FACACLASSIC

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Details on agency responses to committee recommendations can be found under the Performance Measures section for each committee in the fields “Agency Feedback” and “Agency Feedback Comment.”

DOC - 84679 - NIST Safety Commission - Agency Authority

GENERAL INFORMATION

Committee Name	NIST Safety Commission	Agency Name	Department of Commerce
Fiscal Year	2024	Committee Number	84679
Original Establishment Date	12/1/2022	Committee Status	Terminated
Actual Termination Date	12/1/2023	Committee URL	https://www.nist.gov/director/nist-safety-commi...
Actual Merged Date		Presidential Appointments*	No
New Committee This FY	No	Max Number of Members*	7
Terminated This FY	Yes	Designated Fed Officer Position Title*	DFO
Merged This FY		Designated Federal Officer Prefix	Dr.
Current Charter Date	12/1/2022	Designated Federal Officer First Name*	Sivaraj
Date Of Renewal Charter	12/1/2024	Designated Federal Officer Middle Name
Projected Termination Date	12/1/2023	Designated Federal Officer Last Name*	Shyam-Sunder
Exempt From Renewal*	No	Designated Federal Officer Suffix
Specific Termination Authority		Designated Federal Officer Phone*	(301) 975-6713
Establishment Authority*	Agency Authority	Designated Federal Officer Fax*	(301) 975-4032
Specific Establishment Authority*	15 U.S.C. ⸹1512	Designated Federal Officer Email*	sivaraj.shyam-sunder@nist.gov
Effective Date Of Authority*	12/1/2022
Exempt From EO 13875 Discretionary Cmte	Not Applicable
Committee Type*	Ad hoc
Presidential*	No
Committee Function*	Non Scientific Program Advisory Board

RECOMMENDATION/JUSTIFICATIONS

Agency Recommendation*	Terminate
Legislation to Terminate Required	No
Legislation Status	Not Applicable
How does cmte accomplish its purpose?*	The NIST Safety Commission (Commission) accomplished its purpose in accordance with its charter effective December 1, 2022. The Commission assessed the state of NIST’s safety culture and how effectively the existing safety protocols and policies were implemented across NIST.
How is membership balanced?*	The Commission's membership was balanced in accordance with the membership balance plan for the FACA approved together its charter December 1, 2022. The Commission was composed of seven members who were qualified to provide advice to the NIST Director on matters relating to safety policies; safety management system, practices, and performance; and safety culture. The committee membership was fairly balanced and drawn from industry, academia, federal laboratories, and other relevant sectors. Membership also considered the balance among the broad diversity of disciplinary specialties represented in the NIST Laboratories.
How frequent & relevant are cmte mtgs?*	No meetings were held in FY24.
Why advice can't be obtained elsewhere?*	The Commission was the only advisory board that advised NIST on the state of NIST’s safety culture and how effectively the existing safety protocols and policies were implemented across NIST. The required function was not able to be performed by any other existing committee within the Department of Commerce, and, because in-depth knowledge and expertise were required, it could not be achieved through a public hearing or other means. NIST was committed to making occupational safety and health an integral core value and vital part of the NIST culture.
Why close or partially close meetings?	N/A
Recommendation Remarks	In accordance with Section 11 of the charter, this Commission terminated one year (12/1/2023) from the date of filing its charter with the standing committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES

Outcome Improvement To Health Or Safety*	Yes	Action Reorganize Priorities*	Yes
Outcome Trust In Government	Yes	Action Reallocate Resources	Yes
Outcome Major Policy Changes	Yes	Action Issued New Regulations	No
Outcome Advance In Scientific Research	No	Action Proposed Legislation	No
Outcome Effective Grant Making	No	Action Approved Grants Or Other Payments	No
Outcome Improved Service Delivery	No	Action Other	Yes
Outcome Increased Customer Satisfaction	No	Action Comment	Based on advice of committee members, NIST planned, organized, and conducted a full-day in-person Executive Leadership Safety Workshop on August 29, 2023. The workshop was designed to educate, align and develop plans to apply leading organizational practices to help NIST’s top 40 leaders: sustain safety leadership now and in the long-term, identify precursors in their organizations to prevent serious incidents and fatalities (SIFs), and hold themselves and their teams accountable. The workshop was specifically focused on safety leadership, safety culture, safe decision-making, cognitive bias, and serious injury and fatality prevention.
Outcome Implement Laws/Reg Requirements	No	Grants Review*	No
Outcome Other	No	Number Of Grants Reviewed	0
Outcome Comment	N/A	Number Of Grants Recommended	0
Cost Savings*	None	Dollar Value Of Grants Recommended	$0.00
Cost Savings Comment	N/A	Grants Review Comment	n/a
Number Of Recommendations*	17	Access Contact Designated Fed. Officer*	No
Number Of Recommendations Comment	The Commission's final written report was submitted in August 2023 to the NIST Director with the following recommendations: 1 RECOMMENDATION: Revise the reporting structure such that the Office of Safety, Health, and Environment (OSHE) and all related environmental, health and safety (EH&S) functions report directly to the NIST Director. Further, the Chief Safety Officer (CSO) should be a voting member of the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Council. Moreover, the NIST Director should make any other organizational changes needed to ensure the success of these specific recommendations. 2 RECOMMENDATION: Establish and implement a safety audit system into the Safety Management System (SMS) that proactively identifies hazards and their associated risks, provides quality-assurance-based feedback on performance of corrective actions and activities, and is compatible and consistent with the intention of a high-quality SMS as exemplified by the standards set by ISO 45001 or ANSI Z10. 3 RECOMMENDATION: Improve the Hazard Review and Approval System (HR) and Relative Hazard Index (RHI) process, to include quantifiable likelihood definitions based on specified timeframes, validation/ verification of user proficiency, and requirements for a reviewing role by OSHE. 4 RECOMMENDATION: Develop more relevant safety training and more effective methods of delivery, addressing specific safety concerns of researchers and staff that are generated to provide targeted and actionable information. 5 RECOMMENDATION: Revise the Workplace Inspection Program such that inspection teams include both subject matter experts and OSHE staff, inspection teams have authority to mandate changes, inspections look beyond compliance issues to work practices and research hazards, and inspection findings are corrected and verified in a timely manner. 6 RECOMMENDATION: Improve the Incident Reporting and Investigation Program to enable effective incident reporting functionality, usage, prioritization, response, and communication. Improve the Incident Reporting and Investigation Program to enable effective incident investigations with regard to explicit risk-based prioritization of what is investigated, who leads the investigation, and how incidents are investigated; identification of true root causes (not just identification of superficial proximate causes); formulation of recommendations and actions that clearly address root causes (not just proximate causes); identification of contributing factors to mitigate risks; timeliness of investigations; and follow-through on completion and effectiveness of recommended corrective actions. 7 RECOMMENDATION: Conduct a comprehensive review and audit of all safety-related information technology (IT) systems, and based upon that review, make the necessary changes/fixes to ensure seamless integration and interoperability of safety information across all safety system IT tools. In addition, establish an advisory panel of safety stakeholders to periodically review effectiveness of these systems, and empower the panel to make recommendations for continual improvement. 8 RECOMMENDATION: Improve the ERM program, and its current standard of processes and practices, to better address critical research safety matters. For example, enterprise-wide audits/scans of safety issues should be conducted; and the process of adding items to the Risk Inventory, which informs strategic decisions by NIST leadership, should be more timely and efficient. 9 RECOMMENDATION: Make appropriate administrative, policy, and organizational changes to establish and promote an enterprise-wide sense of responsibility and ownership for safety, by 1) increasing the role of OSHE in Organizational Unit (OU) safety operations, 2) holding all employees accountable for their safety roles, awareness, and performance, and 3) eliminating differences between federal employees and associates regarding their safety roles and responsibilities. 10 RECOMMENDATION: Take visible and proactive measures to inculcate essential elements of a robust safety culture, with NIST leadership promoting an engaged and informed learning culture involving all NIST personnel. 11 RECOMMENDATION: Analyze results from the 2023 National Safety Council’s “Safety Culture Survey,” along with previous safety culture surveys, to develop a robust safety culture improvement plan. 12 RECOMMENDATION: Implement an overall capital investment and infrastructure improvement plan, as many buildings and facilities need significant renovations or replacement to address both research and safety issues. Safety issues alone should justify funding and guide all designs and implementations. 13 RECOMMENDATION: Meet with the NIST Safety Commission approximately 90 days after delivery of the final NIST Safety Commission report to allow discussions ensuring that the plans, actions, and associated schedules for NIST’s implementation are consistent with the Commission’s intent as set by these recommendations. This timeframe is before the termination of the Commission on November 30, 2023, as set forth by the Charter. 14 RECOMMENDATION: NIST should obtain outside advice/expertise/oversight from external experts on its SMS and plans, actions, and associated schedules for implementation, as those are generated in response to the recommendations in the final NIST Safety Commission report. 15 RECOMMENDATION: Design and implement changes to the SMS, with a long-term vision to be a world-class model for research safety, in keeping with NIST’s role as the world leader in metrics and standards. 16 RECOMMENDATION: NIST needs to further develop the proximate causes they have already identified and go back into the causal chain to arrive at organizational and systemic-level root causes and contributing factors. 17 RECOMMENDATION: Upon reaching the root causes mentioned in Recommendation 16, NIST should derive corrective actions that address those deeper elements of the causal chain, focusing on systemic mitigations for actions taken at the organizational level.	Access Agency Website
% of Recs Fully Implemented*	47.00%	Access Committee Website	Yes
% of Recs Fully Implemented Comment	The Commission's recommendations were being implemented under the leadership of the NIST Director, the NIST Associate Directors, and NIST Chief Safety Officer.	Access GSA FACA Website	Yes
% of Recs Partially Implemented*	53.00%	Access Publications	No
% of Recs Partially Implemented Comment	The Commission's recommendations were being implemented under the leadership of the NIST Director, the NIST Associate Directors, and NIST Chief Safety Officer.	Access Other	Yes
Agency Feedback*	Yes	Access Comment	The Commission's charter, list of committee members and their bios, agenda and minutes of FACA meetings, and interim and final written reports were made available to the public on the NIST Safety Commission website: https://www.nist.gov/director/nist-safety-commission
Agency Feedback Comment*	Message from NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio on the NIST Safety Commission Final Report: https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2023/09/05/Locascio%202023%20Cover%20letter%20for%20Safety%20Commission%20Final%20Report.pdf	Narrative Description*	The Commission was the only advisory board that advised NIST on the state of NIST’s safety culture and how effectively the existing safety protocols and policies were implemented across NIST. The Commission terminated on December 1, 2023.

COSTS

1. Payments to Non-Federal Members*	$0.00	1. Est Paymnts to Non-Fed Membrs Nxt FY*	$0.00
2. Payments to Federal Members*	$0.00	2. Est. Payments to Fed Members Next FY*	$0.00
3. Payments to Federal Staff*	$0.00	3. Estimated Payments to Federal Staff*	$0.00
4. Payments to Consultants*	$0.00	4. Est. Payments to Consultants Next FY*	$0.00
5. Travel Reimb. For Non-Federal Membrs*	$0.00	5. Est Travel Reimb Non-Fed Membr nxtFY*	$0.00
6. Travel Reimb. For Federal Members*	$0.00	6. Est Travel Reimb For Fed Members*	$0.00
7. Travel Reimb. For Federal Staff*	$0.00	7. Est. Travel Reimb to Fed Staf Nxt FY*	$0.00
8. Travel Reimb. For Consultants*	$0.00	8. Est Travel Reimb to Consltnts Nxt FY*	$0.00
10. Other Costs	$0.00	10. Est. Other Costs Next FY*	$0.00
11. Total Costs	$0.00	11. Est. Total Next FY*	$0.00
Date Cost Last Modified	2/10/2025 11:31 AM	Est. Fed Staff Support Next FY*	0.00
Federal Staff Support (FTE)*	0.00	Est Cost Remarks
Cost Remarks

Interest Areas

Category Area Health Safety Labor Occupational Safety and Health

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