Regulatory inspection of the implementation of quality assurance programmes

This manual provides guidance to Member States in the organization and performance of their regulatory inspection functions regarding the implementation of nuclear power plant quality assurance programmes. It addresses the interface between, and is consistent with, the IAEA Nuclear Safety Standards (NUSS programme) documents on quality assurance and governmental organization. The manual offers a practical model and examples for performing regulatory inspections to ensure that the quality assurance programme is operating satisfactorily in the siting, design, manufacturing, construction, commissioning, operation and decommissioning of nuclear power plants. The primary objective is to confirm that the licensee has the capability to manage and control the effective performance of all quality assurance responsibilities during all phases of a nuclear power project. The guidance provided through this manual for proper establishment and execution of the regulatory inspections helps to enforce the effective implementation of the quality assurance programme as a management control system that the nuclear industry should establish and use in attaining the safety and reliability objectives for nuclear installations. This enforcement action by national regulatory bodies and the emphasis on the purposes and advantages of quality assurance as an important management tool integrated within the total project task have been recommended by the IAEA International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG). The primary intended users of this manual are the management personnel and high level staff from regulatory bodies but it will also be helpful to management personnel from nuclear utilities and vendors. They all are inevitable partners in a nuclear power project and this document offers all of them valuable information on the better accomplishment of quality assurance activities to ensure the common objective of safe and reliable nuclear power production