1. Purpose
This Policy establishes the requirements and standard approach for proposing, developing, reviewing, approving, implementing, and communicating new and revised lab-wide policies, procedures, guidance, and manuals. It also provides certain requirements for policies, procedures, guidance, and manuals that are limited in scope to employees working within a specific Division, Section, or Project.
2. Scope
This Policy applies to all lab-wide policies, procedures, guidance, and manuals. A lab-wide policy, procedure, guidance, or manual is one that also applies to employees or users outside of the organization that owns the policy, procedure, guidance, or manual. This Policy also applies to Division/Section/Project-specific policies, procedures, guidance, and manuals where specified.
3. Applicability
This policy applies to Fermi Research Alliance, LLC and all its employees and Fermilab users.
4. Effective Date and Date Reviewed/Updated
This policy went into effect on October 10, 2016 and its update was effective on December 16, 2019.
5. Policy
a. Lab-wide policies are guiding principles that set out management’s expectations for governing the laboratory.
b. Policies, procedures, manuals, and guidance ensure successful, safe, and secure execution of the mission in a manner which meets all legal, regulatory, and Prime Contract requirements.
c. All lab-wide policies must be reviewed and approved by the Requirements Oversight Board before they are issued. The Requirements Oversight Board also establishes procedures that govern lab-wide policies, guidance, and manuals. The Requirements Oversight Board procedures include:
- A central location for all lab-wide policies, procedures, guidance, and manuals
- A common format for lab-wide policies and procedures
- An established update, review, and approval process for lab-wide policies, procedures, guidance, and manuals, which includes all relevant stakeholders
- Approval by other entities where required
- A system that maps lab-wide policies and procedures to requirements, where applicable
- A process for withdrawing and cancelling policies and ensuring that the policies and procedures accessible to employees are current
- Standards for communicating and training employees and others on lab-wide policies, procedures, manuals, and guidance
d. All lab-wide policies and procedures must be owned by a Management System Owner or a Chief/Division Head/Section Head.
- Ownership of lab-wide policies may not be delegated; ownership of lab-wide procedures may be delegated only following approval of the Requirements Oversight Board.
- Lab-wide procedures flow down from a relevant lab-wide policy and must follow the procedures for lab-wide policies, procedures, guidance, and manuals established by the Requirements Oversight Board, including being stored in a central location accessible to employees.
e. Divisions, Sections, and Projects may establish Division/Section/Project-level policies, procedures, guidance and manuals. These documents must not apply to people working outside of the relevant Division/Section/Project or otherwise they are considered to be lab-wide; they may apply to employees or users from across the lab who are working in that Division/Section/Project.
- Any Division/Section/Project-specific policy must be owned by the Division/Section/Project head; ownership of Division/Section/Project-specific procedures may be delegated down with the approval of the Division/Section/Project Head.
- Division/Section/Project procedures or guidance should flow from Division/Section/Project policies.
- A Division/Section/Project may develop implementing procedures, manuals, or guidance for a lab-wide policy or procedure that describe in more specificity how to implement it, but a Division/Section/Project may not develop a procedure, manual, or guidance that conflicts with any lab-wide policy or procedure without prior approval of the Requirements Oversight Board.
f. Where a Manual contains policies, procedures, or guidance, those items in the Manual are subject to this Policy.
g. Any exceptions to this Policy must be approved by the Requirements Oversight Board.
h. Policies are not contracts and are not intended to create any obligations on the part of Fermi Research Alliance, LLC. Policies may be terminated or changed at any time, with or without notice.
6. Definitions
Policy: A set of guiding principles that set out the expectations to govern the laboratory. Policies change infrequently, are expressed in broad terms, and convey management’s expectations.
Procedure: A description of how a policy is to be implemented. Procedures detail a process.
Guideline: Additional information helpful to execute a policy or procedure, or which articulates best practices.
Manual: A document or compilation that may contain policies, procedures, and/or guidance.
Lab-wide policy, procedure, guidance, or manual is one that also applies to employees and/or users outside of the Chief/Division/Section/Management System which owns the policy, procedure, guidance, or manual.
Fermilab is the physical site and property that is the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
Fermi Research Alliance, LLC is the operator and manager of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory under Department of Energy Prime Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11359 and is the principal employer of personnel working at Fermilab.
7. Responsibilities
The Fermilab Director is responsible for approving all lab-wide policies. The Fermilab Director delegates this responsibility to the Requirements Oversight Board. The Fermilab Director also delegates the responsibility for overseeing policy management to the Requirements Oversight Board.
The Requirements Oversight Board is established by the Fermilab Director and is responsible for approving lab-wide policies and issuing procedures in terms of the management, review, approval, implementation, communication, and withdrawal of lab-wide policies, procedures, guidance, and manuals. The Requirements Oversight Board also resolves questions regarding the appropriate ownership of a policy, procedure, guidance, or manual. The Requirements Oversight Board will include a designee from the Chief Operating Officer, the General Counsel, and other members as designated by the Fermilab Director.
Management System Owners, Chiefs, Division Heads, Section Heads, and Project Directors are responsible for developing and maintaining policies that pertain to the scope of responsibilities of their office or Management System, in compliance with all legal, regulatory, and Prime Contract requirements. They are responsible for complying with this Policy and the procedures of the Requirements Oversight Board in the development, approval, update, implementation, communication, and withdrawal of all policies, procedures, guidance, and manuals.
8. Authorities
Prime Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11359 Clause C.4(d)(2)
9. Owner
The Chief Operating Officer is the owner of this policy.
10. Review Cycle
This policy shall be reviewed every three years.
11. Communication Plan
The requirements of this policy shall be communicated to all employees, and periodic training shall be provided to Management System Owners and Chiefs/Division Heads/Section Heads/Project Directors. This policy shall be available online in the Fermilab policy database. The Requirements Oversight Board is responsible for the communication of this policy.