March 17, 2014

LIVERMORE IMPROVEMENTS IN SOFTWARE QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM STAVE OFF FINE

By ExchangeMonitor

Deficiencies in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s software quality assurance system have drawn the attention of the Department of Energy’s Office of Enforcement and Oversight, but actions by the lab to correct the problems staved off a fine from the Department. Instead, in a July 22 letter to Livermore Director Parney Albright, Office of Enforcement and Oversight Director John Boulden said the Department would continue to closely monitor the program. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board first revealed in 2011 questions about whether the lab’s site-wide evacuation voice/alarm system and hydrogen gas control system had undergone software quality assurance reviews, which ensure that important computer programs will work as designed. During subsequent reviews of its institutional software quality assurance program (ISQAP), the lab found that shortcomings in documentation allowed for confusion about meeting certain Department of Energy guidelines, and that program documents didn’t adequately demonstrate what was expected of lab organizations implementing the program.

The Office of Enforcement and Oversight said the lab failed to “identify, control, and correct items, services, and processes that do not meet established requirements,” didn’t prepare and maintain records, and failed to perform work according to proper controls. But it also lauded the lab for taking action to correct the issues. “While no immediate safety consequences resulted from these programmatic deficiencies in the LLNS ISQAP, the potential for adverse consequences to LLNS’s operations remains a concern until significant improvements are made to the ISQAP,” Boulden said.

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