Acknowledgment and Disclaimer





The Laboratory Integration and Prioritization System (LIPS)



Project Description and Significance

Today's declining resources and increased regulatory and DOE requirements make it imperative that a risk-based, defensible prioritization system be developed and available for use. Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, and Sandia National Laboratories have collaborated to develop such a tool. The Laboratory Integration and Prioritization System (LIPS) is designed to meet the following criteria:
This prioritization model and the associated implementation process helps managers determine the optimal level of risk reduction and benefits that can be obtained with available resources. The system can also be used to determine whether the value of risk reduction or other benefits associated with an action justifies the resources required.


LIPS is based on the principles of decision analysis and uses multiattribute utility theory to quantify and compare the benefits of different activities. This approach has proved to be an effective method for addressing decision problems where there are multiple concerns, multiple stakeholders affected by the decisions, limited resources, and important trade-offs to be made. LIPS is capable of considering the benefits of virtually any type of project. The categories in which the model can measure benefits include
Each activity is scored by considering the benefit that accrues from it, and these scores are combined with management value judgments that reflect willingness to pay to obtain the benefits. Explicit measurement scales are provided for each category so that technical experts have a consistent and objective basis for assigning scores. Although LIPS was initially formulated to be as broadly applicable as possible, the laboratories' collective experience with prioritization indicates that each decision has unique issues. As a result, LIPS has become a living methodology, consisting of a set of templates that are modified according to facility-specific experiences and needs. The appropriate top-level objectives or criteria are retained as common elements in each application, and a set of unrefined values and scales is maintained as a common standard of reference.


LIPS can be viewed as a common tool kit from which specialized models may be developed for specific applications in a reasonably short time. The LIPS application process consists of the following:
LIPS can be customized or tailored for most applications. The degree of customization required depends on how closely the problem being addressed matches the type of problem envisioned when LIPS was designed. At a minimum, the objectives, scales, values, and scoring instructions are reviewed. Customization typically involves identifying new low-level objectives or evaluation criteria, and modifying some individual scales to ensure that the information they contain is specific to the application. Prior to any specific application, the unrefined values must be reviewed by relevant decision-makers and be modified, if necessary, to reflect the management philosophy of the site. Generic scales should also be reviewed. In multiattribute utility models, value judgments must reflect decision-maker values. Finally, the LIPS scoring instructions must be adapted to include site-specific and work-specific examples and instructions to ensure that reliable and consistent data will be generated by scorers. The Folowing activities are included in the prioritazation and work-decision process:
Software to support LIPS is available.


For further information, contact:

David Barber
Sandia National Laboratories, MS-1373
Albuquerque, NM 87185-1373
Phone: (505) 271-4198
e-mail: dsbarbe@sandia.gov

or

Al Bendure
Sandia National Laboratories, MS-1373
Albuquerque, NM 87185-0369
Phone: (505) 844-8518
e-mail: aobendu@sandia.gov
Submitted October 1996
Layout design by Wanda Mar.