Radiation and Nuclear Safety SR 98 - National Report

National Report of the Slovak Republic - Radiation and Nuclear Safety , September 1998

5.3.3 Maintenance Testing and Control Documentation for Management and Operation

Operation, maintenance and testing of systems and the procedures in case of transient and emergency conditions of nuclear installations are laid down in the management and operating documentation as required by the CSKAE Decree No.6/1980.

Documentation departments are established at the individual nuclear power plants to manage the entire field of documentation. Their main task include:

maintenance of a uniform documentation system including a standard system of documentation labeling, rules for working with documentation and a uniform system of document filing at archives,

issuing, distribution and updating of operating documentation according to requirements from the units,

recording, issuing, distribution and updating of internal regulations according to the requirements of the Quality Assurance Department, and their maintenance in the computer network,

to issue and distribute Annexes and Amendments to operating regulations as required by the given system,

development of plans for amending operating documentation for the calendar year and monitoring of its fulfillment,

to organize the review and approval procedures for newly drafted operating documentation and its amendments and supplements.

Procedures, principles and instructions for the development of operating documentation are detailed in the respective standards and instructions of the system. Every operating document is subject of review and approval procedures at the individual divisions involved, and its final approval is the responsibility of Deputy Director, Operation. Also, the processes of drafting amendments and supplements to the individual documents, follow the same path.

The following basic types of documentation used are described bellow :

Operating documents,

Equipment controls and tests documentation,

Technological and working procedures for maintenance.

Operating Documentation

This type of documentation means a set of documents developed to set forth the method of operation organization, management and control, to set forth the method of the service of technology under nominal steady-state and transient conditions, as well as under abnormal and emergency conditions. It also defines procedures for the performance of certain activities directly connected with operation, documentation of equipment quality, position-related responsibilities of the maintenance staff, assurance of fire protection of operating workplaces, and for the documentation on the operation and related facts.

The following types of operating documentation may be distinguished:

Standardizing documentation which defines basic organizational and technical requirements for a reliable, economic and safe operation of the nuclear power plant.

Organization and operation-related documentation which deals with the organization of the operation and the operation of units itself under nominal and non-nominal conditions. It comprises:

operating regulations. Operating regulations define the method of the maintenance of technological equipment under normal, steady-state and transient conditions as well as upon emergency situations. Moreover, they set conditions and method of start-up and shutdown of the equipment. They are set up according to operation instructions from the manufacturer, design materials, model regulations and directive materials as well as based on experience from operation, experimental results and accounting for specific conditions of the power plant. Every regulation has an operating and a descriptive part. Currently, a project is going on at the Bohunice power plant concerning the development of a new generation of operating regulations. A major change, in addition to formal change of the graphical format, concerns re-writing of the operating part to yield handling charts which in turn are prepared as step - by step procedures. Any activity performed is confirmed by the signature of the responsible employer. The addition of handling charts to the regulations had already been under preparation for NPP Mochovce at the time of the construction and followed the experience of similar regulations developed for NPP ISAR 2 (Germany) and was tested during the start-up of the power plant. Operating regulations have to be checked at least once in three years to confirm their applicability.

other operations-related documents. This group includes:
Operation diagrams - they illustrate graphically a certain separate portion of the technology and identify control elements and sensors along with their functions within the control and instrumentation system. The corresponding operation department performs a check of the matching with the actual conditions once in three years, and records the performing of the check. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Schedules for control of protection blocking and switching of equipment. They are being set up based on the requirements on controls of equipment as laid down by OLC and PP.
Function-related duties. They are developed for each shift maintenance function of NPP according to the organization rules. The purpose of this documentation is to define the organizational relationships between the employees, requirements concerning the scope of familiarity with operating documentation, and the main work-related obligations and responsibilities.

fire regulations of the workplaces are prepared for workplaces and buildings at high risk of fire. The main purpose of the fire regulations is to define requirements on fire protection from the viewpoint of maximal safety of the workplaces, safety of the employees and nuclear safety of the unit.

Equipment Controls and Tests Documentation

Surveillance programs serve the performance of equipment controls and tests. An extensive "Surveillance Program" system is in place which is described in detail in QA standards "Periodical Tests of Systems and Equipment". The IAEA safety guide SG 50-O8 was used as a basis for their development. They are intended for equipment for which such instructions have to be drafted (particularly all safety systems).

"Surveillance Program" is a written program to test a system or equipment. It is used by the staff to follow closely and to record the course of the test, thus significantly reducing the possibility of errors. It is not allowed to skip individual points or to alter the program. Certain programs also require independent checks. The program specifies:

supervisor of the test,

program objective and purpose,

safety measures to be taken during the test,

initial condition and preparatory works,

testprocedures form,

success criteria and test evaluation.

Nuclear safety divisions manage the entire process of standard development of "Surveillance Programs" of records and test evaluations.

Documentation of controls performed is used to conduct in-service inspections, and serves to

record important measures, tolerances and settings at repairs which are important for the evaluation and further maintenance planning,

check and evaluate the required quality of repair works and materials used to evaluate operation readiness.

Control documentation includes the following documents:

attest slips for materials used,

list of weldings and x-ray scans with their assessment,

measurement record,

setting protocol,

record on non-destructive controls performed,

record on visual inspection.

Technological and Working Procedures for Maintenance

The QA Guideline "Guidelines for Technological Procedures, Methods and Instructions" , takes care of a clear-cut structure of regulations, and the introduction of quality checkpoints. It describes technological and working procedures, their graphical format, organizational and technical data, content of texts as well as procedures for developing, updating and approving of technological and working procedures.

The technological procedures for selected equipment include "Checklists of Operations Performed" with points set to stop temporarily works to prevent discrepancies from occurring, and to improve conventional and nuclear safety.

Development and implementation of reference procedures represents protection against discrepancies during development of technological procedures, and defines them unequivocally. Reference procedures are the first approved copies serving comparison purposes with copies upon their authorization for routine uses.

Authorized copies of reference procedures are used for the implementation of works.

The mandatory use of references, i.e. of the number of the work order on maintenance documents, provides for a good identification and monitoring of these documents and thus a correct use of them.

As a part of the QA Program, a fix review and development schedule is set up for all maintenance regulations. Monitoring of maintenance actions are part of the planned care for fixed assets within the SOZAR and/or ARGO information systems "Care for Equipment" which also contain annual schedule of repairs broken down into monthly and weekly repair plans.