The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is again raising issues with the maintenance program at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, expressing concern last week on the effectiveness of maintenance work control documents (WCDs). After the Board expressed concern in 2010 about work planning and control at WIPP, contractor Washington TRU Solutions developed two maintenance program and process documents. But DNFSB staff have identified a number of issues with those documents, and late last year the Depart of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management identified deficiencies in the document as well. DNFSB Chairman Peter Winokur followed up in a June 27 letter to EM chief Dave Huizenga. “The Board understands that efforts are underway to improve and assess implementation of the contractor’s corporate work planning and control standard. However, staff observations during this review indicate that significant progress is still necessary,” the letter states.
An accompanying DNFSB report finds that “the preventive and corrective maintenance WCDs need to be enhanced to be more clear and concise and to reflect actual conditions and practices in the field.” DNFSB staff found that formatting and terminology in the documents was inconsistent and that some documents “lacked the clarity necessary to be followed without confusion.” Additionally, “the detail and language of some steps did not support error-free performance of work,” and the documents were not always technically or administratively accurate. “WTS management estimated that the upgrading of maintenance WCDs to meet local requirements lags behind the upgrading of waste handling WCDs by about 18 months,” the report states. It adds, “Continued diligence to resolve these issues and the others documented in this report should make the maintenance program at WIPP safer and more efficient.”