Discuss Recent Wano And Inpo Reports

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

IAEA TECDOC-1305 (2002:6-13) has observed that many organisations perform internal assessments and have external assessments by international agencies such as the IAEA performing Operational Safety Review Teams, World Association of Nuclear Operators performing peer reviews, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations performing evaluations and other assessments performed through the CANDU Owners Group. This is in an effort to comply with standards and maintain and improve overall business performance. The IAEA is supportive of the acceptance of external inputs as a basis for growth that is required for continuous improvement as this attitude makes people self-critical; thus creating an organisation that is receptive to the challenges and motivated to improve. For any plant, valuable experience can be collected from other plants to focus and anticipate difficulties and to identify potential improvements to the plant’s life cycle granting them the status of a learning organisation, supported by exchanging information and practices both internally and externally to the organisation.

Revuelta (2004: 67-71) describes WANO as an association to which all the NPPs of the world belong, having a mission to, amongst others, maximise safety and reliability of the operation of NPPs by exchanging information and encouraging communication. NPPs are expected to demonstrate the following attributes in order to be considered a learning organisation, which is imperative for this high-risk industry:

focused leadership;

performance assessments;

operating experience feedback;

benchmarking and technical exchange;

training and development striving for excellence and continuous improvement

People - Project quality responsibility and capabilities of project people

Lewis (1991:VI-1) is convinced that more than any other resource, people make the difference in quality for a project with the combination and diversity of knowledge, their skills and abilities affecting the planning, implementation and operation thereof. Management of people is the totality of actions that clearly define what, how and when tasks need to be performed and the standards expected in the final product or service. This goes beyond day-to-day direction of individuals to perform tasks. In order for project people to be capable of doing what is required, clear policy statement from senior management, easily understood requirements and standards need to be in place. People must also understand why tasks are being done and not only be able but also display willingness to meet the standards.

Hawkins & Pieroni (1991:29-33) construe that the nuclear industry is reaching beyond traditional quality assurance methods and taking a broader perception of quality with management, people performing and assessing the work all contributing to quality in a concerted and cost-effective manner. This integration can only be successful when those performing work are provided with proper information, tools, support and encouragement to properly carry out tasks. It is mandatory for management to define requirements, properly train, motivate and empower personnel, provide appropriate resources and assess performance. These place greater emphasis on being "right the first time" rather than finding and correcting mistakes later. Maybe add more

Senior Management

As suggested by Zilbershtein (2004:39), top management must be committed to a quality culture, and must demonstrate this commitment to quality through a shared vision. However, this commitment to quality must be transparent and must be infectious. Verify and find reference.

The National Regulation Commission (NRC) conducted an audit of six nuclear power plants in the United States in 1982 relating to quality related problems. They found that an essential factor was a management commitment to quality as this was essential to facilitate activities that support quality of construction. "All management claims to support quality, but verbal support is not sufficient. An understanding is required of why quality is important (e.g., as an important adjunct to achieve an acceptable level of safety, reliability, or scheduled completion) and how to obtain it. That understanding must be disseminated through the entire project team by training, personal contact, audit appraisals, support of QA/QC staff, incentives and other means." They further concluded that maintaining and documenting adequate quality required appropriate procedures for all aspects of the project (i.e., construction, design, procurement, etc.). It was important that these procedures be understood, rigorously applied and adhered to at all levels of the project.

Lewis (1991:VI-3-5) believes that training and indoctrination of senior managers in the principles of quality coupled with the need for continuous improvement is imperative to the future survival of a company. Managers need to understand the reason for quality programmes and support these through actions. Quality standards must be established for management to use as rateable measures of progress with special attention given to customer requirements and how they translate to the company or project. Quality management at the project level only works when it is an extension of corporate policy and procedures. To this end, senior management must establish and maintain an active quality program that extends to projects as they are planned and implemented. They need to provide the base for the project’s quality program, which is tailored to the unique aspects of individual projects while playing an important role in supporting the project manger’s request for critical and qualified resources to perform work. Senior management must therefore provide these resources by setting priorities and directing activities that support the project.

Hawkins & Pieroni (1991:29-33) argue that management's most important and challenging responsibility is to establish and cultivate principles that integrate quality requirements into daily work activities. Only in this way can they demonstrate the necessary commitment and leadership to achieve quality. Pieroni (1996:4/19) believes that the quality responsibility of successful organisations is shared and accepted by every individual involved. Such organisations cultivate an environment that integrates people qualified and motivated for accepting and accomplishing responsibilities; systems and procedures tailored to the particular work; and hardware and installations operating in accordance with established specifications. These organisations are characterised by an effective quality culture, manifesting itself by consistently being involved in plant activities, promotes staff accountability and setting high expectations for performance. Performance objectives are included in the organisation's policy documents and procedures, integrated into staff training and work programmes, communicated to contractors prior to work commencement and reinforced by management staff in daily communications and meetings with management dedicating permanent attention to performance. Responsibility to achieve quality and verify its achievements is assigned to those performing the task and their associated line management, who in all their activities make safety, precede production objectives. In accomplishing their policy and objectives, organisations with vigorous quality-raising initiatives have evolved beyond the fulfilment of requirements established in safety and industrial quality assurance standards. This type of culture is progressively less dependent on the fulfilment of requirements established in quality assurance standards because these requirements are automatically accomplished by the normal way of work performance.

IAEA (2006:7-8) advocates that management at all levels must demonstrate its commitment in the establishment, implementation, assessment and continual improvement of the management system and must allocate adequate resources to carry out these activities. They must develop individual and institutional values and behavioural expectations for the organisation to support the implementation of the management system and also act as role models in the declaration of these values and expectations. The expectations of interested parties are to be considered by senior management in the activities and interactions in the processes of the management system, with the aim of enhancing the satisfaction of interested parties while at the same time ensuring that safety is not compromised.

RD0034 (2008:17) requires management to ensure management systems are established, implemented, assessed and continually improved and must demonstrate its commitment to do so. Such commitment in terms of safety and quality of the products must be clearly defined, documented and communicated to the staff.

Project Manager – talk about the project quality manager as well

Lewis (1991: VI-4-5) professes that the project manager is the focal point for ensuring all quality functions are established and implemented during the life of the project and must therefore translate customer requirements into specifications and statements of work to ensure these requirements will be met.

Anderson (1992:138) is of the opinion that managing projects with quality as a key objective requires the implementation of sound project management practices. For any project management system to be effective, a project must be managed by a project manager who exhibits high quality managerial attributes. – Maybe delete

Rose (2005:24) argues that while management is responsible for the quality system, project managers have the ultimate responsibility for project and product quality as they select the procedures and policies for the project, meaning that they control the quality. As such, the project manager must create an environment that fosters trust and cooperation among the team members.

Kerzner (2006:846) is of the opinion that the project manager needs to establish the administrative processes and procedures necessary to ensure and prove that the scope statement conforms to the actual requirements of the customer. The project manager must work with his or her team to determine which processes will be used to ensure that all stakeholders have confidence that the quality activities will be properly performed and all relevant legal and regulatory requirements must also be met.

Young (2007:8-9) clarifies that projects are undertaken with creating and managing change in an organised and structured manner. A successful project is therefore a direct measure of the project manager’s ability as an effective change agent. A project manager is to demonstrate enthusiasm and excitement at the prospect of achieving advances in the way that the organisation operates in the current and future business environment. This, in turn demands a wide range of people skills besides those traditionally associated with managing projects including the ability to:

select the right team members with appropriate skills;

recognise and understand the different types of personalities to be managed;

set clear objectives and align people’s personal goals;

create a real sense of responsibility and obligation in the project team;

manage a team as an interactive unit;

create a sense of commitment in the team members, some of whom may have little interest in the results expected;

coach, guide and actively support the individual team members;

explain decisions and keep everyone informed of progress;

establish a sustaining environment for effective dialogue and feedback in the team and with other teams and their management;

manage upwards to influence senior management and other line managers;

manage third parties: contractors, suppliers, consultants;

understand the real needs of the end users of the results;

satisfy the internal customer.

Goff (2008:1-5) states that effective project managers establish the prerequisites of quality and monitors their success in maintaining those prerequisites from individual assignments to overall project results. Meredith & Mantel (2012:16&105) concedes that the project manager’s responsibility is ultimately to the project and client which is ensured by maintaining the integrity of the project in spite of conflicting demands from parties who have legitimate interests in the project. The project manager’s responsibilities are broad and primarily categorised into three separate areas: responsibility to the parent organisation, responsibility to the project and the client and responsibility to the members of the project team. It is very important to keep senior management fully informed about project status, cost, timing and prospects. In spite of the project manager often lacking authority at a level consistent with his or her responsibility, they are however expected to coordinate and integrate all activities needed to reach the project’s goals. In particular, the project allows the manager to be responsive to: the client and the environment, identify and correct problems at an early date, make timely decisions about trade-offs between conflicting project goals and ensure that managers of the separate tasks that comprise the project do not optimise the performance of their individual tasks at the expense of the total project.

Project Quality Team

Lewis (1991:VI-3-4) believes that the project quality team are senior management, project manager, project staff, customers, vendors and suppliers, sub-contractors and the public as represented by the regulatory authorities. Each plays a vital role in project quality at various stages during the planning, implementation, operation and maintenance, or close-out of a project. This therefore makes their relationship more of a partnership than a team effort as they have a vested interest that will result in a return on investment based on their contributions. Figure 2.5 depicts the integration of all project quality partners and how they are intrinsically linked to the project and Table 2.2 summarises the various approaches to quality improvement. The Safety Series No. 50-C/SG-Q (1996:7) state that personnel are to be trained and qualified so that they are competent to perform their assigned work and understand the safety consequences of their activities.

According to Bowen, Cattel, Hall, Edwards and Pear (2002:49) the integration of the project team assists the team to have a common objective. A customer focused team will ensure that the provision of products and services meets customer needs. Rose (2005:24) is of the opinion that project teams are responsible for the quality aspects of their part of the project and individual team members are responsible for quality in everything they do to contribute to project completion. Gone are the days when quality was the responsibility of the quality department; in fact, quality departments have been significantly reduced and their functions transferred to the performing level or eliminated altogether. In today’s projects, it is common knowledge that quality is everyone’s responsibility; this includes management on all levels, supervisors, line and staff, maintenance personnel and all others. This means that no one has the luxury of offloading quality responsibility to someone else or some other function any longer. Everyone associated with a project is responsible in some way, with the project manager bearing the burden of ensuring quality in everything the project does.

Goff (2008:1-5) accentuates that persons performing work must also feel a sense of pride, ownership and accomplishment for their efforts as this ultimately affects the perception of quality measures, concluding that effective teams have just as much difficulty measuring and managing project quality as do ineffective ones. The difference being that effective teams identify the factors they can influence to ensure results and the perception of quality. Ineffective teams, on the other hand, trade-off quality for the easier-to-measure project success factors.

Project Manager

(Project)

Customer

Regulatory Authorities

Subcontractors

Project Staff

Vendor/Suppliers

Senior Management

Figure 2.5: Integration of quality participants (Source: Lewis (1991:VI-3-4)

Table 2.3 Project Lifecycle Accountability Matrix – include reference

Role /

Stage

Project Quality Initiation

Project Quality Planning

Project Quality Assurance

Project Quality Control

Project Quality Closure

Sponsor

Select project manager, align and select project, commit to charter

Determine decision-making authority, commit to plant

Conduct external customer communications, mentor project manager and clear obstacles as needed

Conduct external customer communications, mentor project manager and clear obstacles as needed

Recognise and reward participants, assess project to improve system

External Customer

Identify and prioritise expectations, commit to charter

Identify customer satisfaction standards and trade-off values, commit to plan

Conduct on-going communication

Confirm on-going satisfaction level, accept deliverables

Verify when training and support are complete, assess project to improve system

Project Manager

Select core team, identify risks, empower performance, commit to charter

Identify customer satisfaction standards and trade-off values, develop quality and communication plans, commit to plan

Conduct external customer communications, confirm qualified process used, mange quality audits and planning

Measure customer satisfaction, manage process improvements

Recognise and reward participants, assess project to improve system

Core Team

Determine team operating principles, flowchart project, identify lessons learned, commit to charter

Plan project, identify suppliers, qualify the process, identify data to collect, commit to plan

Use qualified processes, gather data, find root causes, conduct quality audits, plan future work

Measure customer satisfaction, test deliverables, correct defects, endorse deliverables

Provide customer support and training, assess project to improve system

Processes and procedures – quote Koeberg procedures and their purpose

Performance objectives

Hawkins and Pieroni (1991:29-33) acknowledge that quality of performance concerns all areas in the nuclear project with safety, reliability and economics being positively influenced with the overriding principle being that safety shall not be compromised for reasons of production, economics etc. When performance objectives are properly defined and controlled, processes provide assurance that they will be met. The nature of the innate interrelationship between performance objectives and processes to achieve them defines how successful an organisation will be. When there is no balance between performance objectives and processes with and increased focus on processes rather than performance objectives; this vital relationship is destroyed and the ability of the organisation to achieve its performance objectives - its reason for being - is lost. This has been a problem for the nuclear industry as it tends to separate performance objectives from processes. "…Traditional quality assurance programmes sometimes focus on the fine-grained details of activities, not stressing performance strongly enough. Hence, the credibility of the industry is called into question by a public that does not understand, and often fears, its objectives."

Kloppenborg & Petrick (2002:13) in describing quality pillars mentions the second project quality pillar as the continual improvement of work processes to efficiently and effectively achieve the strategic goal of customer satisfaction. A set of processes may together form a quality system which, in turn, provides the organisational operational context for team projects and individual task performances. Different process qualification levels are:

Level 1: Spontaneous: Few or no process standards are used

Lack of documentation

Skills and knowledge uneven

Inadequate tracking

Very little use of systems or technical tools

Process success depends on experience and skills of managers and team

Level 2: Initialised: Process awareness is widespread but adhoc

Non-standard methods and approaches widely used, everyone performs differently

Some documented procedures (what needs to be done but not how to do it)

Some data collection and documentation

Technical tools used but not always in a full or correct manner

All processes attempt to follow some basic functionality

Level 3: Formalised: Basic processes are standardised and institutionalised

Company-wide standards developed and documented for all basic processes to maintain an existing system

Audited and enforced use of standard processes

Consistent data collection and reporting across organisation

Lessons learned are shared throughout the organisation

Widespread and adequate process specific training to keep current system functioning

Level 4: Optimised: Processes are systematically measured, continually improved and cross-functionally integrated with business operations

Data consistently collected and stored in a database and extensive evaluation performed for all processes

Database integrated with company systems to ensure on-going improvement

Mechanisms established for continuous process improvement

Innovative ideas pursued and organised to improve processes and documentation

Goes beyond process success, emphasises success of people and systems

Rose (2005:6) explains the difference between product and project quality as: "quality processes attuned to the scope specifications will ensure a quality product. Quality processes that maintain cost and schedule constraints will ensure a quality project." RD0034 (2008:16-29) advocates that organisations must ensure that procedures, specifications, instructions or drawings include quantitative and/or qualitative acceptance criteria where appropriate with all organisations involved being informed of any revisions of procedures, specifications, instructions or drawings without delay. The involved organisations must ensure that tasks are performed in accordance with valid documents. Procedures must be established to ensure that conditions adverse to quality, such as failures, deficiencies, defective material, system deviations and equipment non-conformity, are promptly identified and corrected. Should these conditions adversely affect quality significantly, procedures of the organisations must ensure that the root cause of such condition is determined and that appropriate corrective action is introduced to prevent recurrence. Figure 2.5 depicts key elements of the project execution plan.

Figure 2.5: Project execution plan key elements, (Campagna, Lenyk and Hess (2006:8)

Designs and Engineering – Quote Koeberg requirements

Design, including subsequent changes, shall be carried out in accordance with established engineering codes and standards and shall incorporate applicable requirements and design bases. Design interfaces shall be identified and controlled. The adequacy of design, including design tools and design inputs and outputs shall be verified or validated by individuals or groups other than those who originally performed the work. Verification, validation and approval shall be completed before implementation of the design. Safety Series No. 50-C/SG-Q (1996:11).

IAEA (2001:13-14) states that proposals for modifications submitted for independent assessment should comply with specified criteria and in accordance with quality assurance requirements. Submissions must include, amongst others, the following:

Description of the design and justification of the proposed modification;

Sketches, drawings and list of materials;

Specifications for parts and materials;

Applicable codes, standards;

Description of methods of fabrication, installation and testing;

Specification of the operational state of the plant, or parts thereof, necessary to implement the modification;

Statement of requirements for quality assurance and quality control;

Description of the qualification test programme to be performed after implementation.

IAEA (2001:13-14) further prescribe the following design conditions are considered:

When modifications are identified, their compatibility with the design intent and characteristics should be assessed;

The modifications should, whenever possible, minimise the deviations from the characteristics and intent of the design;

The detailed design of modifications should specify requirements for construction, installation, commissioning, equipment qualification, testing, test acceptance criteria, and maintenance during operation.

Modifications relating to plant configuration should conform to the provisions set forth in the safety requirements for design and associated Safety Guides.

Pinkerton (2003:165) states that when design specifications and inquiries to potential suppliers are being developed the desired quality levels and inspection and test requirements must be included. These requirements must be unambiguous so that bidders and suppliers clearly understand what is required of them. To this end, it would be in interest of the project team to have the necessary input from someone with this quality type background and by so doing, reduce misunderstanding by suppliers and fabricators later as they respond to the Request for Proposal (RFP).

Project Controls and Documentation – quote Koeberg

Safety Series No. 50-C/SG-Q (1996:9) states the following:

Documents such as procedures, instructions, specifications and drawings or other media which describe processes, specify requirements or establish design, shall be prepared, reviewed, approved, issued, distributed, authorised, revised and as required, validated. All personnel preparing, revising, reviewing or approving documents shall be specifically assigned to this work and be given access to appropriate information upon which to base their input. Personnel using documents shall be aware of and use appropriate and correct documents.

Records relating to personnel and records that describe the status, configuration and characteristics of items and services, describe the performance of processes and represent objective evidence of quality shall be specified, prepared, reviewed, approved and maintained. All records shall be legible, complete and identifiable. A records system shall be established to provide for the identification, collection, indexing, filing, storing, maintenance, retrieval and disposal of records. Retention, times of records and associated test materials and specimens shall be established to be consistent with the type of records, material and specimens involved.

IAEA (2001:5-26) state that plant modifications should be performed in accordance with established procedures, with due consideration given to quality assurance. Before being placed in service, plant modifications should be tested to demonstrate that the design intent is met. All relevant documents necessary for the operation of the modified plant should be updated and personnel should be trained as appropriate. The following should be ensured by means of the document management system:

That all relevant documents affected by the modification are identified and updated, and remain consistent with the plant specific design requirements, and that they accurately reflect the modified plant configuration;

That all changes to the design over the lifetime of the plant are based on the actual status of the plant, as reflected in the current plant documentation;

That the modified plant configuration conforms fully with the documentation and conditions of the operating licence.

All relevant plant documents which have been revised or developed during the modification process should be subject to configuration management. Changes to these documents should be traceable to the modification and should be submitted for approval prior to formal revision.

Documents relating to modifications, in particular to installation and testing should be updated as soon as practicable. Responsibility should be clearly assigned for the revision of all documents, such as all drawings, including computer representations, specifications, procedures, safety reports, operational limits and conditions, descriptions of equipment and/or plant and systems, training material, including simulator aspects, vendor equipment manuals and spare parts lists.

Modified operational limits and conditions, and other operational documentation, should be included in plant documentation by means of approved processes and should be subject to review and approval at the same level as for the original operational documentation.

Expired documents should be marked as ‘invalid’ in an unambiguous manner.

Documents and records relating to modifications and to the revised plant configuration should be stored appropriately in order to preserve access to them throughout the lifetime of the plant.

Pinkerton (2003:143) prefers that project controls be placed on all facets of the project with the following project elements being tightly controlled:

Document transmittals and revision hierarchy method

Design changes and change approval method

Receiving inspection and change approval of materials and equipment

Drawing changes and redlines

Project monitoring and cost containment reviews

Vendor and contractor quality of work

Procurement

Environmental issues, including permitting requirements and checks

Safety of personnel

RD0034 (2008:16) stipulates that control measures must be established to ensure that all documents are complete considering relevant requirements before being released with all involved in preparing, revising, reviewing or approving documents being assigned specific work, competent to carry it out and given the necessary access to appropriate information on which to base their input on decisions. Documents must be unambiguously marked for identification. Furthermore, records must be retained (retention times of records must be defined) to provide evidence of activities affecting quality and safety. These records must be readable, complete, identifiable, classified, stored and easily retrievable.

Procurement

Safety Series No. 50-C/SG-Q (1996:11-12) states that:

Procured items and services shall meet established requirements and perform as specified. Suppliers shall be evaluated and selected on the basis of specified criteria

Requirements necessary to ensure the quality of items and services shall be developed and specified in the procurement documents. Evidence that purchased items and services meet procurement requirements shall be available before they are used.

Requirements for reporting deviations from procurement requirements shall be specified in the procurement documents.

Inspection and testing of specified items, services and processes shall be conducted using established acceptance and performance criteria. The level of inspection and testing and the degree of independence of personnel shall be established.

Administrative controls, such as hold points and status indicators, shall be used to preclude the bypassing of required inspections and tests. Any inadvertent use, installation or operation of items, services and processes which have not passed the required inspections and tests shall be prevented.

Safety Series No. 50-C/SG-Q (1996:140&141) further states that:

The responsible organisation shall ensure that procured items and services meet established requirements and perform as specified and that selected suppliers continue to provide acceptable items and services during the fulfilment of their procurement obligations.

Procurement activities shall conform to the regulatory requirements of the member state and as applicable to the provisions of recognised codes standards and specifications used in the design, manufacture, installation and operation of items and services.

The responsible organisation shall establish a procurement process within its QAP that meets the requirements of the code. The procurement process should require personnel carrying out procurement activities to:

Ensure that the information provided to suppliers is clear, concise and unambiguous, fully describes the items and services required and includes the technical and quality assurance requirements

Ensure, as a basis, for selection, that the supplier is capable of supplying the items and services as specified, including the continuation of any follow-on spare parts

Monitor suppliers to confirm that they continue to perform satisfactorily

Ensure that the items and services conform with the requirements of procurement documents and perform as expected

Ensure that, when required, documentary evidence of conformance is available at the NPP site before items and processes are installed or used

Specify the contact person for all procurement communications with the supplier

Ensure that interfaces between the responsible organisation and suppliers and between suppliers are defined to ensure that key dates are met.

In addition to this, it is paramount that nuclear safety be the fundamental consideration in the identification of the items, services and processes to which the QAP applies. A graded approach should be applied throughout the supply chain. The procurement requirements that could be graded are:

The requirements for supplier assessment, evaluation and qualification

The scope and level of detail of the procurement specification

The need and scope of supplier quality plans

The extent of responsible organisation inspection, surveillance, audit activities

The scope of documents to be submitted and approved and the records to be provided

The extent of records to be provided or stored and preserved.

Management should consider the potential benefits of establishing partnerships with suppliers to the organisation in order to create value for both parties. A partnership should be based on a joint strategy, sharing knowledge as well as gains and losses. When establishing partnerships, an organisation should:

identify key suppliers, and other organisations, as potential partners,

jointly establish a clear understanding of customers' needs and expectations,

jointly establish a clear understanding of the partners' needs and expectations,

set goals to secure opportunities for continuing partnerships. (ISO 9004:2000, 2000:8).

According to Kerzner (2006:804-826) the processes to acquire goods and services to attain project scope from outside the performing organisation consist of:

Procurement planning: Determine what to procure and by when;

Solicitation planning: Document product requirements and identifying potential sources;

Solicitation: Obtaining quotations, bids, offers or proposals as appropriate;

Source selection: Choosing from among potential sellers;

Contract administration: Managing the relationship with the seller or supplier;

Contract closeout: Completion and settlement of the contract, including resolution of any open item.

RD0034 (2008:23) is clear that the licensee must establish a supplier qualification process based on and graded according to an accepted safety and quality classification system of the product to be delivered by the supplier. It is also adamant that NNR involvement must be considered during the supplier qualification process for suppliers of nuclear safety important products. The licensee must therefore implement processes to ensure that the following information will be made available to the NNR as a minimum:

Structures Systems and Components (SSC) to be delivered or scope of work to be performed

Quality management documentation, facilities and production processes

Contractual agreements and the interface arrangements

Product related deliverables already provided by the supplier to the licensee and a list of those scheduled for future delivery shall be submitted

In terms of RD0034 (2008:23-24):

All suppliers of products important to nuclear safety must have a current quality management system appropriate to the scope of supply and must submit a product related Quality Manual (QM) issued by a certification or conformity assessment organisation, which is accepted by the NNR and the South African legal framework. The certificate/confirmation must contain a statement of the scope of application, which must be appropriate to the scope of supply and must be within its stated period of validity. Accreditation must be provided by a relevant organisation where it is required by the selected codes and standards.

suppliers must implement procedures to ensure that product specific requirements and any other requirements affecting the achievement of quality are clearly defined

the licensee must ensure that the qualification process for suppliers must include an evaluation of their ability to comply with the requirements of RD0034 and to perform the required tasks. The criteria for evaluation of a supplier must be based on product related requirements and, as a minimum, the following aspects must be evaluated:

Technical equipment

Qualification of personnel

QMS and certification

Internal and external surveillance

References and product related experience

the licensee must ensure that procedures are established within their own organisation or at the suppliers to ensure that purchased material, equipment and services, were purchased. These procedures must include appropriate provisions for source evaluation and selection. Objective evidence of quality must be available covering inspections at the supplier and at the supplier’s sources for accessory parts and examinations of materials, parts and equipment up to delivery.

it must be ensured by the licensee and its suppliers that materials, parts and equipment must not be used until documentary evidence is available confirming that they conform to the procurement documents.

it must be ensured by the licensee and its suppliers that materials, parts and equipment are inspected before use to identify any damage occurred during transport and to determine whether the delivered products conform to the procurement documents.

the licensee and its suppliers must ensure that documentary evidence is retained confirming that products conform to the design requirements specified in the procurement documents.

procurement documents for material, equipment and services must include or reference the procedures and/or standards required to be applied by the supplier

Contractor and vendor / supplier management

Lewis (1991:VI-3-6) states that contractual relationships (formal documents, purchase orders, informal agreements) must be established between participants to ensure a mutual understanding of the customers’ requirements and the ability to meet them. These contractual commitments need to be enforced by the project manager and the project team during implementation. Vendors and suppliers of parts, components, systems and materials are an integral part of the quality team. The hierarchy of project and first and second level vendors/suppliers is shown in Figure 2.6. The capability of the first level vendor/supplier to provide conforming materials and parts is dependent on the second level of supplier/vendor. Therefore they must be capable of determining whether they are meeting the requirements of the project. Subcontractors execute parts of the contract by providing materials, components, assemblies and integration services. This execution of the contract, although through a contractual document between the project and the subcontractor, must conform to the requirements the same as if the work was performed by project staff. Thus subcontractors must understand the requirements as defined in specifications to ensure that work is performed in a manner that provides confidence in the outcome. Subcontractors’ quality policies and procedures will often differ from the project corporate program; however, any differences should be resolved during the subcontractor selection process and negotiated to ensure they will be capable of performing at the required level. The contracts between the project and the subcontractors must flow down all the requirements of the project’s contract with the customer for an assigned portion of work. The project manager must ensure all requirements are included in the specification for the subcontractor.

Figure 2.6: The hierarchy of project and first and second level vendors/suppliers Lewis (1991:VI-3-6) – find this diagram

IAEA (2001:8) clarifies that when contractors are involved in making modifications, the professional competence, experience and qualifications of all personnel involved should be confirmed, and it should be ensured that the quality assurance system complies with the standards in effect at the plant with Pinkerton (2003:116-165) being of the opinion that vendor qualification begins during the pre-project planning stage and continues until the project team has determined which vendors will be selected to receive RFPs. During the qualification phase, the project team determines, among other things, the type vendor organisation (s) that best suit the scope of requirements of the project. Regardless of the type of vendor arrangement finally selected (prime contractor, turnkey etc.); the project manager still has the overall responsibility of completing the project successfully. Quality issues are to be defined in the bid specification as a part of the project’s scope. This requires that the project team determine and communicate quality standards and the kind of programme the contractor must have in place to ensure that these standards are achieved. Like all other project activities, procurement of equipment, materials and services must be planned in detail and executed with precision, not only to ensure that quality standards for procurement are accomplished, but also to ensure that late-arriving shipments do not impact the start-up date. Prospective vendors must identify their quality organisation and how they will maintain specified quality standards for engineering, purchasing, equipment fabrication, materials, receiving and storage, erection, testing and site installation. This specification should also contain provisions for quality hold points, third party inspections and release for shipment, shop field testing and non-destructive testing. Prospective vendors must demonstrate that they have the capability within their organisation to police and enforce a quality program. These programs need to be carefully scrutinised especially where the main contractor will be employing the services of sub-contractors to deliver some aspects of the project. This can be achieved by carefully reviewing the supplier’s quality document, reading the supplier’s procedures, surveying the supplier’s entire quality program and observing the supplier’s personnel list to see exactly who will actually be policing the quality of workmanship at each level.

Baily et.al. (2008:419, 420, 421) defines contract management as: "the activities of a buyer during a contract period to ensure that all parties to the contract fulfil their contractual obligations" An important aspect of this is thus managing the relationship between all parties in the most effective way to ensure the contract meets the optimum combination of cost, time and quality. They further demonstrate this by quoting The London Fire and Emergency Planning: "Once you sign a contract, you have three to five years to reap the benefits. If you don’t have continuity from procurement, then you don’t get those benefits…Potential savings, benefits and efficiencies are worked out and presented with satisfaction. But these are only really meaningful once the contract starts and the ‘real’ value is achieved. Contract management is important but is not always given the full attention it deserves. The simple solution is that:

buyers need to push suppliers for continuous improvement, something managers chiefly concerned with day to day running of the business fail to do.

Companies should ask themselves what they are doing to build up trust with the supplier and how they can build communication between all parties in the absence of effective contract management

Penalising contractors for minor slippages will result in poor relationships – it is better to help manage and improve the performance of the contract throughout its life

Procurement needs to be involved in contract management to a greater or lesser extent, depending on their organisational model and culture

Conclusion

"If we allow our imagination to project into an ideal future where such a culture would be universally implemented, the need for quality assurance standards would be minimised. The successive revisions of present standards would be consistently streamlining the contents, because fewer and fewer requirements would need to be established. The final goal in this ideal picture would be a future standard making all quality assurance requirements converge into just one single and unmistakable item. This could, for example, be plainly stated as "doing things right the first time and improving thereafter". This vision does not intend to suggest that quality assurance standards will cease to be needed, particularly in the field of nuclear safety. It only invites us to look ahead, with the intention of progressing towards the creation of a quality culture that integrates quality assurance requirements as an indivisible component of every work performance. This will allow simpler standards and will contribute to an improvement of the present situation where sometimes proliferating, overlapping and contradictory requirements, methods, and terminology impair the understanding and achievement of the quality objectives." Pieroni (1996:4/19).

Lewis (1991:VII-1) advances the arguments that quality only appeared to be significant when it is missing with gaps in quality as a consequence. This then causes projects to fail to meet the business need. The result of not delivering a quality project, even with meeting time, cost and other easy to measure factors, is a failed project. Lewis therefore concedes that while using benefits realisation as a primary success measure, the ultimate test of a quality project is when the right quality for the right scope was implemented successfully and this is far more important than easier to measure indicators.

Rose (2005:3-8) avows that failure can have devastating immediate and long-term consequences for both the project manager and the project organisation and in citing the book entitled "Quality is free" Phillip B. Crosby, makes the point that quality does not cost, it pays. In improving the quality of a process, the defects resulting from that process is reduced. So while the ‘new’ process turns out to be more expensive, it may also be less expensive as the reduction in defects pays back thousand times over. Therefore he concludes that if payback is more than cost, then quality is actually free. Cite properly "We don’t have time" is the response that condemns an organisation of poor quality where urgency prevails and shipping dates or field requirements rule. The reality is that we always have time; we just choose to not use it wisely. The old adage "there is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over" is not just a clever collection of words; it is the truth. Poor quality in products leads to rework, replacement, warranty charges, lost customers and loss of reputation. In the long run, quality saves time and much, much more.

Jha & Iyer (2006:1169) are of the opinion that the project manager’s competence, top management support and competence; interaction between project participants, owners’ competence, monitoring and feedback by project participants are the factors having positive contributions to achieving the desired quality level. On the other hand factors that have an adverse effect on quality performance of projects are, amongst others, conflict among project participants, ignorance and lack of knowledge, some project specific factors and aggressive competition at the tender stage adversely affect the quality performances of projects. A project manager’s competence is observed to be the most significant factor at almost all levels of the quality performance rating.

The value and significance of this research is nested in the fact that modifications and projects undertaken by the NPM should ultimately culminate in ‘customer satisfaction’ as opposed to ‘customer dissatisfaction’ with the main customer being the plant itself. That which the plant dictates is to be modified and implemented. The value in delivering a quality project leading to customer satisfaction has immeasurable value to the client, KNPS. For as long as the plant is healthy and taken care of, it will also take care of those operating and modifying it. Talk about future new build