New s Letter - Nirmasharepoint.nirma.org/NIRMA Newsletters/NIRMA Newsletter...The NIRMA Board has been busy planning; reviewing, discussing and working to incorporate sug - gestions

Leading the Way in Nuclear Information and Records Management—

Now and in the Future

Published Three Times a Year by the Nuclear Information & Records Management AssociationVolume 34 Number 3 Fall/Winter 2014

from YoUr preSIdent

Mary Binkholder, CRM/NS

Treasurer’s Report . . . . . 3

New NIRMA Board . . . . . 3

ECM Survey: Key Insights. . 4

NRC ADAMS Upgrades . 5

NIRMA Award Winner . . . 6

2014 Attendee Feedback 6

New Builds & Guidance . 7

2014 Conference Review . 8

Conference Photo Page . 9

Microfilm Storage Tips . . 10

Information Governance 11

BU Reports . . . . . . . . . . 12

InSIde tHIS ISSUe

ow that we have had a breather to enjoythe fall season and welcome winter

(Ha!) … it is time to focus on our 2015Conference. Because the 2014 Conferencewas such a success, we are inspired to set the

bar higher for 2015. We have momentum going and don’t wantto lose that forward motion! The NIRMA Board has been busy

planning; reviewing, discussing and working to incorporate sug-gestions for the next Conference wherever possible based on your2014 Conference feedback.

Benefits of Being a PresenterOur membership’s involvement in the Conference is key to its suc-cess. Everyone has good practices or lessons learned to share withthe membership. Consider discussing an experience you wereinvolved with or a success that made an improvement for your plantor project.

The most certain way to improve our Conference and influencethe content is simple: step up, and get involved, PRESENT!!! Basedon feedback from our 2014 Conference, our membership has a desirefor presentations that focus on the

by Lona Smith, 2015 NIRMA Vice-President & Conference Program Director

continued on page 6

As my term as President is windingdown, I reflect on the advancementsin our organization and the industryin the past few years. Several standout, including:• Global warming and climate change appear to be mov-

ing nuclear power to the forefront, casting renewed hope fora resurgence. While a handful of nuclear plants haveclosed, we are also actively building new plants.• Small nuclear reactors (SMRs) are emerging as a

potential cost-effective alternative to the large nuclearreactors currently on line and being built.• 2014 showed a significant increase in NIRMA

Conference attendance and vendor support. We areoptimistic that this indicates an upward trend for ourorganization and our industry.• We have improved NIRMA’s financial position

through cost-cutting measures as well as increasedmembership, vendor support and utility sponsorships, andan increasing NIRMA’s investment account. This is anongoing process of continuous improvement to ensure wemaintain and improve our position.

continued on page 3

new nUClear plant Update

N

• NRC Charts New Plant Progress • NIRMA Expands Guidance (See Page 7)

Vogtle November update: 180,000-pound CA05 module placed into theUnit 3 nuclear island after 1.9 million-pound lower ring was set on top.

NewsLetter

2015 Call for Papers InsidePhoto courtesy of Southern Company

2015 Conference - August 9-12JW Marriott Resort and Spa, Summerlin, NV

2015 ConferenCe: Step Up!

from tHe Board

treasurer’s report

FINANCIAL HOLDINGS9/30/14

Checking Accounts $81,839.80Money Market $7,452.84 Investment Account $120,962.00

TOTAL $210,254.64

NIRMA’s outreach and joint efforts withother organizations and other countries:• Reaffirmation of our ANSI Standard,

ANSI/NIRMA CM 1.0 , Guidelines for Configuration Management of Nuclear Facilities, is

on track to complete soon. This ANSI standard is a cornerstoneof NIRMA and a great accomplishment for our organization.• Extensive involvement in the new revision of the ASME NQA-1,

Quality Assurance Requirements for Nuclear Facility Applications, toinclude records’ guidance from our NIRMA Technical Guideline (TG)15, Management of Electronic Records.• Joint effort with EPRI to supplement EPRI’s strategic guid-

ance for Information Handover and Turnover from theEngineering Procurement Constructor (EPC) to the OperatorOwner during construction of a new nuclear plant. RIMBU isdeveloping a Position Paper and TG providing detailed guidanceon planning and implementing controlled processes for transferof Controlled Documents, Records and ConfigurationInformation from EPC to the Owner Operator.• RIMBU is also working with

EPRI to develop guidance forNDE Digital Records.• NIRMA President accepted

an invitation and provided akeynote address about the prin-ciples of NIRMA andInformation Management, tothe Nuclear InformationTechnology Forum (NITF) inShanghai, China, April 2014.This advanced NIRMA as aneducation provider, along withthe addition of AIIM and CRMtraining at our recentConferences.• NIRMA unveiled a new web-

site and is working on further improvements such as a secureonline payment option when registering for the conference orfor membership and other purchases. We continue to leveragetechnology to become a more efficient organization.• Turnover of NIRMA office duties to Julie Hannum following

retirement of our long-time associate Jane Hannum. • Implemented an electronic voting method as well as on-line

surveys.• Added a LinkedIn site for our organization.I believe that our organization and industry will continue to

evolve. We need to ensure that NIRMA maintains its position asthe nuclear industry’s leader in information and records manage-ment. Unless we continue to grow and change, we will fall behind.

I have enjoyed serving this organization as President.NIRMA is a great organization because of YOUR involvementand I am thankful for your trust and support.

from YoUr preSIdent

continued from page 1

by Janice HoerberNIRMA Treasurer

2015 Conference continued from page 1

“2014 showed a significant increase in nIrma Conference

attendance and vendor support. we are optimistic that this

indicates an upward trend for our organization and our industry.”

nIrma newsletter fall/winter 2014 • 3

(L-R) Gerald Lewis, Infrastructure Director, Lona Smith, Vice-President and Conference ProgramDirector, Rebecca Wessman, President, Mary Binkholder, Secretary, Ed Springer, Technical ProgramsDirector, Janice Hoerber, Treasurer.

2015 Board:of directors

Selected 2015 themes include: Government RM Requirements, CyberSecurity, Configuration Management, Cloud Computing and SocialMedia, Vendor Technical Information, New Plant Information, ChangeManagement, NIRMA TGs and ASME NQA-1, Implementing PerformanceMetrics, Lifecycle of the Plant, Long-Term RecordsManagement–Challenges and Solutions, New Builds, KnowledgeManagement, Decommissioning Issues and Solutions, and eDiscovery.

The process to become a presenter or speaker is easy and virtu-ally painless! Contact [email protected] if you are interest-ed in being part of the 2015 program.

themes listed below. Share your experience or seek out the experienceof others. As an added benefit, sharing a presentation will improveyour professional standing and could be the key to securing permis-sion/funding to attend the 2015 NIRMA Conference. See the Call forPapers insert in this issue for more details.

IndUStrY newS

Top things we learned from the ECM survey:1) The industry wants to increase the level of automation in

document review and approval processes.Over 70% of survey respondents mentioned that increased

business process automation was in their top three ECM chal-lenges. Some process areas like Procedure Management andLicensing were particularly weak but Drawing Managementshowed usage of workflow automation. As the majority of sur-vey respondents have moved to an electronic record environ-ment, the automation of review and approval processes becomesmore feasible Several survey respondents indicated that they arecurrently held back from implementation as they are running oldversions of ECM software and would upgrade to support suchan initiative.

2) Retirement of key knowledge workers is reducing effi-ciency in finding older records.

Several of the survey respondents indicated that the pace ofretirements of key personnel has introduced adverse impact onthe accessibility of information about non-electronic records.Although 73% of the industry has moved to the copy of recordbeing in electronic format, many of the legacy records are stillwarehoused in paper format or held on microfilm. Althoughaccess to legacy information is much less frequent there is still apotential for delay as personnel are no longer able to make con-tact with record experts who have left the organization. Overtime we see the drive for back capture of legacy records to growto circumvent issues such as this.

3) Interfaces between IT systems for automatic feed ofelectronic records need to be more reliableMany of the survey respondents have built integrations betweentheir ECM system and other IT systems within the organization.One of the key drivers is the electronic submission of records

from IT systems that generate records. This increases productivi-ty as the record is no longer printed and then submitted andscanned as a record at a later point in time. The record is cap-tured at the point of origin.

3) A key challenge reported by several survey respon-dents was the reliability of the interfaces between the ECMand other IT systems. Malfunctions in the interface mayinterrupt the flow of records between the systems and jeop-ardize the integrity of the record capture.

A root cause of these problems might be the old versions ofECM and IT systems being operated against different operating system environments.

4) Many of the current sys-tems were deployed in theMillennium period.

Many ECM systems weredeployed in the period from 1998to 2002 to ensure the systemswould not have issues with year 2Ktransition. Most of these were 2ndgeneration systems replacing origi-nal document and record systemsdeployed at plant commissioning.Very few survey respondents indi-cated that functional improve-ments had been made to the origi-nal legacy ECM platforms.

5) Five operators have one-off legacy or vendor systems.The majority of the survey respondents indicated they were

running systems based upon IBM, EMC, Bentley or McLaren.There were, however, five survey respondents running systemswhich were developed in-house or were customized systemsbased upon platforms provided by Oracle and Microsoft.

ECM STUDY IDENTIFIES KEYINDUSTRY CHALLENGES & TRENDS

by Tim Fleet, V.ice President of Business Development for McLaren Software

Part 1

Part 2 will focus on several industry issues including ECM sys-tem updates, ECM for licensing, electronic records as legalcopies, nuclear records teams, and legacy records management. Tim Fleet is Vice-President of Business Development at McLaren

Software, a leading provider of engineering document control and proj-ect collaboration solutions for more than 20 years. Mr Fleet has exten-sive experience internationally implementing systems that address theunique challenges of the nuclear and energy sector. For more information go to www.mclarensoftware.com.

the following marks the first of two articles on ten primary aspects of current eCm

practice uncovered in comprehensive survey interviews with US nuclear information and

records managers. the 2014 nIrma survey by tim fleet was endorsed by nIrma as a

source of industry benchmarking and best practices information for its members.

4 • nIrma newsletter fall/winter 2014

C

Customized EMC System Configured Nuclear EMC Solution

Over the course of my career in the federal government, one ofthe most rewarding undertakings has been improving businessprocesses by providing automated solutions. When introducedto electronic records management, I saw an exciting new oppor-tunity to be a part of a larger vision for comprehensive informa-tion management at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission(NRC). I also saw the benefit of using a records managementapplication to preserve our valuable information throughout itslifecycle and enhance the work we do now and in the future.

ADAMS Challenge: Organizing Information ConsistentlyInstituted in November 1999, the Agencywide DocumentsAccess and Management System (ADAMS) became the NRC’ssolution to a Congressional mandate to move toward a paperlessenvironment and to organize, preserve, and retrieve a wealth ofdocuments written by NRC staff, contractors, and licensees.Although the NRC has made great strides in improving ADAMSthrough workflow, processes, and technology, organizing theinformation in a consistent manner has remained a challenge.

Automating Retention Policies When the original ADAMS was upgraded in 2012 to simplifyaccess to information and streamline the way NRC staff worked,the records program took the opportunity to improve the man-agement and organization of ADAMS documents. ADAMSRecords Management (ADAMS RM) was introduced to automat-ically apply records management retention policies and provideconsistent capabilities for organizing, filing, and profiling agencyrecords.

In the first phase of the project, the ADAMS RM team hadplanned to use a functional (rather than organizational) view ofNRC’s information to organize the records and apply retentionsand dispositions. This functional view, referred to as the file tax-onomy, was to be embedded into both ADAMS and ADAMS RMwith high level folders to provide strict and consistent namingand folder conventions. This approach would allow retention poli-cies to be applied at the folder level in ADAMS RM in an automat-ed fashion to reduce the amount of manual records filing.

Embedding File Taxonomy FirstHowever, the team found that folder and file naming withinADAMS has been ad hoc (e.g. by organization, by individual’s nameor initials, etc.), and changing to a strict file structure in ADAMSafter over a decade would be challenging and not easily supportedby staff. The team decided the priority was to embed this file tax-onomy structure in ADAMS RM, then use technology to assist ingetting the documents from ADAMS into the file taxonomy struc-

ture which is aligned with mandatory records retention schedules.

Refining Classification For High Level AccuracyDuring the second phase, the ADAMS RM team is focusing onhow to assess the status and volume of all the records inADAMS. A full repository search of ADAMS will be done usinga tool to assign preliminary classifications to records based onthe file taxonomy. Our repository-wide analysis will continue torefine classification rules and support automated recordkeeping.This approach will also lead to changes in the current ADAMStemplates for profiling and a new template based classification ofall new records being declared in ADAMS. By properly classify-ing information, we will achieve a 75-95% filing accuracy viaautomation. The remaining percent will be addressed throughmanual intervention while also using the tool to re-classify theserecords.

100% Automated RM GoalAnother development will be a repeatable workflow of taxono-my, records retention, and digitization of paper collections toallow staff to properly configure newly digitized or scanned col-lections for declaration in ADAMS without relying on customcoding. Recordkeeping metadata can be added to a documentwith little or no human intervention. The goal is to establish abest practice and have 100% automated records management inthese cases.

Long Term: Align IM with Federal InitiativesA long-term goal for ADAMS RM is to manage NRC’s informa-tion for current and future use while also aligning with Federalinitiatives such as transparent government, cloud computing,Presidential Directive, M-12-18, and open source opportunities.The ADAMS RM project will support meeting all of these goals.Success will depend on agency involvement at all levels and awillingness to change outdated business processes to allow tech-nology to handle the records profiling and filing. Most impor-tantly, once fully implemented, ADAMS RM will supports users’needs by making information easier to find and will reduce therisk of records management practices being questioned duringdisclosures under the Freedom of Information Act, discoveryrequests, or Congressional inquiries.

from tHe nrC

major adamS Upgrade Incorporatesrm Best practices and automation

“our repository-wide analysis will continue

to refine classification rules and support

automated recordkeeping...By properly

classifying information, we will achieve a

75-95% filing accuracy via automation.”

by Marna Dove NRC Electronic Records Analyst

CaSe StUdY


onfigured Nuclear ECM Solution

NEW AWARD: OUTSTANDING RM PROFESSIONAL

Often times as we move though our careers, we forget howwe impact––and are impacted––by others around us. At therecent NIRMA Conference, the membership was asked tovote for “NIRMA’s Outstanding Professional” and the resultsdemonstrated the high level of professionalism in NIRMA.

Many Nominations, One WinnerIn all, 19 different people were nomi-nated. The number of nominees andthe overall participation in this processshowed that the organization as awhole values and appreciates mentor-ship and continuing education. Whilethe winner this year obtained thelargest vote total by quite a bit, fourother professionals also garnered alarge number of votes.

It was inspiring to see the high regard NIRMA managers havefor one another. This speaks well for the association and its role ineducating and training new membership for the future. This is afield of great professionalism and the nature of the work NIRMAdoes is extremely critical to the energy industry.

The Clear Choice: Bill CloverWilliam (Bill) Clover of Exelonwas the clear winner. If onewishes to be respected by theirpeers, Mr. Clover has certainlyshown the methodology to gainthat respect. Comments included:

• "Bill has been an asset tothe industry when it comes to

best practices. He is not shy about sharing the knowledge he hasgained over the last 25 years in our industry.”

• “Bill is the best at benchmarking and sharing that informa-tion. He is always helpful and he always provides information in a

timely manner.”• “Bill has extensive knowledge and is

always willing to help others with issues. Heparticipates in many NIRMA events as aspeaker and a document reviewer.”• “Bill invests a good deal of time and effort

into the NIRMA organization with the goal ofsharing knowledge and experience to improvepractices and knowledge across the industry.

He is knowledgeable, experienced and engaging. He does not hesi-tate to challenge others on their practices with the intent ofimproving and strengthening their best practice. Bill is generous insharing his experience and knowledge to strengthen the industry.”• “Whenever I have a question about records management he is

always willing to take his time to answer and help me learn fromhis experience. He is a trusted authority on records and Iappreciate him.”• “Bill is a great presenter. I learn a lot from his presenta-

tions and I know he will produce useful, expert information inhis tracks.”

There were also many complimentary comments like thisabout dozens of NIRMA’s top professionals. Many of you havethe great respect of your peers due to your energy, your con-tinued education and your willingness to step up for NIRMAand make it the wonderful organization it is.

Editor’s Note: The following award won enthusiastic participation when itdebuted at the 2014 Conference. Hugh Smith of FireLock Vaults initiated the

popular award and sponsored a grand prize.

“It was inspiring to see the high

regard nIrma managers have for

one another. this speaks well for

nIrma and its role in educating and

training new membership...”

Technical Sessions: I really enjoyedthe keynote talks, panel sessions, and thetechnical sessions…all were excellent! Ofparticular interest to me were the sessionsthat discussed the long-term preservationof records (especially electronic records);defensible dispositioning of records; andthe industry benchmark survey results.

Networking: I made a point of con-necting with a number of attendees

before and after the sessions, and duringmeals. It was great to meet so many help-ful people willing to share their experi-ence and knowledge. I was able to takethis information back to our CM teamand impact a process in our ProductLifecycle Management system.

Exhibits: I visited every vendor at theconference, and I came away with a realrespect for their passion about their prod-ucts and services! I was especiallyimpressed with In Sight Restoration andtheir process for restoring water damageddocuments via a vacuum freeze-dryingchamber. They are now on my list of con-tacts in case we experience water dam-aged documents.

nIrma 2015 first-time attendee Interviews

Gil BruecknerLead Specialist,CM New PlantsEngineering,GE HitachiNuclear Energy

Tomiyasu ImaiResident ResearcherNuclear MaintenanceApplication Center,EPRI(sent from ChubuElectric, Japan)

Technical Sessions: Since this is the firsttime I’ve attended this Conference, theBenchmarking sessions gave me an under-standing of record management in US.Electronic Record Management (ECM) andConfiguration Management (CM)were espe-cially interesting. At my plant, HamaokaNuclear Power Plant, we are attempting tomove into ECM more and more, and Ibelieve that will make it easier to implementCM . It was also great to talk to other atten-dees about what they do.

continued on page 10


2014 ConferenCe

Award WinnerBill Clover ofExelon thanks Hugh Smithand NIRMA

by Hugh Smith, President of FireLock Vaults

everal new US nuclear units continue to reach milestones thisyear: Vogtle in Georgia (Units 3 and 4), V.C. Summer in South

Carolina (Units 2 and 3) , and Watts Bar in Tennessee (Unit 2).Although there have been some construction delays, the variousplants’ projected operational dates range from approximately 2016 to2019, with more US plants on the drawing board. (See below).

Meanwhile, NIRMA teams within the Regulations andInformation Management Business Unit (RIMBU) are advancingdynamic guidance for new plants, much of which also applies toexisting plants and those looking to relicense . The goal is to enablenuclear entities at all stages to move forward with the highest levelsof information management effectiveness and efficiency. Followingare a few recent RIMBU guidance initiatives.

• New Nuclear Power Plants (NNPP) Guidance

The NIRMA Programs Business Unit team led by Rich Giska hasdeveloped two major efforts in new plant information. A primaryfocus in recent years, both projects are close to release.

1) Technical Guideline (TG) - Turnover of Records and IncrementalHandover of Information for New Nuclear Power Plants, “The What” TG.The team has been working with industry partners to develop thisguidance document to assist the NNPP with turnover and accept-ance of information, documents and records from EngineeringProcurement Constructors (EPC), consortiums, and suppliers.

2) A Position Paper on the overall subject of InformationHandover and Turnover for NNPP is nearing completion.

• ANSI Standard for Electronic Records RIMBU recently formed a subcommittee to focus on an effort toincorporate NIRMA Technical Guideline, TG-15, Management ofElectronic Records, into the ASME NQA-1 Code in its 2016 revision.Under the leadership of Steve Matson, who is also a member of theANSI NQA-1 Subcommittee, the team will review existing data forthe potential conversion. Mr. Matson states that the NQA-1 updatewould aid plants that are looking to extend licenses and wouldenable all plants to align with manufacturers, engineering contrac-tors, consultants and support companies to incorporate new tech-nology, products and services.

• New White Paper: Sustainability for Long-Term

Records RetentionRIMBU determined that as nuclear facilities request license exten-

sions they often experience an increase in the years of records reten-tion required. This can place an additional burden on records man-agement to maintain records in sustainable formats and ultimatelyimpact the quality of records. A new white paper, Sustainability forLong -Term Records Retention, has been undertaken to examine theimpact extending an operating license has on records management.

new BUIld and new GUIdanCe momentUm

In November 2014 talks, NRC Chairman Allison M. Macfarlaneaddressed several updates on new reactors, as well as safety andlicensing issues. She also noted that her staff and the industryare incorporating post-Fukushima insights into the new reactorconstruction projects currently underway at Vogtle, V.C.Summer, and Watts Bar. “I’ve had the opportunity to see theprogress at Vogtle and Watts Bar first-hand And I can attest tothe safety consciousness observed in both the NRC’s construc-tion inspectors and the [building] engineers,” she remarked.“The construction at Vogtle and Summer is moving along well.There have been some delays, however, and it’s important thatwe not minimize the reasons they’ve occurred.”

(Additional excerpted remarks are listed below by topic).• Delays and Safety Issues“One challenge we’ve encountered is that nuclear reactors

haven’t been constructed in the United States in quite some time.As a result, today’s component manufacturers have had to adjusttheir safety culture practices to accommodate the rigorous, oftenunique, requirements presented by nuclear construction.

I believe the industry has an essential responsibility inensuring quality control oversight of vendors and in preventingcounterfeit or fraudulent parts from entering the supply chain.Both the NRC and industry have engaged with foreign counter-parts to champion strict adherence to quality control standards.”

• New Plant Licensing“ I also want to emphasize the continued importance of our

new reactor work. Initial ‘growing pains’ associated with using the Part 52 licensing process at Vogtle and Summer pro-vided valuable lessons learned, which the staff built upon to

develop an efficient, risk- informed, focused approach to review-ing combined license applications. This includes small modularreactor designs, which we may see in 2015 and beyond.

We’ve also fine-tuned our approach to preparing formandatory hearings on license applications. The Commissionjust received an update on Watts Bar Unit 2, and the NRCexpects to be able to make a determination on an operatinglicense for that unit in 2015.”

• Modular Reactors “I’d like to commend our staff for their completion of the

ESBWR [Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor] designcertification earlier this year. The staff also published draftDesign-Specific Review Standards for the mPower small modularreactor design and completed the safety evaluations for both theLevy and Fermi combined license applications.”

.

NRC update oN New uNits

Vogtle Unit 3 Cooling Tower. (Photo Courtesy of Southern Company).


IndUStrY newS

S

2014 ConferenCe


“Spot on” 2014 event raises the Bar

Sample attendee Comments

by Rebecca Wessman2014 NIRMA Vice-President &Conference Program Director

By the conclusion of the 2014 NIRMAInformation Management Conference it

was clear that it had been an outstanding success, thanks to thehard work and dedication of our speakers, exhibitors and atten-dees. There were 144 conference attendees including 46 first-timeattendees, 69 companies and 6 government agencies/organiza-tions represented, 18 exhibitors, and 7 international guests fromJapan, Canada, France and South Korea.

2014 Speaker, Presenter, and Vendor AppreciationI want to send a very special thank you to our Keynote Speakers: • Fadi Diya (Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer,

Ameren Missouri)• Darren Ash (NRC Deputy Executive Director for Corporate

Management)• Debra Slomovik (Records Information Management

Specialist - Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO))Their presentations and messages provided considerable

insight about leadership and the future of the nuclear industry.Technical and Benchmarking session presenters did a fantasticjob of providing the membership with current and relevantissues, changes and solutions we in the nuclear industry are fac-ing and challenged with each and every day. A few attendeecomments listed below exemplify the positive feedback wereceived. And finally, a very warm thank you to all who attend-ed the Conference. You are the reason we do this. I hope each ofyou came away feeling as though you gained knowledge and abetter understanding of the work you are all doing.

Your Suggestions are EncouragedAttendee feedback this year praised the technical sessions andindicated that attendees enjoyed the Conference. We receivedgood feedback on all aspects: technical sessions offered a vastamount of information, vendor exhibitors were helpful inexplaining their products and offering solutions to our needs and

attendees appreciated the opportunity to attend the AIIM training pre-conference as a developmental opportunity. The network-ing sessions allowed everyone a chance to do valuable bench-marking with one another other.

The Board of Directors uses your comments to capitalizeon successes and improve the Conference each year. We arecarefully reviewing your evaluations and will use your sugges-tions to make the 2015 NIRMA Conference even better. If youhave additional thoughts or ideas, please feel free to send themto any Board member, at any time. Your input and involvementhelp make the Conference a success!

We know the industry is changing, and we will be facingmany new opportunities and challenges in the coming years. Wealso know the records and information management arena ischanging just as quickly and maybe even more rapidly than thenuclear industry. If you know of any topics you would like to seecovered at the Conference, please let the Board of Directorsknow. We want the Conference to meet your needs, and the onlyway for us to do that is hear from you.

What’s Next? Become Involved!Everyone has good practices or lessons learned to share with themembership. Consider discussing an experience you wereinvolved with or a success that made your job easier. The processto be a presenter or speaker is easy and the personal and profes-sional benefits of sharing your expertise are considerable. Conference feedback for future presentations included sugges-tions to feature:• A lawyer presenting on eDiscovery • A track specific to newer members (new to document con-

trol and records management) • More IT related sessions (e.g. cyber security, digital signatures) • More information management/configuration management

workshops• Review of TGs and NQA1-1994 and interpretation of requirements

Please contact Lona Smith, 2015 NIRMA Vice President, if you orsomeone you know is interested in being a presenter or speaker.

ConclusionThe energy level at our 2014 event was exceptional and we want torenew and expand this energy next August. NIRMA is your associ-ation, and the ideas you share with the Board contribute to keepingNIRMA the preeminent information management organization itis. Together, we will achieve more in the coming years and makethe association even better.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, we sincerely thank you foryour involvement and support of NIRMA. We look forward to yourparticipation in the Conference, the Business Units and the organiza-tion as we continue to thrive in 2015. Thank you for a great Conferenceand I look forward to serving you as your 2015 NIRMA President.

“we received good feedback on all aspects:

technical sessions...vendor exhibits...aIIm

training...networking sessions...”

• “nice variety of sessions/topics/speakers. It's very

encouraging to hear from our industry's regulating/evaluat-

ing bodies and know that they are struggling with many of

the same issues we are. I think the presence of higher level

people and organizations also helps add legitimacy or

prestige to nIrma (nrC, Inpo, eprI, SVp/Cno,etc.) the

variety of organizations represented was good to see.”

• “the content of the sessions and the keynote/general

session speakers were spot on!”

• “the increased information on electronic records process-

ing was done very well.” (See more comments on pages 6 and 8).

2014 ConferenCe

2014 ConferenCe pHoto GallerY

JW

Sessions and Speakers

awards

GG oo ll ddAmeren

pp ll aa tt ii nn uu mmExelon

SS ii ll vv ee rrBlack & Veatch

IBMEntergy

Nippon RecordsSTP

Underground ArchivesXcel Energy

BB rroo nn zz eeBentley

EMCTechnical Services Group

Thank you

2014 SponSorS

exhibits, networking and prizes

ConferenCe Photo Page

Courtesy of

Millican &

associates, inc.

Established Information

Governance Experts

www.millican-assoc.com

Denise Pickett,CRM, NS

Bill Clover

Ken Barry

Opening SpeakerFadi Diya


Microfilm Success Tips

Q: “Assuming processed microfilm is stored in a microfilm cabinetin a vault, what type of receptacle do you use? Is it kept in the same plas-tic box from which the unprocessed film came? Or, if it’s in a cardboardbox that came from a process vendor, is that acceptable and of archivalquality? Does an acid free box need to be used?”

A: Before answering, let me first applaud the use of a microfilmcabinet and vault. This is ideal – assuming it is temperature andhumidity controlled to specifications. Unfortunately, a cabinet andvault are not always the reality for many reasons, including budgetand geography. Regardless of this, the short answer is that an inertmedium is best for microfilm storage – in this case, the plastic con-tainer.

According to Section 8.2 of ANSI/AIIM MS48-1999,American National Standard for Information and ImageManagement: “The microfilm reel shall be stored in a closed container made ofinert material such as plastic or paper of archival quality. If propertemperature and humidity are maintained as prescribed in 8.4, andif there is good ventilation and clean air in the storage area, thecontainers need not be sealed. Open containers, such as foldingcartons, may be used only if it has been established that the con-tainer material is acid-free, lignin-free, and buffered and that it willhave no adverse effect on film over extended periods of time. Allcontainers shall comply with ANSI/NAPM IT9.2.”If your microfilm archives are not kept in a microfilm cabi-

net/vault, the long answer is that there are quite a few variableshaving to do with microfilm storage including film type (diazo,

vesicular or silver), temperature, humidity, pollutants, environ-mental chemicals, packaging and more. Standards for microfilmstorage have been addressed in many documents which can bequickly accessed online. Although the reading may be dry, thesedocuments do an excellent job of spelling out the details in easily-understood terms. They include: • 6.1 Microfilm and Microfiche, a Preservation Leaflet from the

Northeast Document Conservation Center Kodak publication D-31, Storage and Preservation of Microfilms (Eastman KodakCompany, Rochester, New York, 14650)• Section 4.21 of the ANSI/AIIM MS23-200X Standard for

Information and Image ManagementAlthough the full documents are lengthy, the storage sections

are brief and a worthwhile read, if only to find that your organiza-tion is storing microfilm correctly for long-term preservation.

As to the second part of the member’s question, unless the“processor vendor” (usually a service bureau) has specificallyincluded archival boxes in their original quote, they will typicallyreturn the film in the canister from which it came for both dupli-cation and digitization services. One should always discuss finalstorage with the process vendor to ensure that assumptions reallydo equal long-term preservation reality.

Cheri Baker is the Director of Communications for The CrowleyCompany, a full-service provider of digitization and micrographicservices and imaging products including walk-up and production volumescanners with locations in Maryland, California and the U.K.

by Cheri BakerDirector of CommunicationsThe Crowley Company

INDUSTRY GUIDANCE FOR SAFE FILM STORAGEA question recently posted on the NIRMA Q&A Discussion Board prompted thefollowing article by a NIRMA member and microfilm expert Cheri Baker. Here sheshares valuable film guidelines and essential industry references for our members.

nIrma 2015 first-time attendee Interviews

Technical Program: I really enjoyedthe presentations I attended. I found theBottom’s Up by Tracy Rhodes and also theTo Train or Not To Train by Bob Larriveevery interesting. These sessions gave mesome welcome insights into the recordsmanagement world.

Networking: The networking at thisevent was the best of any professional

conference I’ve attended. I had manyopportunities to engage with people fromother organizations about their businessmodels and challenges. Knowing whatother organizations ––and others outside ofIT––are working on helps stir up innovativeideas. So I was very impressed and plan tocontinue conversations I had with many ofthe people I met.

Exhibits: Though the technology ondisplay at the event was different from thethings I normally work with, I did find itall very interesting. I was also able to seesome new players in spaces where myorganization currently does business. Onevendor product that I was very interestedin seeing was the iBridge product. Anyorganization not focusing on the ability to

Chris BoudreauxLead NetworkAdministrator,STP Nuclear OperatingCompany

track a record or document to the extremeshould rethink that strategy in the eventthey ever need to reclaim that informationin a moment’s notice.

In Summary: The energy at theConference was very welcoming to an ITperson such as myself. I am excited that ITand RM are going to be doing some greatthings together in the coming years. Iwould like to extend a huge thanks toeveryone for welcoming me into the foldand I cannot wait to come back next year.

“the networking at this event

was the best of any professional

conference I’ve attended. I had many

opportunities to engage with people

from other organizations and to

understand their business models

and challenges.”

continued from page 6


Information Governance (IG) is understanding what you have,where you have it, why you need it, and what your obligationsare for that data, and then executing on that knowledge and dis-posing or retaining accordingly. Organizations large and small arespending too much to maintain informationthat is of little value, while often not lever-aging and protecting that which can growthe business.

Nuclear managers must consider obli-gations regarding their information andrecords imposed by the business, as well asadditional regulatory and compliancerequirements. Examples are litigationholds, IRS letters, and EPA required envi-ronmental studies, to name a few. Theseadditional obligations must be consideredin the data clean-up and disposal processesand information governance policies. Ifyou know of, and can connect, the value aswell as the risk associated with specific infor-mation, you can free resources for growth byidentifying and dispositioning data in accor-dance with its value (or lack thereof ) and theobligations that apply.

Minimizing Operation Costs with IG Improving information economics and disposing of unnecessarydata reduces cost and inefficiencies for records, legal, IT, and thebusiness. Modernizing information governance processes andtools allows the business to avoid wasted IT or legal services andleverage information for better decisions. Legal can meet discov-ery obligations cost effectively and efficiently and manage con-flicting privacy and regulatory duties. IT can minimize opera-tional costs and therefore increase investments that help growthe business. Records can easily keep policies “evergreen” andproduce quantifiable economic benefits and risk reduction fromconsistent and defensible disposal.

Information Governance provides the mechanisms to effec-tively match information value to the costs and risks of retentionand thereby enable timely and ongoing disposal. It synchronizesthe obligations of records management, legal, IT, and the busi-ness in a way that provides for consistent and timely execution ofthe policies on the IT assets. The IT assets, for example, can be:locked for preservation for a legal hold, archived to more eco-nomic storage dispositioned to another entity or system, ordisposed of in accordance with approved policy and procedure.

Determine Value of your DataYour IT organization may have petabytes of data, but littleunderstanding of what is needed or why. Therefore, they needto assume it is all valuable. They typically organize data by sys-tem and server name. They pay the full cost of compliance

(keep everything) and struggle to reconcile doubling data growthwith less budget. An effective Information Governance programprovides the transparency for IT and other stakeholders to easilyunderstand the value and obligations for specific data and make

better decisions as the data custodian.

• Analyzing Cost BenefitsAssessing the risk and costs in the processesassociated with Information Governance isthe best way to develop a business case foryour organization. Although each organiza-tion may be unique, experience has shownthat significant and measurable cost benefitsare most often found in:

• Storage Cost Reduction – 50% or more ofthe total storage and stored data may be datadebris and therefore eligible for disposal.

• Application Decommissioning Cost Reduction – Applications that no longer con-tain information of value or which are dupli-cate or redundant systems, with no duties tokeep data, can be completely decommissioned.This produces savings in hardware, storage,and cancellation of licenses and leases.

• eDiscovery Cost Reduction – Improvements in the eDiscoveryprocess that enable defensible disposal can reduce outside legalfees through volume reductions and efficiencies of accurateculling and early matter settlement.

SummaryA compelling factor for starting an Information Governance ini-tiative now is the legal hold that may be preventing disposal ofanything and everything in your organization. Start yourInformation Governance initiative now, and when the hold is lift-ed, you will be ready to dispose. If you wait, before yourInformation Governance program begins operation, anothernew “wide scope” legal hold could be in effect and disposal willneed to wait another three, five, or seven years. The potentialrisk and cost of many more years of broadly delayed disposalmay be compelling enough to gain support from your generalcounsel, CIO, and security/privacy officer.

Linda Clark is an eBusiness Executive and Practice Leader inInformation Governance at Millican and Associates. She has 30 yearsof experience helping complex, highly regulated Global 2000 companiesand Federal agencies with a focus on risk mitigation and modernizationof information management and governance programs. She has alsoheld leadership positions for NIRMA, including two terms on theNIRMA Board of Directors. Contact [email protected].

INDUSTRY GUIDANCE FOR SAFE FILM STORAGE nUClear InformatIon GoVernanCe:

BUIldInG a Business Case

IndUStrY newS

“If you know of, and can

connect, the value as well

as the risk associated with

specific information, you

can free resources for

growth by identifying and

dispositioning data in

accordance with its value...”

by Linda Clark of Millican & AssociatesInformation Governance Practice Leader


BUSIneSS UnItS

The Membership and Marketing (M&M) team has been busylaunching efforts to promote NIRMA to make it even bigger andbetter in 2015. As you know, one of NIRMA’s key goals every year isto grow the organization. As part of our outreach to prospectiveattendees and vendors, we also exhibited at the annual ARMAConference in October. We appreciate this opportunity extended tous by ARMA as part of our media exchange agreement. In addi-tion, we are also planning to send a “Save the Date” postcard inJanuary to members and prospects for our 2015 Conference.

In keeping with this objective, we also sent invitation letters tovendors and the membership regarding the 2015 NIRMAConference. For established vendors, this is an “Invitation toExhibit;” for the current membership, it is an “Invitation toAttend.” By encouraging all current vendors to continue their par-ticipation and by attracting prospective vendors, we hope toincrease our membership numbers and overall attendance at thenext Conference. We have also recently established a presence onLinkedIn. Our thanks go out to M&M member Denise Pickett,CRM/NS, who led this effort. If you are already part of LinkedIn,watch for upcoming notifications regarding NIRMA activities; ifyou have not yet joined LinkedIn, please think about becomingpart of the LinkedIn community. It is a great professionalresource for NIRMA and Information Management. Search for“Nuclear Information and Records Management,” and watch formore information on our potential Facebook page.

We hope everyone is enjoying the new NIRMA website posted

prior to the 2014 Conference. We are continuing work on furtherupgrades that will be posted soon. We are also working on anAward Nomination Form to place on the NIRMA website for mem-bers to use when nominating an individual member for one of ourprestigious awards. Watch for the form on nirma.org. The con-

tents will include updates to the information tradition-ally contained in the newsletter to help educate NIRMAmembers on what awards are available, as well as thecriteria for nomination.

You, the members, are NIRMA’s strongest asset.We need you to again spread the word about our amaz-ing organization to anyone whom you feel would bene-fit professionally. The next Conference will bring againgreat educational opportunities as well as broader top-ics adding more on Information Technology andConfiguration Management. We hope to see all of youat the 2015 NIRMA Conference – and bring a colleague(or two)!

For additional information or questions, pleasecontact: Sheila Pearcy at [email protected], or NIRMA Board memberGerald Lewis at 361.972.8338, [email protected].

membership & marketing Business Unit

Editor

Cathy Lang

Advisor

Gerald Lewis

Associate Editor

Debbie Davis

Editorial/Advertising

949.300.8092

[email protected]

NIRMA HeadquartersJulie Hannum

NIRMA Administrator245 Sunnyridge Ave. #34Fairfield, CT 06824

203.388.8795 [email protected]

nIrma newSletter

by Sheila Pearcy, BU Director

The NIRMA Newsletter ispublished three times

a year by the Nuclear Informationand Records Management

Association.

“we need you to again spread the word about

our amazing organization to anyone whom you feel

would benefit professionally. this next Conference

will again bring great educational opportunities....”

nIrma oUtreaCHat arma 2014

Right: Rebecca Wessman, 2015NIRMA President (left) at theNIRMA Exhibit Booth withDenise Pickett, CRM/NS, aNIRMA M&M BU memberand ARMA Board member.

Left: Newsletter Editor Cathy Lang answers inquiriesand hands out NIRMA brochures and publications

PLEASE NOTE NEW ADDRESSFOR NIRMA HEADQUARTERS BELOW


BUSIneSS UnItS

I hope all of you who were able to attend NIRMA 2014Conference enjoyed your experience. I want to personally thankBob Larrivee for presenting a very entertaining and informativeworkshop on the Saturday before the Conference. Bob presentedAIIM’s Enterprise Content Management Practitioner course onSaturday, August 9. Fifteen people, including myself, attended theworkshop. Bob amazingly covered 25 modules worth of materialin one day. Topics included ECM fundamentals, content lifecycle,business drivers, information architecture and managing processand content. It was a very full engaging day that covered of a lotof rich content and included stimulating discussions. I highlyenjoyed taking this course, as did others according to the feedbackwe received. In fact, comments from my fellow attendees indicat-ed that the workshop was a resounding success.

Discussions of Continuing AIIM Training In response to requests that poured in for another offering nextyear, Bob Larrivee and I are in discussion about makingadditional AIIM workshops into a regular pre-Conferencetrack. We are now in the pre-planning stages of offeringAIIM’s Electronic Records Management Practitioner Course(ERM) as a pre-conference workshop at the NIRMA 2015Conference. Tentative plans are to rotate workshop topicsevery year. Other AIIM course topics include, ElectronicRecords Management (ERM), Information Governance (IG),Business Process Management (BPM) and Taxonomy andMetadata.

The ERM Practitioner Course contains twelve modules.The modules consist of: An Introduction to ERM, Creating andCapturing Records, Metadata, Introduction to Classification,Developing Classification Tools, Classifying Records, Search andRetrieval and Presentation, Controls and Security, Retention andDisposition, Records Management Technologies, ElectronicRecords Storage and Digital Preservation. Once again, once youparticipate in this course, the course module(s), supportingmaterials and exams are accessible online to each participantin AIIM’s training portal for six months.

ICRM Exam Prep and NS CertificationWe also plan to continue our partnership with the Institute ofCertified Records Managers (ICRM) to continue bringing CRMexam prep and information next year.

For those of you who may have already passed the CRMexam this year, I send hearty congratulations! It is our hope thatyou will consider taking the Nuclear Specialist (NS) Certificationto become part of that elite group. Congratulations go out toDenise Pickett. Denise was honored this year at the Conferencefor having passed the NS exam and has achieved the NS certifica-tion. We are very happy for her! “Receiving my NS certificationwas a notch in my belt and resulted in professional recognitionwhen my company announced this as a notable achievement onour intranet,” Denise remarked. “Colleagues were in disbeliefthat I was only one of 30 NSs in the certification’s history”

Additional information on the AIIM workshop and the ICRMexam prep materials and workshops will be available in upcomingnewsletters. Information will be available as plans are developed,so keep watching and pre-plan your travel for next August if youare interested.

If you have information on any other courses that might beof interest to NIRMA or if you need additional information oncurrent offerings. please feel free to contact me [email protected] or call 781.775.0959.

professional development Business Unitby Anita Beren, PDBU Director “In response to requests that poured in for another

offering next year, Bob larrivee and I are in discus-

sion about making additional aIIm workshops into a

regular pre-Conference track.”

NIRMA’snewest nuclearspecialist,Denise Pickett,CRM/NS, speaking at the2014Conference.


The Regulations and Information Management Business Unit(RIMBU) Team is working to provide guidance on topics thataffect the industry. With storage management for hard copy anddigital records in mind, how does extending an operating licenseimpact records management and the way records are maintained?Most nuclear plants originally set their records program for a totalof 60 years: 10 years construction, 40 years operations, and tenyears for decommission. Many nuclear facilities have requestedlicense extensions. This increases the years of records retentionand places an additional burden on records management to main-tain records in sustainable formats. The quality of records is slow-ly being impacted. Stay tuned for the release of a RIMBU whitepaper on Sustainability for Long Term Records Retention.

The team also created a new charter for RIMBU. Due to themerging of RIMBU and the Programs Business Unit (PBU), theteam felt the need to develop a new charter to address the groupin its entirety.

New Position Paper on RadiographsPP07-2014, Position Paper on the Management of Quality Records fromDigital Non-Destructive Examination Processes was completed by thegroup and sent to the RIMBU membership for review. The posi-tion paper provides information on the Diconde format which is asustainable and consumable format for radiographs. RIMBU teammembers Bill Clover, Eugene Yang and Steve Matson, togetherwith industry experts Kim Kieztman (Trinity NDE), Ron DiMuro(Independent consultant) and Tim Tucker (Duke Energy), devel-oped this guideline which will equip the industry with knowledgeof storing NDE Data for years to come.

RIMBU Forms a Subcommittee on TG-15 ANSI StandardThere has been discussion from the team to create an ANSI stan-dard to address information in NIRMA Technical Guideline TG15.Under the leadership of Steve Matson, (Arizona Public Service),the team will review existing data to convert the NIRMATechnical Guideline TG-15, Management of Electronic Records,into an ANSI standard.

New Nuclear Power Plant GuidanceThe NIRMA PBU team, led by Rich Giska, has been working withindustry partners to develop a Technical Guidance Document on

Turnover of Records and Incremental Handover of Information for NewNuclear Power Plants, “The What” TG. This guidance documentwas authored by Duke Energy staff and written to assist the NewNuclear Power Plant (NNPP) with turnover and acceptance ofinformation, documents and records from EngineeringProcurement Constructors (EPC), Consortiums, and externalSuppliers. In addition, a Position Paper on the overall subject ofInformation Handover and Turnover for NNPP is also being devel-oped. Both the TG and Position Paper are expected to be releasedin the near future.

New RIMBU Director Selected Please join me in welcoming Christine Caston as the new RIMBUdirector. Christine has been an active member of RIMBU formany years. She brings her knowledge and expertise to the team;be on the lookout for new things to come under her leadership.Welcome Christine!

Spring Meeting Hosted by NRC and DOEThe RIMBU Spring Meeting will be held at the Department ofEnergy (DOE) Office in Germantown, MD, March 12-13, 2015.The Spring meeting is being hosted jointly by Debra Armentrout(NRC) and Meg Milligan (DOE). This year’s location and dateprovides members with an added opportunity to attend the NRC’sAnnual Regulatory Information Conference (RIC) which is beingheld at the Bethesda North Hotel and Conference Center onMarch 10-12. If you are interested in joining the RIMBU team,please email Christine Caston at [email protected].

by Michelle Smith, BU Director

regulations and Information

management Business Unit

BUSIneSS UnItS

“...how does extending an operating

license impact records management and

the way records are maintained?... Stay

tuned for the release of a rImBU white

paper on Sustainability for Long-Term

Records Retention.”

2015 CMBG CONFERENCETHE NEXT ANNUAL CMBG CONFERENCE

WILL BE HELD JUNE 7-10, 2015 IN GLENDALE, AZ, AT THE

RENAISSANCE GLENDALE RESORT & SPALOOK FOR UPDATES ON WWW.CMBG.ORG

ATTENTION: NIRMA HEADQUARTERS HAS ANEW ADDRESS IN FAIRFIELD, CT. PLEASE

NOTE THE CHANGE LISTED IN THE

EDITORIAL BOX ON PAGE 12.