Reengineering A DOE Package Certification Program

Reengineering A DOE Package Certification Program (PCP) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Environmental Management, Office of Site Operations (EM-70) comprised three steps. The first consisted of soliciting 10 white papers on selected topics relating to the package certification program. Second, a workshop was held in Livermore, California, in late July 1998 to explore issues raised in the papers. In this workshop, the experience of EM-70 management, customers, reviewers, and package review management from other Department programs provided potentially productive modifications to the PCP. Third, the recommended modifications were included in a formal report, Reengineering EM's Package Certification Program, DOE/EM-0383. Many of the recommendations should be relatively easy to implement and should provide cost-effective methods for improving the review process that should be clearly visible in management metrics within one to two years. Other recommendations relate to policy changes requiring significant interaction among the DOE, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and Department of Transportation, as well as within EM and the Department.