NRC announces changes to increase efficiency

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) plans to adopt several measures proposed in Project AIM 2020, a recent internal report advocating the adoption of 17 strategies to make the commission more efficient in light of a changing workload.

“I am pleased that the NRC is now moving forward with a set of sound, common-sense steps," NRC Chairman Stephen G. Burns said. "The time has come for the agency to take stock of itself. The measures the agency will be implementing through Project AIM will better prepare us to meet the challenges of 2020 and beyond, while ensuring we have the right staff in the right places to accomplish our critical mission.”

The report was created by staff experts, senior staff and managers, who used resources ranging from the National Academy of Public Administration to focus groups consisting of NRC staff. Chief among the measures suggested are the “re-baselining” of the commission, meaning the removal or reduction of activities that are no longer required; and downsizing the total workforce.

The NRC has agreed to a staffing target of 3,600 full-time equivalent employees by the end of Sept. 30, 2016. The fiscal year 2015 staffing target was 3,778 employees. 

The NRC also has agreed to such measures as a merger of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation and the Office of New Reactors, and improvements to the licensing process, among other.