Starting with this article, Argonne Today will post summaries of the topics discussed during meetings of Argonne’s Operations Excellence Council (OEC). The council provides a senior management forum to help deliver leading-edge science, and develop a strong commitment to, and culture around, research and operational excellence throughout the laboratory. It supports timely, transparent and effective decision-making on operational programs while also communicating customer feedback, needs and priorities, and reviewing lab performance targets and metrics.
Highlights from the council’s meeting on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017, include:
- Brian Sherin, new SLAC chief operations officer, attended the OEC meeting as part of his tour of the national laboratories.
- Michael Edelen, electrical authority having jurisdiction and subject matter expert, described his proposal to restructure the Electrical Safety Committee (see chart) to provide additional delegation of work activities. This proposal was a collaborative programmatic and operations effort from the Electrical Safety Committee and also based on feedback from a recent electrical safety program review. Each unit would form their own subcommittees to include representatives from programmatic and mission support to collaborate strategically.
- Denise Price, performance management assurance director, recognized the seven upcoming independent assessments, from October to December, in the Nuclear and Waste Management Division.
- Maria Curry-Nkansah, PSE chief operations officer, and Lisa Durham, Argonne Leadership Institute director, facilitated information gathering and selection of participants from Argonne to attend the Safety Academy for Excellence at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in November.
- Tracy Rogness, HSE business administrator, provided an overview of the 18 employee concerns reported to safety@anl.gov in September and a review of FY17 projects, which included photos of the new Building 411 sidewalks at the Advance Photon Source (APS).
A report to safety@anl.gov from an APS technician resulted in this sidewalk project. This service can also assist with subject matter expertise.
