Overview and phase 1 implementation guidance

The facilities, activities, processes, and experiments managed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., often involve materials and processes that are hazardous, sensitive, or costly. The risk that may be inherent in these operations is made acceptable by ensuring that they satisfy requirements established by law and regulation, good design, and good operating practices. Configuration management (CM) is an management process intended to ensure that these operations conform to these requirements. The configuration management concept was developed primarily in the aerospace and nuclear power industries in response to events caused when equipment was not kept in the configuration its designers intended. Some of the events resulted in significant environmental disasters. Investigators found that the events were often caused by breakdowns of management controls. These breakdowns allowed improper changes that left equipment unable to perform as required or as documents indicated it would. The configuration management concept was developed to systematically address these breakdowns. Energy Systems and the Department of Energy (DOE) have generally recognized the need for effective configuration management. Health and safety can be better protected; environmental permits, laws, regulations, and orders can be more consistently complied with; and investments in equipment and special programs, such as safety analyses or as-built'' documentation, can be preserved. Configuration management is not a new concept at Energy Systems. Several facilities and processes currently have configuration management programs and practices that benefit safety and quality. Existing procedures (e.g., records management) and programs (e.g., Safety Analysis Report Update Program) provide a basis for successful configuration management in many organizations