Procedural
Requirements
Effective Date: July 06, 2020
Expiration Date: July 06, 2025
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NASA Procedural Requirements |
NPR 8621.1D Effective Date: July 06, 2020 Expiration Date: July 06, 2025 |
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2.1.1 Center and Program/Project employees shall:
a. Employees who witness or are involved in a workplace injury, illness, or property damage event, notify emergency response (911 or designated emergency contact) of the need for assistance as soon as the safety of personnel permits.
Note: Not all NASA mishaps or close calls require local emergency response notification. Situations involving damages to test articles or other items may need to be secured by means other than what the Program/Project/Center organizations can provide.
b. Complete witness statements on request of emergency response or IRT personnel.
2.1.2 The CD or Program/Project Manager shall:
a. Upon notification of a mishap or close call that triggers the initiation of the MPCP (as defined in the applicable MPCP), initiate the Center MPCP and support the program/project as the Program/Project MPCP is initiated.
b. Deploy the IRT to support the investigation in accordance with the Center or Program/Project MPCP.
c. Assist the IRT with the collection of witness statements.
2.1.3 Upon notification of a mishap, the Program/Project Manager shall initiate the Program/Project MPCP.
2.1.4 The Center Office of Protective Services (OPS) shall support the incident commander, cognizant Safety Office, and IRT in securing the site and impounding data, records, equipment, and facilities.
2.1.5 The Center or Program/Project IRT shall:
a. Preserve potential evidence, document the scene, obtain witness statements, and collect debris.
Note 1: Written witness statements obtained within the first 24 hours of a mishap or close call are privileged and protected if collected by a Federal employee. If needed, Federal employee IRT members can also grant privilege anytime thereafter.
Note 2: Where possible, written witness statements should be collected on a NASA form that includes the statement of privilege (Figure 1).
Note 3: Written and verbal witness statements given after 24 hours of a mishap or close call, as part of a NASA mishap investigation, where witnesses are informed their accounts will not be released, are privileged and protected.
Note 4: NASA will not grant privilege to witnesses for written or verbal witness statements when an external investigating body is expected to be the sole mishap IA (e.g., catastrophic aerospace vehicle failure or airplane loss).
Note 5: External IAs are not required to comply with NPR 8621.1, NASA Procedural Requirements for Mishap and Close Call Reporting, Investigating, and Recordkeeping (e.g., a congressionally appointed mishap investigation board or the NTSB conducting an investigation involving an airplane or catastrophic vehicle loss). Consequently, NASA cannot guarantee privileged statements will be protected from the IA or other authorities.
b. Refrain from giving witnesses a copy of privileged written statements or transcripts of verbal witness statements. If witness statements or transcripts of witness statements are provided to witnesses, NASA cannot ensure privilege and confidentiality.
c. Conduct evidence preservation actions without affecting essential safety operations.
d. Collect and impound, with cognizant Safety Office, supervisors, and OPS support, appropriate data, records, equipment, witness statements, and facilities that may be involved in the mishap.
2.1.6 The Center or Program/Project IA shall coordinate with the Contracting Officer prior to accessing the site, impounding contractor data, and interviewing contractor personnel as permitted by the contract.
Note: For incidents outside Center property, NASA has the authority to impound NASA property; however, impounding or collecting other data, records, and equipment is determined by local and Federal laws, agency agreements, and contracts.
2.1.7 The CD or AA, MSD shall report, by telephone, to the Administrator and CHMO when it becomes known that there is a work-related fatality or serious injury or illness of a NASA employee, resident non-NASA Federal employee, or resident contractor (a NASA contractor whose primary place of business is on or near a NASA Center or NASA-owned facility).
2.2.1 The Center or Program/Project supervisors shall notify the Center and Program/Project cognizant Safety Office when a mishap or close call occurs or is suspected.
2.2.2 The Center or Program/Project cognizant Safety Office shall:
a. Notify OSMA. After emergency response has been initiated and within one hour of a Type A or Type B mishap or a high-visibility mishap or close call, notify OSMA by calling 1-443-614-7840, or, if no answer, by calling the NASA Headquarters After Hours Contact Center at 1-202-358-1414.
b. During this notification, provide the following information:
(1) Center name.
(2) Location of incident.
(3) Time of incident.
(4) Number of fatalities, if known.
(5) Number of hospitalized employees, if known.
(6) Type of injury, if known.
(7) Type and estimate of damage, if known.
(8) Contact person and telephone number.
(9) Brief description of the mishap.
c. For Type A and Type B mishaps and high-visibility mishaps and close calls, send an encrypted electronic notification to OSMA and CHMO containing information found in section 2.2.2.b.
d. Notify CHMO. Within one hour, report to the CHMO an illness or injury that results in a loss of life, permanent disability, hospitalization, extensive first aid, or lost workdays, in accordance with NPR 1800.1, NASA Occupational Health Program Procedures.
e. Report to OSHA in accordance with 29 CFR pt. 1904.
f. After notifying OSHA, inform OSMA that an oral report has been provided to OSHA.
2.2.3 The Center or Program/Project IRT shall:
a. Notify the Center PAO about casualties, damages, and any potential hazards to the public.
b. Support the release of information to the media by PAO and other offices to alert Center personnel and the public of any known hazards and their potential effects.
c. At the earliest opportunity, advise the supervisor of a Federal employee if drug testing should be requested in accordance with NPR 3792.1, NASA's Plan for a Drug-Free Workplace.
Note: In accordance with NPR 3792.1, the supervisor will initiate drug testing after a mishap if the mishap results in a fatality or personal injury requiring immediate hospitalization or in damages estimated to be in excess of $20,000 to Government or private property. This applies to Federal employees only.
d. At the earliest opportunity, notify the Contracting Officer or the Contracting Officer's Representative if drug testing for contract personnel is to be implemented according to the contract or applicable agreements.
e. If the impacted individuals have signs or symptoms consistent with a medical malady that may have been contributory or as a result of the mishap itself, contact the flight surgeon, or medical professional, on-call for appropriate referral, testing, or disposition.
2.2.4 International Mishaps.
2.2.4.1 The Official-in-Charge shall:
a. Notify, by the most expeditious means, the Chief, SMA; the appropriate MDAA; the CHMO, if injury or illness related; and the cognizant Safety Office that a mishap has occurred on foreign territory or in international waters.
b. When a Type A or Type B mishap occurs outside the United States (for example, at a tracking station or during an aircraft, rocket, or balloon launch operation involving NASA personnel), in coordination with the AA/OCOM and the AA/OIIR, release factual details, limited to the same details outlined in this NPR, through the U.S. Embassy or Consular Office in the locale of the mishap, in accordance with policies and procedures established by those offices.
2.2.4.2 The MDAA shall notify, by the most expeditious means, the Associate Administrator (AA) that a mishap has occurred on foreign territory or in international waters.
2.2.4.3 The AA shall notify, by the most expeditious means, the Administrator; the Deputy Administrator; AA/OCOM; AA/OIIR; the Office of the General Counsel; and other appropriate staff that an international mishap has occurred.
2.2.5 Mishap (after mishap scene is secured) public release of information.
2.2.5.1 The NASA HQ OCOM shall approve the release of all information related to NASA Type A and Type B mishaps and high-visibility mishaps and close calls prior to release to media or public, this includes relevant external government organizations (e.g., White House, Department of State, etc.).
2.2.5.2 The AA/OCOM, or designee, shall:
a. Within one hour of the incident, release information to the media and alert Center personnel and the public of any known hazards and their potential effects and provide instructions to mitigate the risk and harm.
b. As warranted and with the assistance of the cognizant Safety Office, IRT, and CD or AA, MSD, release interim public affairs status reports about the investigation to the media through the Center PAO.
2.2.5.3 The Center PAO shall:
a. Prior to the appointment of an IA and in coordination with AA/OCOM, as warranted, identify and disseminate any preliminary information, video, and imagery related to the mishap that is suitable for public release.
b. When a fatality or injury (permanent disability) has occurred to a NASA employee involved in a Center work-related activity, coordinate with AA/OCOM and then promptly announce the incident to the public.
2.2.5.4 The CD or AA, MSD shall ensure that:
a. In the case of Federal fatalities, release of victim names will be made through the Center PAO at the earliest possible time after CD or AA, MSD and AA/OCOM concurrence that the next of kin notification has been accomplished with CD or AA, MSD protocols.
Note: For NASA aircraft incidents, refer to section 8.1.1.
b. Initial announcements include what is known at the time, the injuries or fatalities that have occurred, and when additional information is expected to be available.
c. For Centers located on a military installation, release of victim names will be made according to procedures previously agreed upon by the installation commander and CD or AA, MSD.
2.2.5.5 Resident contractor and grantee employee casualties. NASA does not assume responsibility for the release of information concerning mishaps involving resident contractor or grantee employees except when a Type A injury or illness mishap occurs onsite at a Center or at HQ or involves a NASA-managed program administered by that Center. In this instance, the CD or AA, MSD, in coordination with the Center PAO and HQ OCOM, shall announce within one hour that a mishap has likely occurred and, at the earliest possible time, the specific facts regarding the injury or illness.
Note 1: Neither the CD nor the AA, MSD will announce the identity of non-NASA personnel involved.
Note 2: For NASA aircraft incidents, refer to section 8.2.1.
2.3.1 The CD, the AA, MSD, and the MDAA shall report, by telephone or e-mail, to the Administrator and CHMO within 24 hours of learning the instance of a NASA Type A or Type B mishap or high-visibility mishap or close call.
2.3.2 The NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Center's Office of the Chief Counsel or the NASA Office of the General Counsel shall be notified of information potentially related to criminal activity in connection with a mishap.
Note: All personnel governed by this NPR can make this notification.
2.3.3 Recording the mishap or close call.
2.3.3.1 The Center or Program/Project cognizant Safety Office shall, within 24 hours of notification, ensure all NASA mishaps and close calls are initially recorded in the NMIS and are updated throughout the investigation.
2.3.3.2 The Center or Program/Project occupational health representative or other medical person shall provide the appropriate medical information regarding the persons injured and the nature of the injuries as a result of a mishap or close call to the cognizant Safety Office for inclusion in the investigation report and NMIS.
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