SLAC Today logo

Work Planning and Control Update

As announced last fall, SLAC is rolling out an improved Work Planning and Control process, the culmination of more than two years of work by a committee chaired by Karen Fant and more recently by Leslie Stepanek, SLAC's WP&C manager. Each of the associate laboratory directors has been asked to identify WP&C liaisons who will train the personnel in their respective directorates. This training will begin in February and is scheduled to be completed by the end of March. Leslie Stepanek will deliver WP&C training to the liaisons and support their training efforts over the next two months.

During the next six months, managers conducting regular safety walkabouts will assess staff and contractors on their familiarity and application of the WP&C process. This assessment will be done in the framework of the five Integrated Safety Management Core Functions:

1. Define the Scope of Work
2. Analyze Hazards
3. Develop/Implement Safety Controls
4. Perform Work Within the Controls
5. Feedback and Improvement

The walkabout assessments will measure the lab's progress in improving the WP&C process, including a common awareness of terminology and processes.

As part of SLAC management's commitment to providing a safe work environment, the WP&C process capitalizes on current good practices within SLAC and several other national laboratories. Consistent with the one lab concept, this initiative will provide a single framework for WP&C processes and documentation. The project will provide a consistent approach to defining the work, ensuring all hazards are understood, and appropriate controls are established before work is authorized and released.

Your support and involvement are needed to make this initiative successful. It is time to execute plans and deliver results. Please feel free to send questions, suggestions for improvements and feedback to Leslie Stepanek. Also visit the WP&C Web site for more information.

—Persis Drell
  SLAC Today, February 5, 2009