The meeting commenced at 2:35 p.m.
The meeting opened with an introduction of new steering committee members Mary Ann Showalter (representing Communications), Sharon Bailey (who replaces Mark Halvorson), and Cameron Andersen (who did not attend since he was on travel).
It was announced that Joy Rosscup had a video made of the recent DOE-HQ presentation. The committee is hoping to have other copies made so that the video can be viewed by the individuals who were not able to attend the DOE presentation.
During the DOE-HQ visit, Vern Madson attended the VPP champions' meeting. He noted concern among the attendees that some sites are completing their applications before taking part in the interview process. A process is being put into place to stop early completion of applications. Vern informed the committee that we are not affected by this new process.
Russ Meicenheimer and Drue Collins, co-chairs of the Management Commitment/Employee Involvement subcommittee, determined that the subcommittee should be officially split into two subcommittees. Vern okayed the split.
Russ had no update for the Employee Involvement subcommittee.
Todd Hart had no update for the Worksite Analysis subcommittee.
For the Management Commitment subcommittee, Drue reported that he met with Hans Vogel, ES&H System Design and Applications. Hans identified a number of integrated safety management systems related to VPP, and Drue reported that he needs to meet with Russ to go over this list.
For the Safety and Health Training subcommittee, it was reported that the training records for the bargaining unit staff weren't up to date. Problems were also found during a review of personal protective clothing and emergency awareness.
LaVon Clement reported no update for the Hazard Prevention subcommittee.
Vern called for the need for new members to the subcommittees. It was noted that Dave Higby made a commitment to furnish ES&H staff for any subcommittees that need help.
Dave Higby agreed to have Dave Carroll, ES&H's Quality Representative, present the performance indicator information to the Steering Committee's next meeting.
Drue reported that he has been conducting personal interviews with field-deployed Facilities and Operations staff who conduct hazardous work. The driver for these interviews is a performance indicator related to worker involvement in ES&H programs. The intent is to "score" these interviews in order to provide input on our performance to DOE. These interviews will be performed by division, and results will be compiled by year end. So far, feedback has been positive (e.g., stop work authority, management involvement in work, ability to relate concerns to management), with some areas identified for improvement (e.g., training improvements, lack of continuous information from committees). Dave Higby offered to invite Dave Carroll to the next steering meeting to discuss this interview tool.
Vern asked Cliff Wynn, a steering committee member who is also on the Electrical Safety Committee, to provide the steering committee with updates on the Electrical Safety Committee at each meeting. As background, Cliff reported that several deficiencies were noted in the Electrical Safety Program, so actions were taken to develop the Electrical Safety Committee and start developing/overhauling guidance for staff (Electrical Safety subject area/program description). During their February meeting, the Electrical Safety Committee developed a charter, which needs to be finalized and signed off. Bob Gough was selected as committee chair, and Cliff was selected as secretary. The subject area and program description are currently being developed. Current happenings are as follows:
Vern announced that an integrated safety management conference is being held May 11 and 12, 1999, in Cincinnati, Ohio. This DOE-sponsored event will consist of break-out sessions and workshops that involve the worker involvement aspect. Dave Higby reported that PNNL is trying to include bench-level hazard analysis in this conference. Vern indicated that he would like to send some committee members to this conference. He asked that the committee members check their calendars and email him if they can attend.
The question was raised on how staff can join the committees. Interested staff should send an email to Joy Rosscup or Vern Madson, and another call for involvement will be sent out. Mary Ann offered to write up the call for involvement for the What's Happening, and also noted that this information is located on the VPP web site (http://www.pnl.gov/vpp/index.htm).
Dave Higby stated that he is beginning the FY00 budget process. He requested that the committee members provide him with a request for a certain dollar amount by the end of May. He also requested information on what the committee will be doing with the money (e.g., promotion, travel), but indicated he didn't want a lot of detail.
The meeting was adjourned at 3.35 p.m.
