Draft Minutes Personnel Certification Governance Committee June 5-6, 2012 Crown Plaza Minneapolis, MN Administrative A meeting of the Personnel Certification Governance Committee was held on Tuesday, June 5 from 8 am to 5 pm and Wednesday, June 6 from 8 am to 2 pm Central Time. The agenda and task list are affixed as Attachments A and B, respectively. 1. Welcome and Quorum PCGC chair, Jake Burger started the meeting welcoming the committee members and NERC staff. Quorum was determined. Jake introduced newest member Don Oatman and guests introduced themselves. The list of meeting attendees can be found at the end of the meeting minutes. 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 Nancy DeLeon reminded all participants the meeting is public and was posted on the NERC website. Task List reviewed The PCGC reviewed and updated the task list, Attachment B. Certification performance benchmark task needs further guidance from committee. 2. Consent Agenda/Approve Meeting Minutes The PCGC reviewed and approved the agenda for this meeting. The committee approved the February, 2012 (Phoenix, AZ) meeting minutes with a location correction for the August 2012 meeting. 3. Certification Exam Development Nancy DeLeon presented the progress of the 2012 Exam development cycle. The new exams were published February 2012 and the final versions were published early June 2012. The June publication was transparent to the industry and provides different version of each exams. The French version RC exam is scheduled to be published in July 2012.
NERC testing development and delivery contracts expire at the end of 2012. PCGC and the EWG will determine deliverables, strategy and ensure continuity of services as they work on new contracts. Additional information will be presented at the next meeting. The exam publishing cycle will be moved to a 36 month publishing cycle as recommended by the committee. This is a more realistic timeframe since operators move to continuing education after successfully passing an exam. 4. System Operator Certification and Continuing Education Program Updates The Exam Statistics pass rate through June 30, 2012 is posted on the NERC System Operator Program site. The NERC System Operator Certification program is based on the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) standards. Nancy DeLeon asked the PCGC about plans to join the agency. Dave Carlson said the decision was previously made by NERC and the PCGC to continue to adhere to the standards but to not join the NCCA. The PCGC is not pursuing changing that position. Continuing Education experienced a peak of courses to be reviewed and approved in February - March in preparation for the Spring Training cycle. Nancy DeLeon proposed emailing digital certificates instead of mailing hardcopy certificates for renewals. This would greatly streamline the renewal process. The PCGC agreed to sending digital renewals of NERC system operator certifications beginning in 2013, details to be communicated later this year. Paper certificates and business cards will continue to be issued for initial certification. System Operator Certification and Continuing Education Database (SOCCED) The purpose of the latest SOCCED change of scope (15) is to automate and streamline tasks currently performed by NERC support staff. Most changes will be transparent to the users of the SOCCED and are expected to be in production early August. SOCCED project phase 1 has been launched with an expected completion of late 2012. PCGC approved a high level review of project goals and scope. John Kerr suggests a detailed communication to the industry for the operators that consistently use the database. Communication of the database upgrades and user interface changes will be communicated through emails and webinars, details will be discussed at the next meeting. PCGC DRAFT Minutes June 2012 2
5. Task Force Reports a. Nomination Task Force: Brett Hallborg announced the appointment of Don Oatman to the PCGC. Both the PCGC and the EWG are now at full membership. Brett requested members whose terms expire at end of 2012 to let him know plans for renewing membership with the PCGC by next meeting. b. Budget Task Force: The task force reviewed the actual income and expenses for first quarter 2012 in detail. The 3-year Budget Forecast process is in progress with NERC accounting. Estimates of operating and maintenance cost and capital project investments were discussed in detail. Exam fees were also discussed. Budget approval expected mid- August. c. Program Evaluation/Measurements Task Force: Rick Liljegren presented a dashboard of six (6) categories of metrics for PCGC use in tracking and reporting. The Task force will continue to present these metric and add beneficial data points. d. Credential Establishment Program Task Force: Brett Hallborg presented the latest process diagram on exam development for the system operator certification program. The process validates that the exam cycle takes approximately 3 years to complete. Brett also presented a process diagram on a new credential. No new credentials are being established at this time. e. Rules of Procedure Section 600 Task Force: Kristie Cocco reviewed the Rules of Procedure, Section 600 and mapped the supporting documentation for PCGC compliance toward each rule. The Task Force will complete any areas that do not have proper documentation. This document is one of the core PCGC documents, along with the NERC By-Laws, Rules of Procedure (Section 600), PCGC Charter, and the System Operator Certification Manual. f. Emergency Operations credit Task Force: Kristie Cocco discussed EOP courses taken twice per year analysis and reported that courses taken in short or consecutive time period continues to be very small and does not appear to be a problem. 6. Task List Update The task list was updated and is attached as Attachment B. 7. Future Meetings Continue to schedule meetings for two days with the afternoon of the first day set aside for task force work. PCGC DRAFT Minutes June 2012 3
Dates/Locations August 28-29, 2012 San Diego, CA November 6-7, 2012 New Orleans, LA June 2012 Attendees Jake Burger Brett Hallborg David Carlson Michael Anderson Kristie Cocco Keith Comeaux Bill Ellard John Kerr Rick Liljegren Don Oatman Chris Hoffman Guest Michael Scott Guest Lonnie Chapman - Guest Nancy DeLeon, NERC Pete Knoetgen, NERC Action Items 1 Assigned to Due Budget Task Force announcement Dave Carlson Next meeting Budget Process add announcement Kristie Cocco Next meeting Performance Metric - data Nancy DeLeon Next meeting SOCCED project Phase 1 announcement Nancy DeLeon Next meeting PCGC Documentation package Nancy DeLeon Next meeting File services for PCGC - Sharepoint Nancy DeLeon Next meeting ROP Section 600 Task Force Legal item, Nancy DeLeon Next meeting Psychometric explanation Identify other Certification Programs metric tracking Nancy DeLeon Next meeting System Operator Certification Manual Draft with ROP Nancy DeLeon Next meeting additions Arrange Testing Development Vendors presentations Nancy DeLeon Next meeting 1 Action items are individually assigned and are normally outside of a Task Force structure. They will be tracked in the meeting minutes PCGC DRAFT Minutes June 2012 4
Attachment A Agenda Personnel Certification Governance Committee (PCGC) June 5-6, 2012 8:00 5:00 pm CST Crowne Plaza Northstar Hotel 618 Second Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55402 NERC Contact: Nancy DeLeon nancy.deleon@nerc.net - 404-446-9730 Introductions and Chair s Remarks NERC Antitrust Compliance Guidelines and Public Announcement Agenda 1. Review attachment a. Agenda consent b. Meeting Minutes c. Action Items d. Task List 2. Approve Meeting Minutes a. February 7-8, 2012 (Phoenix, AZ) Meeting Minutes 3. Certification Exam Development and Deployment Nancy DeLeon a. Current Progress b. Contracts c. French Translation d. EWG Strategy Chris Hoffman, EWG chair 4. System Operator Certification and Continuing Education Program Updates Nancy DeLeon a. Data and Statistics b. National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) c. SOCCED project upgrade justification d. Process Improvements PCGC DRAFT Minutes June 2012 5
5. Task Force Reporting a. Nomination Task Force: PCGC Brett Hallborg b. Credential Establishment Process Brett Hallborg c. Budget Updates, Forecasts, Process Dave Carlson d. Program Evaluation/Measurements Rick Liljegren e. ROP - Section 600 Task Force Update Kristie Cocco 6. Task List Updates Nancy DeLeon 7. Future Meeting/Agenda June 5-6, 2012 Minneapolis, MN August 28-29, 2012 San Diego, CA November 6-7, 2012 New Orleans, LA PCGC DRAFT Minutes June 2012 6
Attachment B Personnel Certification Governance Committee (PCGC) TASK LIST / June 2012 Item Assigned To Due Date Status 1. Certification and Continuing Education reports Nancy DeLeon Next meeting On going 2. SOCCED updates Nancy DeLeon Next meeting On going 3. Provide quarterly budget reports for certification program Susan Turpen Next meeting On going 4. Budget / Actuals update D. Carlson (Chair) M. Anderson, K. Next meeting On going 5. 6. 7. Emergency Operations-related training Reporting Program Metric Task Force (deliverable metrics for performance of certification program) Credential establishment process Task Force 8. ROP Section 600 Task Force 9. Request for Information Testing Development Cocco K. Cocco (chair), M. Anderson, Nancy DeLeon R. Liljegren (chair), B. Ellard, D. Carlson, J. Kerr, K. Comeaux B. Hallborg (Chair), M. Anderson, J. Kerr K. Cocco, B. Hallborg, K. Comeaux, Don Oatman Bi-annually Nov 2012 meeting Next meeting Next meeting Next meeting In progress In progress In Progress In Progress J. Burger, D. Carlson Next Meeting In Progress PCGC DRAFT Minutes June 2012 7