What is an operational readiness clearance, or ORC?
The ORC is an ES&H review of experimental equipment or process equipment prior to their operation. The ORC review team comprises subject matter experts from around the lab. ORCs may also support and feed into other larger reviews, such as the Accelerator Readiness Review (ARR). The intent of the ARR mirrors that of the ORC process: to ensure or confirm that systems have been constructed and installed in a way that protects personnel and the environment.
The ESH&Q Section has created a new online tool to standardize the way we capture ORC information. It captures basic information about the request for operations review, such as equipment information, hazards and interface with the lab infrastructure. A new FESHM chapter, Chapter 2005 for Operational Readiness Clearance, incorporates the tool as the mechanism for standard implementation of ORCs labwide.
The tool is divided into beam and no-beam activities. If the equipment is scheduled to go into one of our particle beams, the requestor will fill out the ORC Beam form. All other ORC requests will require the ORC No-Beam form.
Once the form is submitted, a designated staff member will contact the activity owner to guide him or her through the process. At the completion of the subject matter expert reviews, the designated person can gather electronic approvals through the tool to document the operational review.
Please see the ORC website to request an ORC review.
Eric McHugh is the associate head of the Office of the Chief Safety Officer and the division safety officer for the Accelerator Division.