Obsolescence Management Planning

This chapter examines potential vulnerabilities to successful completion of the U.S. chemical stodqtile disposal program that could become issues due to obsolescence. This chapter is focused on facilities, equipment, and the personnel required to operate, maintain, and eventually close the chemical agent stockpile incineration facilities at each operational incineration site. 

Consequently, the key question considered by the committee was not necessarily one concerned strictly with obsolescence, but one that more broadly assessed continuing functionality and reliability through the systematic anticipa- 

Even though agent destruction was imtially intended to take place over a relatively short time frame, the robust structural requirements by which chemical agent stockpile incineration facilities were built should allow their potential operating life in all probability to exceed even the most pessimistic current schedule for completion of chemical weapons destruction. 

While certain components and systems of the physical facilities may become damaged or deteriorate and require repair or replacement, it is nnlikely that these situations would be sufficiently frequent or serious enough to adversely impact process safety, the environment, or the overall destruction schedule except for the highly remote occurrence of rare catastrophic events of either natural or process origin. 

CONTINUING OPERABILITY OF CHEMICAL AGENT DISPOSAL FACILITIES 

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A result of this is that the strategies for obsolescence management developed at individual sites have significant differences. The CMA is encouraging interchanges among the sites and hopes that each may improve its plans by understanding approaches at other sites. 

Development of consistait obsolescence management system) 4 (Maintain skunk works) 7 (Replace inapplicable DOD standards) 23 (Key equipment planning for closure)... 

Information management is important to the management of obsolescence at stockpile sites, because it tracks the history of changes in the facilities and personnel over the lifetime of operations. Data of this sort can aid in identifying areas of potential obsolescence, facilitate forward planning, provide a permanent record that documents operations, and allow tracking of abnormal incidents. 

In addition to a concern for the continuing operability of facilities, the management of facility obsolescence is affected on a programwide level by organizational structure, contractual relationships and incentives, community and regulatory relationships, and planning for emergencies and closure. 

At the request of the CMA, site contractors have begun to develop plans for managing obsolescence. The TOCDF site started making plans independently the Washington Group International (WGI) sites developed a three-site initiative for the other incineration sites. 

The plan is to use the database information to develop an Obsolescent Equipment Management Lifecycle program (OEM-LP), which is an approach that was originally started at TOCDF. Aspects of this OEM-LP system were shown to the committee during a site visit to TOCDF in March 2006, and this work in progress seems to be progressing in a suitable manner. 

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