Safety in the Underground Construction and Operation of the Exploratory Studies Facility at Yucca Mountain (1995) / Chapter Skim
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Department of Energy's Construction Safety Program
Department of Energy's Construction Safety Program
Pages 13-22
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From page 13... ...
The paper provides insight to those responsible for developing or implementing policies for the management of construction safety and health within the contracting constraints of publicly funded construction projects. INTRODUCTION In early 1992, DOE's Office of Safety and Quality Assurance began revising the existing policy for the management of safety and health on the department's construction projects, which is described within DOE Order 5480.9, "Construction Safety and Health Program," which was originally published in December ~ 980.
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From page 14... ...
Beyond the moral imperative to improve safety in its operations, DOE has a significant economic interest beyond that of most public sector owners or contracting agencies, because, in most cases, it fully reimburses its contractors for worker's compensation costs and other casualty losses. With its environmental restoration and waste management mission and significant projects in program areas such as energy research and civilian radioactive waste management, DOE has become the largest construction owner in the nation.
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From page 15... ...
With the current emphasis on safety in DOE, it is DOE's obligation to clearly state its requirements to avoid the lengthy and often expensive disputes regarding minimum levels of acceptable safety and health performance. :[n addition, with efforts in the federal government to reduce internal departmental regulations, directives, and their derivative paperwork, there is a great deal of scrutiny of new or revised policy documents in terms of length, form, and content.
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From page 16... ...
According to a report entitled "Improving Construction Safety Performance" (The Business Roundtable, ~ 982) , which used extremely conservative data, the ratio of benefits to costs for administering effective safety and health programs was 3.2 to 1.
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From page 17... ...
Accordingly, a definition that clearly distinguished between construction and maintenance was needed, because many questioned the benefit and cost effectiveness of applying the policy to daily maintenance activities. Second, the diverse organized labor representation on DOE facilities had an interest in whether future DOE environmental restoration and waste management work would be considered construction or the continued operation of a facility, albeit with a different product.
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From page 18... ...
For the sake of flexibility and economy, the Order allows for the preliminary hazard analysis to be completed in advance and provided within the bid documents or to be completed concurrently with the activity hazard analysis by the construction contractor, provided that all requirements are fulfilled. In addition to containing customary employee safety orientation and weekly toolbox training, the DOE Order uses the completed activity hazard analysis to ensure that employees are trained specifically regarding identified project hazards and the appropriate control measures.
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From page 19... ...
Moreover, it is based on performance from two to four years ago as opposed to current performance and therefore may not reflect significant safety and health program improvements. With respect to the use of incidence rates as a prequalification criterion, history has shown clearly that the mere use of these rates for such purposes has led, in and of itself, to their marked improvement, without necessarily a corresponding improvement in true safety performance.
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From page 20... ...
stating that a rigid prequalification process based on experience modifier rates and incidence rates was superior to the contractor evaluation system prescribed by the FAR and referred to in the Order, despite the fact that the experience modifier rate is inherently biased against small businesses. In reviewing these contradictory positions, it was believed that it was more desirable to allow contractors the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to comply with DOE's construction safety program requirements than it was to preclude contractors on the basis of safety performance indicators that were neither fair nor completely reliable.
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From page 21... ...
Department of Energy's Construction Safety Program 21 bidder pool should exert downward pressure on bid prices, thereby enabling DOE to perform its construction more safely and more economically. SUMMARY Within a short paper, it is impossible to review all the elements of DOE's recently developed policy for the management of safety and health on its construction projects, or the issues confronted in its development.
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From page 22... ...
1982. Improving construction safety performance: A construction industry cost effectiveness project report.
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