ML19332C227

Confirms Arrangements for Evaluation of Requalification Program & Licensed Personnel at Plant Scheduled for Wks of 900122 & 0205.Ref Matl Requirements & Administration of Requalification Exams & Related Info Encl

ML19332C227
Person / Time
Site:	Browns Ferry
Issue date:	11/08/1989
From:	Peebles T NRC Office of Inspection & Enforcement (IE Region II)
To:	Kingsley O Tennessee Valley Authority
References
NUDOCS 8911270027
Download: ML19332C227 (8)

Text

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November 8, 1989 Mr. Oliver D. Kingsley, Jr.

Senior Vice President. Nuclear Power Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street 6N 38A Lookout Place Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT:

REQUALIFICATION PROGRAM EVALUATION In a telephone conversation between Mr. A. R. Champicn. Training Supervisor, and Mr. D. C. Payne, License Examiner, arrangements were made for an evaluation of the requalification program and licensed personnel et the Browns Ferry Nuc1 car Plant.

The evaluation visit is scheduled for the weeks of January 22 and February 5,1990.

For this visit. the NRC examiners will administer the operating and written examinations.

The NRC examiners will discuss with the appropriate facility personnel and operators the schedule and the process for these exeminations.

For the examiners to adequately prepare for this visit, it will be necessary for the facility to furnish the approved ittms listed in Enclosure 1. " Reference Naterial Requirements" by December 4, 1989.

Mr. Champion has been advised of st' reference material requirements and where they are to be sent.

NRC reserves the right to postpone NRC administered requalification examinations if the f acility generated materials are inadequate for examination preparation.

It is requested that an employee be provided to complete the examination 55.53(e) or (f)) yee shall be an active (per the requirements of 10 CFR team.

The emplo SRO from the Browns Ferry Operations Department.

If desired by the facility, and agreed to by the Chief Examiner, an additional employee from the Training Department may be a member of the examination team.

This employ)ee shall preferably be an active (per the requirements of 10 CFR 55.53(e or (f ) SRO but may be a facility or INP0 certified instructor.

These individuals must not be scheduled for an NRC administered exemination during this visit, or participate as instructors once selected.

The facility repro-sentatives will be required to certify that they did not knowingly compromise any portion of the examination.

The facility representatives shall be restricted (1) from knowingly comunicating(by any means the content or scope of the exam to unauthorized persons and 2)- from participating in any facility prograins such as instruction, examination, or tutoring in which an identified requalification examinee (s) will be present.

These restrictions shall apply from a date to be detennined by the Chief Examiner.

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Mr. Oliver D. Kingsley, Jr.

2 November 8, 1989 In addition to these two individuals, the assignment of a simulator operator is requested 28 days prior to the scheduled examination date. The sirolator operator will be under examination sicurity restrictions similar to those above. His/her restrictions shall epply from a date to be determined by the Chief Extminer.

The facility managenent is responsible for providing adequate space and accommodations to properly develop and conduct the examinations.

Addition-ally, in order to ensure an efficient and effective examination, day-shift time on the facility's simulator device must be allocated for both the development and administration periods.. " Administration of Requalification Examinations " describes our requirements for developing and conducting the examinations.

Mr. Champion hos also been informed of these requirements.

Also, a facility operations management representative should observe the simulation facility examination process at the site. contains the *NRC Rules and Guidance for Examinees" that will be in effect during the administration of the written examination.

The facility management is responsible for ensuring that all operators are aware of these rules.

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 meiling 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 Records and Reports Management Branch, Division of Information Support Services. Office of Infcrmation 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.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

If you have any questions on the evaluation process, please contact Mr Charles A. Casto, Chief, Operator s

Licensing Section 2, at 404/331-5594.

Sincerely.

(Original signed by C. A, Casto for)

Thomas A. Peebles, Chief Operations Branch i

Division of Reactor Safety

Enclosures:

1.

Reference Material Requirenerets 2.

Administration of Requalification Examinations 3.

NRC Rules and Guidance for Examinees cc w/encis:

A. R. Champion. Training Supervisor G. Campbell, Plant Manager State of Alabama bec w/encls:

(See Page 3)

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Mr. Oliver D. Kingsley, Jr.

3 November 8, 1989 I

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bec w/encis:

E G. Gears. NRR W. Little. DRP G. Hopper. DRS C. Payne DRS l

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i ENCLOSURE 1 REFERENCE MATERl/sl REQUIREMENTS 1.

For the written examination, the following items must be provided to the NRC 60 days prior to the examination date:

9roposed RO and SRO requalificaticn written examination test items.

1 (A minimum of 350 per section of the examination.)

Since the written examination is open reference, examination items must 9eet the following:

a.

Items that require only memori:ation or recall are not permitted.

b.

Items should require that the examinee comprehend, inte pret, integrate, or apply available infonnation, c.

Items should contain situations, aspects, or conditions that do not duplicate lesson plans or references.

d.

Items should require examinees to locate and use references.

The written examination will be composed of two sections, each designed to be completed in 1-1/2 hours.

Each section will be separate.

Section A. " Plant Operations," will be administered on a static simulator; Section B. " Limits and Controls." will be administered in a classroom l

setting. -Section A is designed to evaluate the operator's knowledge of l

plant systems, integrated plant operations, and instrumentation and controls.

In addition, recognition of Technical Specification LCOs and the operator's ability to diagnose postulated events should be evaluated.

Section B of the written examination is designed to evaluate the ability of the operator to analyze a given set of conditions and determine the proper procedural and/or administrative guidance.

2.

All reference material and objectives for the proposed test items.

For the simulation facility, the following items must be provided to the HRC 60 days prior to the examination date:

a.

A minimum of 15 scenarios.

The scenarios should sample areas such as LERs, emergency and abnormal procedures, and design and procedural changes that exercise the crew's ability to use facility procedures in accident prevention and mitigation.

The scenarios should evaluate each crew member as appropriate to his/her license, and shall exercise their abilities in the use of Emergency Operating Procedures, Technical Specifications, and the Emergency Plan.

The scenario's net time (not including time spent on briefings, setup or simulation facility problems) should average 50 minutes, based upon real time performance.

2 For the plant walk through examination, the following items must be provided to the NRC 60 days prior to the examination date:

a.

A list of systems and topics appropriate to the plant walk through examination that were covered during the two-year requalification cycle and are important to safety.

All reference material required to support an examination on these topics should be provided, b.

Seventy five (75) job performance neasures.

These performance nessures should be both in plant and control room operator functions that are required for the safe operation of the facility. They shall include acceptable performance criteria, c.

Any additional reference material required for examination preparation will be requested by the examination team.

3.

A sampling plan shall be provided by the facility which indicates the relative emphasis of topics which were included in the last-two years of requalification training.

4.

All Requalification Training material shall be provided by the facility.

Emergency, abnormal, normal, administrative and surveillance procedures, to the extent that they are applicable to licensed operators, shall also be provided.

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ENCLOSURE 2 ADMINISTRATION OF REQUALIFICATION EXAMINATIONS 1.

Approximately twenty percent of the facility licensed operators shall be i

selected for evaluation.

Normally the crew currently in the requalifica-tion cycle will be selected. A random sample without replacement will be used to preclude a satisfactory operator from being subject to reexamina-tion by the NRC during the term of the license.

The sample will include other shift (s) made -up of licensed personnel who are not routinely performing shift duties.

2.

The simuletor and a simulator operator (s) will be prvvided for excmination development.

The date(s) and duration of time needed to develop the examinations will be agreed upon by the Chief Examiner and the facility.

3.

The reference material used in the simulator will be reviewed by the t

Chief Examiner.

No material will be used that is solely used for training.

4.

A single room shall be provided for completing Section B of the written examination. The location of this room and supporting rest room facilities shall be such as to prevent contact with all other facility and/or contractor personnel during the duration of the examination.

5.

Minimum spacing ~is required to ensure examination integrity as determined by the chief examiner.

Minimum spacing should be one examinee per table, with a 3-foot space between tables. No wall charts, models, and/or other training materials shall be present in the examination room.

6.

Copies of reference material for Section B of the written examination will be available to each examinee.

The reference material will be I

reviewed by the Chief Examiner and will consist of Technical Specifications. operating /abnomal procedures, administrative procedures.

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Emergency Plans as available to the plant operators.

7.

Video taping capabilities may be utilized.

The facility should contact the Chief Examiner for restrictions related to its usage.

8.

Since common tasks and detailed systems knowledge will be probed during the walk through portion of the operating test, operators will be requested not to discuss the walk through with other examinees until after the complete examination has been administered.

9.

An attempt will be made to distinguish between R0 and SR0 knowledge and ebilities to the extent that such a distinction is supported by the facility training materials.

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ENCLOSURE 3 i

NRC RULES AND GUIDANCE FOR EXAMINEES l

1.

Use black ink or dark pencil ONLY to f acilitate legible reproductions.

2.

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, if necessary.

4.

' Answer each question on the examination.

If additional paper is required, use only the lined paper provided by the examiner.

5.

Use abbreviations only if they are commonly used in facility literature.

6.

The point value for each question is indicated in parentheses af ter the question and can be used as a guide for the depth of answer required.

7.

Show all calculations, methods or assumptions used to obtain an answer to a mathematical problem, whether asked for in the question or not.

8.

Unless solicited, the location of references need not be stated.

9.

Partial credit may be given.

Therefore, ANSWER ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION AND DO NOT LEAVE ANY ANSWERS BLANK.

10.

If parts of the examination are not clear with respect to their intent, ask questions of the examiner only.

11. You must sign the statement on the cover sheet that indicates the work on the examination is your own and that you h.sve not received or been given any assistance in completing the examination.

This must be signed AFTER the examination has been completed.

12. Rest room 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.

13. Cheating on the examination would result in a revocation of your license and could result in more severe penalties.

14. Each section of the examination is designed to take approximately 90 minutes to complete.

You will be given two hours to complete each section for a total of four hours.

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15. Due to the existence of questions that will require all examinees to refer to the same indications or controls, particular care must be taken to maintain individual examination security and avoid any possibility of compromise or appearance of cheating, i

16. When you are finished and have turned in your completed examination, i

the proctor will provide guidance on leaving the examination area.

17. Proportional grading will be applied.

Any additional wrong information that is provided may count against you.

For example, if a question is worth one point and asks for four responses, each of which is worth 0.25 points, and you give five responses, each of your responses will be worth 0.20 points.

If one of your five responses is incorrect. 0.20 will be deducted and your total credit for that question will be 0.00 instead of 1.00 even though you got the four correct answers.

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