ML20133G168
| ML20133G168 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 08/01/1985 |
| From: | Milhoan J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE) |
| To: | Kreh E AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8508080582 | |
| Download: ML20133G168 (2) | |
Text
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. COMMITTEE CORRESPONDENCE
-Keep ASME Codes and Standards Department Informed-CO.TIMITTEE: Design and Procurement Committee ADDRESS WRITER CARE OF:
US Nuclear Regulatory Conmission ATTN: J. L. Milhoan liail Stop EWS 305B
SUBJECT:
Task Force on Comouter Software Washington, DC 20555 DATE: August 1, 1985 COPY TO: R. Symes B. !!arguglio S. Bernsen R. Bennett TO: Edward J. Kreh T. !!anning Chairman, D&PCS S. Taylor I am pleased to offer the comments of the NRC staff on the report of the Task Force on Computer Software. The comments are similar to those presented by Bill Altman to the D&PSC at the Williamsburg meeting. The specific comments are as follows:
- 1. Quality assurance for computer applications is an important issue, and we interpret the establishment of a computer software task force by the NQA Committee as an indication that NQA shares NRC's concern for the potential for safety problems arising from insufficient quality in computer applications in the nuclear industry.
- 2. The NRC acknowledges the effort expended by the task force and concurs with the task force report recommendation that NQA-1 be modified.
- 3. The NRC staff also recognizes that the recommendations of the task force do little more than clarify the scope of NQA-l's applicability as it pertains to computer software. The proposed changes are basically semantic and do not address the substance of the problem which is the lack of comprehensive, implementation-level guidance for QA for computer software and computer applications in the nuclear industry.
- 4. Further NQA Committee work in this area would benefit from reconstituting the charter of its task force to be more ambitious with regard to the development of substantive, implementation-level, e SQA guidance and to broaden the membership of the task force to in-clude appropriate expertise and experience in software, engineering, nuclear computer applications, and nuclear plant operations. *
- 5. We suggest that the expanded task force take advantage of work already done by others, including the IAEA, IEEE, and D0D, regarding the application of quality principles to computer software and hard-ware.
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Edward J. Kreh We endorse the work of the task force in clarifying that NQA-1 does apply to computer software. However, no implementation-level guidance document is available, and we believe that one should be developed as soon as possible, preferably by a consensus-standards-writing body. We are continuing our efforts on software quality assurance as Bill described at the Williamsburg meeting and are currently working on the development of an information notice on the subject.
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_ James L. Milhoan, Chief Licensing Section Quality Assurance Branch
- Division of Quality Assurance, Vendor, and Technical Training Center Programs Office of Inspection and Enforcement Distribution Q55553K4 QAB Reading RHVollmer, IE BKGrimes, IE GTAnkrum, IE JLMilhoan, IE WDAltman, IE l
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