Nuclear Industry Pak

EmpCenter® Fatigue Management

Nuclear Industry Pak

Background

EmpCenter Fatigue Management

In 2008, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) defined new safety standards to enhance the existing programs at nuclear reactors across the country; including a regulation designed to mitigate the risk of workers being unfit for duty due to fatigue or other factors. This regulation, NRC 10 CFR Part 26, Subpart I, addresses several safety concerns, from drug and alcohol use to workforce scheduling, to help ensure employees are alert, focused and unimpaired while on duty.

Nuclear licensees were bound to comply with the fatigue management aspects of NRC 10 CFR 26 no later than October 1, 2009. To meet the aggressive timeline and significant regulatory complexity of, WorkForce Software developed its EmpCenter Fatigue Management (FM) Nuclear Industry Pak (also known as the “Common Solution”), which has become the most trusted solution in the industry.

The Nuclear Industry’s Leading Solution

EmpCenter FM’s Nuclear Industry Pak was developed in collaboration with industry experts from 17 nuclear operating utilities and four nuclear services contractors—representing nearly 70% of the nuclear power industry in the United States. Today, EmpCenter FM manages work hours for approximately 100,000 employees at more than 50 nuclear reactors across the country.

Real-time Risk Mitigation

EmpCenter FM proactively ensures compliance for all aspects of the fatigue rule:

  • As schedules for individual workers or groups are maintained or changed, the system automatically detects any pending deviation from the regulations and immediately notifies workers and managers via online alerts, emails, and reports, before a violation occurs
  • Actual work time is tracked and combined with scheduled future time to provide comprehensive, auditable proof of compliance with the regulations
  • Rule waivers and fatigue assessments are smoothly processed according to NRC-approved procedures
  • The Nuclear Industry Pak comes with all required NRC reports

Operational Flexibility

EmpCenter FM can create additional efficiencies as part of a broader workforce management solution. For example, using EmpCenter FM in conjunction with EmpCenter Advanced Scheduler enables nuclear plants to track the skills and certifications needed to perform different functions, and streamlines the process of scheduling according to those criteria. When an unexpected absence occurs or there is a need to call in an employee for extra work, Advanced Scheduler dynamically presents a list of all qualified staff. Simultaneously, EmpCenter FM ensures that all work hour and rest limits are taken into consideration. As a result, your organization has peace of mind that each employee called in to work has the right skills and is fit for duty, every time.

EmpCenter FM can also be integrated with other back-end systems, such as HR, Security/Access, Payroll, and Time & Attendance – allowing your organization to use a single point of entry for all required employee data.

Automating Extreme Complexity

The nuclear fatigue management rules based on 10 CFR Part 26 are among the most complex scheduling regulations ever applied to an industry. Before getting automated by EmpCenter FM, the rules go through multiple layers of interpretation and clarification, including:

  • NRC Rule – 10 CFR Part 26 Subpart I
  • Nuclear Energy Institute Interpretation (NEI 06-11)
  • The NRC Regulatory Guide
  • WorkForce Software’s Nuclear Customer Advisory Council (NCAC) Rules Committee

The rules include multiple constraints on worker schedules:

  • Hard limits on work hours over 24, 48 and 168 hour rolling periods
  • Specific protections for breaks between shifts
  • A required break of 34 or more hours every 9 days
  • Guaranteeing a minimum number of days off (averaged over multi-week periods)

The rules include multiple variable factors:

  • Worker category
  • Shift and scheduling cycle length
  • Separate online and outage rules
  • Activity (Covered, Non-Covered, Incidental, Turnover, and many others…)
  • Special rules for transitions in worker status

The rules include multiple administrative options:

  • Scheduling cycle length
  • Rolling vs. fixed periods
  • Hard period start and stop
  • Structured waiver process to override limits in approved circumstances
  • And many others…

EmpCenter’s ability to automate this virtually unprecedented complexity is a testament to its industry-leading flexibility, and a key reason that EmpCenter FM is the most widely used solution for ensuring NRC 10 CFR 26 compliance.

Compliance is Just the Start

In addition to being critical for NRC 10 CFR 26 compliance, proactively addressing employee fatigue can deliver measurable results for an organization. Well rested employees generally have higher mental acuity, greater levels of productivity, and fewer absences and health issues than overworked or overtired peers. As a result, implementing EmpCenter FM’s Nuclear Industry Pak delivers an industry-leading solution that both protects your employees and improves the bottom line.