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Re: Pursuit of Excellence



One misunderstanding, here, is the belief that "excellence" is about spending

more money.  Although resources are important, it's as much about attitude and

attention to detail.



No business could be successful if its managers' goal is being "good enough."

If  I were evaluating a company for investment, and the annual report stated

that the company's profits are "good enough," and that there is no need to

improve or do anything to grow the company, I'd look elsewhere for investment

opportunities.



Why should safety be any different?



It's the difference between being a manager and being a bureaucrat.  The

bureaucratic attitude is to do the minimum work and then relax.  A good manager

is always seeking ways to improve, often without spending more.



Each of us has to make this decision.  To assist you with that decision, I

assure you that the industry won't survive as a bureaucracy.



The opinions expressed are strictly mine.

It's not about dose, it's about trust.

Curies forever.



Bill Lipton

liptonw@dteenergy.com



"Kim D. Merritt" wrote:



> As another former Navy nuke I would like to add the following

> comments:  The Navy can succeed in the way it runs its program because it

> has a captive work force.  12 hour days are not the exception but rather

> the norm, so having enough time and bodies is generally not an issue.  If

> you don't have enough bodies you just extend the working hours to make up

> for it.  The other reason is that they have absolute control over their

> people, you can't quit if you think what you are doing is ridiculous and

> are working way to many hours (for pathetic pay).  Nuclear power plants

> (and other employers) don't punish mistakes by locking somebody into their

> office for 45 days and keeping half of their paycheck or by making them

> continue to work at the plant as a parking lot stripe painter.  Other

> industries may look with envy at the Navy's record and try to emulate

> portions of it, but they should never expect to be able to replicate

> it.  It simply is not compatible with a civilian operating environment.

>

> Pursuit of excellence is a good thing but one has to balance what is gained

> against what you are spending to gain it.  We are an OSHA VPP Star site

> which means that we have entered into formal agreement with OSHA to

> implement a safety program that goes above and beyond what is required in

> the reg's.  When they did their recertification audit they would complain

> if an aspect of the program merely met the requirements rather than

> exceeded it.  Does our certification mean that we are safer than we were

> before it?  Since our injury/illness rates were already low, improvements

> are hard to pick out of the background noise.  But we do have a nice flag

> flying out front to show how good we are.

>

> >I am not trying to say that numbers do not matter.  The point is that,

> >over the years we have been driven to seek better numbers at the expense

> >of better programs.  This worship of the U.S. Navy program, by DOE, INPO,

> >DNFSB, and others, drives many of us to spend a lot of time and effort on

> >so-called priorities that have no place (or at least a limited place) in

> >some facilities and operations.  A diversion of resources to absolutely

> >prevent releases and contamination spread has a place on a submarine,

> >where some necessities, such as instrumentation, education, and air, are

> >limited.  Maybe these things are not so important in a laboratory, or

> >hospital, or remediation site.  Maybe not even in a power

> >plant.  Unfortunately, it is the religion now - you cannot even question

> >it.  Resources are limited.  Unfortunately, there is little wiggle room

> >for professional judgment as to where the time and money go.  Program

> >enhancements take a back seat to blind adherence to the creed.

> >

>

> Kim Merritt, RRPT

> Radiation/Laser Safety Officer

> NASA Langley Research Center

> Hampton, VA

> (757)864-3210

> <mailto:k.merritt@larc.nasa.gov>

>

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