Organization and Responsibilities of

Internal/External TSO

International Conference on

Challenges Faced by TSOs in Enhancing Nuclear Safety and Security

Beijing, 29 October, 2014

N. Kilic

IAEA-NE

Content

I. IAEA ACTIVITY

II. EXAMPLES FROM IAEA

GUIDANCE

III. LESSONS LEARNED/OPEX

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I. IAEA ACTIVITY

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Technical Support

An effective TECHNICAL SUPPORT is essential to operate

safely and efficiently:

• Ensure that the plant design and operation meets the acceptance criteria for

safety, reliability and quality in accordance with relevant codes and standards,

laws and regulations;

• Support with technical expertise to maintain and improve safe and efficient

operation and performance;

• Identify and resolve any design and performance issue of SSCs and program

and procedures that support safe and reliable operation;

• Make effective changes with full knowledge of the technical basis and design

and license intent and philosophy;

• Liaise with the stakeholders in charge of overseeing the facility design and

operation in a controlled and informed manner.

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Definition of TSO

TSO is an organization with the mission of

technical support (TS) to assist in the

achievement of performance objectives* of the

nuclear power plants

* Safety + Quality + Reliability + Availability + Efficiency

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TS and Interfaces

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Owner/Operating Organization

TSO

Regulatory Body

TSO

R&D

Consultants

Contractors

Consultants

R&D

A/E

NSSS Vendor

Supplier

NS (GSG-4) & NE (TECDOC-1078 )

TSO

TSO

TSO

TSO

TSO

Licensing Operations

Procurement

Licensing Regulation

Inspection

Design

Assessment

TSO TSO

TSO

TS Resource and Placement

TSO can be internal or external entity

The internal TSO has to interface with internal

entities

The internal TSO has to interface with external

TSO(s)

The internal TSO has to interface with external

entities on behalf of the body

The external TSO(s) has to interface with the

internal TSO and other external entities with or on

behalf of the body

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IAEA on TS Roles and Responsibilities

• IAEA TECDOC-1078 was published in 1999

• In response to recognition that the technical support (TS)

function at some NPPs is sometimes not clearly

understood or adequately addressed, and as the result,

some NPPs have experienced significant performance

problems.

• Targeted NPP management

• Guided establishing mainly an effective internal TSO

• Did not address the detailed external TSO competencies

and interfaces

• Focused on the NPP Operation stage

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Typical Utilization of TS to Owner/Operator

during the NPP Lifetime

Pre-

project

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External TSO Internal TSO

Design Construction

And

Commissioning

Operation Decommissioning

Changes over a decade (2000 – 2012)

• New NPPs

• Constructions

• Life Extensions

• Power Uprates

• Heavy Equipment

Replacements

• Additional Operating

Experience

• Decommissions

• Fukushima Accident

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Need for a More Comprehensive Guidance

• Both for Newcomers and Established NPPs

• For the Entire NPP lifetime (Pre-Design ->

Decommissioning)

• One-time -> Daily Activities (e.g. PUR, Reload, Test)

• Both internal or external activities (Deliverables,

Interfaces)

An NES Document is selected

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Technical Support WITH and FOR:

Safety + Quality + Reliability

Effectiveness + Efficiency

Functions and Competencies

DPP XXX & GSG-4 NES

Owner/Operating Organization

TSO

Regulatory Body

TSO

Safe, Sound and Effective:

•Operation

•Design Assessment

•Quality, Reliability, and Efficiency

provisions

•Operational Decision

•Facility/Program Maintenance

•Emergency Actions

•Application of Lessons Learned

•R&D for safety and efficiency

improvements ….

Safe, Sound and Effective:

•Regulation

•Safety Assessment

•Quality and Reliability provisions

•Licensing Decision

•Facility/Program Inspections

•Emergency Response

•Application of Lessons Learned

•R&D for safety improvements

•…

IAEA NES (Nuclear Energy Series) Documents

• HOW TO guidance

• Provide advice for those either planning or

implementing nuclear activities

• Target audience includes owners and operators of

utilities, implementing organizations, academia and

government officials in Member States, among others

• Based on Best Practices in the MS

• Building on expertise in MS as represented by their

nominees

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II. EXAMPLES FROM THE GUIDANCE

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Why Internal TS? (Ex. Operating Organization)

• Effective technical support is essential to optimize the safe

operation of NPP and to maximize its availability and productivity

• Maintaining the safe operation expected of a plant requires that

the design, configuration, and operation activities are prepared,

verified and validated, implemented, and controlled via a

structured process by competent staff

• As the bearer of full responsibility for safe design, construction,

maintenance, and operation and the upholder of reliable and

efficient performance of their NPP, the Operating Organization

has a need to establish, maintain, and improve technical

knowledge of their facility

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Core Functions of the Internal TSO

• Daily oversight of operations including operational and

facility documentation and recommendations

• Operability determination and operability evaluation

• SSCs performance and health monitoring

• Operation, maintenance, and procedure input

• Plant physical and administrative modification support

• Maintaining mid to long-term focus on technical aspects of

operations

• Multi-disciplinary and specific technical know-how

• Effective control of plant design and configuration

• Expert support of non-routine activities

• Abnormal and Emergency operation support

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Organizing an Internal TSO

Three basic organizational patterns are practiced:

CENTRALIZED

MATRIXED

PERMEATED

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Choice of internal TSO

organizational pattern depends on

management style, corporate

strategy and tradition as well as

the task, schedule, and resources.

CENTRALIZED INTERNAL TSO

(Operating Organization Example)

• TS is centralized in a single

division, e.g. Engineering

Organization, with designated

departments/sections

providing long-term services to

the various areas of the plant,

i.e. chemistry control,

mechanical maintenance,

reactor safety, etc.

• The head of the organization is

responsible for performance

and accomplishment of

objectives of TS and reports to

the plant manager or CNO.

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Design

Engineering

Director

Mechanical

Engineering

Department

Electrical

and

I&C Engineering

Department

Civil

Engineering

Department

Stress Analysis

Department

Engineering

Programs

Department

Engineering

Vice President

FUEL

MANAGEMENT

Director

PLANT

ENGINEERING

Director

DESIGN

ENGINEERING

Director

SPECIAL

PROJECTS

Director

MATERIALS

ENGINEERING

Director

Mechanical

Engineering

Department

Primary

SSCs

Section

Secondary

SSCs

Section Configuration

Management

Section

MATRIXED INTERNAL TSO

(Ex. Operating Organization)

• TS is headed by a manager and

his team members are drawn

from different vertically oriented,

specialized units.

• Personnel are selected from the

specialized units and formed

into teams as needed to

address plant problems.

• The teams are dissolved once

the project is completed (or

issue is solved.)

• The head of the organization is

responsible for achieving the TS

performance and objectives and

reports to the plant manager or

CNO.

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PROJECT

Director

OVERSIGHT IMPLEMENTATION DESIGN

Operations

Operators

Training Instructors

Radiation Protection

Chemistry

Fuel Management

Safety Analyst(s)

Reactor Engineer(s)

Design Engineering

Mechanical

Civil

Electrical

I&C

Plant Engineering

ISI/NDE

System Engineer(s)

Maintenance Engineer(s)

PLiM

Program Support

Planner(s)

Quality Control

Foreign Material

PERMEATED INTERNAL TSO

(Ex. Operating Organization)

• TS staff is assigned

directly to the

departments they are

supporting, e.g.

maintenance, operations,

procurement, etc. TS are

therefore decentralized.

• Each organization head

is responsible for the TS

performance and

objectives and reports to

the plant manager.

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Maintenance

Department

Mechanical

Maintenance

Engineer

Electrical

Maintenance

Engineer

I&C

Maintenance

Engineer

Structure

Maintenance

Engineer

Materials

Engineer

Procurement

Department

Mechanical

Procurement

Engineer

Electrical and I&C

Procurement

Engineer

Operations

Department

Reactor Engineer Radiological

Engineer

Chemical

Engineer

Advantages of TSO Organization Patterns

MATRIXED:

TS staff are closer to the "customer"

and can therefore provide more

focused support

There is more focused interface

resulting in effective communication

and therefore better implementation of

technical recommendations

Support is more specialized and can

therefore be more effective.

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•CENTRALIZED:

Staff is closer to each other,

familiar with area

responsibilities, and personal

capabilities and competencies;

There is a consistent standard

applied to all staff with

correspondingly consistent set

of expectations and training

In case of need, overall plant

priorities can be addressed by

concentrating personnel on the

big problem at hand

Staff are focused on and

dedicated to technical issues.

Why External TS?

• Expertise beyond the capability of internal TSOs

• Core technology issues that may be best handled by the

technology holder

• Technology ownership, special skills, tools, methods

• One-of-a-kind, one-time activities

• High-risk, high-consequences activities

• R&D investment (financial, human, and facility resource)

need in the operation budget

• Legislative compliance

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Clear Need and Purpose for External TS

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• Why do you want an external TSO?

• Need expertise?

• Need cost savings?

• Need flexibility?

• Task not in core business?

• Work is simple / been done before / repetitive?

• Temporary increase in workload?

• Gain knowledge from TSO?

Competencies of the External TSO

• Knowing the task • functional, performance, administrative requirements,

• safety goals and safety principles,

• applicable codes, standards and regulatory requirements,

• conditions, services, interface requirements,

• processes and procedures.

• Understanding of the TS scope need and background.

• Understanding the input and assumptions for TS.

• Having and maintaining the tools, expertise and competency

necessary for the TS needed

• Performing TS with applicable quality, accuracy, ownership,

and meeting target schedule and budget set

• Being ready to support in interaction with other entities

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External TSO Utilization

• Evaluations to employ an external TSO

• TSO identification and selection (quality,

competency, durability, availability)

• Being an intelligent customer

• Oversight: review, evaluation and use of the

work performed by TSO

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Why not an external TSO?

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• May cost more if work is long term (overheads /

admin costs of managing contract)

• Less control over staff decisions / priorities

• TSO may not be a dedicated to developing staff

• TSO might decide to leave / not do business

(i.e. increased risk)

Selection of TSOs – Tools used

• Documenting Drivers / Preparing Specification

• Contracting

• Technical Bid Evaluation

• Economic Bid Evaluation

• Negotiation

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III. OPERATING EXPERIENCE/LESSONS

LEARNED

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TSO Challenges

• TSO Independence

• TSO Effectiveness

• Maintaining Technical Knowledge and

Competencies

• Ownership and Authority

• Questioning Attitude

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Good Practices

• Decide and Organize based on the “needs” and “means”

• Not “tasks for organizations”, but “organizations for tasks”

• Setup clear scopes of each organization

• No overlap of scope

• No shared responsibility, no shared authority

• Setup formal interfaces

• Interface and Baseline Parameter Documents

• Milestones for Data Request and Transmittal

• Single Point of Contact

• Be a knowledgeable employer and customer

• Know what you ask, understand and verify what you get

• Review and Adjust

• If it is not working, fix it. If it is working, improve it

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Thank you for your participation and

contributions

for the safe and peaceful use of nuclear energy