[DOE LETTERHEAD]
August 5, 2005
MEMORANDUM TO DISTRIBUTION
FROM: BRUCE M. CARNES
ASSOCIATE
DEPUTY SECRETARY
SUBJECT: Reinvigorating Integrated Safety Management (ISM)
The Secretary approved the
Department’s 2004-1 implementation plan on June 10, 2005. One of the central objectives of this plan is
to reinvigorate ISM. This will require significant
effort and attention, and your personal involvement. Three specific areas of ISM implementation are
targeted for attention by the implementation plan: (1) ISM system descriptions for Federal
organizations, (2) work planning, and (3) feedback and improvement. The implementation plan also provides an
updated vision for fully implementing the ISM guiding principles, and a clear
articulation of DOE federal responsibilities for ISM implementation. The vision and expectations are excerpted from
the implementation plan [draft Appendices F and GI and attached for your
information and familiarization; these will be promulgated in a DOE ISM manual
by December 2005.
Another action described in the
Department’s 2004-1 implementation plan calls for each DOE site and program
office with nuclear facilities to think through and document its ISM system in
an ISM system description document by March 2006.
To ensure the necessary
leadership and commitment for reinvigorating ISM at all levels throughout the
DOE organization, and as described in the 2004-1 implementation plan, I am
requesting that each program and site office identify an ISM Champion who will
be responsible for leading ISM implementation activities at his or her office. In selecting your ISM champions, please bear
in mind the ISM principle that line management is responsible for safety. ISM champions for program offices should be at
least at the level of Deputy Assistant Secretary or equivalent. ISM champions for site offices (including operations
offices, field offices, and service centers) should be at least at the level of
Assistant Manager or equivalent. I am
asking you to designate these ISM champions and inform me by August 31, 2005,
so that I can coordinate overall Departmental efforts. We will also name a Department ISM champion by
that time.
Please provide any further
feedback to me at (202) 586-2550, or have your staff provide feedback to the
2004-1 project leader, Ms. Kim Davis, at (202) 586-3771.
Distribution:
Linton
Brooks, NA-1
David
Garman, US-ESE
John
Shaw, EH-1
Ray
Orbach, SC-1
Shane
Johnson, NE-1
cc: Mark Whitaker, DR-1
Jerry
Paul, NA-2
Site
Office Managers
Requisite Environment for
Effective ISM Systems