ML17157B120
| ML17157B120 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Susquehanna  |
| Issue date: | 03/17/1992 |
| From: | Conte R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Keiser H PENNSYLVANIA POWER & LIGHT CO. |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9203300123 | |
| Download: ML17157B120 (16) | |
Text
Docket Nos.
50-387 50-388 JAR 1 / 1992 Mr. Harold W. Keiser Senior Vice President - Nuclear Pennsylvania Power &Light Company 2 North Ninth Street Allentown, Pennsylvania 18101
Dear Mr. Keiser:
SUBJECT:
SENIOR REACTOR OPERATOR LICENSING EPMMINATIONSAND REQUALIFICATIONRETAKE EXAMINATION In a telephone conversation between Mr. A. Fitch, Nuclear Operations Training Supervisor, Mr. B. Stitt, Initial Operator Training Supervisor, and Mr. D. Florek, Senior Operations Engineer, arrangements were made for the administration of licensing examinations at the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station.
The initial license examinations and the requalification retake examinations are scheduled for the week of July 6, 1992.
To meet the above examination dates, it willbe necessary for you to furnish the reference material listed in Enclosure 1, "Reference Material Requirements" by April 6, 1992.
The administrative procedures can be furnished by April27, 1992.
Any delay in receiving approved, properly bound and indexed reference material, or the submittal of inadequate or incomplete reference material may result in the examinations being rescheduled.
NRC reserves the right to postpone NRC administered requalification examinations ifthe facility generated materials are inadequate for examination preparation.
Mr. Stitt has been advised of our reference material requirements, and the address where each set is to be mailed.
You are responsible for providing adequate space and accommodations for administration of the written examinations., "Requirements for Administration of Examinations,"
describes our requirements for conducting these examinations.
The facility management is responsible for ensuring that all applicants are aware of these rules.
OFFICIALRECORD COPY - K:DFSUS76 3/6/92 9203300123 920317 PDR ADOCK 05000387 V
> ~
Mr. Harold W. Keiser contains the Rules and Guidelines that willbe in effect during the administration of the written examinations.
The facility management is responsible for ensuring that all applicants are aware of these rules.
The requalification retake examinations willbe performed in accordance with Sections 601 through 604 ofNUIT 1021, Operator Licensing Examiner Standards, Revision 6.
You are encouraged to ensure that your training staff and proposed examinees are familiar with these standards.
You are requested to designate at least one employee to be a member of a joint NRC-facility requalification examination team.
The employee shall be an active SRO (per the requirements of 10 CFR 55.53(e) or (f)) from the Susquehanna Operations Department.
You are encouraged to designate a second employee from the training staff to be a member of the requalification examination team.
This employee should be an active SRO (per the requirements of 10 CFR 55.53(e) or (f)), but may be a facility or INPO certified instructor.
Ifdesired and agreed to by the Chief Examiner, you may designate one additional employee from the training staff with appropriate qualifications to be a member of the examination team.
In addition to these individuals, a simulator operator must be made available for scenario preview and validation during the on-site examination preparation week.
In some cases, it may be necessary to designate a simulator operator during the test item review period.
This individual willalso be subject to the examination security agreement.
The Chief Examiner has requested that the facility submit a proposed requalification examination (simulator scenarios) for use during the requalification examination week in addition to the reference material requirements of Enclosure 1.
Submission of a proposed examination is optional.
However, ifa proposed examination is submitted, those personnel participating in its development willbecome subject to the security restrictions described below.
Any facility representatives under the security agreement shall be restricted from knowingly communicating by any means the content or scope of the requalification examination to unauthorized persons and from participating in any facility programs such as instruction, examination, or tutoring in which an identified requalification examinee(s) willbe present.
These restrictions shall apply from the day that the facility representative understands that he or she has specialized knowledge of the examination.
The Chief Examiner will determine when facility representatives have received specialized knowledge concerning the examination and require execution of an examination security agreement.
OFFICIALRECORD COPY - K:DFSUS76 3/6/92
Mr. Harold W. Keiser The facility shall identify to the NRC 60 days prior to the requalification examination administration date, the proposed operators, including crew composition, for the examination.
This information should be provided by the facility training staff to the NRC's Chief Examiner.
Preliminary reactor operator and senior reactor operator license applications should be submitted at least 30 days before the initial examination date so that we willbe able to review the training and experience of the candidates, process the medical certifications, and prepare final examiner assignments after applicant eligibilityhas been determined. Ifthe applications are not received at least 30 days before the initial examination date, it is likely that a postponement willbe necessary.
Applications certifying completion of all training requirements should be received by the Region fourteen (14) days prior to the initial examination date.
The initial examination willbe conducted in accordance with Revision 6 of the Examiners Standards.
To better document the simulator portion of the initial license examinations, the Chief Examiner willhave the simulator operator record predetermined plant conditions (i.e.,
plant pressure, temperature, reactor vessel water level, etc.), for each simulator scenario.
The applicants willbe responsible for providing this information, with any appeal of a simulator operating examination.
Therefore, your training staff should retain the original simulator examinations scenario information until all applicants who took examinations have either passed the operating examination, accepted the denial of their license, or filed an appeal.
Mr. Fitch has been informed of the above requirements.
This request is covered by Office of Management and Budget Clearance Number 3150-0101 which expires May 31, 1992.
The estimated average burden is 7.7 hours8.101852e-5 days <br />0.00194 hours <br />1.157407e-5 weeks <br />2.6635e-6 months <br /> per response, including gathering, xeroxing and mailing the required material.
Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other'aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Information and Records Management Branch, Division of Information Support Services, Office of Information Resources Management, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555; and to the Paperwork Reduction Project (3150-0101), Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C.
20503.
OFFICIALRECORD COPY - K:DFSUS76 3/6/92
Mr. Harold W. Keiser Thank you for your consideration in this matter. Ifyou have any questions regarding the examination procedures and requirements, please contact me at (215) 337-5210.
Sincerely,
/
Rich d J. Conte, Cluef BWR Section Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety
Enclosures:
1.
Reference Material Requirements 2.
Requirements for Administration of Examinations 3.
NRC Rules and Guidelines for Written Examinations 4.
Requirements for Facility Review of Examinations cc w/encl:
A. R. Sabol, Manager, Nuclear Quality Assurance J. M. Kenny, Licensing Group Supervisor H. G. Stanley, Superintendent of Plant-SSES R. G. Bryam, Vice President, Nuclear Operations J. A. Isabella, Director, Generation Projects Department, Atlantic Electric M. M. Urioste, Nuclear Services Manager, General Electric Co.
B. A. Snapp, Esquire, Assistant Corporate Counsel H. D. Woodeshick, Special Assistant to the President J. C. Tilton, III, Allegheny Electric Cooperative, Inc.
W. Lowthert, Manager of Nuclear Training Public Document Room (PDR)
Local Public Document Room (LPDR)
Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)
'. Abraham, PAO (2)
NRC Resident Inspector Commonwealth of Pennsylvania OFFICIALRECORD COPY - K:DFSUS76 3/6/92
0
Mr. Harold W. Keiser bcc w/encl:
Region I Docket Room (with concurrences)
Management Assistant, DRMA (w/o encl)
R. Conte, DRS D. Florek, DRS J. Joyner, DRSS J. White, DRP R. Blough, DRP B. Norris, DRP R. Lobel, EDO J. Raleigh, NRR OL Facility File DRS Files (3)
RI:D rek/
'/9/92 RI:DRS Conte 3//792 OFFICIALRECORD COPY - K:DFSUS76 3/6/92
EN LOS RE 1
REFERENCE MATERIALREQUIREMENTS Existing learning objectives, Job Performance Measures and lesson plans (including training manuals, plant orientation manual, system descriptions, etc.).
A copy of the facility Job and Task Analysis (JTA), specifying the knowledges and abilities required of an operator at the facility. Each particular knowledge and/or ability willinclude an importance rating correlating it to ensuring the health and the safety of the public. Ifa JTA is not furnished, the Knowledges and Abilities Catalog for Nuclear Power Plant Operators, NUREG 1123 will be used to establish content validity for the examination.
AllJob Performance Measures (JPMs) used to ascertain the competence of the operators in performing tasks within the control room complex and, as identified in the facility JTAs, outside of the control room, i.e., local operations.
Training materials shall include all'substantive written material used for preparing applicants for initial RO and SRO licensing.
The written material shall include learning objectives and the details presented during lectures, rather than outlines.
Training materials shall be identified by plant and unit, bound, tabbed, and indexed.
Training materials, which include the following, shall be provided:
System descriptions including descriptions of all operationally relevant flow paths, components, controls and instrumentation.
System training material should draw parallels to the actual procedures used for operating the applicable system.
Complete and operationally useful descriptions of all safety-system interactions and, where available, BOP system interactions under emergency and abnormal conditions, including consequences of anticipated operator error, maintenance error, and equipment failure.
Training material used to clarify and strengthen understanding of emergency operating procedures.
Complete Procedure Index (including surveillance procedures, etc.)
All administrative procedures (as applicable to reactor operation or safety)
4.
5.
Allintegrated plant procedures (normal or general operating procedures)
All emergency procedures (emergency instructions, abnormal or special procedures) 6.
Standing orders (important orders that are safety related and may supersede the regular procedures) 7.
Surveillance procedures (procedures that are run frequently, i.e., weekly or that can be run on the simulator) 8.
Fuel-handling and core-loading procedures 9.
Allannunciator/alarm response procedures 10.
Radiation protection manual (radiation control manual or procedures) 11.
Emergency plan implementing procedures 12.
Technical Specifications (and interpretations, ifavailable) 13.
System operating procedures 14.
Piping and Instrumentation diagrams, electrical single-line diagrams, or flow diagrams 15.
Technical Data Book, and/or Plant curve information as used by operators and facility precautions, limitations, and set points (PLS) for the facility 16.
Licensee Event Reports for the previous two years (as applicable to licensed operators).
17.
Questions and answers specific to the facility training program which may be used in the written or operating examinations in addition to the items specified in item 19 (voluntary by licensee)
18.
The following on the plant reference simulation facility:
ao List of all pre-programmed initial conditions b.
List of all preset malfunctions with a clear identification number.
The list shall include cause and effect information.
Specifically, for each malfunction a concise description of the expected result, or range of results, that willoccur upon implementation shall be provided.
Additionally, an indication of which annunciators are to be initiallyexpected should be given.
c.
A description of simulator failure capabilities for valves, breakers, indicators and alarms d.
Where the capability exists, an explanation of the ability to vary the severity of a particular malfunction shall be provided, i.e., ability to vary the size of a given LOCA or steam leak, or the ability to cause a slow failure of a component such as a feed pump, turbine generator or major valve (e.g.,
drifting shut of a main feedwater control valve) e.
An identification of modeling conditions/problems that may impact the examination f.
Identification of any known performance test discrepancies not yet corrected g.
Identification of differences between the simulator and the reference plant's control room h.
Copies of facility generated scenarios that expose the applicants to situations of degraded heat removal capability and containment challenges (voluntary by licensee) i.
Simulator instructors manual (voluntary by licensee) j.
Description of the scenarios used for the training class (voluntary by licensee) 19.
Simulator examination bank to support the simulator retake requalification examinations
The above reference material shall be approved, final issues and shall be so marked.
Ifa plant has not finalized some of the material, the Chief Examiner shall verify with the facility that the most complete, up-to-date material is available and that agreement has been reached with the licensee for limiting changes before the administration of the examination.
Allprocedures and reference material shall be bound with appropriate indices or tables of contents so that they can be used efficiently. Failure to provide complete, properly bound and indexed plant reference material could result in cancellation or rescheduling of the examinations.
EN L SURE 2 REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMINISTRATIONOF EXAMINATIONS A single room shall be provided for administration of the initial written examination.
The location of this room and supporting restroom facilities shall be such as to prevent contact with all other facility and/or contractor personnel during the written examination. Ifnecessary, the facility should make arrangements for the use of a suitable room at a local school, motel, or other building.
Obtaining this room is the responsibility of the licensee.
Minimum spacing is required to ensure examination integrity as determined by the Chief Examiner.
Minimum spacing should be one applicant per table, with a three foot space between tables.
No wall charts models, other training materials shall be present in the examination room.
Suitable arrangements shall be made by the facilityifthe applicants are to have lunch, coffee, or other refreshments.
These arrangements shall comply with Item 1 above and shall be reviewed by the examiner and/or proctor.
The facility licensee shall provide pads of 8-1/2 by 11 inch lined paper in unopened packages for each applicant's use in completing the initial examination.
The examiner shall distribute these pads to the applicants as needed.
Applicants may bring pens, pencils, calculators or slide rules into the examination room.
Only black ink or dark pencils should be used for writing answers to questions.
ENLSE NR R
LES AND DEL F
R WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS 2.
Use black ink or dark pencil ONLY to facilitate legible reproduction.
Print your name in the blank provided on the cover sheet of the examination.
3.
Fill in the date on the cover sheet of the examination, ifnecessary.
4.
Answer each question on the examination or answer sheet provided. Ifadditional paper is required, use only the lined paper provided by the examiner.
Do not write on the back side of the page.
5.
Use abbreviations only ifthey are commonly used in facility literature.
The point value for each question is indicated in parentheses after the question and can be used as a guide for the depth of answer required.
Show all calculations, methods or assumptions used to obtain an answer to a short answer test item.
8.
Unless solicited, the location of references need not be stated.
9.
Proportional grading will be applied.
Any additional wrong information that is provided may count against you.
For example, ifa question is worth one point and asks for four responses, each of which is worth 0.25 points, and you give five responses, each response will be worth 0.20 points, Ifone of your five responses is incorrect, 0.20 willbe deducted, and your total credit for that question willbe 0.80, even though you may have listed the four correct responses in the answer key.
10.
Partial credit may be given, except on multiple choice questions.
Therefore, ANSWER ALLPARTS OF THE QUESTION AND DO NOT LEAVEANY ANSWERS BLANK.
11.
Ifparts of the examination are not clear with respect to their intent, ask questions of the examiner only.
12.
You must sign the statement on the cover sheet that indicates the work on the examination is your own and that you have not received or been given assistance in completing the examination.
This must be signed AFTER the examination has been completed.
13.
Restroom trips are to be limited and only one examinee at a time may leave.
You must avoid all contact with anyone outside the examination room to avoid even the appearance or possibility of examination compromise.
i 14.
Cheating on the examination would result in a revocation of your license and could result in more severe penalties.
15.
When you are done and have turned in your examination, leave the examination area.
Ifyou are found in this area while the examination is still in progress, your license may be denied or revoked.
16.
To pass the examination, you must achieve a grade of 80% or greater.
17.
There is a time limitof four (4) hours for completion of the examination.
18.
When turning in your examination, assemble the completed examination with examination questions, examination aids and answer sheets.
In addition, turn in all scrap paper.
~ML E4 REQUIREMENTS FOR FACILITYREVIEW OF EXAlVHNATIONS At the option of the Chief Examiner, the facility may review the written examination for initial licensing up to two weeks prior to its administration.
This review may take place at the facility or in the Regional office. The Chief Examiner willcoordinate the details of the review with the facility. An NRC examiner willalways be present during the review.
When this option of examination review is utilized, the facility reviewers will sign the following statement prior to being allowed access to the examination.
The examination or written notes will~nt be retained by the facility.
a.
Pre-Examination Security Agreement I
agree that I willnot knowingly divulge any information concerning the examination scheduled for to any unauthorized persons.
I understand that I am not to participate in any instruction involving those reactor operator or senior reactor operator applicants scheduled to be administered the above examination from now until after the examination has been administered.
I understand that violation of this security agreement could result in the examination being voided.
Signature/Date In addition, the facility staff reviewers will sign the following statement after the examination has been administered.
b.
Post-Examination Security Agreement I
did not, to the best of knowledge, divulge any information concerning the examinations administered during the week of to any unauthorized persons.
I did not participate in providing any instruction to those reactor operator and senior reactor operator applicants who were administered the examination from the time that I was allowed access to the examination.
Signature/Date Regardless of whether the above examination review option is exercised, immediately following the administration of the written examination, the facility staff shall be provided a marked up copy of the examination and the answer key.
The copy of the written examination shall include pen and ink changes made to questions during the examination administration.
Ifthe facility did not review the examination prior to its administration, they will have five (5) working days from the day of the written examination to submit formal comments. Ifthe facility reviewed the examination prior to its administration, any additional comments must be given to an examiner prior to his/her leaving the site at the end of the week of the written examination administration.
In either case, the comments willbe addressed to the responsible Regional Office by the highest on site level of corporate management for plant operations, e.g., Vice President for Nuclear Operations.
A copy of the submittal willbe forwarded to the Chief Examiner, as appropriate.
Comments not submitted within the required time frame willbe considered for inclusion in the grading process on a case-by-case basis by the Regional Office Section Chief.
Should the comment submittal deadline not be met, a long delay in grading the examination may occur.
The following format should be adhered to for submittal of specific comments:
a.
Listing of NRC Question, answer and reference b.
Facility comment/recommendation c.
Reference (to support facility comment)