Audit: Hanford vit plant correction program in need of correction

The program to correct technical problems at the Hanford vitrification plant still may be falling short, according to a Department of Energy Office of Inspector General audit released Thursday.

DOE and its contractor Bechtel National took action in late 2013 through 2014 to improve its program to respond to, track and correct potential technical problems.

They were important steps to improve processes, but it is too soon to judge their success, the audit report said. The audit was conducted from September 2014 to now.

“We remain concerned about the corrective action program because of its importance and Bechtel’s past history of ineffective improvement plans,” the report said.

A prior Bechtel improvement initiative was updated several times from 2008-10, but was discontinued in October 2010, the audit report said. Focus on the issue began again in September 2014 with some actions still to be completed.

Another initiative looking at a concern related to how long it took to complete certain work related to corrective actions was begun in 2011, but not implemented.

DOE wrote in its response to the Office of Inspector General before the report was made public that “additional actions to improve the (vitrification plant) corrective action program are prudent.”

The audit report noted that Bechtel identified weaknesses in the vitrification plant project’s safety culture in 2014, including problems following its own procedures, weaknesses in training and concerns about management not valuing a rigorous corrective action program.

“Furthermore, the department did not ensure that all technical issues and issues identified through self-assessments were entered into the corrective action program,” the audit report said. It criticized DOE for not ensuring that previous Bechtel initiatives to address problems were fully implemented or sustained.

Bechtel has not met any of its goals for timeliness in its corrective action program, the audit report said. Backlogs of condition reports grew between August 2013-14. The average age of all condition reports the audit considered was 315 days, which was more than three times the target.

In some instances, issues were not managed and tracked in the corrective action program, as required, the audit report said. They include the design of the mixing system to prevent an unplanned nuclear reaction, explosions of flammable gases and equipment failures, an issue that has been the subject of news stories and controversy for more than five years.

In addition, an issue related to erosion within mixing tanks was closed out in 2008, but it continues to be addressed, the report said.

Hanford management said that although the issues were originally managed under an alternative, routine issue action tracking system, they now are managed under the corrective action program.

The Office of Inspector General audit findings were consistent with a DOE 2013 audit that found similar issues and concluded that the vitrification plant project’s corrective action program was not meeting contract requirements.

DOE issued two Priority Level 1 findings, the most serious level. It also directed Bechtel to develop a comprehensive managed improvement plan. All work to address those has not been completed, DOE told auditors.

In August 2014, Bechtel began new initiatives related to its corrective action program, including replacing the program’s tracking and control system.

“In addition, resources were increased to enable effective implementation of the corrective action program, and efforts were undertaken to improve training, work off the backlog of corrections actions and change the quality culture,” the audit report said.

Bechtel’s corrective action program had been under way for more than a year at the time of the audit, Bechtel said in a statement.

“(Bechtel) will continue to identify and implement activities to strengthen the corrective action program, as well as to address corrective actions in a safe and timely manner,” it said.

The audit recommended additional improvements to DOE, including a stronger emphasis on timely responses and reducing the backlog of condition reports.

DOE agreed with recommendations, saying recommended actions have been initiated or are planned.

“(Bechtel) is committed to the safe construction and start up of the WTP (Waste Treatment Plant), and we continue to work closely with DOE’s Office of River Protection to ensure we accomplish the mission,” Bechtel said.

This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Audit: Hanford vit plant correction program in need of correction."