Configuration Management in Nuclear Power Plants
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
IAEA-TECDOC-1335 Configuration management in nuclear power plants January 2003 The originating Section of this publication in the IAEA was: Nuclear Power Engineering Section International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramer Strasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT IN NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IAEA, VIENNA, 2003 IAEA-TECDOC-1335 ISBN 92–0–100503–2 ISSN 1011–4289 © IAEA, 2003 Printed by the IAEA in Austria January 2003 FOREWORD Configuration management (CM) is the process of identifying and documenting the characteristics of a facility’s structures, systems and components of a facility, and of ensuring that changes to these characteristics are properly developed, assessed, approved, issued, implemented, verified, recorded and incorporated into the facility documentation. The need for a CM system is a result of the long term operation of any nuclear power plant. The main challenges are caused particularly by ageing plant technology, plant modifications, the application of new safety and operational requirements, and in general by human factors arising from migration of plant personnel and possible human failures. The IAEA Incident Reporting System (IRS) shows that on average 25% of recorded events could be caused by configuration errors or deficiencies. CM processes correctly applied ensure that the construction, operation, maintenance and testing of a physical facility are in accordance with design requirements as expressed in the design documentation. An important objective of a configuration management program is to ensure that accurate information consistent with the physical and operational characteristics of the power plant is available in a timely manner for making safe, knowledgeable, and cost effective decisions with confidence. Currently, the nuclear industry and governmental organizations are showing an increasing interest in the implementation of this process as an effective way of limiting configuration errors and related risks. In this report the necessary attributes of a good operational CM are identified. It is recognized and emphasized that a CM is one aspect of the overall management system. Nevertheless, this is an important part of managerial activity focused on the compliance of knowledge of the plant personnel, plant documentation and records with the state of the plant technology. The concepts developed in this report present a basic approach to CM, taking into consideration experience gained from organizations and utilities which have successfully implemented partial or full CM programmes and from discussions at meetings organized on the subject. This report will be used in IAEA sponsored workshops and seminars on operational safety and will also serve as a basis for follow-up activities in CM. Appreciation is expressed to all Member States and individuals for their valuable contributions, especially to B. Grimes, J. Lockau and R. Petit. The IAEA officers responsible for this publication were A. Kossilov of the Division of Nuclear Power and V. Kotyza of the Division of Nuclear Installation Safety. EDITORIAL NOTE The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Background........................................... ..................................................................... 1 1.2. Present situation and the need for a plant configuration management system .......... 2 1.3. Scope and structure.................................................................................................... 2 2. PLANT CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM ........................................... 3 2.1. General principles of a configuration management program ................................... 3 2.1.1. Program management .................................................................................. 5 2.1.2. Design requirements.................................................................................... 5 2.1.3. Information control...................................................................................... 6 2.1.4. Change control............................................................................................. 6 2.1.5. Assessment .................................................................................................. 6 2.1.6. Training ....................................................................................................... 6 2.2. Advantages and challenges of an effective configuration management program .... 6 2.2.1. Advantages of an effective configuration management program ................ 6 2.2.2. Challenges affecting configuration management ........................................ 7 2.3. The configuration management process................................................................... 8 2.3.1. Program planning........................................................................................ 9 2.3.2. Physical configuration scope criteria........................................................... 9 2.3.3. Facility configuration information scope criteria ...................................... 10 2.3.4. Concepts and terminology......................................................................... 10 2.3.5. Interfaces.................................................................................................... 10 2.3.6. Configuration control information system................................................. 10 2.3.7. Procedures ................................................................................................. 11 2.3.8. Configuration audits and assessments ....................................................... 11 2.3.9. CM training................................................................................................ 11 2.3.10. Symptoms of CM problems....................................................................... 12 2.4. Design requirements............................................................................................... 12 2.4.1. Establishment of design requirements ....................................................... 12 2.4.2. System and process boundaries.................................................................. 13 2.4.3. Specific SSC list ........................................................................................ 13 2.4.4. Assignment of SSC grades or classes........................................................ 13 2.4.5. Establishment of design bases.................................................................... 13 2.4.6. Information on design requirements .......................................................... 14 2.5. Documentation, maintenance, and reconstitution of design information............... 14 2.5.1. General ....................................................................................................... 14 2.5.2. Document control elements ....................................................................... 14 2.5.3. Updating of design documentation ............................................................ 15 2.5.4. Maintenance of design documentation....................................................... 15 2.6. Operational configuration....................................................................................... 16 2.7. Change control process .......................................................................................... 17 2.7.1. General ....................................................................................................... 17 2.7.2. Idea for modification — Design change initiation..................................... 20 2.7.3. Design phase.............................................................................................. 21 2.7.4. On site implementation .............................................................................. 22 2.7.5. Updating documentation............................................................................ 22 3. PROCESS FOR IMPROVING THE EXISTING CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT PRACTICE ......................................................................................... 23 3.1. Principles of improvement ..................................................................................... 23 3.1.1. Use both a “top-down” and a “bottom-up” approach ................................ 23 3.1.2. Use a graded approach ............................................................................... 24 3.1.3. Document, qualify, store and protect the information developed .............. 24 3.1.4. Develop a means to promptly disposition substantive weaknesses discovered during the improvement process .......................... 24 3.1.5. Understand the relation of the improvement program to on-going work processes............................................................................ 24 3.1.6. Introduce a high level information management system............................ 25 3.1.7. Assign data ownership at the source of expertise .....................................