Work Management Overview

Introduction

In a November 2003 meeting, the Energy Facility Contractor Owners Group (EFCOG) launched a number of productivity improvement initiatives. In launching these initiatives, the leadership of EFCOG was sensitive to the need to develop solutions that were applicable to the broad Members of the group. Considerations to be included in the development of the initiatives included: the size of contracts, varying missions and potentially different regulatory challenges. However, it was deemed that important commonalities also existed; most importantly the need for productivity improvements and efficiencies to meet the Department's accelerated mission goals for the sites.

Work Management was one of the productivity improvement initiatives launched by EFCOG. At the November 2003 meeting, a number of challenges in the area of work management were discussed. These included (but were not limited to): extended times for work release, too little "wrench time", work packages that had grown overly large, unsatisfactory levels of rework, large backlogs of work, and in general, excessive time required to complete work.

A Work Management Working Team (Working Team) was formed and developed the following approach to address these issues: define work management, identify obstacles, identify best practices, canvas the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) and other industry sources, hold a workshop and develop solutions and recommendations. The teams approach was to establish excellence in work management through a better understanding of the best practices throughout the DOE complex.

Preliminary meetings of the Working Team were held by telephone in early 2004 and a workshop was conducted in March 2004. The team identified several resources developed by INPO that would be of benefit in defining work management and developing further understanding of the subject. These included Excellence in Work Management (September 2002) which documented the results of an INPO-sponsored, commercial nuclear power working group, established in January 2000, with the goal to identify actions, processes, definitions and standards for work management that would improve operations, maintenance and safety. The vision developed by the INPO working group resonated with the Working Team; when reworded slightly (to be more clearly applicable to the DOE complex) this vision states that the attributes of excellent work management include:

  • A safety-conscious culture that understands continuous improvement through the use of internal and external feedback, performance indicators and corrective actions.
  • A long-range plan that includes periodic and predictive maintenance, seamlessly integrated with mission work, to maintain excellent material condition that supports mission accomplishment;
  • The conduct of safe and effective facility and system maintenance shutdowns;
  • A method to manage workload and coordinate site resources to perform work;
  • Individual ownership for all aspects of the process; and

The Working Team believed that these attributes were in full agreement with the role that work management plays in implementing DOE's commitment to Integrated Safety Management System (ISMS).

Additionally INPO documents state that a key aspect to improving work management is for all participants (including leaders) to adhere to the right behaviors during all phases of the work management process.

Excellence in work management requires an environment in which individuals and leaders routinely demonstrate behaviors such as the following:

  • Recognize that work management is a multi-organizational process
  • Own the preparation, execution, and results of work activities
  • Provide assistance and mutual support to process stakeholders
  • Establish high standards and expectations that are enforced by peers
  • Conduct routine self-assessments
  • Incorporate lessons learned into the process
  • Understand the aggregate effect of ongoing work
  • Demonstrate pride in the work management process

The Working Team decided that benefit could be obtained by drawing together the knowledge that exists in the EFCOG community regarding work management and comparing and contrasting that experience to the experience of other high hazard industries. A repository for this information was necessary and, consistent with other attempts to develop standard/consistent approaches (e.g., the Project Management Institute), the Working Team decided to call this repository a "Body of Knowledge", as it was intended to describe the practice of work management as it presently exists in the DOE contractor community-when executed well.

Definition

Our goal is to establish excellence in Work Management. To fully understand the breadth of Work Management it is important to understand what Work Management is. Using information available from the above-mentioned INPO documents, the Working Team developed the following working definition along with its key attributes:

Work Management - A deliberate process in which a scope of work is identified, selected, planned, scheduled, executed, closed and critiqued. Scope of work includes maintenance, D&D, production, waste management, projects, and R&D activities. The Work Management process requires the full support of the entire organization (e.g., Operations, Engineering, ESH&Q, Planning & Scheduling, Maintenance, etc.).

The Work Team encourages comments and discussion on the above definition, as it is fundamental to the further development of our understanding of the subject.

Discussion

The Working Team drew on structure already developed by INPO in its Excellence in Work Management report. In that report, the INPO Working Group discussed seven steps in the work management process. These steps were:

  • Identify the work that needs to be performed;
  • Select the specific work that will be planned;
  • Plan that work;
  • Schedule the work for performance;
  • Execute the work;
  • Close the work item after completion; and
  • Critique the planning, scheduling and performance of the work that has been accomplished.

To further understand these seven elements, the Working Team decided upon a standard format. The element description would include a brief description of the concept contained in the element, a discussion of the mechanisms used by contractors to implement the element, and how the various attributes that make up the element were managed. A detailed description of each of these elements in the work management process, along with their inter-relationships, is provided in the sections that follow.

In addition to a description of the elements, the Working Team developed "challenges to effective execution of the element and "best practices that have been developed in the DOE complex that enhance the performance of the element. The Work Team intends that the lists of challenges and best practices be a living document. Additions to these lists and/or comments on existing items on the list are encouraged; to that end these lists will be maintained on the EFCOG Work Management website.

Relationship to Integrated Safety Management

When a new process is being developed, it is important to compare it to process descriptions already in use. From the standpoint of DOE contractors, it is important that we are able to show consistency with the Department's policy concerning the safe performance of work: Integrated Safety Management (ISM). DOE Policy 450.4 provides the overall architecture of ISM, which they invoke contractually. The most frequently used graphic to explain ISM is the "ISM Wheel which displays the five core functions of ISM (define the scope of work, analyze the hazards, develop and implement hazard controls, perform work within controls, and provide feedback and improvements) in a closed-loop cycle. The Work Team believes that the work management process relates very well to the ISM core functions. This relationship is summarized in the diagram below.

The seven elements of work management complement the effort required to "perform work safely. It draws inputs from a number of processes (such as contract management, safety analysis, hazard assessment, conduct of operations, etc.) that support a site's overall approach to ISMS.

The Seven Elements of Work Management

INPO Process Description AP-0928, Work Management has been recently updated (December 2003) to incorporate the results described in Excellence in Work Management. It notes that an effective work management process should promote and improve nuclear, industrial, and radiological safety performance; improve equipment performance and system health; increase productivity and reduce costs through the efficient use of resources; provide for a long-range plan; integrate site organizations into the process; provide an appropriate methodology for work prioritization; provide a methodology to address a graded approach to planning and scheduling; provide a cyclic, repetitive process for scheduling and incorporates an effective feedback loop. The means of carrying out these goals are embedded in the closed loop system described by the seven elements below.

Identify Work

Concept

This element describes the processes and tools put in place that determines the work that a contractor performs. At the top-level these processes and tools include the contract with DOE and management programs committed to by the contractor to execute the statement of work and requirements in the contract. On a day-to-day basis, they would entail routines used to monitor attributes important to mission execution, safety and protecting the environment.

Mechanics

The contract between DOE and the contractor provides the top-level mechanisms for work to be identified. The statement of work in the contract provides a description of the mission-related work that DOE expects to be performed; this may include facility operations, research and development, nuclear material production and storage, nuclear weapons assembly, environmental management, and environmental restoration activities (to name a few). Also included in the contract are requirements (for example, regulations, DOE Orders, other standards) that describe DOE's expectations for the manner in which work will be performed. Each year DOE and the contractor review the contract and the progress of work as part of the annual budget process. The statement of work, requirements stated in the contract and the annual budget process form the top-level means of identifying the work that will be performed.

Contractors develop management programs to execute much of the work of contracts. A number of these programs are mandatory; for example, safety management programs committed to as part of the Documented Safety Analysis (DSA) (these can include a maintenance program, training program, surveillance program, etc.), environmental protection programs that derive from permits, and assessment programs developed to implement DOE quality assurance requirements. Other programs may be developed by the contractor in furtherance of contract execution. Whether mandatory or voluntary on the part of the contractor, these management programs provide one of the primary paths for work to be identified.

Work is also identified on a daily basis. Workers are encouraged to be vigilant in monitoring facility conditions for system or equipment problems. On-going assessments or reviews may identify the need for corrective actions, changes, or improvements. The discovery of new information may result in the need for additional research and development or design changes to existing systems and equipment. The identification of work is, therefore, a continuous process.

Management

The annual budget process provides contractor and DOE management the resources to manage the work that is identified for further planning and execution. This process compares the work accomplished and that which remains to the funding that DOE believes will be available to execute work in the coming years. From this process the work to be planned and executed in a given year is identified, at a high level. Program and project plans are updated with the information developed during the annual budget process.

In furtherance of management programs, contractors often put routines in place. These routines can include Technical Surveillance Requirements/Limited Condition of Operations TSR/LCO surveillances, operator rounds, environmental monitoring, and similar repetitive procedures. Routines are executed to monitor equipment, system and environmental parameters. They provide the opportunity to proactively manage the identification of emergent work.

Additional management tools that are used in the work identification process also support other elements of the work management process. These include work requests, which are initiated by personnel who identify work that needs to be performed to allow the work item to be entered into a work management system. Work management systems are put in place by contractors to collect work requests into a single place; they provide a method to track, prioritize and coordinate the management of several categories of work. The schedule is also a tool that ensures that work is properly identified.

Select Work

Concept

Management programs identify the operational activities and routines that need to be completed to meet mission deliverables. Other types of work are converted into work requests. The Select Work element funnels the work requests through a validation or screening process to determine those work items needing to be completed. While the threshold for identifying work items needs to be sufficiently low to all capture work items, no contractor has the resources to complete every identified work request. Work requests not supporting the current mission, an identified project or specific facility need are screened out and no further resources applied to their resolution. After the work request has been validated a formal work order is entered into the work management tools used by the contractor. A relative priority is established to aid assignment of resources to the planning function and the work order is coded with information that facilitates the planning function.

Mechanics

Work selection is a continuous process to handle the work requests identified on a daily basis. The work selection process starts with a work validation. This validation process evaluates attributes of the work items to determine if the work item should be processed through the work management system. Attributes evaluated include:

  • Work Scope Identification. A clear scope statement is necessary to understand what work activities are necessary. Location of the work, equipment identification, problem symptoms, etc. may all provide key information needed to properly validate the work.
  • Operational Impact. Work requests that have immediate impact on the health and safety of contractor personnel need to be processed rapidly. Work requests that have equipment impacts must be evaluated and the systems configured to protect equipment and workers, stay in compliance with the established safety basis and operating requirements for that facility or project, and interface with mission requirements.
  • Need Date. Work requests must clearly indicate any deadline dates and the estimated time period for completing the work. Work may be tied to contract milestones, operational requirements, or management commitments. Knowledge of these drivers allows effective prioritization of work planning efforts.
  • Work Cost. Work requests may be identified that will require funding that is beyond that available to the contractor. Work requests that are clearly not going to be accomplished due to cost impacts should be screened out at this point, or, if sufficiently important, traded off with lower priority work or put forth as a candidate for additional funding.
  • Work Duplications. Contractors use Work Management Tools to track work orders. These tools should be reviewed to determine whether duplicate items are already entered into the system. If the work item is a duplicate it should be screened out.

A strong validation process incorporates two-way communications with the work request identifiers.

Effective work management processes utilize a graded approach to resolving work requests. The work may be simple enough that no initiating work documents are required (so-called "tool pouchor "quick fixitems). Or the work request may require a documented resolution. This second type of work will normally be given a relative priority, coded with respect to like components and systems, or required plant operational modes-to facilitate tracking and planning-and then entered into the work management system.

Those work requests entered into the work management system result in the generation of work orders. Mature work selection processes incorporate an understanding of a graded approach to work planning. Simple service tickets (problem statements), no planning required work orders (simple instructions, model work orders, repetitive type work, etc), and extensive planning required work orders (detailed work instructions) are anticipated, depending on the hazards involved, potential for mission impact and the complexity of the work. This graded approach is discussed further under the work planning element.

Management

Contractors need to clearly define who has responsibility and authority to perform the validation activity for their facilities and projects. The validation authority typically resides in the Operations organization because they are responsible for mission execution and normally retain configuration control of the facility systems, structures and components. The validation authorities need to be fully cognizant of mission requirements, have a strong understanding of the work management process at their facilities and be cognizant of the work management tools used to track and status work items.

The work management process descriptions need to define the planning processes used by the contractor staff. Requirements for the type of planning required, based on potential mission impact, hazards analysis and complexity of the work activity, are critical to decision-making during work selection.

Plan Work

Concept

This element describes the process of taking a defined scope of work that has been selected for planning and developing/packaging technical documents to safely and efficiently perform that work. This process includes identification/incorporation of applicable technical specifications and ESH&Q requirements into technical documents, identifying and mitigating job hazards, identifying and obtaining required permits, developing work instructions, and defining post activity acceptance.

Mechanics

An initial step in planning work is determining what type of work execution vehicle will be used to perform the work. As previously discussed under Work Selection, this decision has often already been made, on a preliminary basis, prior to the initiation of Work Planning; however, it is confirmed as part of this element. Is the work to be performed with a very simple work package where the worker has the knowledge to perform the work and little or no instruction is required or will the work require a work package with more detailed instructions?

The following criteria might be used to determine whether work can be performed using a very simple work package:

  • No medium or high risk activities.
  • No activities requiring hold points.
  • Will not alter configuration of equipment from documented design.
  • Will not cause entry into an LCO.
  • No work or troubleshooting allowed on Safety Class/Safety Significant (SC/SS) equipment or General Service (GS) portions of SC/SS systems.
  • Work that uses the authorized worker lock and tag as opposed to more formal Lock Out/Tag Out (LO/TO).
  • Will not present any unusual hazards.
  • No hands-on work with radioactive material except incidental or routine work activities that involve low potential of worker exposure or workplace contamination.
  • No breeching or opening of contaminated systems, components, containers.
  • No welding on ASME code or SC/SS equipment
  • Minimal external coordination required
  • "Skill-of-the-CraftWork

Such tasks should be documented in a work package by the Field Work Supervisor (FWS) and released to work by operations and documented on the document releasing work.

Various sites have different implementations of the graded approach to Work Planning; some have only two levels of detail in work instructions, while others have more. In any event, if the work does not meet the above guidelines for a simple work package, the following questions can assist planning personnel in determining the level of detailed required in the work instructions:

  • Is it a first-time medium or high-risk activity?
  • Does the activity require hold points (other than those identified in approved procedures)?
  • Are the activities bounded by existing Job Hazard Analysis and Radiological Work Permits (RWPs)?
  • Are any system configuration changes:
    • Restored as part of the work?.
    • Covered by approved procedures?
    • Covered by approved Engineering documents?
  • Could a single failure or error cause a process interruption?
  • Does the work involve multi-disciplinary teams of craft, operations, and support resources and require extensive coordination of resources?
  • Is job-specific training is required to complete the task?

Appendix B provides an example of the various sections of a work package that might be prepared, based upon the work package level of detail determination.

Management

Work management systems are often put in place to collect work requests and maintain and file documents in a single place. They provide a method to track, prioritize, and coordinate the management of several categories of work. They also provide a means for the work planning organization to interface with the operations organization and ensure that work is moving through the planning pipeline in a manner that supports mission execution.

Schedule Work

Concept

Schedules are tools used by work management organizations to communicate and coordinate work activities. This element describes the processes and tools associated with establishing schedules. Typically, work is identified from various sources (mission-related commitments, Authorization Basis requirements, maintenance routines, etc.) and flows through a "rolling work week process(described below) into an integrated schedule. The rolling work week concept is typically established based on either an 8 or 12 week duration (examples of an eight-week implementation provided in Appendix C).

Mechanics

Most sites have developed a fairly common set of schedules to implement graded approaches to conduct of operations. These commonly include a Plan of the Day (POD) along with a slightly longer view, often one week (so-called Plan of the Week, POW). Various methods exist to move information from longer-term schedules to these two short-term scheduling tools.

The rolling work week concept provides an effective tool for managing the development of schedules. It involves setting a specific time frame (or "window") within a longer-term schedule on which to focus increased management attention. Common time frames are eight to twelve weeks.

  • For work that falls within the work window, increased emphasis is placed on planning, detailed schedule concerns and coordination of the work. This time period of increased attention allows:
    • optimization of planned outage windows, scheduling all tasks that require particular facility conditions or that impact production commitments;
    • development of a detailed technical sequence for complex jobs;
    • addressing only items that need to be scheduled in detail, i.e., they require coordination of resources, complex work, etc;
    • grouping of similar work to efficiently use resources and equipment by facility mode, available space, system/equipment; and
    • time to verify that parts are available and staged.

The work planned during the work window is "Locked-In", that is, committed to by all concerned, two weeks in advance. This lock-in process adds discipline to the scheduling process and provides focus for final work preparation and coordination. After lock-in, the schedule is under a formal change control process; this encourages people to only lock in work that is truly ready to work. This level of planning and commitment permits the development of precise resource loaded schedules; it supports aligning support resources to the schedule (RadCon, QA, Operations, etc.) and permits other detailed preparations such as verifying that fully-trained workers are available. This level of planning and scheduling attention also improves task readiness, it allows crews time to review work in advance of working. A formal post work week critique is held to evaluate what got done, what didn't get done and why. It should be clear from the level of effort inferred above, that the implementation of a rolling work week process requires a commitment from all organizations to make the system work.

Work on the rolling work week is facilitated by the existence of schedules that integrate all important work. The operations organization should own the schedule. Integration is built through the work planning process and incorporates the insights gained from the POD and POW meetings. Emphasis is required on the identification of mandatory items, such as maintenance that supports TSRs, and other items that can impact the work execution, such as training evolutions, tours/visits, and drills.

Management

Management tools for a successful scheduling process include:

  • Senior Management involvement (Frequent and Regular) - Critical Path Meetings
  • Accountability meeting - weekly schedule commitment meeting
  • High level schedule change control authority once work is locked in
  • POD - A daily meeting intended to review facility and schedule status
  • POW - A weekly meeting intended to review and status the higher level facility schedule
  • Rolling work week process - described above
  • Outages - scheduled periods where equipment systems or facilities are available to perform pre-determined work
  • Metrics - tools used to measure success of schedule performance
  • Documentation of key scheduling assumptions - essential to the development of baseline schedules

Execute Work

Concept

This element describes the processes and tools associated with the actual performance of the work. This element is centered on the first-level supervisor (the person directly overseeing the work crew) and the crew that is engaged in the performance of the activity. The execution of work begins when the work package is released for work by Operations and runs through the completion of work in the field or facility.

Mechanics

For each assigned task, the first-level supervisor performs a final review of the work instruction, ensures that procedures and references are the latest revision and that all of the required permits are issued and up to date. Applicable work instruction prerequisites are completed to ensure readiness to work. This work should be completed in parallel with establishing worker protection and industrial safety requirements. Example components of work execution include the following:

Preparations:

  • Contact job support personnel as required.
  • Build scaffolding and install lead shielding.
  • Complete rigging preparations.
  • Assemble tools and material at job location.
  • Remove insulation.
  • Assemble required test equipment.
  • Provide necessary temporary air, power, and water requirements.
  • Finish prefabrication work.
  • Build contamination control devices (catch basins, tents, water storage/recovery systems).
  • Set up welding equipment if required.

Pre-Job Brief:

  • Scope of the task
  • Review of prerequisite section of the work instructions
  • Responsibilities of all participants, including expected worker radiological recovery actions
  • Job-specific hazards and their controls
  • Applicable precautions and limitations
  • Required safety equipment
  • Discuss hold points with employee(s) responsible for the completion of the hold point and employee(s) performing work immediately before or after the hold point
  • Industrial, environmental or radiological hazards of the task from the work document, Radiological Work Permit, job hazards analysis, field walk-downs, or facility knowledge
  • Potential abnormal events and contingency plans

After completing preparations and getting their work crew prepared to perform the job, the first-line supervisor oversees and directs the work activities in accordance with the approved work instructions. The supervisor documents relevant as-found conditions and the work performed, and identifies all discrepancies and incomplete work items. As the work completes, the first line supervisor reviews the instructions for a complete and accurate work history and performs post activity testing and any rework identified by the post activity testing. Finally, the first line supervisor completes all system/equipment checks described in the work instructions to return equipment to service.

Management

Management tools put in place to monitor work execution include the Plan of the Day or other work progress meeting, which monitors the day-to-day progress of work execution. Formal programs to have management observe work in the field will provide not only status, but a more accurate feel for work difficulty and potential coordination issues. Schedule updates, based on work completed also provide feedback on work execution.

Close Work

Concept

Work can be closed and declared complete when defined requirements in the approved work package have been met, or exceptions have been authorized by the person responsible for accepting the work-normally in the operations organization. The system/components can be returned to operations subject to any controls defined in the work instructions. Documentation associated with the work evolution can then be signed off.

Mechanics

The work closure process can be described as several related steps. These steps include the process of verifying that work has been completed, documenting the completion of work, returning (or turning over) equipment and systems to operations, an inventory of equipment and parts used and feedback to the work management process. Important attributes of these processes are discussed below.

Verification:

  • Verify all administrative and technical requirements, including quality, regulatory and safety basis requirements, are satisfied and test results are approved; resolve any deviations.
  • Remove all temporary/test equipment and restore system/components to operable status.
  • Ensure condition tags and other documents are in the completed closure package prior to returning it to the Work Management Center.
  • Dispose of excess materials and waste properly.
  • Documentation:
  • Document work completion against requirements, or authorized incomplete/open work items.
  • Update the files for the affected system/equipment, a number of sites use standard computerized templates to capture relevant historical information, e.g., capturing repair history, calibration and preventive maintenance data into the Work Management System.
  • Update as-built drawings, as appropriate.
  • Retain the closure package in accordance with the Site's records retention requirements.

Return to Operations:

  • Review work activity and all testing for system/equipment operability.
  • Evaluate the authorized incomplete/open work items for any operational impact concerns.
  • Verify required procedure, drawing and training updates are completed prior to placing the component(s) in service.
  • Accept the system/equipment for operability and return to service in a timely manner.
  • Release all remaining clearance tags, and return the system/equipment to the required configuration to support facility operations.

Inventory:

  • Document material used.
  • Return unused parts to the warehouse.

Management

The first-line supervisor is responsible to verify work completion against requirements defined in the approved work package, and ensuring completion of the work closure functions; the first line supervisor should consult with the work planner and the systems engineer as needed. If there are authorized open items, the work package should have been changed and procedures amended by the appropriate formal documentation.

Critique Work

Concept

This element describes the processes and tools associated with performing a critical analysis of work to ensure that issues, improvements or lessons learned are identified, and incorporated into subsequent work. Work critiques take on many forms, ranging from individual job post work critiques to critiquing all of the work performed by a group or a facility within a specified time period, e.g., the previous work week (Work Week Critique) period.

Mechanics

The post work critique (ALARA, etc.) process takes selected jobs and critiques them to identify good practices, issues, and lessons learned. Improvement opportunities are typically formally documented and followed to closure through a commitment tracking system. Issues should be trended to identify programmatic issues. The applicable post work critique output should be discussed in the work week critique process described below.

The work week critique process is a continuous improvement process, whereby all groups involved in work execution meet to perform a critical analysis of all aspects of the week performance.

  • Work Week Critique Meeting: A regularly scheduled meeting used to perform a thorough analysis of the work execution, typically covering the previous weeks work activities
  • Work Week Critique Attendance: Work week critique targeted audience should typically be that of Facility Senior Management.
  • Work Week Critique Report: A formally prepared report which comprehensively addresses the work week being analyzed, including the specifics regarding what was accomplished, what was initially intended to be accomplished, but was not & what the issues were which prevented that work from being accomplished. The report should also include:
    • A breakdown of the types of work scheduled & accomplished for the week, including Emergency, Emergent, etc.
    • Metrics which track and trend the work week elements, including:
      • Schedule & Cost Performance
      • Manpower Utilization
      • Emergent Work
      • Backlog
      • Action Item Tracking: A formal process in which action items from the Work Critique meeting are assigned responsibility & tracked through completion.

Management

Management tools for a successful critique process include:

  • Weekly critique meeting
  • Regularly scheduled meeting following each work week to critically review performance of the previous work week (attended by Senior Management)
  • Appropriate Metrics including tracking and trending
  • Standard Critique reports
  • Action Item Tracking / Accountability
  • Worker feedback
  • Lessons Learned

Conclusion

In the above discussion, the Working Team has attempted to lay out a closed-loop process for the management of work-regardless of type, i.e., maintenance, construction, mission-related production, etc. This based on the belief that good work management in the environment of a nuclear facility has certain common processes and attributes, regardless of the source of the work item. The body of knowledge is intended to be a living document, growing and improving based on the input received from work management professionals and others in the DOE complex. Several work team members put together the diagram below to provide an overview of the work management process. It, along with the description of the process provided above, is provided to stimulate discussion on this important subject. The Work Team looks forward to your input.