Information Notice 1998-28, Development of Systematic Sample Plan for Operator Licensing Examinations

Development of Systematic Sample Plan for Operator Licensing Examinations

ML031050117
Person / Time
Site:	Beaver Valley, Millstone, Hatch, Monticello, Calvert Cliffs, Dresden, Davis Besse, Peach Bottom, Browns Ferry, Salem, Oconee, Mcguire, Nine Mile Point, Palisades, Palo Verde, Perry, Indian Point, Fermi, Kewaunee, Catawba, Harris, Wolf Creek, Saint Lucie, Point Beach, Oyster Creek, Watts Bar, Hope Creek, Grand Gulf, Cooper, Sequoyah, Byron, Pilgrim, Arkansas Nuclear, Three Mile Island, Braidwood, Susquehanna, Summer, Prairie Island, Columbia, Seabrook, Brunswick, Surry, Limerick, North Anna, Turkey Point, River Bend, Vermont Yankee, Crystal River, Haddam Neck, Ginna, Diablo Canyon, Callaway, Vogtle, Waterford, Duane Arnold, Farley, Robinson, Clinton, South Texas, San Onofre, Cook, Comanche Peak, Yankee Rowe, Maine Yankee, Quad Cities, Humboldt Bay, La Crosse, Big Rock Point, Rancho Seco, Zion, Midland, Bellefonte, Fort Calhoun, FitzPatrick, McGuire, LaSalle, Fort Saint Vrain, Shoreham, Satsop, Trojan, Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant
Issue date:	07/31/1998
From:	Roe J Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:
References
IN-98-028, NUDOCS 9807280071
Download: ML031050117 (6)

UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 July 31, 1998 NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 98-28: DEVELOPMENT OF SYSTEMATIC SAMPLE PLAN

FOR OPERATOR LICENSING EXAMINATIONS

Addressees

\

All holders of operating licenses for nuclear power plants.

Purpose

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commis\ion (NRC) Is issuing this Information notice to alert

addressees to concerns that NRC found while conducting Its licensed operator examination

program. It Is expected that recipients will review the Information for applicability to their

facilities and consider actions, as appropriate, to avoid similar problems. However, suggestions

contained in this Information notice are not NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or

written response Is required.

Background

Operator and senior operator license applicants are required by Part 55 of Title 10 of the Code

of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 55), Operators Licenses,' to pass a written examination

and an operating test that satisfy the basic content requirements specified in the regulation.

Although Part 55 does not specify who must prepare, administer, or grade these examinations, the NRC has traditionally performed those tasks Itself or through Its contract examiners.

On April 18, 1995, the Commission authorized the NRC staff to evaluate possible changes In

the operator licensing program that would allow power reactor facility licensees to prepare the

Initial licensing examinations for their own facilities and directed the NRC staff to carefully

consider experience gained from a pilot examination program before fully implementing the

changes. On August 15, 1995. the NRC outlined the revised examination process In Generic

Letter (GL) 95-06, 'Changes In the Operator Licensing Program,' and solicited volunteers to

participate In a pilot examination program to evaluate and refine the methodology. In a

supplement to GL 95-06, the NRC. on January 31, 1997, Informed facility licensees of the

results of the pilot examinations and the NRC's decision to continue the voluntary pilot program

pending the completion of a rulemaking that would require all facility licensees to develop their

own license examinations for the NRC's review and approval. The proposed rule was

published In the Federal Register (62 FR 42426) on August 7, 1997.

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IN 98-28 July 31, 1998 Under the revised examination process, the NRC expects facility licensees to prepare the

written examinations and the operating tests using the guidance provided by the NRC in

NUREG-1021, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors." The most

recent edition of NUREG-1021 is Interim Revision 8, published in January 1997.

NRC examiners are required to (1) review the examinations and tests to determine if they are

consistent with NRC standards, (2) direct facility licensees to make whatever changes are

necessary to achieve NRC standards If the submitted examinations and tests are found to be

deficient, and (3) approve the examinations and tests before they are administered.

Description of Circumstances

Section ES-401, "Preparing Initial Site-Specific Written Examinations," of Interim Revision 8 of

NUREG-1021 provides guidance for developing an examination outline, that Is,for selecting

those knowledges and abilities (K/As) that, upon approval by the NRC, will form the basis for

the 100 questions on the site-specific written examination. The K/As (i.e., topics) are selected

from NUREG-1 122, "Knowledge and Abilities Catalog for Nuclear Power Plant Operators:

Pressurized Water Reactors," or NUREG-1 123, "Knowledge and Abilities Catalog for Nuclear

Power Plant Operators: Boiling Water Reactors." To maintain consistency and objectivity, the

NRC expects that topics to be covered In the examination will be selected using a systematic

process for each examination, free of any bias or preselection.

The guidance In ES-401 was intended to convey that the topics are to be selected

in a systematic, unbiased manner. However, since beginning the voluntary pilot examination

program in October 1995, the NRC has identified several Instances in which written

examination sample plans have not been developed systematically. In one Instance, the NRC

concluded that the outline for a facility-developed examination was not systematically

developed because it was based only on topics having pre-existing test questions and facility

learning objectives. Therefore, the examination excluded topics that could have been selected

from NUREG-1 122 or NUREG-1 123. In another situation, the Individual sample plan used for

developing an NRC examination for one facility was Identical to a sample plan of another facility

operated by the same licensee. Applicants taking examinations who had prior knowledge about

the sample plan duplications may have an unfair advantage over other candidates taking the

tests.

The NRC will continue to review facility-developed examinations using the guidance In NUREG-

1021. Further, to ensure Industry-wide understanding of the NRC's expectations conceming

examination development using NUREG-1021, Including the concepts of sample plan

development, workshops have been and will continue to be held with industry.

IN 98-28 July 31, 1998 This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If you have any

questions about the information in this notice, please contact one of the technical contacts listed

below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

orig /s/'d by

Jack W. Roe, Acting Director

Division of Reactor Program Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts: George M. Usova, NRR Melvyn N. Leach, Rill

301- 415-1064 630-829-9705 E-mail: gmuenrc.gov E-mail: mnl@nrcgov

Richard J. Conte, RI John L. Pellet, RIV

610-337-5183 817460-8159 E-mail: iic@nrc.gov E-mail: jlp@nrc.gov

Thomas A. Peebles, RII

404-562-4638 E-mail: tap@nrc.gov

Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

DOCUMENT NAME: G:WAB1W1A0311.FIN

To receive a copy of this document, Indicate In the box: "C" = Copy without

attachmenVenclosure "E"= Copy with attachmenVenclosure "N" = No copy

OFFICE PECB/DRPM IC TECH/ED N HOLB/DRCH LHOLBIDRCH E DIRIDRCH L

NAME RBenedict* BCalure* GUsova* RGaIlo* RSpessard*

DATE 17/8/98 7/ 7798 7115/98 7115198 7/15198 OFFICE PECB/DRPM I I PECBIDRPM I I(A)D:DRPM, 1ii II

NAME RDennig* JStolz 1JRoe*

DATE 7/16/98 7/21/98 l 7/24J98 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

Attachment

IN 98-28 July 31, 1998 Page 1 of I

LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED

NRC INFORMATION NOTICES

Information Date of

Notice No. Subject Issuance Issued to

98-27 Steam Generator Tube End 7/24/98 All holders of operating licenses

Crackdng for pressurized-water reactors

except those who have

permanently ceased operation

and have certified that fuel has

been permanently removed from

the reactor vessel

96-48, Sup. 1 Motor-Operated Valve 7/24/98 All holders of operating licenses

Performance Issues for nuclear power reactors except

those who have permanently

ceased operation and have

certified that fuel has been

permanently removed from the

reactor vessel.

98-26 Settlement Monitoring and 7/24/98 All holders of operating licenses

Inspection of Plant Structures for nuclear power reactors; all

affected by Degradation of Porous of or applicants for licenses to

Concrete Subfoundations operate Independent Spent Fuel

Storage Installations; and

designers and fabricators of

Independent Spent Fuel Storage

Installations.

98-25 Loss of Inventory from Safety- 7/08/98 All holders of OLs for nuclear

Related, Closed-Loop Cooling power reactors; except those

Water Systems licensees who have permanently

ceased operations and have

certified that fuel has been

permanently removed from the

reactor vessel.

OL = Operating License

CP = Construction Permit

- 2--"IN 98-28 July 31, 1998 This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If you have any

questions about the information in this notice, please contact one of the technical contacts listed

below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

ang /s/'d ty

Jack W. Roe, Acting Director

Division of Reactor Program Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts: George M. Usova, NRR Melvyn N. Leach, Rill

301- 415-1064 630-829-9705 E-mail: gmu@nrc.gov E-mail: mnl@nrc.gov

Richard J. Conte, RI John L. Pellet, RIV

610-337-5183 817-860-8159 E-mail: rjc@nrc.gov E-mail: jlp@nrc.gov

Thomas A. Peebles, RII

404-562-4638 E-mail: tap@nrc.gov

Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

DOCUMENT NAME: G:ARABIWMA03111.FIN

To receive a copy of this document, Indicate In the box: "C"= Copy without

= hm"ntlenclonrire F" = COny with attachment/enclosure 'N" = No cope

OFFICE PECB/DRP TECH/ED HOLB/DRCH HOLB/DRCH I EDIR/DRCH L_

NAME RBenedict* BCalure* GUsova* RGallo* RSpessard*

DATE 17/8/98 717198 7115198 7115/98 7/15198 OFFICE PECB/DRPM I I PECB/DRPM I I (A)D:DRPK lId 1l

NAME RDennig* -JSto lz* IJRoe* _Vl

DATE 716198 A7121198 7/2419898 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

(

v

IN 98-XX

July xx, I

Page f )

This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If you have any

questions about the information in this notice, please contact one of the technical contacts listed

below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

Jack W. Roe, Acting Director

Division of Reactor Program Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts: George M. Usova, NRR Melvyn N. Leach, Rill

301-415-1064 630-829-9705 E-mail: gmu@nrc.gov E-mail: mnlenrc.gov

Richard J. Conte, RI John L. Pellet, RIV

610-337-5183 817-860-8159 E-mail: dc@nrc.gov E-mail: jlpenrc.gov

Thomas A. Peebles, RII

404-562-4638 E-mail: tap@nrc.gov

Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

DOCUMENT NAME: G:\RABIMA0311.FIN

To receive a copy of this document, Indicate In the box: "C" = Copy without

-

attachment/enclosure "E" = Copy with attachment/enclosure "N" = No copv A

OFFICE PECB/DRPM , r1 TECH/ED N HOLB/DRCH vIP HL~jpCH E DI

NAME RBenedict M7Z/MB. Calure &Gsova -7, 1RXat -RA sard

DATE 7/f/98 7 //7 717198 1 198 l 7 /98 a98 l2 OFFICE PECB/DfI .. " PEOQ/DRPM L_ (A)DJPqJ" II

NAME Rlenn_( IJStolz1_, -- o e I 4 z~lo

DATE 1 l} <98 1 ) Arid

GFtFJ1AL RECORD COPY M