Team Issues

The ORR Team Leader and Team Members should be identified as early as possible in the startup/restart process. Identification of the ORR Team Leader prior to or during development of the POA allows his/her participation in the POA review and approval process. Early identification of the ORR team facilitates better preparation by team members and allows more time for document review prior to the start of the ORR.

Emphasize that team members are dedicated for the duration of the review. If a team member completes their review before the end of the ORR/RA, and is authorized to leave, their completed Forms 1 and 2 must be signed-off (approved) by the Team Leader before they leave the site. If a summary is due from the team member, the Team Leader must accept the summary prior to the team member leaving the site.

Use site personnel as members of the review team but know that demands for his/her attendance to normally assigned duties can frequently interfere. This can be mitigated somewhat by insisting that site personnel who are team members work in the space allocated to the team for the duration of the review, instead of in their separate office/facilities.

Use a dedicated group of team members to evaluate drills, evolutions, and upsets if possible as it can be valuable to the team leader. A group leader can assign specific observational roles to each group member. Having the group hold a post-event critique will allow development of a form 1 that provides an integrated discussion of the events. The other group members can include discussions of pertinent aspects of the event in their form 1 as required by their assigned CRAD.

Emphasize to team members the need to familiarize themselves with the Implementation Plan and the facility/process under review before the ORR/RA. This should be accomplished through the team members' qualification process, which should establish the minimum requirements for facility familiarity, prior to the review. Additionally, the Team Leader is responsible in the team selection to ensure that the team members have the required technical expertise (education/experience) to perform a valid review of the functional area assigned. This should also be documented through the selection and acceptance process.

Ensure that team members fully understand the scope of the ORR/RA and the time frame in which it must occur. In some cases, time management decisions and sampling plans will be important to successful completion of the ORR/RA within the required schedule.

Ensure counterparts have been assigned to each team member or functional area group. Early identification (usually during the pre-visit) of documents needed, interviews expected, evolutions and drills requested is helpful to both the team member and the counterpart.

Inform counterparts they should be prepared to present information requested. Inform team members they need to be respectful of their counterpart's time constraints and therefore schedule as few after-hours meetings or interviews as possible.

Capture issues and observations in writing as soon as possible. Deficiency Forms (Form 2) should be prepared shortly after an issue is identified. Assessment Forms (Form 1) should be prepared shortly thereafter to capture the full extent of the finding. This will enhance the flow of communication throughout the review and contribute to openness on the part of both the team and the facility.

For further information or comments on the ORR web site, please contact James M. Heffner.