Unsatisfactory Condition Report

03/14/17 1800.6C b. Systems, system components, or software applications that exhibit unsatisfactory maintenance or operational characteristics or that may cause a hazard to personnel.

c. Technical publications, aeronautical charts, engineering drawings, or instructions that are incomplete, inaccurate, illegible, inconsistent, unavailable, or that may cause a hazard to personnel.

d. Support equipment (tools, material, etc.) that is inadequate, incomplete, and unavailable; or adversely affects performance of work; or may cause a hazard to personnel. Examples include lack of adequate or reliable test equipment, inadequate tools for installation or removal of equipment, defective parts or appliances caused by inadequate manufacturing techniques, or lack of adequate inspection at time of manufacture.

8. Conditions Not Covered. The UCR must not be used as a substitute or replacement for any other established report or reporting procedure. The following are examples of conditions that are not covered under the UCR program: a. Routine maintenance.

b. Grievances or staffing, personal, or personnel problems.

c. Rules or regulations involving housekeeping and administrative systems, practices, procedures, methods, and/or working conditions that can be accomplished through normal actions (including clarifying and correcting misunderstandings or errors).

d. Classified information.

e. Misunderstandings or errors in applying established operational procedures or methods.

f. Routine changes to directives, handbooks, manuals, or other documentation that can be accomplished through other processes.

g. Unsatisfactory conditions that have been previously reported and/or validated and that are being effectively tracked and managed to abatement through existing reporting systems. UCRs that are duplicates of unsatisfactory conditions reported and currently managed by existing reporting systems will be administratively closed within the FAA-designated UCR recordkeeping system.

9. Responsibilities.

a. The agency (1) Must designate a UCR program lead to ensure continuity of the order and to serve as a point of contact (POC) for UCR coordinators.

(2) Must designate national UCR program coordinators to ensure a central point for review, assignment, and tracking of all agency UCRs.

b. Each FAA line of business and staff office (LOB/SO) receiving UCRs (1) Must maintain a process for monitoring all LOB/SO-specific UCRs, using the FAA-designated UCR recordkeeping system.

(2) May, as they deem appropriate, select additional UCR POCs, to coordinate the UCR program at various levels of their organizational structure. LOBs must notify the UCR program lead within three working days when there is a change in the designation of a UCR POC. Organizations are required to use the FAA-designated UCR recordkeeping system for updates to, tracking of, and closure of UCRs.

03/14/17 1800.6C (3) Must ensure that adequate resources are allocated and assigned, as needed, to mitigate the hazard identified by the UCR to an acceptable risk level. If funds are unavailable and/or mitigation procedures are not feasible, LOBs/SOs must ensure funds and resources are identified and requested. For those conditions that may present a hazard to personnel, the FAA must not allow employees to work in unsafe work environments.

(4) Must identify trends or patterns of UCRs reported within their LOB/SO, when applicable, and must provide information to the UCR program lead for resolution.

c. Managers/supervisors directly receiving UCRs within each FAA LOB/SO (1) Must, as necessary, evaluate, manage, and coordinate all aspects of the UCR program as it applies to offices within their jurisdictions.

(2) May designate an individual as their local-level UCR coordinator.

(3) Must familiarize themselves with the UCR program and the procedures for entering and updating UCR reports using the FAA-designated UCR recordkeeping system.

(4) Must ensure all employees are familiar with the UCR program and receive familiarization on the use of the FAA-designated UCR recordkeeping system.

(5) Must assist employees in entering UCR information through the use of the FAA - designated UCR recordkeeping system.

(6) Must enter UCR information into the FAA-designated UCR recordkeeping system if an oral or written report is received from an individual.

(7) Must ensure that each UCR is evaluated objectively and acted upon within the required timeframe.

(8) Must consult with safety and health specialists or subject matter experts, if needed.

(9) Must ensure the UCR meets the criteria for validation and is assigned for corrective actions as needed.

(10) Must alert the next higher-level office or program office related to the UCR condition when the control of the UCR condition or the ability to resolve the condition does not reside at the manager/supervisor level.

(11) Must serve as the UCR originator’s POC for all communications related to the UCR, including UCR content updates, status, resolution, and/or closure.

d. The UCR program lead (1) Must collaborate with UCR coordinators to track open and overdue UCRs.

(2) Will serve as the POC for all national systemic UCRs, coordinate with program offices responsible for the UCR’s condition, and ensure that the final hazard mitigation is disseminated to field personnel.

(3) Must provide an annual UCR program status report to the Designated Agency Safety and Health Official. The annual report may be provided to other FAA LOBs, as appropriate.

03/14/17 1800.6C e. The UCR program coordinators (1) Must work with the manager assigned to the UCR to ensure that information is complete and accurate.

(2) Must track all UCRs in their assigned geographical areas and serve as their areas’ system administrator for the FAA-designated UCR recordkeeping system.

(3) Must ensure all impacted LOBs/SOs are involved throughout the UCR process.

f. FAA employees (1) Must be alert for conditions that may result in hazardous work environments and for other conditions that may adversely affect work performance or services provided by the FAA (see Paragraph 7 for conditions to be reported). Even if a problem appears to be local, unique, or small, the condition should be reported since there may be similar problems at other locations, sites, or facilities.

(2) An employee may still file a UCR even if the employer took immediate corrective action to mitigate a discovered hazardous condition. Since many safety and health problems can be eliminated as soon as they are identified, the existence of a formal channel of communication must not preclude immediate corrective action by an employee's supervisor in response to oral reports of unsafe or unhealthful working conditions where such action is possible.

(3) Must, in the case of imminent-danger conditions, make reports by the most expeditious means available. Imminent-danger conditions are defined as any conditions or practices in any workplace that pose a danger that could be reasonably expected to cause death or serious physical harm immediately or before the imminence of such danger can be eliminated through normal procedures. For conditions other than imminent-danger conditions, employees may submit a UCR into the FAA-designated UCR recordkeeping system.

(4) May submit an oral or written report to management when FAA intranet access is not available to the employee.

(5) Should offer a proposed solution, if known, when submitting a UCR. However, a UCR should not be unduly delayed or withheld because it lacks a proposed solution.

(6) May, as the originator of a UCR, withdraw the UCR at any time prior to validation or review.

10. Submitting and Processing a UCR.

a. Employees must use the FAA-designated UCR recordkeeping system to submit each unsatisfactory condition report or report orally to a manager. When completing the UCR, provide as much information as necessary to explain the problem. Define one issue per unsatisfactory condition report. Provide objective, factual information and refrain from personal opinions. Include documentation, if appropriate. Review the UCR for clarity and avoid the use of acronyms. Attach files or digital photographs that may assist with describing the condition.

b. Supervisors, managers, UCR coordinators, and other appropriate personnel must use the FAA-designated UCR recordkeeping system to submit, review, and track each unsatisfactory condition report to resolution.

03/14/17 1800.6C 11. Action, Tracking and Routing Process for Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) UCRs.

a. Unsatisfactory occupational safety and health conditions will be entered into the FAA- designated UCR recordkeeping system, which will then notify the manager/supervisor, UCR coordinator, and submitter of the UCR reported.

b. The agency will inspect employee reports of imminent danger conditions within 24 hours, within 3 working days for potentially serious conditions, and within 20 working days for other than serious safety and health conditions. The inspection results will be entered into the FAA-designated UCR recordkeeping system. However, an inspection may not be necessary if, through normal management action and with prompt notification to employees and safety and health committees, the hazardous condition(s) identified can be abated immediately.

c. An abatement plan, must be attached to any Abatement of Unsafe and Unhealthful Conditions Report of conditions not abated within 30 calendar days from receipt of the UCR. The abatement plan shall contain an explanation of the circumstances of delay in abatement, a proposed time table for the abatement and interim control measures.

12. Action, Tracking, and Routing Process for Operational UCRs.

a. Unsatisfactory operational conditions will be entered into the FAA-designated UCR recordkeeping system, which will then notify the manager/supervisor, UCR coordinator, and submitter of the UCR reported.

b. The manager responsible for the workplace or system, to which the UCR was assigned, will review reports of unsatisfactory operational conditions within 10 calendar days of assignment.

13. Evaluation and Review Procedures.

a. General (1) Upon a receipt a manager/supervisor should review the validity of the UCR carefully. If it meets the criteria outlined in Paragraph7, then the UCR must continue the routing for resolution and abatement. If the conditions described within the UCR do not meet the criteria for a UCR, as outlined in Paragraph 7, then the UCR is considered invalid and should be closed as invalid. If invalid, the FAA-designated UCR recordkeeping system will notify the originator and any identified parties. Invalid UCRs should be accompanied by appropriate documentation identifying the rationale for this determination.

(2) If the manager/supervisor receiving the initial submission of the UCR does not have jurisdiction over the condition involved, the manager/supervisor must notify their UCR coordinator who will reassign the UCR to the correct manager/supervisor with primary responsibility over the condition.

(3) When transferring a UCR from one manager/supervisor to another for action, notification will be sent to the originator indicating that the review and evaluation will be conducted by another manager/supervisor. The receiving manager/supervisor must comply with the applicable times and guidelines outlined in Paragraph 11 for OSH and Paragraph 12 for operational UCRs.

b. Requirements for closing the UCR. A manager/supervisor may close a UCR provided the following conditions are met: (1) The condition described in the report has been completely addressed. For UCRs 03/14/17 1800.6C validated as OSH hazards, managers/supervisors must address and abate the hazards in accordance with 29 CFR § 1960.30.

(2) Any action required to resolve the condition has been completed. Closure of UCRs must not be based on planned actions or actions in progress.

(3) The UCR is a duplicate UCR that addresses the exact same condition and location as~ previously submitted and open UCR. The UCR coordinator must administratively close the subsequent duplicate UCR using the FAA-designated VCR recordkeeping system, and the closure(s) must include the record number of the associated original UCR. The responsible manager/supervisor will keep subsequent originators apprised of the resolution of the initial UCR.

(4) A UCR may be reopened by any level of management above the original closing official if it is determined that any of the above conditions have not been met.

14. Record Retention Requirements.

a. The FAA will retain all abated and closed UCRs for no fewer than five years from the closure date.

b. UCRs submitted in paper format can be destroyed once they are entered into the FAA designated UCR recordkeeping system.

15. Distribution. Titis order will be distributed electronically.

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Administrator