IG Notes Idaho?s Improvements in Integrated Safety Management

Idaho National Laboratory has made progress in Integrated Safety Management and is taking necessary actions to continue the improvement, according to a Department of Energy Office of Inspector General audit report released Friday. In half of the 59 safety incidents analyzed by the report that occurred between Fiscal Year 2011 and 2013 hazards were not appropriately analyzed or controls were not developed and implemented the IG noted. “In response to the events above, Idaho and its contractors took steps to strengthen procedures, training and oversight. We found significant efforts in place to ensure employee involvement and overall accountability for safety. We also noted that safety trends appeared to be improving since the events occurred,” the report states.

 

There are still some issues that have not yet been fully resolved, including weaknesses in Documented Safety Analyses, insufficient engineered controls and less than adequate supervision. “Management at the Idaho Operations Office is well aware of the problems, and is taking or has begun to take appropriate actions. Therefore, we are not making formal recommendations in this report,” the IG said.