nuclear Officer communication to the TVA fleet acknowledging ownership of the issue; Watts Bar Site Vice President met with the site staff to reinforce safety culture, ownership and the roles and responsibilities of the licensed reactor operators; conducted independent observations of the Watts Bar Control Room and Outage Control Center; and began a Root Cause Analysis. Based on the Causal Analysis performed, the following root causes have been determined: 1) Senior leaders failed to recognize potential impacts on the work environment associated with initiatives to drive improvements in overall station performance; and 2) A failure by management to communicate the rationale and bases for some personnel actions that were taken which led to an atmosphere of fear by some workers.
-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room). Should you have any questions concerning this meeting, please contact me at (404) 997-4415. Sincerely,
TVAs corrective actions include, but are not limited to, perform periodic safety conscious work environment (SCWE) observations and trends; establish and communicate a vision for a strong and healthy SCWE, implement a Watts Bar Shift Manager mentoring program; revise the adverse employment action procedure, including establishment of an executive review board.
        /RA/ Alan Blame y, Chief Reactor Projects Branch 6 Division of Reactor Projects Docket No.: 50-390 , 50-391 License No.: NPF-90 , NPG-96
TVA reemphasized their commitment to core values and behaviors emphasizing safety over competing goals, employees feeling free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation, and ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner. Corrective actions have been taken to prevent recurrence, and actions taken to address the safety conscious work environment at WBN will continue to be monitored for effectiveness by TVA.
 
J. Shea                                     2 In closing the NRC acknowledged the management ownership of the Operations Department SCWE issue, the importance of completing CEL actions, and sustained improving work environment. The NRC noted the importance for all TVA employees to continue using the corrective action program, the Employees Concerns Program, and other available avenues to raise concerns. The NRC also noted that no serious safety violations or instances involving significant plant safety issues associated with the work environment were identified; however, the NRC will continue to assess TVAs actions to improve the Operations Department SCWE.
A list of attendees and a copy of the presentation handout are enclosed.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS).
ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).
Should you have any questions concerning this meeting, please contact me at (404) 997-4415.
Sincerely,
                                              /RA/
Alan Blamey, Chief Reactor Projects Branch 6 Division of Reactor Projects Docket No.:     50-390, 50-391 License No.:     NPF-90, NPG-96


==Enclosures:==
==Enclosures:==
: 1. List of Attendees 2. TVA Meeting Slides c c: distribution via ListServ  
: 1. List of Attendees
: 2. TVA Meeting Slides cc: distribution via ListServ


_________________________
_________________________                 SUNSI REVIEW COMPLETE   FORM 665 ATTACHED OFFICE           RII:DRP             RII:DRP SIGNATURE       CRS2               AJB3 NAME             C. Smith-Standberry A. Blamey DATE                   6/3/2016         6/3/2016   6/ /2016     6/ /2016       6/ /2016     6/ /2016     6/ /2016 E-MAIL COPY?       YES     NO         YES     NO YES   NO     YES   NO     YES     NO   YES   NO     YES     NO J. Shea                                   3 Letter to Joseph W. Shea from Alan Blamey dated June 3, 2016
SUNSI REVIEW COMPLETE FORM 665 ATTACHED OFFICE RII:DRP RII:DRP     SIGNATURE CRS2 AJB3     NAME C. Smith-Standberry A. Blamey     DATE 6/3/2016 6/3/2016 6/   /2016 6/   /2016 6/   /2016 6/   /2016 6/   /2016 E-MAIL COPY?
YES NO       YES NO       YES NO       YES NO       YES NO       YES NO       YES NO J. Shea 3 Letter to Joseph W. Shea from Alan Blamey dated June 3 , 2016


==SUBJECT:==
==SUBJECT:==
Line 47: Line 50:


==SUMMARY==
==SUMMARY==
FOR WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, DOCKET NO. 50-390 and 50-391 Distribution
FOR WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, DOCKET NO. 50-390 and 50-391 Distribution:
: S. Price, RII L. Gibson, RII OE Mail RIDSNRRDIRS PUBLIC RidsNrrPMWattsBar Resource Enclosure 1 NRC ATTENDEES C. Haney , Regional Administrator, Region II L. Wert, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region II L. Dudes, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region II L. Jarriel, Agency Allegations Advisor, NRC Headquarters M. Frankie, Acting Deputy Division Director , DRP, RII A. Blamey, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 6, DRP, RII J. Nadel, Senior Resident Inspector, Watts Bar Unit 1
S. Price, RII L. Gibson, RII OE Mail RIDSNRRDIRS PUBLIC RidsNrrPMWattsBar Resource
, DRP, RII M. Franovich, Division Director , DRP, RII C. Kontz, Senior Project Engineer, Branch 6, DRP, RII J. Baptist, Acting Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 8, DRP, RII N. Coovert, Senior Construction Inspector, Construction Inspection, Branch 3, DCI, RII A. Echavarria, Senior Investigator, OI, RII M. Checkle, Senior Allegations Coordinator, EICS, RII S. Mendez, Allegations Coordinator, EICS, RII C. Smith-Standberry, Project Engineer, Branch 6, DRP, RII S. Rose, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 5 , DRP, RII J. Ledford, Public Affairs Officer, PA, RII E. Michel, RII E. Lea, Regional Governmental Liason Officer, RII S. Morrow, RES TVA ATTENDEES M. Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Operations, TVA P. Simmons, Site Vice President, Watts Bar J. Shea, Vice President Regulatory Affairs , TVA S. Connors, Plant Manager, Watts Bar E. Henderson, TVA B. Dungan, Rotational Development, Watts Bar I. Hagins-Dyer, Senior Manager, Employee Concerns Program , TVA G. Arent, Director, Watts Bar Licensing
 
NRC ATTENDEES C. Haney, Regional Administrator, Region II L. Wert, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region II L. Dudes, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region II L. Jarriel, Agency Allegations Advisor, NRC Headquarters M. Frankie, Acting Deputy Division Director, DRP, RII A. Blamey, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 6, DRP, RII J. Nadel, Senior Resident Inspector, Watts Bar Unit 1, DRP, RII M. Franovich, Division Director, DRP, RII C. Kontz, Senior Project Engineer, Branch 6, DRP, RII J. Baptist, Acting Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 8, DRP, RII N. Coovert, Senior Construction Inspector, Construction Inspection, Branch 3, DCI, RII A. Echavarria, Senior Investigator, OI, RII M. Checkle, Senior Allegations Coordinator, EICS, RII S. Mendez, Allegations Coordinator, EICS, RII C. Smith-Standberry, Project Engineer, Branch 6, DRP, RII S. Rose, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 5, DRP, RII J. Ledford, Public Affairs Officer, PA, RII E. Michel, RII E. Lea, Regional Governmental Liason Officer, RII S. Morrow, RES TVA ATTENDEES M. Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Operations, TVA P. Simmons, Site Vice President, Watts Bar J. Shea, Vice President Regulatory Affairs, TVA S. Connors, Plant Manager, Watts Bar E. Henderson, TVA B. Dungan, Rotational Development, Watts Bar I. Hagins-Dyer, Senior Manager, Employee Concerns Program, TVA G. Arent, Director, Watts Bar Licensing C. Edmondson, TVA J. Calle, TVA S. Fiedler, TVA C. Chandler, TVA OTHER ATTENDEES S. Barczak, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy D. Lochbaum, Union of Concerned Scientists D. Flessner, Chattanooga Times-Free Press D. Shurberg, Human Performance Analysis Corp.
Enclosure 1 Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Chilled Work Environment Response May 24, 2016 Enclosure 3
 
Agenda
* Opening Remarks
* Chilled Work Environment Letter
* Response
* Causal Analysis
* Corrective Actions
* Summary Balduzzi Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 2
 
Opening Remarks Michael Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Balduzzi Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 3
 
Chilled Work Environment Letter
* Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issues Chilled Work Environment Letter (CWEL) to Watts Bar (WBN) on March 23, 2016
* Key points in CWEL A chilled work environment exists in Operations Department No serious safety violations or significant plant safety issues were identified Concerns existed regarding impact of chilled work environment on plant operations
* NRC issued CWEL to ensure clear understanding of the scope of concerns Simmons                                                                          Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 4
 
TVA Response
* TVA is committed to:
Core values and behaviors that emphasize safety over competing goals Ensuring that employees feel free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation Ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner
* TVA acknowledged that the WBN Operations Department work environment was inconsistent with TVA core values Simmons                                                                        Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 5
 
TVA Response
* Evaluations performed by TVA prior to receipt of CWEL Employee Concerns Investigation Reports, NEC-16-00127 Watts Bar Special Review Team Report, Revision 1
* Comprehensive action plan initiated prior to receipt of CWEL Senior Vice President of Nuclear Operations met with senior reactor operators and above Site Vice President met with first-line supervisors and above Roles and responsibilities reinforced for Main Control Room (MCR) and Outage Control Center (OCC)
Key organizational changes implemented Site plan implemented to improve and focus site communications Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 6
 
TVA Response
* Immediate actions following receipt of the CWEL TVAs Chief Nuclear Officer communicated to the nuclear fleet regarding:
Issuance of CWEL TVA ownership of chilled work environment causes TVA implemented independent observations of the MCR and OCC WBN initiated a Root Cause Analysis Site Vice President conducted all-hands meetings that reinforced:
Safety is paramount Senior leadership teams ownership of chilled work environment causes and commitment to resolve Roles and responsibilities of licensed operators Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 7
 
CWEL Required Actions
* Conduct an assessment of Watts Bar climate
* Address the root causes of the chilled work environment
* Take steps to ensure WBN staff members are willing to openly participate in the process Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 8
 
CWEL Focus Areas Assessed
* A chilled work environment exists within the WBN Operations Department due to perceptions of retaliation
* A perception of:
An emphasis of production over safety An undue influence by management on MCR operators
* Management oversight and effectiveness of the corrective action and employee concerns programs Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 9
 
Causal Analysis Overview
* Independent team established
* Root causes determined Senior leaders failed to recognize potential impacts on the work environment associated with initiatives to drive improvements in overall station performance A failure by management to communicate the rationale and bases for some personnel actions taken led to an atmosphere of fear by some workers Shea                                                                          Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 10
 
Causal Analysis Contributing Causes
* Weaknesses in Operations
* Established processes for oversight and management for setting and            monitoring of station nuclear safety consistently reinforcing high        culture were less than effective standards of performance
* Lack of confidence in the Corrective
* Weaknesses in senior leadership        Action Program (CAP) by some behaviors associated with managing    Operations Department personnel a healthy interface between the OCC and the MCR
* Inconsistent implementation of the Adverse Employment Action procedure Shea                                                                        Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 11
 
Causal Analysis Extent
* Extent of Condition Chilled work environment confined to Operations Department Indications of work environment challenges in other departments
* Extent of Cause Extended to WBN station as a whole Shea                                                                  Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 12
 
Causal Analysis ECP Effectiveness
* Employee Concerns Program (ECP) Effectiveness Effective in achieving the goals outlined RIS-2005-18, Guidance For Establishing And Maintaining a Safety Conscious Work Environment Procedures provide an effective path for individuals to feel free to raise issues Reporting of the ECP staff is independent of the line organization and management Key elements of the ECP have been evaluated and found effective Browns Ferry Confirmatory Order response effective with 2 gaps identified
* Industry Self Assessment of ECP Program Effectiveness August 2016 Shea                                                                              Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 13


C. Edmondson, TVA J. Calle, TVA S. Fiedler, TVA C. Chandler, TVA OTHE R ATTENDEES  S. Barczak, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy D. Lochbaum , Union of Concerned Scientists D. Flessner, Chattanooga Times
Causal Analysis CAP Effectiveness
-Free Press D. Shurberg, Human Performance Analysis Corp.
* Corrective Action Program (CAP) Effectiveness Lack of confidence in the CAP by some Operations Department personnel has contributed to a reluctance by some Operators to document issues and concerns Causal Analysis Lack of feedback provided to the Operations CAP initiators
Enclosure 2
* Perform Self-Assessment to determine CAP Effectiveness and Confidence in CAP December 2016 Shea                                                                      Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 14


Enclosure 2
Key Actions to Prevent Recurrence
* Establish and communicate a vision for a strong and healthy safety conscious work environment, focusing on results of the root cause and initiatives
* Define roles and responsibilities for key influencers
* Perform safety conscious work environment observations and trend monthly
* Conduct periodic reviews of CWEL response and effectiveness of root cause actions Connors                                                            Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 15


Watts Bar Nuclear PlantChilled Work Environment Response May 24, 2016 AgendaWatts Bar Nuclear Plant l  2*Op ening Remarks*Chilled Work Environment Letter
Additional Corrective Actions
*Response*Causal Analysis
* Implement a WBN and independent oversight observation plan focused on shift manager and unit supervisor leadership behaviors
*Corrective Actions
* Implement WBN Operations Shift Manager Mentoring Program
*Summary Balduzzi Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l  3 Opening Remarks Michael Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Balduzzi Chilled Work Environment Letter
* Implement an OCC pre-job briefing sheet for inclusion in the Outage Oversight Plan and in unplanned/forced outage oversight governance
*Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issues Chilled Work Environment Letter (CWEL) to Watts Bar (WBN) on March 23, 2016
* Revise the adverse employment action procedure, including establishing an Executive Review Board (ERB)
*Key points in CWEL A chilled work environment exists in Operations Department No serious safety violations or significant plant safety issues were identifiedConcerns existed regarding impact of chilled work environment on plant operations
* Revise Nuclear Safety Review Board guidance to include interviews of Nuclear Safety Culture Monitoring Panel (NSCMP)
*NRC issued CWEL to ensure clear understanding of the scope of concernsWatts Bar Nuclear Plant l  4 Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l  5TVA Response
Connors Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 16
*TVA is committed to:Core values and behaviors that emphasize safety over competing goalsEnsuring that employees feel free to rais e nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation Ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner
*TVA acknowledged that the WBN Operations Department work environment was inconsistent with TVA core values Simmons TVAResponse
*Evaluations performed by TVA prior to receipt of CWELEmployee Concerns Invest igation Reports, NEC-16-00127 Watts Bar Special Review Team Report, Revision 1
*Comprehensive action plan initiated prior to receipt of CWELSenior Vice President of Nuclear Operations met with senior reactor operators and aboveSite Vice President met with first-line supervisors and aboveRoles and responsibilities reinforced for Main Control Room(MCR)and Outage Control Center (OCC)Key organizational changes implementedSite plan implemented to improve and focus site communications Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l  6 Simmons TVA Response Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l  7 Simmons*Immediate actions following receipt of the CWELTVA's Chief Nuclear Officer communicated to the nuclear fleet regarding:Issuance of CWELTVA ownership of chilled work environment causesTVA implemented independent observations of the MCR and OCCWBN initiated a Root Cause AnalysisSite Vice President conducted all-hands meetings that reinforced:Safety is paramountSenior leadership team's ownership of chilled work environment causes and commitment to resolveRoles and responsibilities of licensed operators CWEL Required ActionsWatts Bar Nuclear Plant l  8 Simmons*Conduct an assessment of Watts Bar climate
*Address the root causes of the chilled work environment 
*Take steps to ensure WBN staff members are willing to openly participate in the process CWEL Focus Areas AssessedWatts Bar Nuclear Plant l 9 Simmons*A chilled work environment exists within the WBN Operations Department due to perceptions of retaliation
*A perception of:An emphasis of production over safetyAn undue influence by management on MCR operators
*Management oversight and effectiveness of the corrective action and employee concerns programs Causal Analysis OverviewWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  10 Shea*Independent team established
*Root causes determinedSenior leaders failed to recognize potential impacts on the work environment associated with initiatives to drive improvements in overall


station performanceA failure by management to communicate the rationale and bases for some personnel actions taken led to an atmosphere of fear by some workers Causal Analysis Contributing CausesWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  11 Shea*Weaknesses in Operations management for setting and consistently reinforcing high standards of performance 
Additional Corrective Actions
*Weaknesses in senior leadership behaviors associated with managing a healthy interface between the OCC
* Revise NSCMP procedure to ensure departmental representatives provide specific safety conscious work environment insights
* Revise the Employee Concern Program (ECP) procedure to ensure additional oversight and pulsing surveys during periods of high organizational stress
* Provide a method for the Shift Manager to communicate the status of CAP to MCR operators on a per shift basis Connors Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 17


and the MCR
Effectiveness Measures
*Inconsistent implementation of the Adverse Employment Action
* Achieve and sustain a healthy safety conscious work environment Open forums with site leadership to receive feedback NSCMP meetings ECP intakes and pulse surveys Employee surveys Anonymous Condition Reports MCR and OCC observations NRC allegations
* Oversight by Corporate and WBN senior leadership to ensure a healthy safety conscious work environment exists Conduct observations that changes are visible and effective Ensure actions taken in 30-day response and root cause are successfully completed Connors Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 18


procedure*Established processes for oversight and monitoring of station nuclear safety culture were less than effective
Summary
*Lack of confidence in the Corrective Action Program (CAP) by some Operations Department personnel Causal Analysis ExtentWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  12 Shea*Extent of ConditionChilled work environment confined to Operations DepartmentIndications of work environment challenges in other departments
* The work environment in the WBN Operations Department was inconsistent with TVA core values.
*Extent of CauseExtended to WBN station as a whole Causal Analysis ECP EffectivenessWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  13 Shea*Employee Concerns Program (ECP) EffectivenessEffective in achieving the goals outlined RIS-2005-18, "Guidance For Establishing And Maintaining a Safety Conscious Work Environment"Procedures provide an effective path for individuals to feel free to raise issuesReporting of the ECP staff is independent of the line organization and management Key elements of the ECP have been evaluated and found effectiveBrowns Ferry Confirmatory Order response effective with 2 gaps identified
* TVA is committed to:
*Industry Self Assessment of ECP Program EffectivenessAugust 2016 Causal Analysis CAP EffectivenessWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  14 Shea*Corrective Action Program (CAP) EffectivenessLack of confidence in the CAP by some Operations Department personnel has contributed to a reluctance by some Operators to document issues and concernsCausal Analysis Lack of feedback provided to the Operations CAP initiators
Core values and behaviors emphasize safety over competing goals Employees feeling free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation Ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner
*Perform Self-Assessment to determine CAP Effectiveness and Confidence in CAP December  2016 Key Actions to Prevent RecurrenceWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  15 Connors*Establish and communicate a vision for a strong and healthy safety conscious work environment, focusing on results of the root cause and initiatives
* The WBN senior leadership team owns the chilled work environment causes and is actively working to resolve.
*Define roles and responsibilities for key influencers
* Actions taken to address the safety conscious work environment at WBN will be monitored for effectiveness.
*Perform safety conscious work environment observations and trend monthly
Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 19
*Conduct periodic reviews of CWEL response and effectiveness of root cause actions Additional Corrective ActionsWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  16 Connors*Implement a WBN and independent oversight observation plan focused on shift manager and unit supervisor leadership behaviors
*Implement WBN Operations Shift Manager Mentoring Program
*Implement an OCC pre-job briefing sheet for inclusion in the Outage Oversight Plan and in unplanned/forced outage oversight


governance
Closing Remarks Michael Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 20
*Revise the adverse employment action procedure, including  establishing an Executive Review Board (ERB)
*Revise Nuclear Safety Review Board guidance to include interviews of Nuclear Safety Culture Monitoring Panel (NSCMP)
Additional Corrective ActionsWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  17 Connors*Revise NSCMP procedure to ensure departmental representatives provide specific safety conscious work environment insights
*Revise the Employee Concern Program (ECP) procedure to ensure additional oversight and pulsing surveys during periods of high


organizational stress
Questions?
*Provide a method for the Shift Manager to communicate the status of CAP to MCR operators on a per shift basis Effectiveness MeasuresWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  18 Connors*Achieve and sustain a healthy safety conscious work environmentOpen forums with site leadership to receive feedbackNSCMP meetingsECP intakes and pulse surveysEmployee surveysAnonymous Condition ReportsMCR and OCC observationsNRC allegations
*Oversight by Corporate and WBN senior leadership to ensure a healthy safety conscious work environment exists Conduct observations that changes are visible and effectiveEnsure actions taken in 30-day response and root cause are successfully completed SummaryWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  19 Simmons*The work environment in the WBN Operations Department was inconsistent with TVA core values.
*TVA is committed to:Core values and behaviors emphasize safety over competing goalsEmployees feeling free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliationEnsuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner
*The WBN senior leadership team owns the chilled work environment causes and is actively working to resolve.
*Actions taken to address the safety conscious work environment at WBN will be monitored for effectiveness.
Watts Bar Nuclear Plantl  20 Closing Remarks Michael Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Questions?  


UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION II 245 PEACHTREE CENTER AVENUE NE, SUITE 1200 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION II 245 PEACHTREE CENTER AVENUE NE, SUITE 1200 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303-1257 June 3, 2016 Mr. Joseph W. Shea Vice President, Nuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street, LP 3D-C Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801
-1257   June 3, 2016 Mr. Joseph W. Shea Vice President, Nuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street, LP 3D-C Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801


==SUBJECT:==
==SUBJECT:==
Line 112: Line 161:


==SUMMARY==
==SUMMARY==
FOR WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, DOCKET NO. 50-390 and 50-391
FOR WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, DOCKET NO. 50-390 and 50-391


==Dear Mr. Shea:==
==Dear Mr. Shea:==
This refers to the meeting conducted at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region II Office on May 2 4 , 2016. The purpose of the meeting was to brief the NRC staff on the current status and progress of the actions taken to improve the chilled work environment in the Operations Department at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN)
. As of March 23, 2016, the NRC issued a Chilled Work Environment Letter (CEL) to Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in an effort to ensure a clear understanding of the scope of concerns related to the chilled work environment in the Operations Department. According to TVA, the work environment in the WBN Operations Department was inconsistent with TVA core values. Therefore, TVA has taken immediate actions following receipt of the CEL which include d Chief Nuclear Officer communication to the TVA fleet acknowledging ownership of the issue; Watts Bar Site Vice President met with the site staff to reinforce safety culture, ownership and the roles and responsibilities of the license d reactor operators; conducted independent observations of the Watts Bar Control Room and Outage Control Center; and began a Root Cause Analysis. Based on the Causal Analysis performed, the following root causes have been determined: 1) Senior leaders failed to recognize potential impacts on the work environment associated with initiatives to drive improvements in overall station performance
; and 2) A failure by management to communicate the rationale and bases for some personnel actions that wer e taken which led to an atmosphere of fear by some workers.
TVA's corrective actions include, but are no t limited to, perform periodic safety conscious work environment (SCWE) observations and trends; establish and communicate a vision for a strong and healthy SCWE, implement a Watts Bar Shift Manager mentoring program; revise the adverse employment action procedure, including establishment of an executive review board. TVA reemphasized their commitment to core values and behaviors emphasizing safety over competing goals, employees feeling free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation, and ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner. Corrective actions have been taken to prevent recurrence, and actions taken to address the safety conscious work environment at WBN will continue to be monitored for effectiveness by TVA.


J. Shea 2 In closing the NRC acknowledged the management ownership of the Operations Department SCWE issue, the importance of completing CEL actions, and sustained improving work environment. The NRC noted the importance for all TVA employees to continue using the corrective action program, the Employee's Concerns Program, and other available avenues to raise concerns. The NRC also noted that no serious safety violations or instances involving significant plant safety issues associated with the work environment were identified; however, t he NRC will continue to assess TVA's actions to improve the Operations Department SCWE
This refers to the meeting conducted at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region II Office on May 24, 2016. The purpose of the meeting was to brief the NRC staff on the current status and progress of the actions taken to improve the chilled work environment in the Operations Department at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN).
. A list of attendees and a copy of the presentation handout are enclosed. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice,"
As of March 23, 2016, the NRC issued a Chilled Work Environment Letter (CEL) to Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in an effort to ensure a clear understanding of the scope of concerns related to the chilled work environment in the Operations Department. According to TVA, the work environment in the WBN Operations Department was inconsistent with TVA core values.
a copy of this letter will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading
Therefore, TVA has taken immediate actions following receipt of the CEL which included Chief Nuclear Officer communication to the TVA fleet acknowledging ownership of the issue; Watts Bar Site Vice President met with the site staff to reinforce safety culture, ownership and the roles and responsibilities of the licensed reactor operators; conducted independent observations of the Watts Bar Control Room and Outage Control Center; and began a Root Cause Analysis. Based on the Causal Analysis performed, the following root causes have been determined: 1) Senior leaders failed to recognize potential impacts on the work environment associated with initiatives to drive improvements in overall station performance; and 2) A failure by management to communicate the rationale and bases for some personnel actions that were taken which led to an atmosphere of fear by some workers.
-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room). Should you have any questions concerning this meeting, please contact me at (404) 997-4415. Sincerely,
TVAs corrective actions include, but are not limited to, perform periodic safety conscious work environment (SCWE) observations and trends; establish and communicate a vision for a strong and healthy SCWE, implement a Watts Bar Shift Manager mentoring program; revise the adverse employment action procedure, including establishment of an executive review board.
        /RA/ Alan Blame y, Chief Reactor Projects Branch 6 Division of Reactor Projects Docket No.: 50-390 , 50-391 License No.: NPF-90 , NPG-96
TVA reemphasized their commitment to core values and behaviors emphasizing safety over competing goals, employees feeling free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation, and ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner. Corrective actions have been taken to prevent recurrence, and actions taken to address the safety conscious work environment at WBN will continue to be monitored for effectiveness by TVA.
 
J. Shea                                     2 In closing the NRC acknowledged the management ownership of the Operations Department SCWE issue, the importance of completing CEL actions, and sustained improving work environment. The NRC noted the importance for all TVA employees to continue using the corrective action program, the Employees Concerns Program, and other available avenues to raise concerns. The NRC also noted that no serious safety violations or instances involving significant plant safety issues associated with the work environment were identified; however, the NRC will continue to assess TVAs actions to improve the Operations Department SCWE.
A list of attendees and a copy of the presentation handout are enclosed.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS).
ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).
Should you have any questions concerning this meeting, please contact me at (404) 997-4415.
Sincerely,
                                              /RA/
Alan Blamey, Chief Reactor Projects Branch 6 Division of Reactor Projects Docket No.:     50-390, 50-391 License No.:     NPF-90, NPG-96


==Enclosures:==
==Enclosures:==
: 1. List of Attendees 2. TVA Meeting Slides c c: distribution via ListServ  
: 1. List of Attendees
: 2. TVA Meeting Slides cc: distribution via ListServ


_________________________
_________________________                 SUNSI REVIEW COMPLETE   FORM 665 ATTACHED OFFICE           RII:DRP             RII:DRP SIGNATURE       CRS2               AJB3 NAME             C. Smith-Standberry A. Blamey DATE                   6/3/2016         6/3/2016   6/ /2016     6/ /2016       6/ /2016     6/ /2016     6/ /2016 E-MAIL COPY?       YES     NO         YES     NO YES   NO     YES   NO     YES     NO   YES   NO     YES     NO J. Shea                                   3 Letter to Joseph W. Shea from Alan Blamey dated June 3, 2016
SUNSI REVIEW COMPLETE FORM 665 ATTACHED OFFICE RII:DRP RII:DRP     SIGNATURE CRS2 AJB3     NAME C. Smith-Standberry A. Blamey     DATE 6/3/2016 6/3/2016 6/   /2016 6/   /2016 6/   /2016 6/   /2016 6/   /2016 E-MAIL COPY?
YES NO       YES NO       YES NO       YES NO       YES NO       YES NO       YES NO J. Shea 3 Letter to Joseph W. Shea from Alan Blamey dated June 3 , 2016


==SUBJECT:==
==SUBJECT:==
Line 137: Line 190:


==SUMMARY==
==SUMMARY==
FOR WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, DOCKET NO. 50-390 and 50-391 Distribution
FOR WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, DOCKET NO. 50-390 and 50-391 Distribution:
: S. Price, RII L. Gibson, RII OE Mail RIDSNRRDIRS PUBLIC RidsNrrPMWattsBar Resource Enclosure 1 NRC ATTENDEES C. Haney , Regional Administrator, Region II L. Wert, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region II L. Dudes, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region II L. Jarriel, Agency Allegations Advisor, NRC Headquarters M. Frankie, Acting Deputy Division Director , DRP, RII A. Blamey, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 6, DRP, RII J. Nadel, Senior Resident Inspector, Watts Bar Unit 1
S. Price, RII L. Gibson, RII OE Mail RIDSNRRDIRS PUBLIC RidsNrrPMWattsBar Resource
, DRP, RII M. Franovich, Division Director , DRP, RII C. Kontz, Senior Project Engineer, Branch 6, DRP, RII J. Baptist, Acting Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 8, DRP, RII N. Coovert, Senior Construction Inspector, Construction Inspection, Branch 3, DCI, RII A. Echavarria, Senior Investigator, OI, RII M. Checkle, Senior Allegations Coordinator, EICS, RII S. Mendez, Allegations Coordinator, EICS, RII C. Smith-Standberry, Project Engineer, Branch 6, DRP, RII S. Rose, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 5 , DRP, RII J. Ledford, Public Affairs Officer, PA, RII E. Michel, RII E. Lea, Regional Governmental Liason Officer, RII S. Morrow, RES TVA ATTENDEES M. Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Operations, TVA P. Simmons, Site Vice President, Watts Bar J. Shea, Vice President Regulatory Affairs , TVA S. Connors, Plant Manager, Watts Bar E. Henderson, TVA B. Dungan, Rotational Development, Watts Bar I. Hagins-Dyer, Senior Manager, Employee Concerns Program , TVA G. Arent, Director, Watts Bar Licensing
 
NRC ATTENDEES C. Haney, Regional Administrator, Region II L. Wert, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region II L. Dudes, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region II L. Jarriel, Agency Allegations Advisor, NRC Headquarters M. Frankie, Acting Deputy Division Director, DRP, RII A. Blamey, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 6, DRP, RII J. Nadel, Senior Resident Inspector, Watts Bar Unit 1, DRP, RII M. Franovich, Division Director, DRP, RII C. Kontz, Senior Project Engineer, Branch 6, DRP, RII J. Baptist, Acting Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 8, DRP, RII N. Coovert, Senior Construction Inspector, Construction Inspection, Branch 3, DCI, RII A. Echavarria, Senior Investigator, OI, RII M. Checkle, Senior Allegations Coordinator, EICS, RII S. Mendez, Allegations Coordinator, EICS, RII C. Smith-Standberry, Project Engineer, Branch 6, DRP, RII S. Rose, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 5, DRP, RII J. Ledford, Public Affairs Officer, PA, RII E. Michel, RII E. Lea, Regional Governmental Liason Officer, RII S. Morrow, RES TVA ATTENDEES M. Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Operations, TVA P. Simmons, Site Vice President, Watts Bar J. Shea, Vice President Regulatory Affairs, TVA S. Connors, Plant Manager, Watts Bar E. Henderson, TVA B. Dungan, Rotational Development, Watts Bar I. Hagins-Dyer, Senior Manager, Employee Concerns Program, TVA G. Arent, Director, Watts Bar Licensing C. Edmondson, TVA J. Calle, TVA S. Fiedler, TVA C. Chandler, TVA OTHER ATTENDEES S. Barczak, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy D. Lochbaum, Union of Concerned Scientists D. Flessner, Chattanooga Times-Free Press D. Shurberg, Human Performance Analysis Corp.
Enclosure 1 Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Chilled Work Environment Response May 24, 2016 Enclosure 3
 
Agenda
* Opening Remarks
* Chilled Work Environment Letter
* Response
* Causal Analysis
* Corrective Actions
* Summary Balduzzi Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 2
 
Opening Remarks Michael Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Balduzzi Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 3
 
Chilled Work Environment Letter
* Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issues Chilled Work Environment Letter (CWEL) to Watts Bar (WBN) on March 23, 2016
* Key points in CWEL A chilled work environment exists in Operations Department No serious safety violations or significant plant safety issues were identified Concerns existed regarding impact of chilled work environment on plant operations
* NRC issued CWEL to ensure clear understanding of the scope of concerns Simmons                                                                          Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 4
 
TVA Response
* TVA is committed to:
Core values and behaviors that emphasize safety over competing goals Ensuring that employees feel free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation Ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner
* TVA acknowledged that the WBN Operations Department work environment was inconsistent with TVA core values Simmons                                                                        Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 5
 
TVA Response
* Evaluations performed by TVA prior to receipt of CWEL Employee Concerns Investigation Reports, NEC-16-00127 Watts Bar Special Review Team Report, Revision 1
* Comprehensive action plan initiated prior to receipt of CWEL Senior Vice President of Nuclear Operations met with senior reactor operators and above Site Vice President met with first-line supervisors and above Roles and responsibilities reinforced for Main Control Room (MCR) and Outage Control Center (OCC)
Key organizational changes implemented Site plan implemented to improve and focus site communications Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 6
 
TVA Response
* Immediate actions following receipt of the CWEL TVAs Chief Nuclear Officer communicated to the nuclear fleet regarding:
Issuance of CWEL TVA ownership of chilled work environment causes TVA implemented independent observations of the MCR and OCC WBN initiated a Root Cause Analysis Site Vice President conducted all-hands meetings that reinforced:
Safety is paramount Senior leadership teams ownership of chilled work environment causes and commitment to resolve Roles and responsibilities of licensed operators Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 7
 
CWEL Required Actions
* Conduct an assessment of Watts Bar climate
* Address the root causes of the chilled work environment
* Take steps to ensure WBN staff members are willing to openly participate in the process Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 8
 
CWEL Focus Areas Assessed
* A chilled work environment exists within the WBN Operations Department due to perceptions of retaliation
* A perception of:
An emphasis of production over safety An undue influence by management on MCR operators
* Management oversight and effectiveness of the corrective action and employee concerns programs Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 9
 
Causal Analysis Overview
* Independent team established
* Root causes determined Senior leaders failed to recognize potential impacts on the work environment associated with initiatives to drive improvements in overall station performance A failure by management to communicate the rationale and bases for some personnel actions taken led to an atmosphere of fear by some workers Shea                                                                          Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 10
 
Causal Analysis Contributing Causes
* Weaknesses in Operations
* Established processes for oversight and management for setting and            monitoring of station nuclear safety consistently reinforcing high        culture were less than effective standards of performance
* Lack of confidence in the Corrective
* Weaknesses in senior leadership        Action Program (CAP) by some behaviors associated with managing    Operations Department personnel a healthy interface between the OCC and the MCR
* Inconsistent implementation of the Adverse Employment Action procedure Shea                                                                        Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 11
 
Causal Analysis Extent
* Extent of Condition Chilled work environment confined to Operations Department Indications of work environment challenges in other departments
* Extent of Cause Extended to WBN station as a whole Shea                                                                  Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 12
 
Causal Analysis ECP Effectiveness
* Employee Concerns Program (ECP) Effectiveness Effective in achieving the goals outlined RIS-2005-18, Guidance For Establishing And Maintaining a Safety Conscious Work Environment Procedures provide an effective path for individuals to feel free to raise issues Reporting of the ECP staff is independent of the line organization and management Key elements of the ECP have been evaluated and found effective Browns Ferry Confirmatory Order response effective with 2 gaps identified
* Industry Self Assessment of ECP Program Effectiveness August 2016 Shea                                                                              Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 13


C. Edmondson, TVA J. Calle, TVA S. Fiedler, TVA C. Chandler, TVA OTHE R ATTENDEES  S. Barczak, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy D. Lochbaum , Union of Concerned Scientists D. Flessner, Chattanooga Times
Causal Analysis CAP Effectiveness
-Free Press D. Shurberg, Human Performance Analysis Corp.
* Corrective Action Program (CAP) Effectiveness Lack of confidence in the CAP by some Operations Department personnel has contributed to a reluctance by some Operators to document issues and concerns Causal Analysis Lack of feedback provided to the Operations CAP initiators
Enclosure 2
* Perform Self-Assessment to determine CAP Effectiveness and Confidence in CAP December 2016 Shea                                                                      Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 14


Enclosure 2
Key Actions to Prevent Recurrence
* Establish and communicate a vision for a strong and healthy safety conscious work environment, focusing on results of the root cause and initiatives
* Define roles and responsibilities for key influencers
* Perform safety conscious work environment observations and trend monthly
* Conduct periodic reviews of CWEL response and effectiveness of root cause actions Connors                                                            Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 15


Watts Bar Nuclear PlantChilled Work Environment Response May 24, 2016 AgendaWatts Bar Nuclear Plant l  2*Op ening Remarks*Chilled Work Environment Letter
Additional Corrective Actions
*Response*Causal Analysis
* Implement a WBN and independent oversight observation plan focused on shift manager and unit supervisor leadership behaviors
*Corrective Actions
* Implement WBN Operations Shift Manager Mentoring Program
*Summary Balduzzi Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l  3 Opening Remarks Michael Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Balduzzi Chilled Work Environment Letter
* Implement an OCC pre-job briefing sheet for inclusion in the Outage Oversight Plan and in unplanned/forced outage oversight governance
*Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issues Chilled Work Environment Letter (CWEL) to Watts Bar (WBN) on March 23, 2016
* Revise the adverse employment action procedure, including establishing an Executive Review Board (ERB)
*Key points in CWEL A chilled work environment exists in Operations Department No serious safety violations or significant plant safety issues were identifiedConcerns existed regarding impact of chilled work environment on plant operations
* Revise Nuclear Safety Review Board guidance to include interviews of Nuclear Safety Culture Monitoring Panel (NSCMP)
*NRC issued CWEL to ensure clear understanding of the scope of concernsWatts Bar Nuclear Plant l  4 Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l  5TVA Response
Connors Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 16
*TVA is committed to:Core values and behaviors that emphasize safety over competing goalsEnsuring that employees feel free to rais e nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation Ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner
*TVA acknowledged that the WBN Operations Department work environment was inconsistent with TVA core values Simmons TVAResponse
*Evaluations performed by TVA prior to receipt of CWELEmployee Concerns Invest igation Reports, NEC-16-00127 Watts Bar Special Review Team Report, Revision 1
*Comprehensive action plan initiated prior to receipt of CWELSenior Vice President of Nuclear Operations met with senior reactor operators and aboveSite Vice President met with first-line supervisors and aboveRoles and responsibilities reinforced for Main Control Room(MCR)and Outage Control Center (OCC)Key organizational changes implementedSite plan implemented to improve and focus site communications Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l  6 Simmons TVA Response Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l  7 Simmons*Immediate actions following receipt of the CWELTVA's Chief Nuclear Officer communicated to the nuclear fleet regarding:Issuance of CWELTVA ownership of chilled work environment causesTVA implemented independent observations of the MCR and OCCWBN initiated a Root Cause AnalysisSite Vice President conducted all-hands meetings that reinforced:Safety is paramountSenior leadership team's ownership of chilled work environment causes and commitment to resolveRoles and responsibilities of licensed operators CWEL Required ActionsWatts Bar Nuclear Plant l  8 Simmons*Conduct an assessment of Watts Bar climate
*Address the root causes of the chilled work environment 
*Take steps to ensure WBN staff members are willing to openly participate in the process CWEL Focus Areas AssessedWatts Bar Nuclear Plant l 9 Simmons*A chilled work environment exists within the WBN Operations Department due to perceptions of retaliation
*A perception of:An emphasis of production over safetyAn undue influence by management on MCR operators
*Management oversight and effectiveness of the corrective action and employee concerns programs Causal Analysis OverviewWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  10 Shea*Independent team established
*Root causes determinedSenior leaders failed to recognize potential impacts on the work environment associated with initiatives to drive improvements in overall


station performanceA failure by management to communicate the rationale and bases for some personnel actions taken led to an atmosphere of fear by some workers Causal Analysis Contributing CausesWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  11 Shea*Weaknesses in Operations management for setting and consistently reinforcing high standards of performance 
Additional Corrective Actions
*Weaknesses in senior leadership behaviors associated with managing a healthy interface between the OCC
* Revise NSCMP procedure to ensure departmental representatives provide specific safety conscious work environment insights
* Revise the Employee Concern Program (ECP) procedure to ensure additional oversight and pulsing surveys during periods of high organizational stress
* Provide a method for the Shift Manager to communicate the status of CAP to MCR operators on a per shift basis Connors Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 17


and the MCR
Effectiveness Measures
*Inconsistent implementation of the Adverse Employment Action
* Achieve and sustain a healthy safety conscious work environment Open forums with site leadership to receive feedback NSCMP meetings ECP intakes and pulse surveys Employee surveys Anonymous Condition Reports MCR and OCC observations NRC allegations
* Oversight by Corporate and WBN senior leadership to ensure a healthy safety conscious work environment exists Conduct observations that changes are visible and effective Ensure actions taken in 30-day response and root cause are successfully completed Connors Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 18


procedure*Established processes for oversight and monitoring of station nuclear safety culture were less than effective
Summary
*Lack of confidence in the Corrective Action Program (CAP) by some Operations Department personnel Causal Analysis ExtentWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  12 Shea*Extent of ConditionChilled work environment confined to Operations DepartmentIndications of work environment challenges in other departments
* The work environment in the WBN Operations Department was inconsistent with TVA core values.
*Extent of CauseExtended to WBN station as a whole Causal Analysis ECP EffectivenessWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  13 Shea*Employee Concerns Program (ECP) EffectivenessEffective in achieving the goals outlined RIS-2005-18, "Guidance For Establishing And Maintaining a Safety Conscious Work Environment"Procedures provide an effective path for individuals to feel free to raise issuesReporting of the ECP staff is independent of the line organization and management Key elements of the ECP have been evaluated and found effectiveBrowns Ferry Confirmatory Order response effective with 2 gaps identified
* TVA is committed to:
*Industry Self Assessment of ECP Program EffectivenessAugust 2016 Causal Analysis CAP EffectivenessWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  14 Shea*Corrective Action Program (CAP) EffectivenessLack of confidence in the CAP by some Operations Department personnel has contributed to a reluctance by some Operators to document issues and concernsCausal Analysis Lack of feedback provided to the Operations CAP initiators
Core values and behaviors emphasize safety over competing goals Employees feeling free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation Ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner
*Perform Self-Assessment to determine CAP Effectiveness and Confidence in CAP December  2016 Key Actions to Prevent RecurrenceWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  15 Connors*Establish and communicate a vision for a strong and healthy safety conscious work environment, focusing on results of the root cause and initiatives
* The WBN senior leadership team owns the chilled work environment causes and is actively working to resolve.
*Define roles and responsibilities for key influencers
* Actions taken to address the safety conscious work environment at WBN will be monitored for effectiveness.
*Perform safety conscious work environment observations and trend monthly
Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 19
*Conduct periodic reviews of CWEL response and effectiveness of root cause actions Additional Corrective ActionsWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  16 Connors*Implement a WBN and independent oversight observation plan focused on shift manager and unit supervisor leadership behaviors
*Implement WBN Operations Shift Manager Mentoring Program
*Implement an OCC pre-job briefing sheet for inclusion in the Outage Oversight Plan and in unplanned/forced outage oversight


governance
Closing Remarks Michael Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 20
*Revise the adverse employment action procedure, including  establishing an Executive Review Board (ERB)
*Revise Nuclear Safety Review Board guidance to include interviews of Nuclear Safety Culture Monitoring Panel (NSCMP)
Additional Corrective ActionsWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  17 Connors*Revise NSCMP procedure to ensure departmental representatives provide specific safety conscious work environment insights
*Revise the Employee Concern Program (ECP) procedure to ensure additional oversight and pulsing surveys during periods of high


organizational stress
Questions?}}
*Provide a method for the Shift Manager to communicate the status of CAP to MCR operators on a per shift basis Effectiveness MeasuresWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  18 Connors*Achieve and sustain a healthy safety conscious work environmentOpen forums with site leadership to receive feedbackNSCMP meetingsECP intakes and pulse surveysEmployee surveysAnonymous Condition ReportsMCR and OCC observationsNRC allegations
*Oversight by Corporate and WBN senior leadership to ensure a healthy safety conscious work environment exists Conduct observations that changes are visible and effectiveEnsure actions taken in 30-day response and root cause are successfully completed SummaryWatts Bar Nuclear Plantl  19 Simmons*The work environment in the WBN Operations Department was inconsistent with TVA core values.
*TVA is committed to:Core values and behaviors emphasize safety over competing goalsEmployees feeling free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliationEnsuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner
*The WBN senior leadership team owns the chilled work environment causes and is actively working to resolve.
*Actions taken to address the safety conscious work environment at WBN will be monitored for effectiveness.
Watts Bar Nuclear Plantl  20 Closing Remarks Michael Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Questions?}}

Latest revision as of 01:54, 5 February 2020

Watts Bar Public Meeting Summary
ML16155A159
Person / Time
Site: Watts Bar  Tennessee Valley Authority icon.png
Issue date: 06/03/2016
From: Alan Blamey
NRC/RGN-III/DRP/B6
To: James Shea
Tennessee Valley Authority
References
Download: ML16155A159 (29)


Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION II 245 PEACHTREE CENTER AVENUE NE, SUITE 1200 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303-1257 June 3, 2016 Mr. Joseph W. Shea Vice President, Nuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street, LP 3D-C Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT:

PUBLIC MEETING

SUMMARY

FOR WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, DOCKET NO. 50-390 and 50-391

Dear Mr. Shea:

This refers to the meeting conducted at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region II Office on May 24, 2016. The purpose of the meeting was to brief the NRC staff on the current status and progress of the actions taken to improve the chilled work environment in the Operations Department at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN).

As of March 23, 2016, the NRC issued a Chilled Work Environment Letter (CEL) to Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in an effort to ensure a clear understanding of the scope of concerns related to the chilled work environment in the Operations Department. According to TVA, the work environment in the WBN Operations Department was inconsistent with TVA core values.

Therefore, TVA has taken immediate actions following receipt of the CEL which included Chief Nuclear Officer communication to the TVA fleet acknowledging ownership of the issue; Watts Bar Site Vice President met with the site staff to reinforce safety culture, ownership and the roles and responsibilities of the licensed reactor operators; conducted independent observations of the Watts Bar Control Room and Outage Control Center; and began a Root Cause Analysis. Based on the Causal Analysis performed, the following root causes have been determined: 1) Senior leaders failed to recognize potential impacts on the work environment associated with initiatives to drive improvements in overall station performance; and 2) A failure by management to communicate the rationale and bases for some personnel actions that were taken which led to an atmosphere of fear by some workers.

TVAs corrective actions include, but are not limited to, perform periodic safety conscious work environment (SCWE) observations and trends; establish and communicate a vision for a strong and healthy SCWE, implement a Watts Bar Shift Manager mentoring program; revise the adverse employment action procedure, including establishment of an executive review board.

TVA reemphasized their commitment to core values and behaviors emphasizing safety over competing goals, employees feeling free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation, and ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner. Corrective actions have been taken to prevent recurrence, and actions taken to address the safety conscious work environment at WBN will continue to be monitored for effectiveness by TVA.

J. Shea 2 In closing the NRC acknowledged the management ownership of the Operations Department SCWE issue, the importance of completing CEL actions, and sustained improving work environment. The NRC noted the importance for all TVA employees to continue using the corrective action program, the Employees Concerns Program, and other available avenues to raise concerns. The NRC also noted that no serious safety violations or instances involving significant plant safety issues associated with the work environment were identified; however, the NRC will continue to assess TVAs actions to improve the Operations Department SCWE.

A list of attendees and a copy of the presentation handout are enclosed.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS).

ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).

Should you have any questions concerning this meeting, please contact me at (404) 997-4415.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Alan Blamey, Chief Reactor Projects Branch 6 Division of Reactor Projects Docket No.: 50-390, 50-391 License No.: NPF-90, NPG-96

Enclosures:

1. List of Attendees
2. TVA Meeting Slides cc: distribution via ListServ

_________________________ SUNSI REVIEW COMPLETE FORM 665 ATTACHED OFFICE RII:DRP RII:DRP SIGNATURE CRS2 AJB3 NAME C. Smith-Standberry A. Blamey DATE 6/3/2016 6/3/2016 6/ /2016 6/ /2016 6/ /2016 6/ /2016 6/ /2016 E-MAIL COPY? YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO J. Shea 3 Letter to Joseph W. Shea from Alan Blamey dated June 3, 2016

SUBJECT:

PUBLIC MEETING

SUMMARY

FOR WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, DOCKET NO. 50-390 and 50-391 Distribution:

S. Price, RII L. Gibson, RII OE Mail RIDSNRRDIRS PUBLIC RidsNrrPMWattsBar Resource

NRC ATTENDEES C. Haney, Regional Administrator, Region II L. Wert, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region II L. Dudes, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region II L. Jarriel, Agency Allegations Advisor, NRC Headquarters M. Frankie, Acting Deputy Division Director, DRP, RII A. Blamey, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 6, DRP, RII J. Nadel, Senior Resident Inspector, Watts Bar Unit 1, DRP, RII M. Franovich, Division Director, DRP, RII C. Kontz, Senior Project Engineer, Branch 6, DRP, RII J. Baptist, Acting Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 8, DRP, RII N. Coovert, Senior Construction Inspector, Construction Inspection, Branch 3, DCI, RII A. Echavarria, Senior Investigator, OI, RII M. Checkle, Senior Allegations Coordinator, EICS, RII S. Mendez, Allegations Coordinator, EICS, RII C. Smith-Standberry, Project Engineer, Branch 6, DRP, RII S. Rose, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 5, DRP, RII J. Ledford, Public Affairs Officer, PA, RII E. Michel, RII E. Lea, Regional Governmental Liason Officer, RII S. Morrow, RES TVA ATTENDEES M. Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Operations, TVA P. Simmons, Site Vice President, Watts Bar J. Shea, Vice President Regulatory Affairs, TVA S. Connors, Plant Manager, Watts Bar E. Henderson, TVA B. Dungan, Rotational Development, Watts Bar I. Hagins-Dyer, Senior Manager, Employee Concerns Program, TVA G. Arent, Director, Watts Bar Licensing C. Edmondson, TVA J. Calle, TVA S. Fiedler, TVA C. Chandler, TVA OTHER ATTENDEES S. Barczak, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy D. Lochbaum, Union of Concerned Scientists D. Flessner, Chattanooga Times-Free Press D. Shurberg, Human Performance Analysis Corp.

Enclosure 1 Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Chilled Work Environment Response May 24, 2016 Enclosure 3

Agenda

  • Opening Remarks
  • Chilled Work Environment Letter
  • Response
  • Causal Analysis
  • Corrective Actions
  • Summary Balduzzi Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 2

Opening Remarks Michael Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Balduzzi Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 3

Chilled Work Environment Letter

  • Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issues Chilled Work Environment Letter (CWEL) to Watts Bar (WBN) on March 23, 2016
  • Key points in CWEL A chilled work environment exists in Operations Department No serious safety violations or significant plant safety issues were identified Concerns existed regarding impact of chilled work environment on plant operations
  • NRC issued CWEL to ensure clear understanding of the scope of concerns Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 4

TVA Response

  • TVA is committed to:

Core values and behaviors that emphasize safety over competing goals Ensuring that employees feel free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation Ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner

  • TVA acknowledged that the WBN Operations Department work environment was inconsistent with TVA core values Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 5

TVA Response

  • Evaluations performed by TVA prior to receipt of CWEL Employee Concerns Investigation Reports, NEC-16-00127 Watts Bar Special Review Team Report, Revision 1
  • Comprehensive action plan initiated prior to receipt of CWEL Senior Vice President of Nuclear Operations met with senior reactor operators and above Site Vice President met with first-line supervisors and above Roles and responsibilities reinforced for Main Control Room (MCR) and Outage Control Center (OCC)

Key organizational changes implemented Site plan implemented to improve and focus site communications Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 6

TVA Response

  • Immediate actions following receipt of the CWEL TVAs Chief Nuclear Officer communicated to the nuclear fleet regarding:

Issuance of CWEL TVA ownership of chilled work environment causes TVA implemented independent observations of the MCR and OCC WBN initiated a Root Cause Analysis Site Vice President conducted all-hands meetings that reinforced:

Safety is paramount Senior leadership teams ownership of chilled work environment causes and commitment to resolve Roles and responsibilities of licensed operators Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 7

CWEL Required Actions

  • Conduct an assessment of Watts Bar climate
  • Address the root causes of the chilled work environment
  • Take steps to ensure WBN staff members are willing to openly participate in the process Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 8

CWEL Focus Areas Assessed

  • A chilled work environment exists within the WBN Operations Department due to perceptions of retaliation
  • A perception of:

An emphasis of production over safety An undue influence by management on MCR operators

  • Management oversight and effectiveness of the corrective action and employee concerns programs Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 9

Causal Analysis Overview

  • Independent team established
  • Root causes determined Senior leaders failed to recognize potential impacts on the work environment associated with initiatives to drive improvements in overall station performance A failure by management to communicate the rationale and bases for some personnel actions taken led to an atmosphere of fear by some workers Shea Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 10

Causal Analysis Contributing Causes

  • Weaknesses in Operations
  • Established processes for oversight and management for setting and monitoring of station nuclear safety consistently reinforcing high culture were less than effective standards of performance
  • Lack of confidence in the Corrective
  • Weaknesses in senior leadership Action Program (CAP) by some behaviors associated with managing Operations Department personnel a healthy interface between the OCC and the MCR
  • Inconsistent implementation of the Adverse Employment Action procedure Shea Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 11

Causal Analysis Extent

  • Extent of Condition Chilled work environment confined to Operations Department Indications of work environment challenges in other departments
  • Extent of Cause Extended to WBN station as a whole Shea Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 12

Causal Analysis ECP Effectiveness

  • Employee Concerns Program (ECP) Effectiveness Effective in achieving the goals outlined RIS-2005-18, Guidance For Establishing And Maintaining a Safety Conscious Work Environment Procedures provide an effective path for individuals to feel free to raise issues Reporting of the ECP staff is independent of the line organization and management Key elements of the ECP have been evaluated and found effective Browns Ferry Confirmatory Order response effective with 2 gaps identified
  • Industry Self Assessment of ECP Program Effectiveness August 2016 Shea Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 13

Causal Analysis CAP Effectiveness

  • Corrective Action Program (CAP) Effectiveness Lack of confidence in the CAP by some Operations Department personnel has contributed to a reluctance by some Operators to document issues and concerns Causal Analysis Lack of feedback provided to the Operations CAP initiators
  • Perform Self-Assessment to determine CAP Effectiveness and Confidence in CAP December 2016 Shea Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 14

Key Actions to Prevent Recurrence

  • Establish and communicate a vision for a strong and healthy safety conscious work environment, focusing on results of the root cause and initiatives
  • Define roles and responsibilities for key influencers
  • Perform safety conscious work environment observations and trend monthly
  • Conduct periodic reviews of CWEL response and effectiveness of root cause actions Connors Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 15

Additional Corrective Actions

  • Implement a WBN and independent oversight observation plan focused on shift manager and unit supervisor leadership behaviors
  • Implement WBN Operations Shift Manager Mentoring Program
  • Implement an OCC pre-job briefing sheet for inclusion in the Outage Oversight Plan and in unplanned/forced outage oversight governance
  • Revise the adverse employment action procedure, including establishing an Executive Review Board (ERB)
  • Revise Nuclear Safety Review Board guidance to include interviews of Nuclear Safety Culture Monitoring Panel (NSCMP)

Connors Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 16

Additional Corrective Actions

  • Revise NSCMP procedure to ensure departmental representatives provide specific safety conscious work environment insights
  • Revise the Employee Concern Program (ECP) procedure to ensure additional oversight and pulsing surveys during periods of high organizational stress
  • Provide a method for the Shift Manager to communicate the status of CAP to MCR operators on a per shift basis Connors Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 17

Effectiveness Measures

  • Achieve and sustain a healthy safety conscious work environment Open forums with site leadership to receive feedback NSCMP meetings ECP intakes and pulse surveys Employee surveys Anonymous Condition Reports MCR and OCC observations NRC allegations
  • Oversight by Corporate and WBN senior leadership to ensure a healthy safety conscious work environment exists Conduct observations that changes are visible and effective Ensure actions taken in 30-day response and root cause are successfully completed Connors Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 18

Summary

  • The work environment in the WBN Operations Department was inconsistent with TVA core values.
  • TVA is committed to:

Core values and behaviors emphasize safety over competing goals Employees feeling free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation Ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner

  • The WBN senior leadership team owns the chilled work environment causes and is actively working to resolve.
  • Actions taken to address the safety conscious work environment at WBN will be monitored for effectiveness.

Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 19

Closing Remarks Michael Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 20

Questions?

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION II 245 PEACHTREE CENTER AVENUE NE, SUITE 1200 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303-1257 June 3, 2016 Mr. Joseph W. Shea Vice President, Nuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street, LP 3D-C Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT:

PUBLIC MEETING

SUMMARY

FOR WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, DOCKET NO. 50-390 and 50-391

Dear Mr. Shea:

This refers to the meeting conducted at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region II Office on May 24, 2016. The purpose of the meeting was to brief the NRC staff on the current status and progress of the actions taken to improve the chilled work environment in the Operations Department at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN).

As of March 23, 2016, the NRC issued a Chilled Work Environment Letter (CEL) to Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in an effort to ensure a clear understanding of the scope of concerns related to the chilled work environment in the Operations Department. According to TVA, the work environment in the WBN Operations Department was inconsistent with TVA core values.

Therefore, TVA has taken immediate actions following receipt of the CEL which included Chief Nuclear Officer communication to the TVA fleet acknowledging ownership of the issue; Watts Bar Site Vice President met with the site staff to reinforce safety culture, ownership and the roles and responsibilities of the licensed reactor operators; conducted independent observations of the Watts Bar Control Room and Outage Control Center; and began a Root Cause Analysis. Based on the Causal Analysis performed, the following root causes have been determined: 1) Senior leaders failed to recognize potential impacts on the work environment associated with initiatives to drive improvements in overall station performance; and 2) A failure by management to communicate the rationale and bases for some personnel actions that were taken which led to an atmosphere of fear by some workers.

TVAs corrective actions include, but are not limited to, perform periodic safety conscious work environment (SCWE) observations and trends; establish and communicate a vision for a strong and healthy SCWE, implement a Watts Bar Shift Manager mentoring program; revise the adverse employment action procedure, including establishment of an executive review board.

TVA reemphasized their commitment to core values and behaviors emphasizing safety over competing goals, employees feeling free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation, and ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner. Corrective actions have been taken to prevent recurrence, and actions taken to address the safety conscious work environment at WBN will continue to be monitored for effectiveness by TVA.

J. Shea 2 In closing the NRC acknowledged the management ownership of the Operations Department SCWE issue, the importance of completing CEL actions, and sustained improving work environment. The NRC noted the importance for all TVA employees to continue using the corrective action program, the Employees Concerns Program, and other available avenues to raise concerns. The NRC also noted that no serious safety violations or instances involving significant plant safety issues associated with the work environment were identified; however, the NRC will continue to assess TVAs actions to improve the Operations Department SCWE.

A list of attendees and a copy of the presentation handout are enclosed.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS).

ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).

Should you have any questions concerning this meeting, please contact me at (404) 997-4415.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Alan Blamey, Chief Reactor Projects Branch 6 Division of Reactor Projects Docket No.: 50-390, 50-391 License No.: NPF-90, NPG-96

Enclosures:

1. List of Attendees
2. TVA Meeting Slides cc: distribution via ListServ

_________________________ SUNSI REVIEW COMPLETE FORM 665 ATTACHED OFFICE RII:DRP RII:DRP SIGNATURE CRS2 AJB3 NAME C. Smith-Standberry A. Blamey DATE 6/3/2016 6/3/2016 6/ /2016 6/ /2016 6/ /2016 6/ /2016 6/ /2016 E-MAIL COPY? YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO J. Shea 3 Letter to Joseph W. Shea from Alan Blamey dated June 3, 2016

SUBJECT:

PUBLIC MEETING

SUMMARY

FOR WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, DOCKET NO. 50-390 and 50-391 Distribution:

S. Price, RII L. Gibson, RII OE Mail RIDSNRRDIRS PUBLIC RidsNrrPMWattsBar Resource

NRC ATTENDEES C. Haney, Regional Administrator, Region II L. Wert, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region II L. Dudes, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region II L. Jarriel, Agency Allegations Advisor, NRC Headquarters M. Frankie, Acting Deputy Division Director, DRP, RII A. Blamey, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 6, DRP, RII J. Nadel, Senior Resident Inspector, Watts Bar Unit 1, DRP, RII M. Franovich, Division Director, DRP, RII C. Kontz, Senior Project Engineer, Branch 6, DRP, RII J. Baptist, Acting Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 8, DRP, RII N. Coovert, Senior Construction Inspector, Construction Inspection, Branch 3, DCI, RII A. Echavarria, Senior Investigator, OI, RII M. Checkle, Senior Allegations Coordinator, EICS, RII S. Mendez, Allegations Coordinator, EICS, RII C. Smith-Standberry, Project Engineer, Branch 6, DRP, RII S. Rose, Chief, Reactor Projects Branch 5, DRP, RII J. Ledford, Public Affairs Officer, PA, RII E. Michel, RII E. Lea, Regional Governmental Liason Officer, RII S. Morrow, RES TVA ATTENDEES M. Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Operations, TVA P. Simmons, Site Vice President, Watts Bar J. Shea, Vice President Regulatory Affairs, TVA S. Connors, Plant Manager, Watts Bar E. Henderson, TVA B. Dungan, Rotational Development, Watts Bar I. Hagins-Dyer, Senior Manager, Employee Concerns Program, TVA G. Arent, Director, Watts Bar Licensing C. Edmondson, TVA J. Calle, TVA S. Fiedler, TVA C. Chandler, TVA OTHER ATTENDEES S. Barczak, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy D. Lochbaum, Union of Concerned Scientists D. Flessner, Chattanooga Times-Free Press D. Shurberg, Human Performance Analysis Corp.

Enclosure 1 Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Chilled Work Environment Response May 24, 2016 Enclosure 3

Agenda

  • Opening Remarks
  • Chilled Work Environment Letter
  • Response
  • Causal Analysis
  • Corrective Actions
  • Summary Balduzzi Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 2

Opening Remarks Michael Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Balduzzi Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 3

Chilled Work Environment Letter

  • Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issues Chilled Work Environment Letter (CWEL) to Watts Bar (WBN) on March 23, 2016
  • Key points in CWEL A chilled work environment exists in Operations Department No serious safety violations or significant plant safety issues were identified Concerns existed regarding impact of chilled work environment on plant operations
  • NRC issued CWEL to ensure clear understanding of the scope of concerns Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 4

TVA Response

  • TVA is committed to:

Core values and behaviors that emphasize safety over competing goals Ensuring that employees feel free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation Ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner

  • TVA acknowledged that the WBN Operations Department work environment was inconsistent with TVA core values Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 5

TVA Response

  • Evaluations performed by TVA prior to receipt of CWEL Employee Concerns Investigation Reports, NEC-16-00127 Watts Bar Special Review Team Report, Revision 1
  • Comprehensive action plan initiated prior to receipt of CWEL Senior Vice President of Nuclear Operations met with senior reactor operators and above Site Vice President met with first-line supervisors and above Roles and responsibilities reinforced for Main Control Room (MCR) and Outage Control Center (OCC)

Key organizational changes implemented Site plan implemented to improve and focus site communications Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 6

TVA Response

  • Immediate actions following receipt of the CWEL TVAs Chief Nuclear Officer communicated to the nuclear fleet regarding:

Issuance of CWEL TVA ownership of chilled work environment causes TVA implemented independent observations of the MCR and OCC WBN initiated a Root Cause Analysis Site Vice President conducted all-hands meetings that reinforced:

Safety is paramount Senior leadership teams ownership of chilled work environment causes and commitment to resolve Roles and responsibilities of licensed operators Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 7

CWEL Required Actions

  • Conduct an assessment of Watts Bar climate
  • Address the root causes of the chilled work environment
  • Take steps to ensure WBN staff members are willing to openly participate in the process Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 8

CWEL Focus Areas Assessed

  • A chilled work environment exists within the WBN Operations Department due to perceptions of retaliation
  • A perception of:

An emphasis of production over safety An undue influence by management on MCR operators

  • Management oversight and effectiveness of the corrective action and employee concerns programs Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 9

Causal Analysis Overview

  • Independent team established
  • Root causes determined Senior leaders failed to recognize potential impacts on the work environment associated with initiatives to drive improvements in overall station performance A failure by management to communicate the rationale and bases for some personnel actions taken led to an atmosphere of fear by some workers Shea Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 10

Causal Analysis Contributing Causes

  • Weaknesses in Operations
  • Established processes for oversight and management for setting and monitoring of station nuclear safety consistently reinforcing high culture were less than effective standards of performance
  • Lack of confidence in the Corrective
  • Weaknesses in senior leadership Action Program (CAP) by some behaviors associated with managing Operations Department personnel a healthy interface between the OCC and the MCR
  • Inconsistent implementation of the Adverse Employment Action procedure Shea Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 11

Causal Analysis Extent

  • Extent of Condition Chilled work environment confined to Operations Department Indications of work environment challenges in other departments
  • Extent of Cause Extended to WBN station as a whole Shea Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 12

Causal Analysis ECP Effectiveness

  • Employee Concerns Program (ECP) Effectiveness Effective in achieving the goals outlined RIS-2005-18, Guidance For Establishing And Maintaining a Safety Conscious Work Environment Procedures provide an effective path for individuals to feel free to raise issues Reporting of the ECP staff is independent of the line organization and management Key elements of the ECP have been evaluated and found effective Browns Ferry Confirmatory Order response effective with 2 gaps identified
  • Industry Self Assessment of ECP Program Effectiveness August 2016 Shea Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 13

Causal Analysis CAP Effectiveness

  • Corrective Action Program (CAP) Effectiveness Lack of confidence in the CAP by some Operations Department personnel has contributed to a reluctance by some Operators to document issues and concerns Causal Analysis Lack of feedback provided to the Operations CAP initiators
  • Perform Self-Assessment to determine CAP Effectiveness and Confidence in CAP December 2016 Shea Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 14

Key Actions to Prevent Recurrence

  • Establish and communicate a vision for a strong and healthy safety conscious work environment, focusing on results of the root cause and initiatives
  • Define roles and responsibilities for key influencers
  • Perform safety conscious work environment observations and trend monthly
  • Conduct periodic reviews of CWEL response and effectiveness of root cause actions Connors Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 15

Additional Corrective Actions

  • Implement a WBN and independent oversight observation plan focused on shift manager and unit supervisor leadership behaviors
  • Implement WBN Operations Shift Manager Mentoring Program
  • Implement an OCC pre-job briefing sheet for inclusion in the Outage Oversight Plan and in unplanned/forced outage oversight governance
  • Revise the adverse employment action procedure, including establishing an Executive Review Board (ERB)
  • Revise Nuclear Safety Review Board guidance to include interviews of Nuclear Safety Culture Monitoring Panel (NSCMP)

Connors Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 16

Additional Corrective Actions

  • Revise NSCMP procedure to ensure departmental representatives provide specific safety conscious work environment insights
  • Revise the Employee Concern Program (ECP) procedure to ensure additional oversight and pulsing surveys during periods of high organizational stress
  • Provide a method for the Shift Manager to communicate the status of CAP to MCR operators on a per shift basis Connors Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 17

Effectiveness Measures

  • Achieve and sustain a healthy safety conscious work environment Open forums with site leadership to receive feedback NSCMP meetings ECP intakes and pulse surveys Employee surveys Anonymous Condition Reports MCR and OCC observations NRC allegations
  • Oversight by Corporate and WBN senior leadership to ensure a healthy safety conscious work environment exists Conduct observations that changes are visible and effective Ensure actions taken in 30-day response and root cause are successfully completed Connors Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 18

Summary

  • The work environment in the WBN Operations Department was inconsistent with TVA core values.
  • TVA is committed to:

Core values and behaviors emphasize safety over competing goals Employees feeling free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retaliation Ensuring management will respond in a timely and effective manner

  • The WBN senior leadership team owns the chilled work environment causes and is actively working to resolve.
  • Actions taken to address the safety conscious work environment at WBN will be monitored for effectiveness.

Simmons Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 19

Closing Remarks Michael Balduzzi, Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Watts Bar Nuclear Plant l 20

Questions?