Report on nuclear industry quality assurance procedures for safety analysis computer code development and use

As a result of a request from Commissioner V. Gilinsky to investigate in detail the causes of an error discovered in a vendor Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) computer code in March, 1978, the staff undertook an extensive investigation of the vendor quality assurance practices applied to safety analysis computer code development and use. This investigation included inspections of code development and use practices of the four major Light Water Reactor Nuclear Steam Supply System vendors and a major reload fuel supplier. The conclusion reached by the staff as a result of the investigation is that vendor practices for code development and use are basically sound. A number of areas were identified, however, where improvements to existing vendor procedures should be made. In addition, the investigation also addressed the quality assurance (QA) review and inspection process for computer codes and identified areas for improvement