ISO 9001 and ISO 14001: An integrated quality management system for an MTR facility: SAFARI-1 research reactor

Full text: The SAFARI-1 Research Reactor, which is owned and operated by NECSA, initially obtained ISO 9001 accreditation of its Quality Management System (QMS) via international affiliation from the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) during 1998 and re-certification according to ISO 9001 (2000) this year. With ever-increasing demands on nuclear facilities to demonstrate conformance to environmental policies, SAFARI-1 has now developed an Environmental Management System (EMS) that is compliant with ISO 14001 (1996) and is fully integrated with the SAFARI-1 QMS under the controlling implementation of ISO 9001 (2000). The dynamic involvement of SAFARI-1 in commercial applications demanded that any transition of the original QMS had to be done in a way that would ensure sustained delivery of a reliable service with continuous quality. At the same time the primary vision of operating a safe facility under an efficient financial management program was essential. The criteria established by the original ISO-9001 compliant QMS were appraised against the additional requirements of ISO 14001 and a suitable superstructure derived for generation and implementation of an inclusive ISO 14001 EMS. The transitional integration of this system was planned so as to produce a QMS suitable to quality, environmental and other management related issues for application to the fairly unique function of a nuclear research reactor. An amended Quality Policy was established, which with consensus of all concerned, now forms the basis of the integrated QMS against which the various requirements and/or standards were identified. In the case of SAFARI-1 the following requirements were adopted: ISO 9001 (2000): Quality Management Systems; ISO 14001 (1996) Environmental Management Systems; IAEA SS No. 50-C/SG-Q Quality Assurance for Safety in Nuclear Power Plants and Nuclear Installations; NL-27: Nuclear Licence (Incorporating SAFARI-1 at NECSA); RM-PRG-0100 NECSA Health, Safety and Environmental Program; RM-LIS-8001 NECSA Radiation Protection Program. In addition to the above, the SAFARI-1 QMS also incorporates the following aspects of facility management: Radiological Safety; Conventional Safety; Plant Maintenance and ISI; and Safeguard Requirements according to IAEA INF/CIRC 394 As was initially reported for the initiation of the QMS system (Lisbon Conference 1999), in order to ensure any level of success, the transition phase of a QMS should necessarily be managed as a topdown application exercise. Under the guidance of the Facility Manager and the head of the Quality Management group, the scheduled generation of the applicable procedures was completed by the management of the various divisions involved in SAFARI-1 applications; viz. Operations, Safety, Training, Maintenance, Engineering Support and Development and Reactor Utilisation according to a pre-determined action plan with defined responsibilities. (author)