Contractor Assurance

  • U.S. Department of Energy
  • Fermilab

(M7) ES&H

Environment, Safety and Health (ES&H) Management System Description
Management System Owner: Acting ESHQ Section Head (Martha Michels)
Revision and Date: Rev 6, July 3, 2013

1.0 Purpose

The Environment, Safety and Health Management System’s purpose is to ensure that the implementation results in compliance with the Contract and to improve Fermilab’s ability to meet or exceed ES&H customer expectations. This system is to protect the public, the worker and the environment through a set of elements that Fermilab uses to plan, direct, control, coordinate, assure and improve how ES&H policies, objectives, processes, and procedures are established, implemented, monitored, and achieved, thereby enabling the scientific mission.

2.0 Roles and Responsibilities

Roles Responsibilities
ESHQ Section Head
  • Owns the ES&H Management System
  • Establishes and maintains ES&H policies and procedures
  • Assesses line organizations for compliance
  • Seeks and implements improvements
Fermilab ES&H Subcommittees
  • Monitor, update (with management system owner concurrence), review, and improve the ES&H Management System policies and processes in their area of expertise
Associate Directors and Division/Section/Center Heads
  • Assure implementation in the line organizations under them
ES&H Officers
  • Assist in implementation in their line organizations as subject matter experts

3.0 Management System Operation

The operation of this Management System occurs through oversight, assessment, and evaluation of employee, scientist/user and contractor performance; reporting of ES&H performance data to SC and other entities as appropriate; and striving for continuous improvement in all ES&H areas. Overall documentation for implementing/assuring an effective system operation is contained in the Fermilab ES&H Manual which includes the Fermilab Radiological Control Manual.

Operation is accomplished mainly through ES&H Subcommittees and one over-arching Fermilab ES&H Committee (FESHCom) which the subcommittees chairpersons formally report to on a regular basis. These committees, along with line management personnel interacting with members of the committees and ES&H personnel, are key to the operation and integration of ES&H processes at the lab.

Information on the FESHCom and the above subcommittees (including Charters) is shown at Fermilab ES&H Subcommittees . Main ES&H committee responsibilities (FESHM 1010) are to update their respective FESHM Chapters and training, watch for/discuss issues and lessons learned, prepare annual self-assessment reports, look for improvements (lab wide consistency, best practices discussions), and to communicate to the COO and ESHQ Section Head issues/actions at FESHCom meetings or through e-mails/phone calls.

4.0 References

5.0 Processes Supporting System

NOTE: Some documents require a username and password which is available upon request; other documents have more restricted access and can be provided upon request.

The main ES&H processes are summarized in: Fermilab ES&H Manual which includes the Fermilab Radiological Control Manual. Also useful is the ISO/OHSAS Cross Walk which shows a comparison of the ISO/OHSAS Standard and the supporting documents/processes within the Fermilab management system that meet the requirements for each article in the standard.

In FESHM, the chapters below are key in specifying how the program is implemented:

Summary Web Pages are a resource to help ensure that people can find the information that they need in order to follow the appropriate processes and keep informed about the status of the program:

  • Lab Management ES&H Web Page : is set up to provide transparency to laboratory management about the status/issues/concerns in the management system.
  • ES&H Home Page is for employees, users and contractors (and others to the extent that it is public) to come to find the documents that describe the processes they need to follow, training, and the status of the management system.
  • Fermilab ES&H Status Report: updated tri-annually, presents key objectives/outcomes; Emerging risks/liabilities; injury status; continues improvements highlights to help determine the areas of concern/emerging risks and communicate those.
  • Leading/Lagging Indicators: web page showing tracking and tending information/reports which provides information to use to determine areas of risk.
  • Web pages for subsystems: Emergency, Environment, Safety, Health and Radiological all present material similar to that above.
  • Web “audience” pages tailored to specific task groups on the ES&H Home page.

Databases listed here are used for tracking and sharing issues, improvements and lessons learned:

  • frESHTRK: An issues tracking system primarily used to document the observation and facilitate the resolution of ES&H issues from assessments, walkthroughs, audits, etc. (See FESHM 1010, Section 7.5, for a description of this system.

Program and Plan details are standard documents that describe how parts of the ES&H Management System work:

Communication is key in this management system and the following are some methods that we use to mitigate envisioned risks:

  • Venues for ES&H Communication describes the various ways in with we communicate ES&H information/concerns to personnel.
  • Take 5 is a program which includes a web page, posters and overall communication of the concept of thinking about what you are going to do before you do it and then reflecting on how you might do it better next time after you have done it.
  • Porcelain Press is an ESH newsletter that we post in the bathrooms every two weeks. It allows us to provide timely communication about potential upcoming issues we see based on trends on site and off site and general annual concerns (geese in the spring, bees in the fall, etc.)
  • E S&H Tips are monthly articles in Fermilab Today on various ES&H topics that are used in a manner similar to the Porcelain Press.

FRA Board of Directors ES&H Committee Presentations:

6.0 Reviews, Audits and Reports

ES&H Assessments and other structured operational awareness activities are all part of Fermilab’s ES&H Assurance Program. The ES&H assessment program is described in FESHM 1010.1. “ES&H Self-Assessment Program”.

Many high level documents can be found at:

Other assessments are described in other chapters, such as:

  • FESHM 2010, "Planning and Review of Accelerator Facilities and their Operations"
  • FESHM 6015, “High Protected Risk Inspection Program”
  • FESHM 8010, “Environmental Protection Program”

Risks/assessments monitored by:

  • FESHM 1010.1 “ES&H Self-Assessment Program”,
  • FESHM 1010.2 , “frESHTRK Procedures” (including the verification and validation of corrective actions)
  • FESHM 1010.3 “frESHTRK Procedures, Risk Assessment”
  • Corrective Action Plans – in frESHTRK
  • Effectiveness Reviews – in frESHTRK

Reports:

Monitoring and evaluation of subcontractor performance is discussed in

  • FESHM 7010, “ES&H Program for Construction ”
  • FESHM 7020, “Subcontractor Safety – Other Than Construction”
Last modified: 07/29/2013 |