[DOE LETTERHEAD]

September 28, 1999

The Honorable John T. Conway
Chairman
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
625 Indiana Avenue N. W., Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20004

Dear Mr. Chairman:

In the Revised Implementation Plan (IP) for Board Recommendation 93-3, Improving DOE Technical Capability in Defense Nuclear Facilities Programs, the Department established new Technical Qualification Program (TQP) principles and committed to conduct assessments designed to determine the effectiveness of the TQP (Commitment 5.4.2 for Phase I Assessments and Commitment 5.4.4 for Phase II Assessments). The results of Phase I Assessments were reported to the Board and Commitment 5.4.2 was accepted as complete.

All Field and Program Offices have completed Phase II Assessments of their Technical Qualification Programs as required under Commitment 5.4.4. Written reports of the Phase II Assessments were provided to the Federal Technical Capability Panel (panel) and to the Board's staff. Results of the assessments were also discussed by the Panel at its meeting in Washington, D.C. on September 14, 1999. While the completion of the assessments and review of the results Mills the specific requirements of the commitment, the Panel recognizes that additional work needs to be done to enhance the effectiveness of the Department's Technical Qualification Programs. Some Offices have not yet filly implemented needed changes to their programs and some issues, such as procedures for continuing training requirements, need additional standardization. The Panel's FY 2000 Annual Plan, which will be provided to the Board in early October, establishes specific action items that will taken to make further improvements to the TQP.

Based on the completion of the Phase II Assessments, the review of the reports of those assessments and the Panel's commitment to further the improvements in the TQP, we propose closure of Commitment 5.4.4.

If you have any questions, please call me at (202) 426-1506.

Sincerely,
David R. Roth
Executive Secretary to the
Federal Technical Capability Panel

cc:

Chairman, Federal Technical Capability Panel
Panel Members
Mark B. Whitaker, Jr., S-3.1