BIOS

Howard W. Bergendahl, MS, JD, SRO,

Howard is one of the Founders and President of the Bergendahl Institute, LLC. For more than 20 years Howard achieved excellent results and positive recognition in the commercial Nuclear Power Industry while holding various technical and management positions including Operations Manager and Plant Manager. He has developed programs in and been responsible for Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs, Safety, Human Resources and Performance Improvement. In his most recent position as Vice President – Nuclear, he served as an Officer for a large, mid-western Nuclear Operating Company, which, during his tenure set both safety and production records. Since forming the Institute in 2002, Howard’s efforts have been focused on transferring best practices from the Nuclear Industry to health care organizations with an emphasis on human performance and safety culture initiatives.

Howard holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from the State University of New York, a Master of Science degree with a specialization in Radiological Health from the University of Florida and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Delaware Law School of Widener University. Howard is a licensed attorney, a registered patent attorney and has been licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as a Senior Nuclear Reactor Operator.

Richard E. Lockwood, MA, CPHQ, CQA

Richard is an experienced Performance Improvement Professional. For 25 years he has designed and implemented benchmark programs in Laboratory Services, Safety, Quality, and Performance Improvement. He held the position of Performance Improvement Manager at a large nuclear power generation company and has consulted with many others nationally and internationally. As a manager responsible for implementation, Richard successfully developed and implemented an integrated Performance Improvement Program that resulted in effective “error reduction management” and now serves as an industry model. In the Healthcare Industry, Richard has provided a wide range of services in the areas of quality and patient safety including filling the position of Executive Director of Patient Safety for a large southern hospital. Richard has authored numerous articles and ASTM and ANSI Standards in the fields of Radiochemistry, Laboratory Services, and Quality and he has served in a leadership role on a number industry standard setting committees, including the founding of the NIST Laboratory Measurement Assurance Program.

Richard holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Arts degree in Environmental Studies – Human Ecology. Further studies include course work in public health and toxicology at the Harvard School of Public Health and the American University. Richard is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, has also received six sigma black belt training and is a certified Auditor, Root Cause Investigator and Root Cause Trainer.

Connie M. Lincoln, M.Ed.

Connie has developed and executed successful organizational development interventions and training and development programs since 1979. Her skills in organizational and individual assessment, team building, leadership coaching and strategic planning have helped her clients to meet and exceed corporate objectives. Connie’s experience includes a variety of fields including health care, manufacturing, service, energy and agriculture. Connie led a team that exclusively worked on the recovery of a troubled nuclear power station and focused in particular on resolving Safety Culture issues. The American Society of Training and Development has recognized Ms. Lincoln’s achievements with a variety of awards including “Region 3 Professional of the Year” and “Executive of the Year.”

Prior to consulting, Connie worked in healthcare holding various management positions including Director of Education at a mid-size hospital in the Midwest. Ms. Lincoln’s graduate training is in Educational Technology and Human Resource Development.

Rob Fisher – Senior Consultant

Rob spent almost ten years in the US Navy before working at a Nuclear Power station for twelve years. During this time Rob worked in Operations, Radiation Protection, Chemistry and Environmental areas, and ultimately owned the Human Performance Improvement initiative. Rob has extensive experience in performing event investigations, designing performance improvement systems, designing and improving corrective action programs, designing and running procedure programs, and educating staff. As a previous field and management owner of these areas, he brings an implementation mentality to consulting. He was involved in developing the nuclear industry standards for both human performance and procedures. He has successfully consulted for nearly one hundred companies in various high reliability fields. Rob is a sought after trainer, and is routinely invited to speak at international and regional conferences on procedures, performance improvement, and event investigation.

Additional Experiences Include:

• Participation in the Texas A&M bonfire collapse investigation
• Participation in multiple post-9/11 Security investigations
• Participated in more than 10 full-scope human performance improvement initiatives
• Consulted for fortune 100 manufacturing companies improvements initiatives
• Has been involved in consulting at over 40 nuclear facilities
• Member of IEEE Root Cause Standards committee
• Long time member of the International Procedure Symposium Steering Team
• Involved in the annual Human Performance, Root Cause & Trending conference
• Involved in several industry committees for human performance and procedures

Rob is Certified to Teach:

• INPO “Excellence in Performance”
• Human error reduction for workers, supervisors and managers
• Basic Root cause and Apparent cause analysis
• Advanced single event, organizational and programmatic event analysis
• Procedure Error reduction to writers, reviewers and approvers of procedures
• Management Error Reduction and Analysis
• Engineering Error Reduction

Robert W. Pell, MS, CIH, CHP, SRO – Senior Consultant

Bob’s extensive experience covers a broad range of Operational and Management experience focused on implementing excellent human performance. He has held various management positions including Operations Manger, Radiation Protection Manager and Chemical Operations Manager. As a Manager of various programs in high-reliability environments, in both the chemical and nuclear industries, he has developed and implemented highly successful programs. With experience in both government and private sector activities in multiple industries, Bob provides a wealth of experience to our clients. Bob is also a Certified Industrial Hygienist, a Certified Health Physicist and a has been a Licensed Senior Nuclear Reactor Operator responsible for oversight and operation of control room activities at one of the largest operating nuclear plants in the country. Bob has hands on experience in perfecting the successful error reduction tools advocated by the Institute.

Bob has a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Northwestern University and a Master of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Additional Associates

The Institute works with a staff of Senior Associates, which primarily includes professionals who are active experts in their fields. Each member has 20 or more years of experience in their area of expertise and is carefully matched to the organizational needs of our clients. Our Associate members include specialists from various disciplines of Healthcare, Nuclear Power, Quality and Performance Improvement, Organizational Development, Education and Training. The right person is available to meet your short term or long term needs. Detailed resumes and Bios are available on request. We design your support team to provide maximize results and full implementation by ensuring you work with someone who has personally achieved the results you are seeking.