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APPROVED INTERPRETATION GUIDANCE FOR DOE M 232.1-1A

"Submit by close of the next business day"

Approved 10/27/97

REQUIREMENT

5.4 Written Notification Report. The Facility Manager shall prepare the Notification Report (including all required fields and all other fields for which information is known) and distribute it to the Facility Representative and the Program Manager before the close of the next business day from the time of categorization (not to exceed 80 hours). When an unclassified, nonsensitive Notification Report is entered onto the computerized ORPS data base, the distribution requirement is automatically satisfied.

Any changes in categorization shall be documented in an Update Report and submitted before the close of the next business day from the time of recategorization (not to exceed 80 hours). A justification for the new categorization shall be included in the report.



INTERPRETATION
Issue:

Clarify the intent of when the written report must be submitted. What is meant by the close of the next business day?

Intent:

The purpose of allowing a "business day" to complete the written report instead of just a time frame, is to allow sufficient work time for support personnel to be available to prepare a report with adequate facts and detail.

Additional Information:

In accordance with DOE O 232.1A, Section 4.h and DOE M 232.1-1A, Section 5.4, the written report is to be submitted before the close of the next business day from the time of categorization (not to exceed 80 hours). A business day is meant to be a normal administrative day (e.g., Monday through Friday, 0800 to 1700 hours) in which normal business activities are conducted. It is not meant to encompass 24 hours even if the facility is operated or maintained on a 24 hour basis.

It is meant that one business day is allowed for facility personnel to conduct the critique, as appropriate, perform the initial investigation, and prepare and issue the Notification Report. Examples are as follows:

a. At a site where the administrative day is from 0800 to 1700 hours, an occurrence is discovered at 0130 hours on Tuesday, March 12, 1996, and categorized at 0300 hours on the same day. The required issuance of the Notification Report is the close of the business day on Tuesday, March 12, 1996.

b. At a site where the administrative day is from 0800 to 1700 hours, an occurrence is discovered at 0630 hours on Tuesday, March 12, 1996, and categorized at 0830 hours on the same day. The required issuance of the Notification Report is the close of the next full business day, Wednesday, March 13, 1996 at 1700 hours.

The allowance of 80 hours was provided to allow one full business day to issue a Notification Report when an occurrence is categorized over a normal weekend or on a Friday prior to a weekend. An example is as follows:

c. At a site where the administrative day is from 0800 to 1700 hours, an occurrence is discovered at 0800 hours on Friday, March 15, 1996, and categorized at 0900 hours on the same day. The required issuance of the notification is the close of the next full business day, Monday, March 18, 1996, at 1700 hours, noting the total elapsed time is 80 hours.

In order to keep DOE line management and other responsible parties properly informed, it is intended not to allow additional time for the issuance of the Notification Report during extended weekends, holidays, or reduced work weeks, where the time to report would exceed 80 hours. In conclusion, Notification Reports should always be issued no later than close of the first full business day following the categorization of an occurrence, not to exceed 80 hours.
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