ML20236P731

Identifies multi-faceted & Extensive Actions Already self- Initiated at Plant to Help Assure Smooth Startup.Programs for Site Mgt Coverage,Plan for Achieving & Maintaining Error Free Startup & Operation & Plan for Activities Encl

ML20236P731
Person / Time
Site:	Braidwood
Issue date:	06/26/1987
From:	Maiman T COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO.
To:	Davis A NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
Shared Package
ML20236P735	List: ML20236P731 ML20237F597 ML20237F602 ML20237F606
References
NUDOCS 8708130026
Download: ML20236P731 (4)

Text

_

ra . / \ Comm:nwealth Edison

( _ / Ono First National Plaza. Chicago, Illinois

\ f Address Reply to: Post Office Bo ~767~

%/ Chicago,Ilknois 60690 0767 June 26, 1987 Mr. A. Dert Davis, Regional Administrator Region III U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 799 Roosevelt Road Glen Ellyn, IL 60137

Subject:

Braidwood Station Unit 1 power Ascension Program NRC Docket No. 50-456 ,

Dear Mr. Davis:

On June 924, 1987, Messrs. C. E. Norelius and W. S. Little of your staff contacted me regarding the power ascension of Braidwood Nuclear Station Unit 1. The purpose of this letter is to identify the multi-faceted and extensive actions already self-initiated at Braidwood to hol;, cssure a smooth Unit 1 startup. In addition, this letter provides a commitmen'. to meet with you and/or members of your staff following the completion of t.se Unit 150 percent startup testing sequence to review the overall startup performance of Braidwood Unit 1.

Braidwood Station has taken aggressive, self-initiated actions to assure proper management attention to, and overview of, activities during j Unit 1 fuel load and the low power testing program. These actions are {

ongoing. Several of these actions are detailed in three major station j policies and plans, which are enclosed for your reference. These policies and J plans are "living documents" and are revised and updated, as necessary, to reflect lessons learned and improved methods of managing our stations. These programs are:

Site Management Coverage l (Initial Issue Summer 1986, Current Revision 3, dated 4-20-87) l This policy, which was implemented in the summer of 1986, provides for substantially increased scheduled management coverage during the time period from four months prior to Unit 1 Fuel Load through fuel load and power ascension for both units. This is clearly a time period during q which an especially high level of construction, testing, and maintenance J

activities are occurring. Increased management coverage is provided I through the establishment of the Station Duty Officer, the Duty Operating {

Engineer, and the Shift Overview Superintendent positions, as well as 1 tours of the station by senior station management personnel. l l

1 8708130026 070626 II PDR ADOCK 05000456 ,,

p PDR gg g '.

c 9f I

_a

l l Mr. A.B. Davis June 26, 1987 The Station Duty Officer (position rotates among Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents) represents the Station Manager and provides decision making level coverage. Since last summer, this individual has been regularly on site seven days a week, normally on day shift.

The Duty Operating Engineer (position rotates among Operating Engineers) is the line management person to whom the Shift Engineer reports. Since last summer, this individual has been regularly on site seven days a week, normally on day shift.

The Shift overview Superintendent (position rotates among department head / assistant department head level individuals) provides department head level overview. Since last summer, this individual has been regularly on site seven days a week, on afternoon shift, including over afternoon and midnight shift reliefs.

Finally, senior station management is instructed to make routine tours in the plant, utilizing their experience and knowledge to identify and initiate corrective actions for concerns or problems.

Braidwood Plan for Achieving and Maintaining Error Free Startup and Operation of Unit 1 (Dated 11/25/86)

The concept for this plan was developed at LaSalle for their 1986 startups following outages. The plan helped LaSalle achieve an error free startup. Subsequently, a similar plan was also successful for the Dresden Unit 3 startup following their 1986 outage. We adopted the essence of these plans at Braidwood because they represented a sound method of doing business.

Included in our plan are special executive level reviews conducted by our corporate office and periodic meetings chaired by an executive in which Byron and Braidwood personnel both participate. Similar meetings have been in place at Byron during the Byron Unit 2 fuel load and startup program, and have contributed to its smooth and successful startup. The plan also provides for establishing, during periods of increased activity, a senior manager on shift, adding additional SRO's and RO's when necessary, around the clock maintenance coverage, a shift test director in the Control Room, conducting detailed shift briefings, and enhanced control over construction activities. Duties of the senior manager on shift include observing control room operations and demeanor. i

l Mr. A.B. Davis June 26, 1987 The shift relief process adopted as a part of this plan has been especially beneficial. We bring our shift licensed personnel in a full hour before shift change. The first 20-30 minutes are devoted to the individuals walking their areas and reviewing plant status. Following this, but prior to relief, these personnel get together and jointly review the plant status and the other information they have collected. These meeting 9 are also attended by maintenance foremen, the radwasto foreman and the rad / chem foreman. After the exchange, the operators conduct the on station shift relief.

Essentially this error free plan focuses on communications among the various personnel on shift and serves as a team building tool as well.

Braidwood Plan for Managing Unit 1/ Unit 2 Concurrent Activities (Dated S/14/87)

The intent of this plan is to help assure that appropriate attention, direction, supervision and control exists for taking Braidwood Unit 1 through its power ascension startup program at the same time Unit 2 is undergoing precperational testing. The overriding priority as stressed in this plan is maintaining Unit 1 license requirements and this has bcen made clear to everyone. The plan is really an Addendum to the error free plan. Several of the error free plan elements, such as the corporate overviews, shift augmentation, the shift relief process and enhanced shift briefings are directly applicable.

Additionally, however, we have further augmented our staff to deal with concurrent Unit 1/ Unit 2 activities. For example, we have established a Unit 2 Control Room Testing Supervisor, manned by a Braidwood licensed SRO, who reports to our Station Control Room Engineer and who supervises testing activities on Unit 2. We also are assigning only licensed RO's to Unit 2 control boards during periods of increased activity on the units.

Another aspect of this plan is to carefully monitor control room .

access including numbers and traffic patterns to minimize control room j distractions and congestion. So far during Unit 1 initial criticality and i the low power testing program this plan has worked well.

The implementation of these programs, combined with an aggressive lessons learned program and a conservative station startup philosophy have l contributed to the fuel load and low power test sequence successes.

l l

l t _ _ _ _ _ . -

Mr. A.B. Davis June 26, 1987 Lessons Learned Our Regulatory Assurance Department at Braidwood deals with lessons learned from Byron, other plants and the industry in general.

For example, following the Byron Unit 1 startup a Task Force was formed to review and document - with recommendations - all the problem areas that arose. At Braidwood we have resolved each of these problem areas in advance of our startup. Similarly we reviewed all Byron deviation reports, including LER's, NRC inspection reports, NRC notices of violation, modifications, temporary alterations, and even caution cards to assess applicability to Braidwood. These efforts will continue into the

_ future.as new information becomes available.

Finally, as discussed with Messrs. Norelius and Little on June 24, 1987, we commit to meet with you and/or members of your staff following the completion of the Braidwood Unit 1 50 percent test sequence. The purpose of this meeting is to review the overall startup performance of Braidwood Station.

In the interim, we continue to hold our executive level reviews as scheduled i and our ongoing Corporate / Station Special Review Committee meetings on a twice-a-month basis, as is delineated in our Braidwood Plan for Achieving and Maintaining Error Free Startup and Operation of Unit 1. The Braidwood NRC Residents have attended some of these review meetings in the past and ongoing NRC participation is welcomed.

If you have any further questions on this matter, please direct them to this office. .

)

1 Very truly yours, l i

i yplQ $ M CA4% ,

'xTaomas J. Maiman {

Vicepresident]+

\  ;

i Enclosures cc: NRC Resident Inspector - Braidwood 3259K I

_-___..____m _ _