ML20091K293

Speech Entitled, Nuclear Plant Shift Experience, Presented at 840224 Meeting Before Commissioners in Washington,Dc

ML20091K293
Person / Time
Site:	Comanche Peak
Issue date:	02/24/1984
From:	Schnell D UNION ELECTRIC CO.
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ML20091K267	List: ML20091K274 ML20091K290 ML20091K293
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NUDOCS 8406060475
Download: ML20091K293 (22)

Text

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NUCLEAR PLANT SHIFT EXPERIENCE i

o Operating Shift Experience Requirements o Experience Categories and Factors for Accumulating Nuclear Power Plant Experience o Shift Advisor Qualifications 5

'f Developed By NTOL UTILITY WORKING GROUP Presented By  ;

Donald F* Schnell 8406060475 840525 4

PDR ADOCK 05000445 February 24, 1984 A PDR - ,

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t INTRODUCTORY REMARKS DONALD F. SCENELL i

e Mr. , Chairman, Commissioners, by way of introduction, I am Vice President - Nuclear of Union Electric, and am res-ponsible for design, construction, startup and operation of SNUPPS ,

Callaway Plant , an 1150 MW PWR -- the lead SNUPPS plant.

i you will remember, is the original multi-utility, multi-site plant standardization concept. I have been engaged full-time

in responsible management positions associated with Callaway since the project was conceived in 1971, and have been directly responsible for plant operation since 198C.

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In related industry activities, I am a member of the

- Nuclear Power Division Committee of EPRI and serve as Chairman -

of the Industry Review Group for INPO's Construction Project Evaluation Program.

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L Our Callaway Plant is within twa months of readiness for fuel load, so it is fitting that I speak to you on this issue. Mr.

Miller has described Georgia Power's program for selecting and training operating personnel; we at Union Electric also

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e recognize our management responsibility to properly select and train operators so that Callaway Plant is started and h

= operated in a manner which helps ensure public health and safe-o ty, while at the same time protecting our investment in the l

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plant.

We expeer Callaway to provide safe, reliable and effi- .

e cient generation to our system; nothing less will be tolerated.

With this goal in mind, we have selected an outstanding in commercial group of operator candidates who, though light, have already demonstrated their com-nuclear plant experience, .

startup.

potence and reliability in activities leading to plant To prepare our operators for this heavy responsibility, we have assembled a training staff of superior individuals and have invested in an on-site training center which includes a Callaway Reference Simulator. The simulator has been in operation at Callaway since mid-1982; a Callaway/SNUPPS

• simu has been operational and avallable to our personnel since 1979 We have also sent our at the Westinghouse Training Center.

SRO/RO candidates to operating plants for participation training.

l acrivities at Callaway They have assisted in preoperational test l

functional test and have had shift responsibility for our hot program.

'I am convinced we have prepared these people to handle the responsibility of operating Callaway Plant.

Notwithstanding this, the staff as well as the ACRS have required the addition of. advisors to supplenent our shift ex- -

I' perience base. We committed to add shift advisors in 1981 and have relied on this concept to satisfy NRC's concern over the l-I might aise point out that we have

>i ecmercial experience issue.

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. intentionally avoided soliciting operations persen

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from other utilities with operating plants, believing this interests of the industry.

practice to be outside the best to

- With this personal background, I will now present you the plan developed by our working group to assure a res-ponsible level of Shift operating Experience.

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• Slide illustrai:es experience requirements of the four licensed shift positions: Shift Supervisor (SRO) ,

. Senior Operator (SRO), and two Licensed Operators (RO's).

• Experienea requirements: Derived from ANSI /ANS-3.1-1981, with additional hot plant shift time within assigned crew.

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Power Plant Experience: As defined in ANSI /ANS-3.1-1981.

Assures =4 n 4 ==== of 13 years per shift crew. .

• Nuclear Plant Experience: Equivalent experience derived from 10 categories of applicable experience, with specific weighting factors and ==v4 mum time credited to 'each i category. Assures minimum of 6 years equivalent experi-ence per crew.

• Hot Participation Experience: Defined as direct involve-

• ment in review and discussions leading to decisions relative to operation of a commercial nuclear plant, or, direct ,

hands-on operation as a trainee at a commercial nuclear

._ power plant. .,

Includes: Six weeks participation in SRO/RO duties at an operating plant of the same type for Shift Supervisor and Senior Operator; Shift Supervisor participation in reactor l

4 startup and shutdown at same type plant; Six months participation in SRO/RO' duties at i

an operating plant of the same type by the

! Shift Supervisor or the Senior Operator, f (An SRO-Licensed STA may be considered an l; acceptable alternate for this experience f actor. )

Refers to commercial

• Experience at "same type plant":

BWR or PWR

• Qualified Advisor: -Must be on shift if any Hot Partici-pation Experience factor is not satisfied by the Shift Supervisor or Senior Operator.

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OPERATlHG StilFT EXPEnlENCE REQUIREIVIENTS a

9 p flot Participation Experience Nuclear at Same Type Plant' Power Startup Plant Plant 6 Months Experience and Experience Shutdown on Shift Years Years License >20% Pwr Position 4 2 SRO 6 weeks .X Either ,p '

Shift Supy 2 SHO 6 weeks SRO .

Sr Operator 3 3 1 , RO Licensed Oper .

i Licensed Oper 3 1 RO Totals 13 6 .

• ll any of the flot Participation Experience requirements are not satisfied by the SRO's, a qua ,

advisor is required.

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EXPERIENCE CATEGORIES AND FACTORS FOR ACCUMULATING NU M Mt POWER PLANT EXPERIENCE 1

1. COMMERCIAL PLANT SRO/RO - SAME TYPE P". RET (BWR/PWR)

This experience category is applicable when the individual

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was assigned to licensed operator duties at a connnercial .

nuclear power plant of the same type (BWR/PWR) as the one for which the operating license is sought.

Nuclear Plant Experience Value Weighting Factor 1.00 Maximum Time Credit No limit j Background ,

Actual hands-on experiene,e at the same type (BWR/PWR) plant 1 ..

is essentially equivalent to the experience that would be

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acquired once the plant in question goes into operation.

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2. COMMERCIAL PLANT SRO/RO - NOT FROM THE SAME TYPE PLANT This experience category is applicable when the individual was assigned to licensed operator duties at a commercial nuclear power plant which is not of the same type as the one for which the operating license is sought.

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Nuclear Plant Exterience Value Weighting Factor 0.75 Maximum Time Credit No Limit

Background

! Hands-on experience at a commercial nuclear power plant which is not the same type plant is assigned a weighting factor of 0.75 based on our working group's task-by-task comparison of

'the PWR/BWR control room operator job task data base available from INPO. Analysis of the data shows a 75% correlation between'PWR and BWR tasks at the RO level and over 85% corre-lation at the SRO level.

3. NAVY (MILITARY) NUCLEAR OPERATING EXPERIENCE This experience category'ia applicable when the individual 4

was assigned in the positions discussed below at a Navy ,

(military) nuclear power plant.

a. Navy Operating Experience Nuclear Plant Experience Value Weighting Factor 0.5 Maximum Time Credit 36 months

Background

This experience category applies to Navy watch positions such as Reactor Operator (RO) , Engineering Watch Supervisor (EWS) ,

Propulsion Plant Watch Supervisor (PPWS) , and Engineering of ficer of the. Watch (EOOW) . A comparison of control rocm l l

l operator tasks as compared to Navy nuclear operator tasks l l

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greater than 50% for both the PWR and BWR tasks listed in the INPO data base. Thus, a weighting factor of 0.5 is appropr'iate. ~

b. Other Navy Nuclear Experience Nuclear Plant Experience value .

Weighting Factor 0.25

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Maximum Time credit 36 months

Background

Comparison of PWR and BWR control room operator tasks listed in the INPO data base with tasks performed by Navy personnel not directly in control of the reactor plant is more variable.

Comparisons varied from 7,54 to 25% depending on the type of plant; therefore, a weighting factor of 0.25 is applicable.

i Note The maximum time credit allowed for a combination of a. and

b. is 36 months.

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4. FULL SCOPE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT SIMULATOR This experience category is applicable for the actual time spent in the simulator control room in a structured training program including instruction, practice, and demonstration of competence in normal and abnormal operations.

Nuclear Plant Experience Value

a. Reference Plant Simulator t

Weighting Factor 5.0

, Maximum Time Credit 12 months

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b. Similar Plant Simulator Weighting Factor 3.0 Maximum Time credit 9 months Note The ==v4 mum credit applicable when simulators of both tipes are used in a training program is 12 months.-

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Background

' Simulators are generally accepted as an alternative to The training simulater gaining actual operating experience.

affords the operator the opportunity to develop and demon-The full-scope nuclear power strate application skills.

plant training simulator provides a means for obtainingi i

in a compressed time frame, extensive exposure to the full spectrum of pla'nt operational evolutions and occurrences beyond that which could be gained through years of on-shift operating experience. Full credit experience equivalency has been demonstrated for training on s mulators in other industry applications.

The reference plant simulator is presently recognized as L

equivalent to actual plant experience by the NRC staff and the industry in that these simulators have instrumenta-tion and control configurations which reproduce the operator's I

,+ own plant arrangement, they have operational characteristics t

modeled specifically from actual plant performance and/or f

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design data, and' they allow direct use of the operator's 4

actual plant normal, abnormal and emergency operating proce-4 dures. ,

Training on the simulator can. realistically demon-strate the shift crew's command and communication hierarchy.

A 5.0 weighting factor is easily, supported by the working group's study which indicated that, on a real-time basis, .

control manipulations take place on a simulator in a ratio f

of perhaps 400 to 1 when compared with actual plant control actions.

• The NRC staff also recognizes the use of similar plant simulator certification programs in meeting operator license

- eligibility requirements. Although lacking the direct

- benefits a reference plant simulator affords in training, .

credit pertaining to similar type plant experience is valid.

A 3.0 weighting factor for similar plant simulator experience has, been endorsed by the Operator Licensing Branch of the NRC.

We-believe this weighting factor remains valid.

i 5. NUCLEAR POWER PLANT EXPERIENCE ON SHIFT AT OWN PLANT l

This experience category is applicable when the individual f

is assigned on-shift'SRO/RO duties at his'own plant during l

the construction and testing phases prior to fuel load.

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Nuclear Plant Excerience Value  ;

Weighting Maximum-Factor Time Credit

a. Less than 1 1/2 years prior to fuel load 0.75 12 months

b. More than 1 1/2 years prior to fuel load 0.50 12 months

Background

To be a. successful operator, an individual must have an intimate knowledge of the construction, layout and design

- of the plant and its equipment. He must know the physical i

location and relationships of each piece of equipment, piping routes, etc. This knowledge can only be gained by an extended assignment to the plant and is best gained by assignment during the construction and testing phases prior .

to initial fuel loading. During this period, the operator has access to all plant equipment. Operators assigned after the plant has commenced operation do not have such full access because of radiation restrictions.

During the year and a half period preceding fuel load,

• much system testing and equipment operation occurs; therefore, a weighting factor of 0.75 has been assigned.

Prior to this time, testing and equipment cperation may be less frequent; thus, a weighting factor of 0.5 is assigned.

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6. LI N SE CLASSROCM TRAINING AND EXAMINATION AT OWN PLANT This experience category is applicable when an individual success, fully completes a license training program including an examination for the license being sought. This experi-ence is applicable to the classroom portions of the license training program. Simulator and on-the-job training are addressed in other experience categories.

Nuclear Plant Excerience Value Weighting Factor 0.5 Maximum Time credit 9 months

Background

This contribution to experience consists of knowledge in

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nuclear power plant principles, systems and theory of opera-tion. It is essential that a nuclear operator understands ,

the theoretical and specific aspects of his plant. The li:ense training program contributes to experience in areas

, of power plant equipment operation, plant specific design, plant transient behavior, plant technical specifications i and regulations. '

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7. PARTICIPATION IN OPERATIONAL DCTIES AT AN OPERATING COMMERCIAL NUCLEAR POWER PLM T This experience category is applicable when an individual has par,ticipated in operational duties at an operating plant. Participation is defined as either direct hands-on

!, operation as a trainee or direct involvement in review and discussions leading to decisions relative to operation of -

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a commercial nuclear power plant. Personnel assigned as equipment or auxiliary operators at operating plants would also gain experience under this category.

Nuclear-Plant Experience Value I

Weighting Factor 0.75 Mavimum Time crediti 12 months j -

Background -

Participation in operational duties provides significant .

experience. Involvement in plant operation provides an individual with knowledge of'the regulated nuclear environ-i ment; i.e., .

radiatien safety and ALARA, quality assurance,

. security, emergency plans, etc.

i l 8. OTHER NUCLEAR POWER PLANT EXPERIENCE This experience category is applicable when.an individual l' has performed job duties related to design, construction, t

-startup testing, maintenance or preoperational testing of l any nuclear power plant.

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- mmy Nuclear Plant Excerience Value Weighting Factor 0.25 Mav4 mum Time Credit 12 months

Background

Personnel involved in related areas of plant operation also l gain experience of value depending on the specific job ,

assignment. Such activities could include technical speci-fication writing, writing or performing surveillance tests l l

and/or operating procedures, design / installation of plant

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I modifications, participation in preoperational system checkouts and hot functional testing, to name but a few.

Through such activities g a regulated environment, personnel ,

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control, quality assurance, security, emergency planning and emergency response. They gain knowledge of nuclear plant concepts and technology simply by performance of ,

their job duties.

i 9. CONDUCTING LICENSE TRAINING .

This experience factor is applicable to those individuals who provide training in license training programs. This .

experience is applicable for individuals who provide this I. training on site or at any other facility.

I ~ Nuclear Plant Experience Value i

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1 Weighting Factor 0.25

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Background

Instructors in licensed operator training programs gain a I considerable depth of knowledge in nuclear theory and system operation. Some operational skills are also gained, -

depending on the individual's involvement with on-the-job.

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training or simulator training aspects of the overall license training program. Recognizing that an instructor does not necessarily provide all elements of training and may not be involved in any hands-on training, the weighting factor is  !

conservatively set as 0.25. A maximum credit of 9 months is allowed to account for the va-iety of instructor assignments.

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10. DEGREE (ENGINEERING OR APPLIED SCIENCE) l This experience category is applicable for completion of degree requirements and credit for equivalent college work.

For Bachelor's and Associate degrees, credit may be assigned

! as indicated. Experience credit for college work toward a degree may be assigned at the rate of one (1) month experi-l ence. credit for each ten (10) semester hours college credit i

earned in engineering or applied science course work. The maximum credit assigned to this experience factor is 12 months.

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Nuclear Plant Excerience Value Bachelor's Degree 12 months Associate Degree 6 months Degree Equivalent 1 month credit allowed for each 10 semester hours completed in technical subjects ,

Background b This contribution to experie'nce is the exposure to fundamen-tals and principles of nuclear power plant operation. It 9

is essential for a nuclet.r operator to beccme knowledgeable in the theoretical aspects of plant operation.

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, i, o_ m. m EXPERIENCE CATEGORIES AND FACTORS FOR ACCUMULATING NUCLEAR POWER PLANT EXPERIENCE .

WEIGHTING MAXIMUM FACTOR CREDIT EXPERIENCE CATEGORIES 1.00 No Limit.

1. Same Type Commercial ROISRO 0.75 No Limit

2. Other Commercial ROISRO 36 Months

3. Navy (Military) Nuclear 0.50 (RO, EWS, EOOW, PPWS) 0.25 (Other) 12 Months

4. Simulator .

- 5.00 (12 Months)

(Reference Plant) 3.00 (9 Months)

(Similar) 24 Months

5. Nuclear Plant Experience on Shift (Own Plant) 0.75 (12 Months)

(Lees than 1% Years Prior to F.L) 0.50 (12 Months)

(More than 1% Years Prior to F.L) 0.50 9 Months

6. Ucensed Classroom Training and Exam (Own Plant) 0.75 12 Months

7. Participation at Operating Plant 0.25 12 Months

8. Other Nuclear Plant Experience 0.25 9 Months

9. Conducting Ucense Training

10. Degree (Engineering, Applied Science or 12 Months Equivalentl (12 Months)

(Bachelors Degree)

(Associates Degree) (6 Months) 4 9

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ENCLOSURE D

1. MINIMUM EXPERIENCE

a. Four years power plant As defined by ANSI /ANS-3.1-1981

b. Two years n'uclear power plant o Equivalent nuclear experience as calculated for shift license pcsitions

c. One year on shift as a licensed SRO/RO at an op9 rating plant of the same type

2. TRAINING PROVIDED BY UTILITY

a. Extent to be determined by adviser's previous experience -- typically 4 t'o 8 weeks

b. Program will include training in: -

• Plant Procedures, including administrative, normal / abnormal and emergency

• Technical Specifications

• Plant Systems

• Simulator time, if available on site

c. Examinatien to be administered and evaluated by utility

3. RESPONSIBILITIES / DUTIES

a. Advisor responsibilities, authority and limitations will be clearly defined'and included in his training Shift crews wiIl be trained to understand -

- Advisor's function ~

b. Responsibilities assigned by Shift Supervisor

' Level typical of senior operator with commen-surate authority

• Will not include assignments which require operator license

• Will not include direction of licensed operators in assignments which require operator license

c. Responsible to recommend appropriate actions to Shift Supervisor, including shutdown of unit

d. Advisor will hive direct access to management above Shift Supervisor to resolve disagreements which may affect safe operation of the unit r r

4. DURATION OF ADVISOR ASSIGNMENT l- -As a minimum, until utility personnel meet operating

-shift experience. requirements

• Utility management will review shift crew experience base prior to releasing advisor

• May:be influenced by previous license commit =ent f

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f In closing, let me again state that, in our judg=ent, o ur plan will provide a more ef fective mechanism fer assuring a respcn-sible level of shift operating experience than other plans

< which have been suggested. It provides an effective mechanism for measuring the nuclear plant experience base within each operating crew. It assures that each shift will have commer-cial plant experience within the SRO positions or within the -

trained shift advisor. Finally, it will avoid further strains and dislocations within the utilities new operating plants which would almost surely result if the NTOL utilities were new required to recruit experienced operators from others.

All of the utilities represente'd here appreciate the opportunity to discuss this, question with you. We appreciate the input of the staff and are hopeful that our plan will re- ,

ceive your endorsement.

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4_ b-Enclosure 2 INFORMATION RE0UIRED REGARDING SHIFT ADVISORS

1. A resume,of each shift advisor which highlights his previous operating experience.

2. A copy of the procedure which describes'the duties and authority of the shift advisors and the working relationships between the advisors and the operating shift personnel.

3. A copy of the training program presented to the shift advisors to assure they have adequate knowledge of plant specific matters to properly perform their duties.

4. A copy of the written examination administered to the shift advisors and the results of the examination, if"available.

5. A description of, and copies of notes regar' ding, the oral examination administered t.o the shift advisors. -

6. A description of the training program presented to the operating shift crews to assure that they understand the role of the shift advisors.

7. A statement regarding the medical qualification requirements for the shift advisors.

8. A description of the procedures that will be used to evaluate the performance of the shift advisors during plant start-up.

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