Standardizing the International nuclear Community: Lessons learnt from the Aerospace Industry by The "E" Generation

Standardizing the International Nuclear Community: Lessons learnt from the Aerospace Industry In-depth analysis evaluating the WNA’s efforts to standardize quality management processes using the Aerospace industry’s successful model pioneered by the Performance Review Institute (PRI) and SAE International. By Jamie Davies With contributions from:

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Standardizing the International Nuclear Community: Lessons learnt from the Aerospace Industry Introduction: When considering the challenges of the nuclear industry, there are a few areas which spring to mind immediately:

• Dated equipment and processes • Recruitment for future generations • Counterfeit components • Extreme Environmental Events (EEE’s) But how many people would consider the discrepancies between companies, regulatory authorities and nations in quality management? The fact that there are a number of different quality standards throughout the nuclear community is a very confusing and costly challenge. As a supplier, to meet the standards for several different regions can be an expensive exercise and in some cases would prevent expansion into new territories. This will also have a knock on effect to the nuclear utilities, as a smaller supplier base leads to reduced competition and increased costs. In response, the WNA has recently been working with the Performance Review Institute (PRI) and SAE International to counter this challenge.

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SAE International is a globally active professional association and standards organization for engineering professionals in various industries, most notably for this case, the Aerospace Industry. Like nuclear, the Aerospace industry previously had a number of different quality assurance standards, and although there discrepancies were not vast, it was enough to be considered more than just a nuisance. In partnership with the PRI, Nadcap was developed. Nadcap is a cooperative industry effort to improve quality, while reducing costs, for quality assurance throughout the aerospace and defense industries worldwide. To date this program has been deemed a vast success. Learning from the PRI and the SAE, the WNA hopes to build a standardization program to ensure a quality management model, leading to a more efficient nuclear community. In this report, the WNA’s Greg Kaser, PRI’s Seema Martin and SAE International’s Ed Manns discuss the development of such a quality management program for the nuclear industry.

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Standardizing the International Nuclear Community: Lessons learnt from the Aerospace Industry Greg Kaser Senior Project Manager WNA Can you briefly explain the project which you are currently working on with the Performance Review Institute (PRI) and SAE International? What are the drivers behind this Internationalization project? WNA is looking at whether lessons can be learnt from other industries in terms of quality control. The aerospace sector shares several attributes with the nuclear industry: rigorous safety regulation, high reliability of equipment and components, global presence where an incident can resonate worldwide. SAE International and PRI support an industry-managed global quality control system for aerospace. Other industries, such as rail transportation and medical instrumentation are also interested in what has been achieved in aerospace. Key nuclear technology vendors see an opportunity to put in place an internationally consistent, common core of quality management standards and process guidance that offers suppliers greater clarity and more efficient certification and oversight. We are looking at issues such as product realization and conformity acceptance procedures, the grading of safety significant items, and the designation of critical manufacturing processes, performance metrics, knowledge management and supplier education. In parallel there is an initiative by the Nuclear Quality Standard Association to develop a nuclear quality management standard that builds on the widely adopted ISO 9001 standard. WNA is also involved with this development. 5th Annual Nuclear Supply Chain Conference, Charlotte, North Carolina Evaluate cost-reduction strategies to streamline your supply chain operations for the global marketplace Expert speakers from Exelon, Luminant, FirstEnergy, Eskom, PSEG and NRC , as well as over 150 over the world’s leading supply chain professionals in attendance May 5-6, Hilton Charlotte City Centre www.nuclearenergyinsider.com/ nuclear-supply-chain-conference

Have you outlined any end objectives yet? The objective of WNA’s work on vendor oversight and control of suppliers (VOCS) is to gain on consensus around an industry-driven quality management system that leads to fewer non-conformances, reduced re-work and a stronger focus on product realization. How much have you learnt from the CORDEL Working Group? Are there any points which you would like to communicate to the industry at the moment? WNA’s CORDEL Working Group on licensing and the Supply Chain Working Group share a common philosophy that the harmonization of codes and standards will generate benefits for the nuclear industry. Through these working groups WNA is analysing the degree to which regulatory requirements may be aligned for licensing and permitting, is reviewing the processes used by vendors for quality management and supplier oversight, and documenting good practice to help the standards development organizations promote the convergence of standards and suppliers to receive clear requirements and guidance on how to meet the standards. At this time our work is on-going and WNA welcomes participation from companies in the civil nuclear industry in its working groups. Information on how to contact WNA can be found on the website: wwwworld-nuclear.org. www.nuclearenergyinsider.com

Standardizing the International Nuclear Community: Lessons learnt from the Aerospace Industry Seema Martin Director, European Operations and Marketing Solutions Performance Review Institute (PRI) Ed Manns Manager, Aerospace Standards SAE International Can you briefly explain the role of the PRI and SAE in developing an Internationalization program? The differences in the two organizations are that of scope: the SAE takes a much more overarching approach, whereas the PRI is much more specific. SAE-facilitates IAQG general QMS system based upon site of AS9100 standards (aerospecific to ISO9001). Nadcap/PRI is a more specific, “deeper dive” into special process (ie. heat treat). AS9100 certification is a base requirement for a Nadcap approval for a special process. It is important to remember that Nadcap and AS9100 suite of standards/certification scheme are two separate programs (AS9100 = general; Nadcap = specific). How was this rolled out within the Aerospace industry?

Nadcap is an unprecedented cooperative industry effort to improve quality, while reducing costs, for quality assurance throughout the aerospace and defence industries worldwide. Nadcap is a global industry-managed approach to conformity assessment that brings together technical experts from both Industry and Government to establish requirements for accreditation, accredit Suppliers and define operational program requirements. This results in a standardized approach to quality assurance and a reduction in redundant auditing throughout the aerospace industry because Prime contractors, Suppliers and Government representatives have joined forces to develop a program that:

• Establishes stringent industry consensus standards that satisfy the requirements of all participants • Replaces routine auditing of suppliers with one approved through a consensus decision-making process of members from the user community • Conducts more in-depth, technically superior special process audits • Improves supplier quality throughout industry through stringent requirements • Reduces costs through improved standardization • Utilizes technically expert auditors to assure process familiarity • Provides more frequent audits for Primes, fewer audits for Suppliers www.nuclearenergyinsider.com

Standardizing the International Nuclear Community: Lessons learnt from the Aerospace Industry Prior to Nadcap, aerospace companies audited their own Suppliers to their own process requirements to verify compliance. As the processes the Suppliers were providing to their customers were often similar or identical, the customer requirements were comparable. Consequently, these duplicate audits were redundant and simply added to everyone’s workload, without adding value. For the aerospace Prime contractors, conducting their own audits similarly meant duplication of effort, redundant audits, unnecessary administration and, ultimately, higher cost for no added value. Then, in November 1989, a US Government/Industry Equal Partners Conference recommended a consensus solution to the duplication of Supplier process control system audits and in July 1985, the Performance Review Institute was incorporated to administer the Nadcap program. The Nadcap audit and accreditation process has been designed to benefit from industry input at critical points, while minimizing customer workload where possible. Ultimately, industry representatives make all the key decisions regarding which processes require audits and which Suppliers receive Nadcap accreditation. They are supported in this work by the Performance Review Institute staff and contractors, who are based in multiple time zones and have multi-lingual capabilities. Why do you think Aerospace lends itself so when to the nuclear industry? What similarities are there which makes it an effective model to follow?

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The Performance Review Institute (not for profit organization that administers Nadcap) is a global provider of customer-focused solutions designed to improve process and product quality by adding value, reducing total cost and promoting collaboration among stakeholders in industries where safety and quality are shared goals.

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Both aerospace and nuclear are industries where safety and quality are shared goals. This is because they are both critical industries where the probability of incidents may be low, but the potential impact is significant. As a result, regulation is stringent and compliance is not an option.

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In addition, the public has a generic perception of the industry as a whole and has little interest in the different companies involved. So, when something like Fukushima happens, or an aeroplane crashes, people feel only that nuclear energy is unsafe or that flying is dangerous. This has an impact on the industry as a whole as the social, political and economic effect takes its toll on current and future support.

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This contrasts with industries such as automotive where, if one car manufacturer gains a bad reputation, the others may see a benefit. Although there is obviously competition in every industry, those where safety and quality are shared goals recognize the benefits of working together, with respect for anti-trust legislation, to ensure that end user safety is paramount and the governing bodies – such as the FAA in aerospace – need for supply chain oversight is satisfied.

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Standardizing the International Nuclear Community: Lessons learnt from the Aerospace Industry Finally, both aerospace and nuclear involve special processes; those where the parameters are directly influenced by component geometry and/or the results cannot be confirmed by inspection, such as non-destructive testing, plating, heat treating and welding. What were the main challenges which were faced when launching the Internationalization program? In short, there were four main challenges which we faced: 1. Gaining consensus, and the additional time to make decisions that way 2. Achieving regulatory authority approval and legal compliance (anti-trust, ITAR/ EAR, handling of proprietary information) 3. Establishing a global program requires the facility for multiple languages, multiple time zones, cultural understanding etc irrespective of the industry 4. Ensuring the availability of industry participants for meetings, conference calls etc due to different time zones What roadblocks do you foresee in the nuclear industry? 1. It’s a very nationalized industry compared to aerospace with local supply chains set up – aerospace was already quite an international industry 5th Annual Nuclear Supply Chain Conference, Charlotte, North Carolina Evaluate cost-reduction strategies to streamline your supply chain operations for the global marketplace

2. There is no pre-existing industry-wide quality system in place – aerospace already had AS/EN/JISQ 9100 as a global standard 3. There is limited understanding of the value and benefits of this type of program among nuclear industry stakeholders How did you measure success for the program within the Aerospace industry?

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There are a number of measures, some of which came later as the program matured. Initially, factors such as:

• Number of subscribers to the program • Number of audits • Number of accreditations

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Standardizing the International Nuclear Community: Lessons learnt from the Aerospace Industry Now, although those elements are still monitored, there are also aspects such as:

• Number of major and minor non-conformances per audit • Auditor retention rate • Time between audit and accreditation Is there any general advice which you would offer to nuclear suppliers ahead of the initiative?

• Participate in the development of the program – gain voting status • Attend relevant training • Ask lots of questions

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Standardizing the International Nuclear Community: Lessons learnt from the Aerospace Industry Conclusion: In both industries, efficiency is paramount, though some would argue to a much more significant degree within Nuclear. Discrepancies within quality management programs throughout the international community could be considered to place as much of a danger as fraudulent materials and counterfeit components. Bearing this in mind, the program set forward by the WNA, PRI and SAE should be considered a major stride forward in enhancing the efficiencies of the nuclear industry. Whilst this is an initiative which is very much in its early days, there are other programs within the WNA which can be benchmarked against. Take for example the CORDEL Working Group, chaired currently by GE Senior Vice President Jerry Head. This group has made immense progress since its conception, with the ultimate aim of standardizing all reactor design throughout the nuclear community. The standardization program has been deemed vastly successful within the Aerospace industry, and lessons learnt here could ease the growing pains within Nuclear. That said, co-operation from the entire community is an absolute necessity to ensure success. The WNA, PRI and SAE will be offering a more in-depth view of the program at the 5th Annual Nuclear Supply Chain Conference (5-6 May, Charlotte).

5th Annual Nuclear Supply Chain Conference, Charlotte, North Carolina Evaluate cost-reduction strategies to streamline your supply chain operations for the global marketplace Expert speakers from Exelon, Luminant, FirstEnergy, Eskom, PSEG and NRC , as well as over 150 over the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading supply chain professionals in attendance

Also at the event, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have the opportunity to benefit from the expertise of the DOE, NRC, INPO, Entergy, Exelon, FirstEnergy, PSEG, Eskom and SCANA. For additional information on the topics being discussed at the 5th Annual Nuclear Supply Chain Conference, please visit http://www.nuclearenergyinsider.com/nuclear-supply-chainconference. Plus with this report you can get an exclusive $50 discount on your pass, simply by going to https://secure.nuclearenergyinsider.com/nuclear-supply-chain-conference/ register.php and entering the discount code: REPORT514 Jamie Davies jdavies@nuclearenergyinsider.com

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