DOE P 411.1, Safety Management Functions, Responsibilities, and Authorities Policy

DOE P 411.1 U.S. Department of Energy POLICY Washington, D.C. 1-28-97 SUBJECT: SAFETY MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND AUTHORITIES POLICY Throughout this document, the "safety" is used synonymously with "environment, safety1 and health" to encompass protection of the public, the workers, and the environment. DISTRIBUTION: INITIATED BY: All Departmental Elements The Office of Environment, Safety and Health PURPOSE The Department of Energy has the responsibility to ensure that operations at its facilities are conducted safely. The purpose of this policy and the associated manual is to define the DOE safety management functions, responsibilities and authorities to ensure that work is performed1 safely and efficiently. This policy statement succinctly defines the Department's expectation regarding DOE employees' responsibilities for safety management. It does not establish any new requirements. SCOPE This document establishes the policy for the DOE functions, responsibilities and authorities related to environment, safety and health. This policy applies to all DOE elements with the exception of Naval Reactors (Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program) and the Power Marketing Administrations which have established their own programs for safety. POLICY All Departmental operations must be performed in a manner which provides reasonable assurance that workers, the public, and the environment are adequately protected. The ultimate responsibility and accountability for ensuring adequate protection in the operation of DOE facilities, while meeting the requirements of national security and defense, rests with DOE line management. Where contractors are employed to plan and conduct work at DOE facilities, DOE line management fulfills this responsibility by establishing expectations, contractual requirements, overseeing compliance, and managing contracts. These activities include: developing and applying environment, safety and health requirements; providing guidance for the development of contractors' safety management systems; providing technical direction; approving bases for operations; assessing contractor performance against established requirements; and analyzing and feeding back operational information to improve operations. DOE's safety management functions, responsibilities and authorities for ensuring adequate protection and safe operations cannot be delegated to contractors. 2 DOE P 411.1 1-28-97 DOE safety management functions with clear lines of responsibilities and authorities are necessary to: CDevelop and implement requirements and standards which are necessary to provide reasonable assurance that workers, the public, and the environment are adequately protected. C Define essential safety management functions and establish unambiguous DOE roles, responsibilities, and authorities for executing them to accomplish the authorized work. • Clarify the roles, responsibilities, lines of authority, and delegations between headquarters and field organizations. CEnsure compliance with legal requirements and manage against contractual requirements. • Define functional relationships and responsibilities among DOE line, support, oversight, and enforcement organizations. • Address the coordination of line direction from multiple program offices at a single site.

DOE M 411.1, "Department of Energy Manual for Safety Management Functions, Responsibilities and Authorities," will establish the framework to achieve the above objectives, by identifying those functions that are fundamental to safety management and that need to be performed consistently throughout the Department. The Manual also will identify the Departmental organization(s) that are responsible for the functions and define the requirements and authorities for any delegations of responsibilities. Each line, support, oversight, and enforcement organization within the Department is responsible for establishing and documenting how the specific functions and responsibilities assigned to them in the Manual are properly discharged. Separate organizational and operating documents will be prepared by each organization to define how its functions are to be carried out and identify who has the responsibility and authority to do so. Establishing and documenting safety management functions with clear lines of responsibilities and authorities also is required to improve accountability for safety within the Department. Each Department organization responsible for a defined safety management function must communicate DOE P 411.1 3 (and 4) 1-28-97 those functions and the associated responsibilities and authorities to their employees so that they are clearly understood. Proper understanding and discharge of responsibilities is essential so that safety management becomes an integral part of each individual's normal work activities. CHARLES B. CURTIS Acting Secretary of Energy