|
Formation of the Department of Energy's Federal Quality
Council
Former Secretary Bodman's April 7, 2006, memorandum, "Improving
Quality Assurance" noted that quality assurance was not being
consistently implemented across the DOE complex. As a result
of the memorandum, HSS implemented the DOE Survey on Quality
Assurance Implementation and initiated the establishment of
a DOE Federal Quality Council (Council). On November 5, 2008,
the Chief Health, Safety and Security (HSS) Officer formally
announced the formation of the Department's Quality Council.
The Council Chair, Colette Broussard, is the DOE HSS Director
of the Office of Quality Assurance Policy and Assistance (HS-23).
Representation on the Council currently includes nominated
members from eighteen DOE HQ and Field offices. One of the
first accomplishments of the Council was that all members
participated in establishing the Charter approved by the Chief
HSS Officer in November 2008. One of the Charter's primary
objectives is to address DOE/NNSA quality assurance (QA) concerns
as directed by the Secretary of Energy. The Council provides
a forum to identify QA policy needs and recommend resolutions
as well as to identify and recommend actions for continuous
improvement of the quality of DOE work. The Council welcomes
recommendations from any individual on QA-related concerns.
The Council has been meeting regularly since August 2008
and has started developing four task planning documents to
take action on areas such as (1) developing general quality
assurance training for DOE HQ employees, (2) establishing
guidance for the application of NQA-1 Part II, (3) integrating
quality assurance and safety management, and (4) developing
the 2009 Survey on Quality Assurance implementation. The primary
point-of-contacts (POCs) for the Council are Colette
Broussard (colette.broussard@hq.doe.gov) and your respective
program office or field office member. Current Council Members
are listed in the table below. If you have any questions concerning
this article, please contact Sonya Barnette on 301-903-2068.
|
