Meeting Minutes Personnel Certification Governance Committee

Transcription

1 Meeting Minutes Personnel Certification Governance Committee August 11-12, 2015 Grand Sheraton Sacramento 1230 J Street Sacramento, CA Administrative A meeting of the Personnel Certification Governance Committee (PCGC) was held on August 11-12, 2015 in Sacramento, CA. The agenda and action item list are affixed as Attachments A and B, respectively. 1. Welcome and Quorum PCGC Chair, Brett Hallborg, welcomed the committee members and NERC staff. A quorum was determined at 8:00 a. m. Committee members were reminded of the structure of the meeting and refreshed on Robert's Rules of Order. Brett also challenged the committee to start to think strategically about what the System Operator Program should look like in the future, in alignment with Reliability Standards. The list of meeting attendees can be found at the end of the meeting minutes. Safety Briefing Brett Hallborg provided safety procedures of the hotel. NERC Antitrust Compliance Guidelines The NERC Antitrust Compliance Guidelines were reviewed and all attendees agreed to abide by the NERC Antitrust Guidelines. Public Meeting Notice Trion King reminded all participants the meeting is public and was posted on the NERC website. Task List Review The PCGC reviewed and updated the Task List, Attachment B. 2. Consent Agenda The PCGC reviewed and approved the agenda for this meeting. 3. Locations for future PCGC meetings There was discussion on meeting locations, aligning with other NERC technical committees, and inperson program reporting by the officers at the NERC Board of Trustees (Board) meetings. A motion was made and seconded to realign the PCGC meeting locations with the NERC Board meeting locations. The vote passed unanimously. The location for the November 2015 meeting was confirmed to be Atlanta on Tuesday, November 3 and Wednesday, November 4. Locations for 2016 and 2017

2 have been confirmed, with the exception of February 2017 and May Section 11, Future PCGC Meetings, of the minutes reflect the latest known meeting locations and schedule. The PCGC Charter will reflect the revised officer update schedule to the NERC Board. 4. Approve Meeting Minutes A motion was made and seconded to approve the May 2015 meeting minutes. The motion carried with eight-yes votes and one-abstention. 5. NERC Staff Update Personnel Certification has been moved under the Standards department. The Director of Standards is Howard Gugel. Also, the SOCCED DBA and Training Program Administrator have been reassigned to IT and Training and Education, respectively. Both roles will continue to support the System Operator Certification Program. Trion King has been tasked with understanding the impact (FTEs vs. Indirect Cost) to the PCGC budget and provide an update at the November 2015 meeting. 6. System Operator Certification and Continuing Education (SOCCED) Program Updates System Operator Certification: A total of 225 exams were taken during the 2 nd quarter of Total exams taken YTD is 386. The overall pass rate YTD through 2 nd quarter 2015 is 77.2%. The overall pass rate continues to be significantly higher in 2014 and YTD 2015 (avg. 77.4%) than previous years of 2010 through 2013 (avg. 68.1%). The pass rates for the RC and BIT are in the lower 80 percentile; while the BT pass rate is exceptionally high in the lower 90 percentile. The pass rate for the TO credential has returned to the low 50 percentile versus the low 70 percentile from Currently, there are only two forms per credential. For multiple attempts, there is a 50% chance the operator will get the same exam that was failed on the first attempt. Based on the current method of capturing data, candidates who repeatedly fail the exam and eventually pass, skew the pass rate. There were only 12 second attempts taken through 2 nd quarter (2015). The implementation of Linear on the Fly Testing (LOFT) exam creation is on schedule for the next set of new exams. Unique exams are created by LOFT when the candidate initiates the exam. LOFT will eliminate a candidate receiving the exact same form of an exam. The complexity of each form will be equally weighted and the increase in the number of forms should reduce the impact of retakes on the pass rate. Currently, there are four credentials (Reliability Coordinator; Transmission Operator; Balancing and Interchange Operator; and Balancing, Interchange, and Transmission Operator). The Reliability Coordinator credential remains the primary exam taken by most candidates (66.1%). Credential renewals for 2 nd quarter 2015 were 35% lower than projected for the quarter. There were 269 credential renewals versus the projected Meeting Minutes Personnel Certification Governance Committee Meeting August 11-12,

3 Active Credentials: System Operator Credential Total Reliability Coordinator 4880 Transmission Operator 1174 Balancing, Interchange, and Transmission Operator 732 Balancing and Interchange Operator 356 Total 7142* *As of 6/30/2015 The number of Active Credentials is pulled from SOCCED and is an indicator of the System Operator population. As some system operators hold multiple credentials and others, who are not System Operators cannot be separated out, this number should not be considered a direct reflection of the actual number of System Operators. The system operator credentials population in the System Operator Certification Continuing Education Database (SOCCED) is larger than the system operator population that actually operates the bulk power system. Failures per Attempt: Exam Attempts * Users passing Exams on 1st Try Total Failed Exam Attempts Total Exam Attempts ^ *2 nd Qtr ^The total number of exams taken is 380. SOCCED captures first attempt passes. It does not count passes after the first attempt; however, the system counts all failures. Meeting Minutes Personnel Certification Governance Committee Meeting August 11-12,

4 7. Legal Interpretation of Rules of Procedure Nina Johnston, NERC Legal assigned to PCGC, participated in the discussion of limitations of the System Operator Certification Program. The current program allows anyone interested in obtaining a NERC credential to apply and sit for an exam. The NERC Rules of Procedure Section 605 (1.6) addresses actions that may be taken against a certified system operator that commits a felony or misdemeanor directly related to performing his/her duties of a system operator. The current CIP-004 standard should address certification through individual employment rules of the company. The committee should consider developing a more robust process for an entity to notify NERC of removal of a system operator for committing a felony or misdemeanor while performing their duties as a system operator. 8. SOCCED Update Melinda Nicius, SOCCED Database Administrator, provided the latest update on the SOCCED current production. SOCCED Phase 2A Update: The Phase 2A update includes the definition of the Transcript Reviewer role which allows an entity the option of viewing transcripts without having a course in SOCCED. The previous roles of ILA Provider and NERC Approved Provider maintain the previous definitions as noted in the CE Program Manual. Two training webinars were given to Providers; 44 of the 55 registered providers participated in the training. User Acceptance Testing (UAT) was available for more than 2 weeks. UAT ended on June 19. Eighteen of the 22 registered providers participated in the testing. The overall response from participants was positive with most participants being satisfied with the update. The warranty period for the Phase 2A update has a duration of one month from July 21 through August 21 as of this meeting, 27 defects have been reported to the vendor. Statistics: a. 27 Defects i. 11 Completed (1 Extremely Critical) ii. 3 Deleted iii. 3 New iv. 8 NERC Retest v. 2 Returned to MCG The primary concern is that once the warranty period has ended, the support staff will not give priority to defects. Defects will go into the vendor s support queue with little priority, which may take two to three weeks response time instead of immediate attention currently received from the assigned developer. The final payment for SOCCED Phase 2A will be held until all deliverables are received by NERC. Meeting Minutes Personnel Certification Governance Committee Meeting August 11-12,

5 System Operator Certification and Continuing Education (SOCCED) Program Updates Continuing Education: A total of 672 Continuing Education (CE) courses were approved and 3,430 CE hours (CEHs) were entered onto system operator transcripts during 2 nd quarter The YTD courses approved and CEHs entered into SOCCED were 1,433 and 6,595 respectively. Zero audits were conducted during 2 nd quarter of The audits were intentionally delayed until the release of the SOCCED Phase 2A update. As of June 30, 2015, there are 283 active providers registered in the CE Program. Grid Ex: The Grid Ex final course packet has been submitted to the Grid Ex TF for approval. The package will contain a NERC baseline packet with minimum CEHs for entities that do not wish to customize the Grid Ex packet. Entities, including NERC Approved Continuing Education Providers, using the baseline packet are required to have a proctor that has successfully completed the NERC CE Proctor training program. All proctors must register no later than 9/1/15. Entities that wish to customize the NERC baseline packet will have an opportunity for additional CEHs. The baseline packet will be posted to the Booz Allen Grid Ex site. The deadline to register as a player in Grid Ex is 9/1/15. NERC CE Program is offering three Grid Ex training webinars, by invitation only, to entities registered as a player by 9/1/15. At least, one webinar will occur after the registration deadline of 9/1/15. CE Provider Workshop: NERC Atlanta Office Wednesday, October 14: 1:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) Thursday, October 15: 8:00 a.m. Noon (Eastern) 9. System Operator Certification Program a. Designator Letters CSO Certified SO: Ad hoc TF created to investigate the steps necessary to establish the designator letters trademark to be used by certified system operators; similar to CPA for Certified Public Accountant. The TF consists of Misty Revenew, TF Chair, Mark Thomas, and Keith Carmen. b. 42-Day Wait Period: Currently, the 42-day wait period only applies to retesting for the same previously failed exam. The committee is proposing to change the 42-day wait period to apply to retest exams regardless of an exam type failure. Trion King will discuss the code change with the SOCCED vendor. If the change is available in SOCCED, the retest section of the System Meeting Minutes Personnel Certification Governance Committee Meeting August 11-12,

6 Operator Program Manual will be updated to reflect the adjustment to the 42-day wait period. c. Credential Renewal Time Limit: System operators have three years to acquire and renew their credential. Due to some training cycle, some system operators are accruing CEHs at a very fast rate. In some cases, as early as two years in advance. To ensure system operators maintain their credentials, credential renewals are renewed based on expiration date. In order to manage the renewal queue, a motion was made and seconded to limit the renewal timeframe to no more than six months prior to expiration. The motion carried unanimously. The Policy Oversight TF will adjust the System Operator Program Manual as part of the annual documentation review process. An implementation announcement will be sent to the industry. d. Special Requests: There were four special requests sent to the PCGC during 2 nd quarter: i. Candidate made request to retake exam four months after missing exam date. (Denied) ii. Candidate interrupted by proctor. Request to retake at no cost. (Granted) iii. Family emergency. Request to retake at no cost. (Granted) iv. Too many distractions/challenged scoring of exam. Request to retest at no cost. (Denied) e. SOC Program Inquiries: i. A candidate with a felony inquired if the felony would prevent them from sitting for a system operator certification exam. Since there are no prerequisites to sit for an exam, the candidate may proceed with the process to obtain a system operator certification exam. Successfully passing a NERC system operator exam does not guarantee employment as a system operator. 10. Closed Session Tuesday, August 11, 2015: 2:15 p.m. 3:00 p.m. 11. Open Session a. PCGC SharePoint Site: Whenever a committee member logs onto the PCGC SharePoint site from a different IP address, the member will receive a PIN and must use it to log onto the PCGC SharePoint. b. TF Protocol: Brett would like TFs to use conference calls to meet between quarterly PCGC meetings for discussions. Mike A. supports the use of conference calls to discuss concerns, options and decisions. s may not truly reflect the intent of a comment. Meeting Minutes Personnel Certification Governance Committee Meeting August 11-12,

7 12. CLOSED Session Tuesday, August 11, 2015: 3:59 p.m. 4:50 p.m. 13. Open Session a. PSI/Canadian Test Centers Update: The percentage of test centers receiving a Poor rating during the 2 nd quarter increase to 2.05% from 1.78% during 1 st quarter. The American Trans Air Training Corp in Indianapolis, IN received two poor ratings 2 months in a row. A motion was made and second to remove the American Trans Air Training Corp test center from the list of available test centers for SOC exam testing. The motion carried unanimously. Ivy Tech Community College will replace the American Trans Air Training Corp. PSI continues to struggle with the availability of test centers in each Canadian province. PSI is working with a Canadian test center consolidator. At the time of this meeting, PSI did not provide an update on the status of the contract with the consolidator. Low volume is the biggest challenge for the Canadian test centers. For Canada, PSI is using contractual test centers. Overall, the customer service from PSI is very good. The Vendor Relations TF will develop metrics and monitor PSI s performance. If issue is not resolved by December 2015, a face to face meeting will occur with PSI in early b. NERC Internal Audit of SOC Program The SOC program is being audited by NERC s Internal Audit department via contractor Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC). PWC has requested data based on the NERC ROP Section 600. The requested data has been provided to PWC. This audit is the first time the program has undergone an audit. There are no concerns with the potential findings of the audit. Recommendations to the program are expected from PWC. 14. Task Force Reports a. Nomination Task Force: CLOSED Session Wednesday, August 12, 2015: 10:30 a.m. 12:05 p.m. b. Nomination Task Force: CLOSED Session Wednesday, August 12, 2015: 1:00 p.m. 1:45 p.m. c. Exam Development and Delivery (EDD) Task Force: Amin Saiar, PSI, provided an update on the Item Bank. There are 453 items that have not been classified and 127 reclassified with good testing statistics. A report of the Job Task Analysis results will be provided during the November 2015 PCGC meeting. EDD, EWG and Amin will look at the workflow for LOFT as well as the exam development rules. The goal is to combine into one document which contains processes and rules. d. Hardship/Dispute Resolution Task Force: There was discussion about the current process and ways to improve it. Some of the disputes received from candidates appear unrealistic. Most test center vendors administer more than one exam type; therefore, candidates may continually enter/leave a test room. It was suggested to educate the candidates about the test center prior to scheduling an exam. Consider adding a pop up link which would provide Meeting Minutes Personnel Certification Governance Committee Meeting August 11-12,

8 information such as airline hanger, community college, etc. Also, is the program confident the test center accommodations are reasonable to the population? e. Budget Task Force: The number of exam taken YTD were 13.6% less than projected and the credential renewals were 8.4% lower than projected for the budget. Funding is slightly under the budgeted amount by 11.1%. YTD Operating expenses are up slightly, 1.4%. There will be a slight increase in the renewal fee for An announcement will be included in the September NERC monthly newsletter. f. Policy Oversight Task Force: The TF received several action items to evaluate during the SOC Program manual review. The naming convention for documents on the PCGC SharePoint site was tabled until the November meeting. g. Vendor Relations Task Force: This is a new TF. TF needs to create scope document. TF to develop metrics to monitor PSI s performance. 15. Action Item Task list Update 16. Future PCGC Meetings Dates: Location: Comments: November 3-4, 2015 Atlanta, GA Annual Board Update February 9-10, 2016 Sarasota, FL Joint Meeting with PS May 3-4, 2016 Chicago, IL August 9-10, 2016 Halifax, NS Canada November 1-2, 2016 Atlanta, GA February 7-8, 2017 TBD Joint Meeting with PS May 9-10, 2017 TBD Changed from May 2-3 August 8-9, 2017 Ottawa, Canada November 7-8, 2017 New Orleans, LA 17. Roundtable 18. Closing Comments and Adjourn Brett Hallborg, Chair Meeting was adjourned at 4:40 p. m. Wednesday, August 12, August 2015 Attendees: Brett Hallborg, Chair Mike Anderson, Vice Chair Keith Carman Dave Carlson Bill Ellard Mike Hoke Misty Revenew Mark Thomas Meeting Minutes Personnel Certification Governance Committee Meeting August 11-12,

9 Don Urban Trion King, NERC Staff, Secretary Guests: Melinda Nicius, NERC Staff via phone Nina Johnston, NERC Staff via phone Amin Saiar, PSI via phone Meeting Minutes Personnel Certification Governance Committee Meeting August 11-12,

10 Attachment A Agenda Personnel Certification Governance Committee August 11, :00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. (Pacific) August 12, :00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. (Pacific) Sheraton Grand Sacramento 1230 J Street Sacramento, CA NERC Antitrust Compliance Guidelines and Public Announcement* There will be a CLOSED session during this meeting. Agenda 1. Chair s Remarks, Meeting Details and Safety Update PCGC Member(s): Brett Hallborg Objective: Welcoming remarks from the Chair, reminder of Robert s Rules of Order, and hotel safety review. Presentation: No Duration: 5 minutes Background Item: 2. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes PCGC Member(s): Trion King Objective: Approve previous meeting minutes: May 5-6, 2015 San Antonio, TX Presentation: No Duration: 5 minutes Background Item: 3. Meeting Arrangements PCGC Member(s): Trion King Objective: Review agenda, action items and Task List. Presentation: No Duration: 15 minutes Background Item: 4. Meeting Alignment with Board of Trustees PCGC Member(s): Brett Hallborg Objective: Review request for PCGC to be aligned with NERC Board of Trustees meeting so quarterly inperson reports can be delivered. Presentation: No Duration: 30 minutes Background Item: 5. Status Reports a. System Operator Certification Program Reports PCGC Member(s): Trion King

11 Objective: Present statistics of System Operator Certification Program/Security Paper Background: PowerPoint Presentation will be provided during meeting. b. Continuing Education Program Reports PCGC Member(s): Trion King Objective: Present statistics of Continuing Education Program Background: PowerPoint presentation will be provided during the meeting. 6. System Operator Certification Program a. Legal Interpretation of Rules of Procedure PCGC Member(s): Trion King/Nina Johnston Objective: Legal Limitations of System Operator Certification Program Background: b. Designatory Letters Certified System Operator CSO PCGC Member(s): Brett Hallborg Objective: Determine entire Designatory Program. Background: Request from some system operators to add CSO designation as part of their signature and business cards. c. 42 Day Wait Period (All Exams) PCGC Member(s): Brett Hallborg Objective: Discuss possibility of extending 42 day wait period for all exams and retest. Background: d. Credential Renewal Timeframe PCGC Member(s): Brett Hallborg Objective: Limit timeframe to renew a credential. Background: Currently, credentials can be renewed as soon as CEHs are achieved. e. Special Requests PCGC Member(s): Trion King Objective: Update PCGC on Special Requests Background: f. Continuing Education Investigation PCGC Member(s): Brett Hallborg Objective: Update on investigation done with respect to System Operator participation in Blackstart drill Background: 7. PSI Test Centers Update PCGC Member(s): Trion King Objective: Update on test centers. Background: Agenda Personnel Certification Governance Committee Meeting August 11-12,

12 8. SOCCED Update PCGC Member(s): Melinda Nicius Objective: Update production and Phase 2A enhancements. Background: 9. System Operator Program Future PCGC Member(s): Entire Committee Objective: Discussion of what the program should look like in the future. Background: Each member has been asked to bring suggestions of what the future program will entail. Under consideration: Exam Pre-requisites; as well as, Specific renewal CEHs based on credential. 10. Task Force (TF) Reports a. Task Forces: Overview PCGC Member(s): Brett Hallborg Objective: Discuss expectations; protocol; use of SharePoint Background: b. Nomination Task Force: PCGC and EWG Officers ( ) PCGC Member(s): John Kerr, TF Chair; Bill Ellard; Don Urban Objective: Status of PCGC membership and recommendation of EWG officers for Background: Recommend candidates to serve on the PCGC and EWG. c. Budget Task Force: PCGC Member(s): Dave Carlson, TF Chair; John Kerr, Mark Thomas, Brett Hallborg, Mike Anderson Objective: Review 2015 (2 nd Quarter) Budget/Present Budget Background: Oversight of program funding, spending and budget authority. d. Exam Development and Delivery Task Force: PCGC Member(s): Mike Hoke, TF Chair; Mike Anderson, Keith Carman, Misty Revenew Objective: Update of exam development cycle, 2015 JTA survey, and item status. Background: Provide oversight of specific functions of the EWG. Monitor and review SOC exam development process. e. Policy Oversight Task Force: PCGC Member(s): Mike Anderson, TF Chair; Dave Carlson; Don Urban Objective: Background: Ensure all PCGC documents are current and relevant to the NERC SOC Program. f. Hardship/Dispute Resolution Task Force: PCGC Member(s): Bill Ellard, TF Chair; Keith Carman; Misty Revenew Objective: Discuss Process/Best Practices Background: Hardship TF: provide oversight of the Hardship Clause process. Dispute resolution TF: provide oversight to the dispute resolution process. g. Vendor Relations Task Force: Agenda Personnel Certification Governance Committee Meeting August 11-12,

13 PCGC Member(s): Brett Hallborg, TF Chair; Mike Hoke; Mark Thomas Objective: Scope to be developed. Review draft schedule. Update on current contracts. Background: Provide oversight of vendor relationships for SOC Program. 11. Exam Working Group (EWG) Update - CLOSED PCGC Member(s): Trion King Objective: Provide update. Background: 12. Task List Review PCGC Member(s): Trion King Objective: Review task lists and ensure items are properly documented. Background: Included in the meeting minutes. 13. Future PCGC Meetings: Dates Location Comments August 11-12, 2015 Sacramento, CA November 3-4, 2015 Atlanta, GA Annual Board Update February 9-10, 2016 Phoenix, AZ Joint Meeting with PS May 3-4, 2016 Toronto, Canada 14. Roundtable 15. Closing Comments and Adjourn Brett Hallborg, Chair Agenda Personnel Certification Governance Committee Meeting August 11-12,

14 Attachment B Action Items Personnel Certification Governance Committee August 11-12, 2015 Item# Task Assignment NERC Support Staff Due Task Force Early Renewal response Process Trion King Melinda Nicius Will be included in SOCCED Phase 2A PCGC Budget Data from Susan Trion King Susan Turpen Budget Provide meeting minutes draft to PCGC 2 Trion King On-going weeks after meeting Send draft of BOT report to Chair Trion King Ongoing Create fluid process of reviewing exam items with current Standards (2018) EDD/PSI Long term for 2018 exams Policy Oversight Trion King After JTA Specificity to Appendix A Topics: Include review of operator awareness title SOCCED Applicant Integrity Process Vendor On going Relations Test Center: Manitoba Trion King Next Meeting Each TF Finalize scope with current versioning All TF Next Meeting Completed Respond to PS request for personal credential DLTF Next Meeting usage Update member roster Trion King NERC Admin. Next Meeting

15 Item# Task Assignment NERC Support Staff Due Task Force Include in newsletter JTA update: Request to Trion King Next Meeting Completed update SOCCED account information/get survey date Create JTA address Trion King Next Meeting Completed Include PCGC in sample survey Trion King PSI Next Meeting Completed Create a spreadsheet of Policy Oversight Trion King Policy Oversight Next Meeting documents with review dates and comments Course denial slide: Include number of courses Trion King Joint Meeting reviewed as part of statistics Add to Agenda: There will be Closed Session Trion King Next Meeting Completed Ask Legal about Authority on violation of rules. Trion King Legal Next Meeting Completed Clarify what can and cannot be done, if there is a real violation? Communication of Renewal fee increase Trion King September SOCCED Improvements Review Vendor Trion King November Relations Request Calgary Test Center Information and Trion King Next Meeting Completed communicate to industry Work with PS to create Mock ILA for HP Brett Hallborg Next Meeting Completed Check with CERP for examples Agenda topic for February 2016 Meeting: Trion King November Problem Centered Learning Notify EWG of officer selection decision Brett Hallborg Next Meeting Discuss budget implications of recent NERC staff changes Trion King Next Meeting Meeting Action Items Personnel Certification Governance Committee August 11-12,

16 Item# Task Assignment NERC Support Staff Due Task Force Discuss implementation of 42 day wait period Trion King MCG Next Meeting across all exams Change policy manual to limit renewal of Policy Oversight Next Meeting credential to no more than 6 months prior to expiration Discuss implementation of above with MCG Trion King MCG Next Meeting Obtain copy of scheduled exam from PSI Trion King Next Meeting Remove American Trans Air Training Corp Trion King PSI Next Meeting Welcome Package to new EWG member Trion King Next Meeting Get NDA signed by 5 returning PCGC members Trion King Next Meeting Create Action Report to BOT for member appointment Trion King 6 weeks before Board Meeting Notify PS of change in February location Trion King Next Meeting Create metrics to monitor test center vendor Vendor Next Meeting Relations Update November 2015 MRF and Create MRFs Trion King Meeting Planner Next Meeting Meeting Action Items Personnel Certification Governance Committee August 11-12,