Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Inspector General (OIG) Management Advisories 2017 – Present, 2018-2019
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Description of document: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Inspector General (OIG) Management Advisories 2017 – present, 2018-2019 Requested date: 22-March-2020 Release date: 09-June-2020 Posted date: 22-June-2020 Source of document: FOIA Request TVA FOIA Officer 400 West Summit Hill Dr. WT 7D Knoxville, TN 37902-1401 Fax: (865) 632-6901 The governmentattic.org web site (“the site”) is a First Amendment free speech web site, and is noncommercial and free to the public. The site and materials made available on the site, such as this file, are for reference only. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals have made every effort to make this information as complete and as accurate as possible, however, there may be mistakes and omissions, both typographical and in content. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information provided on the governmentattic.org web site or in this file. The public records published on the site were obtained from government agencies using proper legal channels. Each document is identified as to the source. Any concerns about the contents of the site should be directed to the agency originating the document in question. GovernmentAttic.org is not responsible for the contents of documents published on the website. Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 W. Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902-1401 June 9, 2020 Emailed This responds to your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. § 552) dated March 22, 2020. You requested a copy of each Management Advisory, Management Advisory Memorandum and Management Advisory Report produced by the TVA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) since January 1, 2017; and a list of the Management Advisories, Management Advisory Memoranda and Management Advisory Reports issued by the TVA OIG since January 1, 2010. Your request was processed under tracking number #5626. We located three management advisories issued since January 1, 2017, responsive to your request. Enclosed are copies of those advisory memoranda and the OIG report related to each advisory. The TVA OIG does not maintain a list of advisories; therefore, we have no list to provide for the second part of your request. If you have questions about this response, you may contact me at [email protected]. In addition, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) and TVA offer FOIA mediation services. Enclosed is contact information for those services. You may appeal this response to your FOIA request by writing to Mr. Buddy Eller, Vice President, Communications & Public Relations, Tennessee Valley Authority, at email address [email protected] or Fax to (865) 632-6901. Any appeal must be received within 90 days of the date of this letter. Sincerely, Denise Smith TVA FOIA Officer Enclosures TVA RESTRICTED INFORMATION Memorandum from the Office of the Inspector General May 25, 2018 William G. Cronin, BR 40-C MANAGEMENT ALERT 2018-15535 - INCLUSION OF SAFETY GOALS IN PERFORMANCE DOCUMENTATION On September 7, 2017, the Office of Inspector General issued a report on Safety and Performance Improvement's organizational effectiveness. 1 In that report, we noted that TVA's Nuclear site safety consultants' performance documentation included goals related to recordable injuries. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) published a rule in the Federal Register effective January 1, 2017, revising its Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illness Regulation. This rule requires employers to establish reasonable procedures for reporting work-related injuries and goes on to state that a procedure which deters or discourages an employee from reporting a workplace injury is not reasonable.2 OSHA guidance establishes that reporting procedures which make the use of injuries as criteria for performance incentives impermissible because it could incentivize individuals not to report/classify injuries as recordable. Specifically, OSHA stated that studies and experience indicated that use of recordable injuries or recordable injury rate (RIR) in individual performance evaluations, compensation, and incentives could discourage employees from reporting. On May 8, 201 7, the Senior Vice President, Resource and River Management, communicated to the TVA Leadership Team that effective October 1, 2016, TVA would not use recordable injuries or the RIR as a metric for individual performance evaluations, compensation, or incentives. The Leadership Team was instructed to communicate this change to managers and supervisors. Due to this change occurring midyear, fiscal year (FY) 2017 performance documents were not required to be updated at that time; however, safety goals were not to consider recordable injuries at year-end ratings, even if it was chosen as a safety metric earlier in the year. As part of our organizational effectiveness reviews, we routinely obtain employee performance documentation to verify goal alignment with the respective business unit's mission, the strategic business unit's mission, and ultimately, TVA's mission. During a recent review, we noted FY2017 performance data for the audited business unit contained goals of recordable injury or RIR measures that do not comply with the OSHA ruling. 1 Evaluation 201 6-15444, Safety and Performance Improvement's Organizational Effectiveness, September 7, 2017. 2 Title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, § 1904.35(b)(1 )(i). WARNING: This document is FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY. It is to be controlled, stored, handled, transmitted, distributed, and disposed of in accordance with TVA policy relating to Information Security. This information is not to be further distributed without prior approval of the Inspector General or his designee. TVA RESTRICTED INFORMATION William G. Cronin Page 2 May 25, 2018 Based on that discovery, we obtained performance documentation for all TVA employees. Based on our review of rating comments, it appears some managers still considered RIR and recordable injuries as part of year-end ratings. In addition, measures related to recordable injuries were included in performance goals for 186 employees in FY2018. Because of the potential for OSHA enforcement and risk of employees not reporting safety concerns, we wanted to notify you of this issue. Please contact Lisa H. Hammer, Director, Evaluations - Organizational Effectiveness, at (865) 633-7342 if you have any questions. We would also like to be notified within 30 days of any actions taken in regard to this matter. (for) David P. Wheeler Assistant Inspector General (Audits and Evaluations) WT2C-K JMW:BSC cc: Robertson D. Dickens, WT 9C-K William D. Johnson, WT ?B-K Dwain K. Lanier, MR 6D-C Jill M. Matthews, WT 2C-K Jacinda B. Woodward, BR 4D-K OIG File No. 2018-15535 TVA RESTRICTED INFORMATION Memorandum from the Office of the Inspector General October 15, 2018 William G. Maiden, GFP 1A-GLT REQUEST FOR FINAL ACTION - EVALUATION 2018-15535-ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS-GALLATIN FOSSIL PLANT Attached is the subject final report for your review and final action. Your written comments, which addressed your management decision and actions planned or taken, have been included in the report. Please notify us when final action is complete. In accordance with the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, the Office of the Inspector General is required to report to Congress semiannually regarding evaluations that remain unresolved after 6 months from the date of report issuance. If you have any questions or wish to discuss our findings, please contact Jamie M. Wykle, Senior Auditor, at (865) 633-7382 or Lisa H. Hammer, Director, Evaluations - Organizational Effectiveness, at (865) 633-7342. We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation received from your staff during the evaluation. David P. Wheeler Assistant Inspector General (Audits and Evaluations) WT2C-K JMW:KDS Attachment cc (Attachment): TVA Board of Directors Janet J. Brewer, WT 7C-K Susan E. Collins, LP 6A-C Sean M. Connors, LP 2K-C Robertson D. Dickens, WT 9C-K Megan T. Flynn, LP 3A-C W illiam D. Johnson, WT 7B-K Dwain K. Lanier, MR 6D-C Justin C. Maierhofer, WT 7B-K Jill M. Matthews, WT 2C-K Sherry A. Quirk, WT 7C-K Curtis G. Rodenhaber, CUF- 1A-CCT W ilson Taylor Ill, WT 7D-K Jacinda B. Woodward, BR 4D-C OIG File No. 2018-15535 Office of the Inspector General EV al ua tion Report To the Plant Manager, Gallatin Fossil Plant ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS - GALLATIN FOSSIL PLANT Evaluation T earn Eva Iuation 2018-15535 Jamie M. Wykle October 15, 2018 Justin P. Franklin Office of the Inspector General Evaluation Report ABBREVIATIONS AUO Assistant Unit Operator CR Condition Report FY Fiscal Year GAF Gallatin Fossil Plant OIG Office of Inspector General PO Power Operations SCR Selective Catalytic Reduction SPP Standard Programs and Processes TVA Tennessee Valley Authority uo Unit Operator Evaluation 2018-15535 Office of the Inspector General Evaluation Report TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............. ................................... ................................ i BACKGROUND....................................... .......... .... ....... .................................... 1 OBJECTIVE, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGY ........................................ 3 OBSERVATIONS ............................................................................................ 4 STRENGTHS ...............................................................