Lessons Learned from Assessments of Safety System Management at U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Facilities - November 2023

November 2023,

Lessons Learned from Assessments of Safety System Management at U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Facilities

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environment, Safety and Health Assessments, within the independent Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA), conducted eight assessments of safety system management (SSM) at DOE high-hazard (hazard category 1 and 2) nuclear facilities between January 2019 and September 2023. These facilities were under the direction of the DOE Offices of Environmental Management and Nuclear Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration. The objective of these assessments was to evaluate the effectiveness of SSM by assessing selected active safety structures, systems, and components (SSCs) to determine whether they were operated and maintained in a manner to ensure that they can reliably perform the intended function of protecting workers and the public from analyzed hazards. The assessments also evaluated the effectiveness of DOE oversight of the contractors’ SSM performance. This lessons-learned report identifies common strengths and weaknesses, best practices, and recommendations to promote organizational learning and improve performance throughout the DOE complex.