Establishing construction - Corrective action program for new nuclear power plants under construction in KHNP

Effective identification and resolution of problems during all asset life cycle phases of nuclear plants, including project planning, design, procurement, construction, operation, and decommission, is one of essential keys to confirm nuclear safety and reliability. Existing e-CAP (electronic-Corrective Action Program) process of KHNP (Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co.) is implemented during operation phase of asset life cycle. However, KHNP's nuclear plants under construction have not used the comprehensive CAP process similar to e-CAP. During construction there are many high risk and complex activities being performed simultaneously and problems unidentified, unreported, and unevaluated can have a cascading effect during planning, design, manufacturing and construction for new nuclear power plants. Therefore, the CAP process is a critical step to assure nuclear plants are constructed in a quality manner. KHNP has developed its own C-CAP (Construction-CAP) for new nuclear power plants during construction with reference to NEI08-02 PI and R (Problem Identification and Resolution)1 and the e-CAP which was developed using INPO/WANO, NEI, and EPRI recommendations on corrective action. As a pilot, the C-CAP is being implemented in the construction of Shin-Kori units 3 and 4 (APR1400) nuclear plants. Using the results of the C-CAP demonstration, this pilot C-CAP process will be extended to the units in the planning stage and currently under construction. Furthermore, KHNP is considering how to link or transfer from C-CAP to e-CAP for confirming nuclear safety and reliability during the asset life cycle. C-CAP of new nuclear power plants during construction prevents similar problems from recurring through systematic root cause analysis and corrective action according to the significance and complexity of the conditions which have an adverse effect on quality. Early problem avoidance is essential considering the number of companies and organizations involved in a construction project. Also C-CAP provides a simple process for all employees by integrating several existing processes together. Especially, through the use of a systematic database which was established through the C-CAP process; all participants can share the information of DE (Design Experience), ME (Manufacture Experience), PE (Procurement Experience) and CE (Construction Experience). C-CAP promotes continuous improvement through organizational learning and provides direction on the resolution and documentation of undesirable conditions. C-CAP process is planned and implemented with a feedback loop at the beginning of new nuclear power plants during construction. Thereby, C-CAP approach can be applied to enhance human performance and industrial safety performance as well as to improve the quality of construction activities. This paper represents KHNP's C-CAP to share our lessons learned from developing the process and system and pilot implementation, and to encourage expert feedback' comments and suggestions to improve C-CAP. (authors)