Quality surveillance at Duke Power operating nuclear stations

The Duke Power quality assurance (QA) program originally had three levels of QA audits that reported results to different levels of management and in different time frames. It soon became obvious that although problems were being identified, considerable confusion was being created by reporting them to different levels. Additionally, it was recognized that all audits were dealing in history: events that had already occurred and therefore could not be averted. What was needed was a problem identification system focused on current activities. The Duke quality surveillance program was created by dropping the first level of audits and replacing it with an on-the-scene review system to identify current problems. The quality surveillance program is a success and will be even more so after surveillance personnel acquire additional technical expertise. To that end, a training program has been initiated that will stop just short of operator licensing in the operations area and will also include other areas such as health physics and chemistry