Press Release

Minutes of Senior Staff and Center Directors’ Meeting May 15, 2000

By SpaceRef Editor
May 15, 2000
Filed under

The following documents the discussions addressed at the Senior Staff and
Center Directors’ Meeting on May 15, 2000. Mr. Goldin attended the
meeting. Action assignments have been placed in brackets [ ] for easy
identification.

1. AA Reports

I/Cline: Ms. Cline reported that Code I is supporting Code S this week in
conducting a space science conference with representatives of 20 space
agencies. The purpose of the conference is to exchange information on our
respective plans and interests in space science to identify new partnership
opportunities. Dr. Weiler and Mr. Schumacher are giving presentations to
the conference participants this morning.

W/Gross: Ms. Gross reported on a Management Alert-Data Remaining on Loaner
Laptop Hard Drives. During a recent inspection of hard drives of loaner
laptops, we discovered that user data, such as e-mail messages, were not
being effectively removed. Some of the information retrieved contained
sensitive, privacy act, or administratively controlled data. Other data
indicated personal use of the computer, e.g., not related to Government
business, and access to sexually explicit Web sites. The same guidelines
governing the use of desktop computers also apply to laptops. In light of
our findings, we recommend that each NASA Center review its procedures for
clearing data from loaner laptop hard drives and ensure that NASA and
Center guidelines are followed. We also recommend that Center management
remind employees of official use policies and their application to laptop
computers. In addition, employees should be reminded of the particular
vulnerabilities of laptop conputers to loss and theft. I want to
acknowledge MSFC’s Center Director, Art Stephenson’s positive response to
previous alerts on clearing hard drives.

G/Frankle: Mr. Frankle reported that today is the usual due date for
filing Public Financial Disclosure Statement, Standard Form (SF) 278. This
is the form filed by members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) and
others that are paid at similar rates. At Headquarters, this date has been
extended until June 2. Other extensions, up to a total of 45 days, can be
granted by NASA ethics officials for good cause shown. Failure to file a
report within 30 days of the due date results in the automatic imposition
of a $200 fine, which can only be waived by the Office of Government
Ethics. NASA has no authority to waive this fine on its own. If any SES
member or other covered person has not or will not be able to file SF 278
by the actual due date (June 2 for Headquarters), an extension should be
requested from the local ethics office.

R/Reck: Mr. Reck reported that there will be a 2-day conference at MSFC on
“Turning Goals into Reality,” which is an opportunity for NASA and its
industry partners to acknowledge major technological advances in
aeronautics and space access. It will include keynote addresses by
top-level NASA managers and other Government leaders, awards for technology
development leaders, and opportunities for potential partners to discuss
the groundbreaking work that lies ahead.

AE/Keegan: Mr. Keegan thanked MSFC for hosting the NASA Integrated Action
Team last week. The Team will develop the preliminary action plan
responding to the recommendations of the Young, Spear, Stephenson, and
McDonald reports related to program/project management approaches. The
Team is on track to report its proposed action plan to the Chief Engineer
and others on June 14.

AO/Holcomb: Mr. Holcomb thanked JSC for hosting the Records Management
conference this week. Electronic records will be discussed, as they will
become more important, especially to Integrated Financial Management
processes.

Y/Asrar: Dr. Asrar reported that GOES-L is in final orbit and working
flawlessly. The magnetometer boom-release locked; the solar array is fully
deployed; and the solar sail is fully deployed. All activities continue to
execute smoothly.

Q/Gregory: Mr. Gregory reported that there are no constraints to the
upcoming launch on Thursday.

P/Wilhide: Ms. Wilhide reported on the following: 1) Last week was a big
week, thanks to Code Y and GSFC with the GOES-L story. 2) JPL will conduct
live news interviews on its testing of the Field Integrated Design and
Operations (FIDO) planetary rover. Students from around the Nation are
working on this project; the student groups will be controlling the rover
from their schools around the country. In addition, a group of students
from Copenhagen, Denmark, will be participating, working in the JPL mission
control room. 3) ABC, NBC, and CBS all ran GSFC’s story called Adios La
Nina, which discussed the end of the phenomena. This story was a national
hit with over 400 national, local, and cable outlets carrying the news.

L/Heffernan: Mr. Heffernan reported on the following: 1) Dr. Weiler will
testify tomorrow, May 16, before the House Science Committee. 2) Mr.
Goldin will be testifying before the Transportation Committee. 3) The
appropriations markup will begin on May 23.

2. AI/Dr. Mulville

Dr. Mulville reported on the following: 1) The Det NorskeVertitas ISO
preregistration audit of NASA Headquarters will take place this week. 2)
The Program Management Council’s Quarterly Status Review will be held May
18 at 1 p.m. in 9H40. 3) Each Headquarters Code is to designate a point of
contact for the upcoming softball season. Philip Cleary in Code I will be
the Softball Commissioner. The tournament will take place from June 13 to
the end of July.

3. Center Reports

GRC/Campbell: Mr. Campbell reported on the following: 1) May 4 was GRC’s
inaugural celebration of “Space Day 2000” in which it initiated a
partnership with Inventure Place in Akron, Ohio, for a day filled with
activities for the 600 plus children in attendance. 2) A sapphire
refractive secondary concentrator successfully completed solar vacuum
testing in the Center’s Tank 6. The secondary concentrator, used in
combination with advanced primary concentrators, provided very high
concentration ratios (10,000 to 1), allowing high-temperature solar
applications. The efficiency ranged between 85 to 90 percent. 3) A May 5
meeting between GRC and ARC began a promising collaboration on ultrahigh
temperature ceramic composites. Under this collaboration, GRC will give
ARC material requirements for turbine engine applications, and GRC will
receive from ARC their TPS material for testing at GRC facilities to
determine life under gas turbine operating conditions.

JSC/Garman: Ms. Garman reported on the following: 1) Everything is ready
for the STS-101 launch. 2) The International Space Station is doing fine
on orbit.

KSC/Bridges: Mr. Bridges reported on the following: 1) The Atlas launch,
scheduled for 17:37 on May 15, has a 40-percent chance of no go due to
weather. This Atlas must get off in the next 2 days for STS-101 to have a
chance of launching on Thursday. (Note: The Atlas III launch did not
occur.) 2) A 10-percent chance of violation due to weather exists for
STS-101, mainly due to early morning fog, but the Trans-Atlantic Landing
sites look good.

MSFC/Stephenson: Mr. Stephenson reported on the following: 1) Mr. Goldin
gave a great speech at the commencement of the University of Alabama in
Huntsville on Sunday. 2) The “Turning Goals into Reality” Conference will
be held on May 18 and 19 of this week. Thanks in advance to all the Center
Directors, Mr. Venneri, and Mr. Goldin for participating. 3) Thanks to JSC
and Mr. Rothenberg for the good meeting last week on the propulsion module.
4) MSFC will hold an Open House on Saturday, May 20. We are expecting
attendees from four States and are looking forward to a large crowd.

4. Mr. Goldin

Mr. Goldin began by describing the terrific experience he had at the
Commencement exercises for the University of South Carolina, Louisiana
State University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the University of
Alabama at Huntsville. He encouraged all Center Directors and Associate
Administrators to participate in graduation events as a way of reaching out
to a broader segment of the population-especially since we are hiring
again. The Administrator’s Health and Safety message this week was on
ergonomics. Below are his comments in their entirety.

“Ergonomics is the science of matching the physical requirements of the job
and the physical capacity of the worker in order to achieve optimal safety
and performance. When there is a mismatch between these two factors,
illness or injury such as a work-related Musculo-Skeletal Disorder (MSD)
can result. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is one of the most familiar examples of
a work-related MSD, but injuries can occur in the back and the upper and
lower extremities as well. Workers who must repeat the same motion
throughout their workday, who must do their work in an awkward position,
who must use a great deal of force to perform their jobs, who must
repeatedly lift heavy objects, or who face a combination of these risk
factors are most likely to develop MSD. What are the facts?

  • Data from the 1998 Medical Expenditure Survey indicate that a single MSD,
    low-back pain, caused $28 billion in lost worker productivity.
  • In 1999, over 200,000 surgeries were performed for carpal tunnel syndrome
    with medical costs, excluding lost work time and productivity, in excess of
    $1 billion.
  • A 1999, a General Accounting Office report indicated that 3 out of 10
    Federal employees, eligible to return to work after a disabling injury, do
    not, due to lack of a strong formal return-to-work program.
  • Occupational physicians rank equally with orthopedic surgeons and
    neurosurgeons for the percentage of back-pain patients that they see.

    While NASA has one of the lowest worker-injury rates in the Federal sector,
    back injuries and repetitive-motion injuries are among the top five causes
    of disability in our workforce. We are currently seeing ergonomic injuries
    at every NASA location. An ergonomically faulty workstation can cause
    fatigue, physical strain, and poor concentration that can lead to reduced
    productivity and errors. We are one of the world’s leaders in the human
    factors and safety arena, and I believe we have the talent and expertise to
    address this area of health risk and to eliminate the ergonomics-related
    injuries occurring at each NASA Center. I have set as a goal for 4 years
    from now for NASA to have zero lost time due to workplace injuries. NASA
    Headquarters has a long way to go since we have the worst record in the
    Agency. Every one of us must be aware of ergonomic risks and remedies in
    order to make this goal a reality.

    I would like to see every NASA site take the approach being recommended by
    the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in its proposed
    ergonomics standard. The following are six key program elements to help
    eliminate ergonomic injuries across the Agency:


    1- Management leadership and employee involvement,
    2- Ergonomic hazard identification and information programs,
    3- Job hazard analysis and control,
    4- Training programs,
    5- Medical management of emerging injuries, and
    6- Program evaluation.

    I am asking all Center Directors to ensure that they have an ergonomics
    program in place at their Centers that meets the intent of the proposed
    OSHA standard. Stress-related data from your Employee Assistance Program
    or local Occupational Health office should be reviewed at least
    semiannually to see if we are making progress. Your assistance in ensuring
    that our workforce does not suffer from ergonomically correctable
    work-related disorders is greatly appreciated. Please contact Dr. William
    Barry, NASA Occupational Health Manager, (321) 867-6351, at the
    Occupational Health Principal Center, if you have questions or would like
    additional information on ergonomics.”

    NOTE: ACTION ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE TRANSMITTED UNDER SEPARATE COVER AND
    TRACKED BY THE HEADQUARTERS CORRESPONDENCE MANAGEMENT OFFICE. SPECIFIC
    QUESTIONS MAY BE ADDRESSED TO JILL HOOVER @ (202) 358-0905.

    Distribution


    Officials-in-Charge of NASA Headquarters Offices:
    AA/Mr. Heffernan
    AI/Dr. Mulville
    AB/Ms. Tagg
    AC/Gen. Armstrong
    AE/Mr. Keegan
    AJ/Mr. Tam
    AM/Dr. Nicogossian
    AO/Mr. Holcomb
    AS/Dr. Olsen
    B/Mr. Holz
    C/Mr. Christensen
    E/Mr. Reese
    F/Ms. Novak
    G/Mr. Frankle
    H/Mr. Luedtke
    I/Mr. Schumacher
    J/Mr. Sutton
    K/Mr. Thomas
    L/Mr. Heffernan
    M/Mr. Rothenberg
    P/Ms. Wilhide
    Q/Mr. Gregory
    R/Mr. Venneri
    S/Dr. Weiler
    U/Dr. Nicogossian
    W/Ms. Gross
    Y/Dr. Asrar
    Z/Ms. Garver
    Directors, NASA Centers:
    ARC/Dr. McDonald
    DFRC/Mr. Petersen
    GRC/Mr. Campbell
    GSFC/Mr. Diaz
    JSC/Mr. Abbey
    KSC/Mr. Bridges
    LaRC/Dr. Creedon
    MSFC/Mr. Stephenson
    SSC/Mr. Estess
    Director, Jet Propulsion Laboratory:
    Dr. Stone
    cc:
    A/Ms. M. Roberts
    A/Ms. S. Roberts
    AB/Ms. Saldana
    AC/Ms. Landrus
    AE/Ms. Moore
    AI/Ms. Bloxon
    AI/Ms. Shaeffer
    AI/Ms. Soper
    AO/Ms. Wissinger
    AS/Ms. Simms
    CIC/Analysts

  • SpaceRef staff editor.