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Issue Date: 02/26/15 1 71152

NRC INSPECTION MANUAL IRIB

INSPECTION PROCEDURE 71152

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND RESOLUTION

PROGRAM APPLICABILITY: 2515 Appendix A

CORNERSTONES: ALL

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 01, 2015

INSPECTION BASIS:

A fundamental goal of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission’s (NRC’s) Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) is to

establish confidence that each licensee is effectively detecting,

correcting, and preventing problems which could impact

cornerstone objectives. A key premise of the ROP is that

weaknesses in licensees’ problem identification and resolution

(PI&R) programs will manifest themselves as performance

issues which will be identified during the baseline inspection

program or performance indicators (PIs) crossing

predetermined thresholds. However, several aspects of PI&R

are not specifically addressed by either the individual

cornerstone performance indicators or other baseline

inspections. These aspects are described in Section 71152-01

of this inspection procedure (IP).

LEVEL OF EFFORT: Completion of this IP is accomplished by conducting routine

PI&R reviews, semiannual trend reviews, annual follow-up of

selected issues, and biennial team inspections, as described

in Section 71152-02 of this IP.

71152-01 INSPECTION OBJECTIVES

01.01 To evaluate the effectiveness of the licensee’s corrective action program in identifying,

prioritizing evaluating, and correcting problems.

01.02 To confirm that licensees are complying with NRC regulations regarding corrective

action programs.

01.03 To help the NRC gauge supplemental response when ROP Action Matrix thresholds

are crossed.

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01.04 To confirm the licensee’s appropriate use of industry and NRC operating experience.

01.05 To evaluate the effectiveness of licensee audits and self-assessments.

01.06 To confirm licensees have established a safety conscious work environment.

01.07 To follow-up on corrective actions for selected previously identified compliance issues

(e.g., non-cited violations (NCVs)).

01.08 To verify that licensees are identifying and placing potential 10 CFR 21—REPORTING

OF DEFECTS AND NON-COMPLIANCE issues into the Corrective Action Program (CAP) and

appropriately evaluating them. [C3]

71152-02 INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS

PI&R activities are reviewed in four locations within the baseline inspection program: routine

reviews; semiannual trend reviews; follow-up of selected issues; and biennial team inspections

as discussed in the following sections. Section 71152-02 provides the minimum inspection

requirements. Section 71152-03 describes these requirements and their bases in more detail.

02.01 Routine Review.

The routine review of PI&R activities includes the following:

a. Resident inspectors should screen each item entered into the corrective action program

to select the best samples for follow-up. This review can be accomplished by attending

daily corrective action program review board meetings; reviewing computerized

corrective action program entries, or reading hard copies of corrective action program

documents. The intent of this review is for inspectors to be alert to conditions such as

repetitive, long-term, or latent equipment failures or cross-cutting aspect breakdowns

that might warrant additional follow-up through the semiannual trend review, annual

follow-up of selected issues, biennial team inspections, or other baseline inspections.

Inspectors must be alert for adverse performance trends and risk-significant or

repetitive equipment failures. Repeated failures to meet a technical specification

limiting condition of operation or its associated action(s) may be an example of an

adverse performance trend. [C1]

b. Verify that corrective actions commensurate with the significance of the issue have

been identified and implemented by the licensee. An in-depth review of selected issues

may be conducted in accordance with Section 02.03 of this IP.

c. Verify that equipment, human performance, and program issues are being identified by

the licensee at an appropriate threshold and entered into the PI&R program.

d. Review a sample of issues to verify that the licensee has appropriately classified the

issue and has taken appropriate short-term corrective actions. [C1]

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e. Additionally, inspectors are expected to conduct reviews of PI&R activities during the

conduct of other baseline inspection procedures.

f. In completing a. through e., above, evaluate whether the licensee should perform an

evaluation in accordance with 10 CFR Part 21—REPORTING OF DEFECTS AND

NONCOMPLIANCE of any defect or non-conformance that has been identified. [C3]

02.02 Semiannual Trend Review.

Perform a semiannual review to identify trends (either NRC- or licensee-identified) that might

indicate the existence of a more significant safety issue. The scope of this review should

include repetitive or closely-related issues that may have been documented by the licensee

outside the normal corrective action program, such as: trend reports or PIs, major equipment

problem lists, repetitive and/or rework maintenance lists, departmental problem/challenge lists,

issues that challenge operators in performing duties (e.g., workarounds), system health reports,

quality assurance audit/surveillance reports, self-assessment reports, maintenance rule

assessments, or corrective action backlog lists. [C1] Additionally, consider a review of

corrective action documents which have been dispositioned to identify potential adverse trends

in structures, systems, and components (SSCs) as evidenced by acceptance of long-standing

non-conforming or degraded conditions. Such indicators could include “use-as-is”

determinations, revision of engineering or operational acceptance criteria, reductions in design

or operational margin, and repetitive work orders.

02.03 Annual Follow-up of Selected Issues.

The annual follow-up of selected issues ensures that the licensee has planned and/or

implemented corrective actions commensurate with the significance of identified issues. Select

four to eight issues (i.e., samples) per year for an in-depth review. These samples may be

reviewed throughout the annual assessment cycle. Inspectors should use the guidance

contained in Section 71152-03.04 as an aid in selecting samples for review. Inspectors should

review the selected samples against the performance attributes contained in Section 03.06 of

this IP. [C1] The samples should generally be representative of multiple cornerstones of safety.

Inspectors may select issues associated with cross-cutting areas as samples.

02.04 Biennial Team Inspection.

Perform a biennial team inspection of PI&R program as described below. Note any contribution

that cross-cutting aspects make to performance deficiencies and consider insights that these

issues may provide into the licensee’s progress in addressing any developing or existing crosscutting themes.

a. Use risk insights to select issues that have been processed through the licensee’s

corrective action program since the last biennial team inspection. For a subset of the

chosen samples, the scope of the review should be expanded to at least five years.

Inspectors should use the guidance contained in Sections 71152-03.04b and 03.05 to

select samples. To the extent available, the samples selected should include:

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• Significant conditions adverse to quality (SCAQ) and conditions adverse to quality

(CAQ) that are documented in the licensee’s corrective action program

• cited or non-cited violations of regulatory requirements and other documented

findings,

• issues identified through NRC operating experience,

• issues identified through industry operating experience that are documented in the

licensee’s corrective action program, and

• licensee audits and assessments. [C1]

b. Inspectors should review each selected issue using the performance attributes

contained in Section 03.06 of this IP.

c. Inspectors should review the results of recent audits and self-assessments related to

the licensee’s corrective action and quality assurance programs. Inspectors should

compare and contrast the identified problems and corrective actions being taken as a

result of these audits and self-assessments with the results of this inspection.

d. Inspectors should review issues that pose challenges to the free flow of information for

adequate resolution. [C2] Employees should feel free to raise safety concerns, both to

their management and to the NRC, without fear of retaliation.

e. Inspectors must review corrective actions related to greater-than-green findings that

were not completed by the end of the associated supplemental inspection, and were not

otherwise reviewed.

f. Inspectors should perform assessments of the following items using the results

developed from steps a through d:

• the effectiveness of the licensee’s corrective action program in identifying,

evaluating, and correcting problems,

• the licensee’s use of operating experience information,

• completed licensee audits and self-assessments, and

• the licensee’s SCWE in order to identify any indications of reluctance to report

safety issues by licensee personnel. [C2]

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71152-03 INSPECTION GUIDANCE

The PI&R inspections should follow a performance-based approach to the extent possible.

Inspectors should evaluate products and results of the licensee’s corrective action program,

including the use of operating experience, assessments, and audits. Inspectors should focus on

the results associated with risk-significant issues. For the issues that are determined to be

performance deficiencies, inspectors should evaluate the causes that relate to cross-cutting

aspects for insights on performance. Inspections performed in accordance with this procedure

should focus on the identification of problems and the effectiveness of corrective actions for risksignificant issues rather than the administrative aspects of the corrective action program and

associated procedures. This section provides detailed guidance for the routine, semiannual,

annual, and biennial PI&R reviews in addition to detailed guidance on sample selection,

performance attributes, and documentation.

Notify the NRC’s Vendor Inspection Center of Expertise in the Office of New Reactors, Division

of Construction Inspection and Operational Programs, via email to the branch chiefs of the

Electrical, Mechanical, and Quality Vendor Inspection Branches, when issues related to

potential vendor or supplier deficiencies are reviewed. Include the vendor’s name and provide a

brief description of the deficiency and/or component, as appropriate

.

Consider the following guidance when reviewing a licensee’s PI&R activities.

03.01 Routine Review.

One of the primary goals of the routine reviews is to verify that licensees are identifying issues

at an appropriate threshold and entering issues into the corrective action program. This can be

accomplished by having inspectors compare issues identified by the NRC during the conduct of

the plant status and inspectable area portions of the baseline inspection program IPs with those

issues identified by the licensee. The routine reviews allow for follow-up of selected issues and

operational occurrences to ensure that corrective actions commensurate with the significance of

the issues have been identified and implemented by the licensee.

During inspections and plant status reviews, inspectors should be alert for potential

performance deficiencies as may be associated with equipment failures, inadequate

maintenance work practices, personnel errors, inadequate risk assessments, management and

emergent work control problems, procedure deficiencies, or non-compliances with procedures

or regulatory requirements. When inspectors identify such conditions, they should examine the

licensee’s corrective action program records and/or attend licensee corrective action program

meetings to verify that the licensee either previously identified and documented the conditions

noted by the inspector or acknowledged the inspector’s observations and entered those

conditions into the corrective action program. Inspectors should be aware of any contribution

that cross-cutting aspects make to these performance deficiencies and consider insights that

these issues may provide into the licensee’s progress in addressing any developing or existing

cross-cutting themes. Inspectors should review and be aware of applicable 10 CFR 21

notifications and verify that the issues have been entered into the licensee’s corrective action

program for evaluation and disposition. The inspectors should also confirm on a sampling basis

that for defects or non-conformances that the licensee identifies the licensee performs an

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evaluation in accordance with 10 CFR Part 21—REPORTING OF DEFECTS AND

NONCOMPLIANCE. [C3]

Degradation and failures due to aging effects, such as loss of material, loss of preload, or

cracking, can occur. Plants with renewed licenses have established aging management

programs (AMPs) to identify, address, and/or prevent aging effects prior to loss of intended

function for those SSCs within the scope of the AMP. When degradation or failures occur that

appear to be age-related, inspectors should, in addition to other routine review activities,

determine whether the SSC is being managed by an AMP. If so, the inspector should also

determine whether the activities in the AMP are adequate to identify the aging effect prior to loss

of SSC intended function, and whether the licensee’s corrective actions address the adequacy

of the AMP. Consult with the regional license renewal point of contact for support in evaluating

the adequacy of the AMP.

Inspectors should remain alert to problems or conditions that could have more than minor safety

significance and for which the licensee’s investigation, conclusions, and/or corrective actions

appear to be inadequate. Inspectors should also review the circumstances associated with the

licensee’s investigation and disposition of the problem or condition to determine the reason(s)

why the licensee’s analysis and corrective actions were not adequate. Inspectors should review

selected samples against the performance attributes listed in Section 71152-03.06, as

applicable. Inspectors should determine if the licensee’s identification, classification, or

immediate and/or final disposition of a (significant) condition adverse to quality are in

compliance with the licensee’s procedures and/or regulatory requirements. The final disposition

of conditions adverse to quality could reveal acceptance of long-standing non-conforming or

degraded conditions as evidenced by “use-as-is” determinations, revision of engineering or

operational acceptance criteria, reductions in design or operational margin, and repetitive work

orders.

Most of the baseline IPs contain a requirement to inspect PI&R performance within the IP’s

subject area. The inspection of PI&R performance as part of baseline IPs is intended to ensure

that over the course of an assessment cycle, a sample of PI&R performance in all cornerstones

is obtained. As stated above, the primary focus of this portion of the PI&R review should be on

verifying that licensees are identifying issues at an appropriate threshold and entering them into

their corrective action program. However, inspectors are not precluded from routine review of

corrective action documents once they have been dispositioned to identify potential areas for

further inspection. Inspectors should consider PI&R insights when selecting baseline inspection

samples and may follow-up on PI&R issues as part of a baseline inspection procedure’s PI&R

review.

03.02 Semiannual Trend Review.

Inspectors should consider emerging or existing cross-cutting themes during the semi-annual

trend review to develop insights into the licensee’s progress in addressing the themes.

Inspectors can perform this review by summarizing the results of the licensee’s reviews and

comparing those results to those identified by the NRC through the baseline or supplemental

inspection program, including issues identified as a result of the daily review of corrective action

program items discussed above. If a biennial team inspection is scheduled within six months of

the semiannual review, the senior resident inspector could forward any concerns to the PI&R

team. This information should be incorporated into the scope of the team inspection. [C1]

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03.03 Annual Follow-up of Selected Issues.

Inspectors should choose a sample of four to eight issues per year for an in-depth review, as

necessary, to verify that the licensee has taken corrective actions commensurate with the

significance of the issue. These issues can be chosen from, but not limited to, information

obtained from condition report reviews and reviews conducted as part of the baseline IPs.

Samples may also be chosen from the guidance contained in Section 71152-03.05 of this IP.

Inspectors may also select an issue that is tracked by a PI for which a threshold level change

has yet to occur.

Issues Associated with Safety Culture. Following the issuance of a second assessment letter

identifying a repetitive substantive cross-cutting issue (SCCI), the licensee’s progress in

addressing the issue should be evaluated as an annual sample. Inspectors should also

consider one of the annual samples to be a follow-up on emerging or existing cross-cutting

themes to develop insights into the licensee’s progress in addressing the themes. The review

should be scheduled at a time that will provide meaningful input to the assessment process.

Defects and Non-conformance. Defects and non-conforming materials, parts, or components

may present a substantial safety hazard. Inspectors should consider using an annual follow-up

sample to inspect defects or non-conforming conditions for compliance with 10 CFR 50,

Appendix B and 10 CFR 21. Inspectors may refer to IP 36100, “10 CFR Part 21 Inspections at

Nuclear Power Reactors” and IP 42004, “Inspection of Commercial-Grade Dedication

Programs” for additional guidance. [C3]

Maintenance Rule Issues. IP 71111.12, “Maintenance Effectiveness,” instructs inspectors to

evaluate corrective actions associated with equipment subject to the Maintenance Rule

(10 CFR 50.65). This IP also instructs inspectors to consider applicability of 10 CFR 50,

Appendix B, Criterion XVI for equipment subject to the requirements of 10 CFR 50, Appendix B,

especially when the corrective action-related requirements of 10 CFR 50.65(a)(1) may not be

applicable. If inspectors identify potential corrective action program weaknesses during

implementation of IP 71111.12 that require additional focus beyond the expectations of

IP 71111.12, inspectors may select the issue as a sample for PI&R annual follow-up.

Operator workarounds (OWAs). Action(s) taken to compensate for a degraded or nonconforming condition are considered OWAs. OWAs that cannot be implemented effectively can

increase the baseline core damage or large early release frequency. This review should verify

that the licensee is identifying OWA problems at an appropriate threshold, entering them in the

corrective action program, and planning or taking appropriate corrective actions. OWA samples

should be evaluated considering all existing plant conditions including the cumulative effects of

other OWAs.

03.04 Biennial Team Inspection.

The biennial team inspection is intended to complement and expand upon the reviews

described in Sections 03.01, 03.02, and 03.03 of this IP by:

• evaluating additional examples of licensee PI&R,

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• reviewing the resolution of issues that earlier had been assessed for the licensee’s

identification efforts only,

• comparing the NRC’s results against the licensee’s assessment of performance in the

PI&R area, and

• assessing whether PI&R deficiencies may indicate potential programmatic issues.

a. Planning. Inspectors should obtain licensee administrative procedures that control the

identification, evaluation, and resolution of problems. Selected licensee documents

needed to support the inspection may be obtained prior to the inspection. These

documents should only be reviewed to provide the inspectors with sufficient knowledge

of the licensee’s programs and processes, as necessary, to conduct an effective and

efficient inspection.

Inspectors should obtain and review documents for the in-office review, such as a list of

corrective action documents issued from the time of the last biennial team inspection

(e.g., a list of work orders, work requests, temporary modifications, calibration failures,

condition/problem identification reports, operability evaluations and determinations,

etc.). In addition, inspectors should obtain relevant licensee corrective action program

assessments, program performance information, trend reports, and licensee safety

culture assessments. Refer to IMC 0620, “Inspection Documents and Records” for

more information on requesting documents for inspection preparation.

Inspectors should obtain and review all NRC inspection reports issued since the last

biennial team inspection to determine:

• the extent to which licensee actions in response to NCVs and findings have been

sampled by routine reviews of licensee PI&R activities, and

• if any trends or patterns in corrective action program or performance issues warrant

additional sampling to confirm. For example, a series of issues associated with

“failure to follow procedures” within one cornerstone may indicate a corrective

action performance deficiency within a portion of the licensee’s organization; a

series of issues associated with failure to follow procedures in multiple cornerstones

may indicate a broader concern. Also, a lack of licensee-identified corrective action

issues within a particular organization may be indicative of a problem with the

identification threshold. Consider the need to follow-up on performance trends

documented as a result of the semiannual trend review.

b. Sample Selection. Based on the planning review, inspectors should identify a sample

of licensee corrective actions for review. The biennial inspection team leader should

choose as many issues for review as warranted to complement the routine PI&R

reviews and ensure a sufficient basis for evaluating the effectiveness of the licensee’s

PI&R program. Inspectors can review Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO)

findings, recommendations, corrective actions, and operating experience that are

documented in the licensee’s corrective action program. Inspectors may refer to the

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NRC/INPO Memorandum of Agreement, dated November 14, 2005 (ML060060035), for

guidance prior to reviewing any INPO documents. [C1]

1. The samples chosen for review should include a range of issues selected from

the list in Section 71152-03.05, including those sample types that are designated

as requiring a mandatory review. For a subset of the samples chosen for review,

the scope of the review should be expanded to at least five years. Among the

samples chosen for this extended review should be those issues whose

significance might be age-dependent, such as issues associated with erosion of

piping, degradation of safety-related raw water systems, boric acid

accumulations, aging of electronic components, environmental qualification, etc.

This review can be performed by requesting the licensee to perform a corrective

action program search (computerized or other) for those items designated by the

team for the five-year review. [C1]

2. If the licensee conducted any periodic self-initiated assessments of safety culture

during the review period, this assessment shall be included along with other nonsafety culture self-assessments selected to review. If the licensee performed

several assessments that collectively addressed safety culture issues, then those

assessments combined should be considered as one assessment. [C2]

Inspectors should review the adequacy of the licensee’s evaluation and actions

to address the issues identified by the safety culture assessment. Not all actions

necessarily need to be handled within the licensee’s corrective action program

under 10 CFR 50, Appendix B, Criterion XVI. It may be more appropriate for

some issues that are not conditions adverse to quality to be tracked to resolution

through an alternate licensee program such as an employee concerns program.

The inspectors review should focus mainly on the licensee’s response to the

assessment results or actions taken to address identified issues instead of the

assessment methodology or an evaluation the assessment’s adequacy.

Section 03.04.c provides more guidance on reviewing the licensee’s safety

culture assessment from the SCWE perspective.

3. When the licensee has been requested by the NRC to perform an independent

safety culture assessment, inspectors shall evaluate the licensee’s assessment.

4. Inspectors should consider emerging or existing cross-cutting themes for review

during the biennial team inspection to develop insights into the licensee’s

progress in addressing the themes.

5. Inspectors may select one or more risk-significant systems on which to focus

sample selections. Performing a walkdown of selected systems in accordance

with the guidance provided in IP 71111.04, Equipment Alignment, Section 02.02,

Complete Walkdown will provide insight into the adequacy of the licensee’s

implementation of all aspects of the corrective action program (identification,

prioritization, evaluation and implementation). However, in cases where this

method for sample selection is used, additional issues may be required to be

reviewed to ensure adequate coverage in the Emergency Planning Cornerstone

and the Radiation Safety or Safeguards Strategic Performance Areas.

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c. Assessment of Safety Conscious Work Environment. When conducting interviews with

or observing other activities involving licensee personnel and/or long-term contractors

(i.e., those that have been working at the site for at least six months) during the

inspection, inspectors should be sensitive to areas and issues that may represent

challenges to the free flow of information, such as areas where employees may be

reluctant to raise concerns or report issues in the corrective action program. [C2]

Interviewing long-term contractors would allow inspectors to assess the SCWE of a

group of individuals that have worked at the site for extended periods of time and

impacted plant operations and safety. Inspectors should also obtain insights about the

SCWE during their review of the licensee’s most recent safety culture and other

relevant assessments. Inspectors should be sensitive to similarities and differences

between the results of their SCWE interviews with plant staff and the results of the

licensee’s safety culture and other relevant assessments.

Although the licensee may be implementing an employee concerns or similar program

regarding the identification of safety issues, the possibility of existing underlying factors

that would produce a "chilling" effect or reluctance to report such issues could exist, and

inspectors should be alert for such indications. Such factors could include but not be

limited to direct retaliation, inadequate staffing that results in excessive overtime, an

unwillingness to raise issues that might result in further increases to an already high

workload, or inadequate corrective actions for previously identified issues causing

personnel to be reluctant to identify additional related issues.

Appendix A to this procedure provides a list of questions that can be used when

discussing PI&R issues with licensee personnel to help assess whether impediments to

the establishment of a SCWE exist. It is not intended that inspectors conduct formal

interviews solely for the purpose of assessing the work environment; rather, inspectors

may use the questions in Appendix A during discussions with licensee individuals

concerning other attributes of the inspection. It is expected that during this inspection,

discussions or interviews will be held with both licensee management and staff.

If inspectors become aware of (1) instances of employees being discouraged from

raising safety or regulatory issues within the licensee’s or contractor’s organization or to

the NRC, (2) a “chilling” effect, or (3) other general reluctance of employees to raise

safety or regulatory issues unrelated to a specific event or incident, they should refer to

IP 93100, “Safety Conscious Work Environment Issue Follow-up” and consult with

regional management to determine appropriate follow-up actions.

d. Development of PI&R Program Performance Insights. By reviewing a sufficient number

and breadth of samples, the inspection team should be able to develop insights into the

licensee’s ability to identify, evaluate, and resolve problems using the corrective action

program, operating experience, and results of self-assessments/audits. Inspectors

should compare these results with the licensee’s performance reviews, including

reviews of PI&R programs. Inspectors should determine whether licensee reviews are

consistent with the NRC review of PI&R issues.

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The intent of this IP (both the routine and biennial inspection effort) is to provide insights

into licensee performance in the PI&R area based upon a performance-based review of

corrective action issues, operating experience, and self-assessments/audits. More

detailed programmatic reviews of licensee performance in the PI&R area will be

conducted during supplemental inspections if established performance thresholds are

crossed.

03.05 Sample Selection Guidance.

Inspectors should seek the broadest range of examples from the cornerstones of safety when

selecting inspection samples. Inspectors can obtain insights for determining appropriate

samples from discussion with resident or regional inspectors who are familiar with the site’s

issues, PI&R process, and previously inspected areas. In selecting issues for review,

inspectors should also use relevant risk insights, such as maintenance rule program basis

documents, current licensee risk analysis results or insights, licensee system health reports,

and significance determination process (SDP) Phase 2 worksheets for the plant

Inspectors should consider including samples from the sources listed below (♠ – indicates

mandatory samples only for biennial team inspections). Other than for the mandatory samples,

inspectors are not required to select from each type of source listed. The sample-selection

guidance is intended to help ensure that the NRC can obtain insights into a licensee’s corrective

action program throughout an assessment cycle

a. ♠Licensee-identified issues, including issues identified during audits or selfassessments, and licensee event reports. The review of licensee event reports should

be coordinated with the resident inspectors to effectively utilize inspection resources

during the biennial team inspection. Include a sample of corrective actions that were

considered having the highest priority including those constituting SCAQs. The

licensee’s root cause analyses associated with these items should be assessed using

the inspection guidance contained in IP 95001, “Supplemental Inspection for One or Two

White Inputs in a Strategic Performance Area,” as an aid.

b. ♠Completed self-assessments/audits, including quality assurance program audits

performed to satisfy 10 CFR 50, Appendix B, Criterion XVIII. Determine if the results are

consistent with the data collected during this inspection and whether the audits and selfassessments are effectively identifying problems. Verify that any substantial differences

that exist between results from the subject assessment/audit and the results of previous

assessments/audits are reasonable. Review the licensee’s response to the

assessments/audits to determine if corrective actions were tracked, timely, and

appropriate for resolving identified issues.

c. ♠Quality assurance audits can be an important source of problem identification. When

reviewing quality assurance audits inspectors should be familiar with the licensee's

quality assurance topical report/ Quality Assurance Plan and the associated industry

standards that the Quality Assurance Plan commits to in order to determine if the audits

are appropriately identifying problems in the Appendix B area the audit is focused on. If

the inspector finds inconsistencies between the conclusions of the audit and the

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conclusions of the PI&R team, several cycles of audits for that area should be reviewed

to determine if the audits were of sufficient depth and scope to adequately assess the

appropriate Appendix B audit area. The collective result of all the Appendix B,

Criterion XVIII, quality assurance audits for the two year cycle should be to "verify

compliance with all aspects of the quality assurance program and to determine the

effectiveness of the quality assurance program." The PI&R team should assess the

identified inconsistencies to determine if the quality assurance audits are appropriately

indentifying problems.

d. ♠Safety culture assessments. A licensee's evaluation of specific cross-cutting aspects,

cross-cutting areas, functional departments, or levels (e.g., supervisors or nonsupervisory workers) may constitute a safety culture assessment review. Licensee

safety culture self-assessments may also be reviewed in accordance with Section 02.03

of this IP as an annual follow sample [C2]

e. ♠A sample of NRC-identified issues during baseline, supplemental, and reactive

inspections. Discuss such issues with respective NRC inspectors and management as

part of inspection preparations. The biennial team inspection shall review all licensee

corrective actions associated with greater than green inspection findings that were not

completed by the conclusion of the associated supplemental inspection and which have

not been previously completed and subsequently reviewed. A review of all licensee

completed corrective actions for greater than green findings provides additional

assurance that the licensee’s completed corrective actions for risk- significant

performance issues are sufficient to address the root and contributing causes and

prevent recurrence.

f. ♠Issues related to cited and non-cited violations and documented findings. During the

biennial inspection, it is mandatory to review the licensee’s response to a sample of

NCVs in each cornerstone unless no NCVs were identified in the cornerstone.

g. ♠Issues identified through NRC and industry operating experience exchange

mechanisms (e.g., NRC generic communications, reports associated with 10 CFR 21,

nuclear steam system supplier vendor reports, Electric Power Research Institute reports,

and operating experience reports from similar facilities, NRC Operating experience

smart samples).

h. Issues captured in databases operated and/or maintained by the site’s corporate office.

A site’s corporate office may track such issues in a database(s) separate from the site’s

corrective action program. Inspectors may choose to view the contents of such a

database(s) to ensure that issues and operating experience are communicated to

affected sites owned or operated by or associated with the corporate entity. Should an

issue be identified on site that warrants follow-up and that issue is captured in the

corporate corrective action program, then that issue and the licensee’s handling of it

should be reviewed, even though it is a corporate corrective action program issue. A

review of corporate corrective actions programs can identify important information

affecting multiple sites, such as those identified with bio-diesel fuel for which NRR issued

Information Notice (IN 2009-02) for example.

Issue Date: 02/26/15 13 71152

i. Cause analyses and corrective action documentation associated with SSCs or functions

classified as (a)(1) status in accordance with the Maintenance Rule (10 CFR 50.65).

Review the licensee’s trending analysis associated with these SSCs/functions to

determine whether the licensee’s corrective action program should have enabled the

identification and correction of the adverse trend prior to the SSC/function obtaining

(a)(1) status.

j. Cross-cutting issues and other issues identified by safety review committees or other

management oversight mechanisms.

k. Issues identified through alternative avenues, such as employee concerns or similar

programs. [C2] Note that some members of the licensee staff may not have authorized

access to information about issues that are captured in these programs. Inspectors

should accordingly protect this information from disclosure to any unauthorized

personnel. In particular, inspectors should limit any verbal and/or written discussions to

only those licensee staff that have access rights to the subject records and to inspection

team members that have a need-to-know. Inspectors may need to restrict access to

portions of the exit or debrief meetings as appropriate.

l. Issues that challenge operator performance including but not limited to: operator work

arounds, Main Control Room deficiencies, operator burdens and challenges, night

orders/standing orders, temporary logs, control room and/or equipment operator logs,

and work requests/work orders dealing with long standing issues. Inspectors should

also review the corrective actions associated with failed SSCs that resulted in prompt

and final operability evaluations..

m. Issues that may be age-related (e.g. due to aging effects such as loss of material, loss of

preload, or cracking). Plants with renewed licenses have established aging

management programs (AMPs) to identify, address, and/or prevent aging effects prior to

loss of intended function for those SSCs within the scope of the AMP. When inspecting

degradation or failures that appear to be age-related, inspectors should, in addition to

other inspection activities, determine whether the SSC is being managed by an AMP.

If so, the inspector should also determine whether the activities in the AMP are adequate

to identify the aging effect prior to loss of SSC intended function, and whether the

licensee’s corrective actions address the adequacy of the AMP. Consult with the

regional license renewal point of contact for support in evaluating the adequacy of the

AMP.

n. Fatigue-related issues identified through fitness for duty effectiveness reviews or

licensee assessments reports, see 10 CFR 26.717(9). Refer to IP 93002, “Managing

Fatigue” for additional guidance.

03.06 Performance Attributes.

When evaluating the effectiveness of a licensee’s corrective actions for a particular issue, the

nature and (potential) significance of the identified problem must be considered. While

licensees may appropriately consider monetary, plant availability, and other factors when

Issue Date: 02/26/15 14 71152

determining significance, the potential impact on nuclear safety and risk should be the primary

factors in the licensee’s classification and prioritization of corrective actions. Attributes to

consider during the routine review, semiannual trend review, annual follow-up of selected

issues, and biennial team inspection are listed in the table below. Inspectors are not expected

to assess each attribute for every issue selected for follow-up during routine reviews,

semiannual trend reviews, or during the annual follow-up of selected issues. Instead, inspectors

may choose to assess licensee performance against selected attributes, as necessary, to be

most effective. Inspectors can also refer to IP 95001 for additional guidance on assessing

licensee evaluations of significant performance issues.

Issue Date: 02/26/15 15 71152

Table 1 – Performance Attributes

Performance Attributes See Legend Below

Complete, accurate, and timely documentation of the identified problem in

the corrective action program.

R S A B

Evaluation and timely disposition of operability and reportability issues.

Refer to Section 4.6 of the Attachment to NRC Regulatory Issue Summary

(RIS) 2005-20, Revision 1 for additional guidance related to the timing of

operability determinations.

R S A B

Consideration of extent of condition and cause, generic implications,

common cause, and previous occurrences. R S A B

Classification and prioritization of the problem’s resolution commensurate

with the safety significance. R S A B

Identification of root and contributing causes of the problem. The

identification of the significant condition adverse to quality, the cause of the

condition, and the corrective action taken shall be documented and reported

to appropriate levels of management. Inspectors may use guidance

contained in IP 95001 as an aid in assessing the adequacy of licensee root

cause analyses.

R♣ S♣ A B

Identification of corrective actions that are appropriately focused to correct

the problem (and to address the root and contributing causes for significant

conditions adverse to quality).

R♣ S♣ A B

Completion of corrective actions in a timely manner commensurate with the

safety significance of the issue. Included within this attribute would be

justifications for extending corrective action due dates. If permanent

corrective actions require significant time to implement, then inspectors

should verify that interim corrective actions and/or compensatory actions

have been identified and implemented to minimize the problem and/or

mitigate its effects until the permanent action could be implemented. Refer

to Section 7.2 of the Attachment to NRC RIS 2005-20, Revision 1 for

additional guidance related to the timing of corrective actions.

R♣ S♣ A B

Action taken results in the correction of the identified problem. In the case of

significant conditions adverse to quality, the corrective action taken shall

preclude repetition.

R♣ S♣ A B

Identification of negative trends associated with human or equipment

performance that can potentially impact nuclear safety. S B

Operating experience is adequately evaluated for applicability, and

applicable lessons learned are communicated to appropriate organizations

and implemented.

R S A B

Self assessments and audits are effective at identifying issues, which are

evaluated and resolved commensurate with their significance. B

For NRC-identified issue(s), evaluate whether opportunities to identify the

problem(s) by the licensee were missed in the past and if prior attempts by

the licensee to remedy the problems were adequate.

B

R – Routine Review S – Semi Annual Trend Review

A – Annual Follow-up of Selected Issues B – Biennial Team Inspection

♣ – Identified issues may be deferred and addressed with the annual follow-up of selected

issues or the biennial team inspection.

Issue Date: 02/26/15 16 71152

03.07 Documentation Guidance.

The level of documentation for PI&R inspection activities differs from that used for other

baseline inspection activities by allowing the documentation of observations and assessments.

a. Routine Review. Document the completion of routine plant status reviews and the daily

screening of items entered into the corrective action program performed under Sections

02.01 and 03.01 of this inspection procedure. Typically this is documented in Section

4OA2 of the quarterly integrated inspection report.

b. Semiannual Trend Review. On a semiannual basis, a section should be added to the

quarterly integrated inspection report to document the inspectors’ observations and

assessments of trends that might indicate the existence of a more significant safety

issue as they relate to the performance attributes discussed in Section 03.06. Unlike

the level of documentation for the routine reviews above, the level of documentation for

the trend review should include trends that might not rise to the level of an inspection

finding.

c. Annual Follow-up of Selected Issues. The basis for the selection and the scope of

review of each sample should be documented in the integrated inspection report. In

general, issues associated with PI&R programs should also be documented in the

report. This documentation should include factual information that relates to the

performance attributes discussed in Section 03.06 if that information indicates licensee

performance weaknesses. This documentation standard is different from the standard

used to document issues elsewhere in the quarterly integrated inspection reports.

Assessments of PI&R program effectiveness will not be performed during these

inspections – such assessments will be performed only during the biennial team

inspection. Technical issues associated with other inspectable areas and cornerstones

should also be documented in those sections of the report.

d. Biennial Team Inspection. At the completion of inspection activities, the team should

develop a clear and concise discussion of the results of their review. This discussion

should also be supported by the inspection activities, including those activities from the

routine reviews, semiannual trend reviews, and annual follow-up of selected issues,

conducted since the last biennial assessment of the licensee’s PI&R program. The

discussion should be documented in the inspection report for the biennial team

inspection. IMC 0612, Appendix D provides additional specific and unique guidance

beyond that contained in IMC 0612 for documenting the biennial PI&R inspections.

71152-04 RESOURCE ESTIMATE

04.01 Routine Review.

The effort for daily review of corrective action items is estimated at just over 30, 40, and

50 minutes for single-, dual-, and triple-unit sites, respectively. This equates to an annual effort

of 129 hours0.00149 days 0.0358 hours 2.132936e-4 weeks 4.90845e-5 months , 178 hours0.00206 days 0.0494 hours 2.943122e-4 weeks 6.7729e-5 months , and 225 hours0.0026 days 0.0625 hours 3.720238e-4 weeks 8.56125e-5 months for single-, dual-, and triple-unit sites, respectively.

Time spent performing these daily reviews should be charged to IP 71152.

Issue Date: 02/26/15 17 71152

It is expected that routine reviews of PI&R activities should equate to approximately 10 to

15 percent of the resources estimated for the associated baseline cornerstone procedures, this

is a general estimate only based on the overall effort expected to be expended in each strategic

performance area. It is anticipated that the actual hours required to be expended may vary

significantly from attachment to attachment, depending on the nature and complexity of the

issues that arise at the particular facility. Overall, an effort should be made to remain within the

10 to 15 percent estimate on a strategic performance area basis. Inspection time spent

assessing PI&R as part of the baseline procedure attachments should be charged to the

corresponding baseline procedure.

04.02 Semiannual Trend Review.

The effort for the semiannual trend reviews is estimated to take an average of 16 to 24 hours2.777778e-4 days 0.00667 hours 3.968254e-5 weeks 9.132e-6 months

per year, regardless of the number of units on site. The time spent performing these reviews

should be charged to IP 71152.

04.03 Annual Follow-up of Selected Issues.

The annual effort for review of the four to eight samples per Section 02.02 is estimated to take

an average of 61 to 81 hours9.375e-4 days 0.0225 hours 1.339286e-4 weeks 3.08205e-5 months for a single-unit site, 64 to84 hours for a dual-unit site, and 67 to

87 hours0.00101 days 0.0242 hours 1.438492e-4 weeks 3.31035e-5 months for a triple-unit site. The time spent reviewing the four to eight samples should be

charged to IP 71152.

04.04 Biennial Team Inspection.

The biennial team inspection is estimated to take an average of 212 to 288 hours0.00333 days 0.08 hours 4.761905e-4 weeks 1.09584e-4 months of direct

inspection effort. Resident inspector staff participation (either full or part time) on the inspection

team is highly recommended. The time spent performing the biennial team inspection should

be charged to IP 71152B.

Resources used to perform IP 93100, “Safety Conscious Work Environment Issue Follow-up”

inspection should be charged to IP 93100.

71152-05 PROCEDURE COMPLETION

Inspection of the minimum sample size will constitute completion of this procedure in the

Reactor Program System (RPS). The minimum sample size for the annual completion of the

baseline inspection consists of 2 semiannual trend reviews per Section 02.02 of this IP and

4 issues selected for follow-up per Section 02.03 of this IP for a total of 6 samples in RPS. The

minimum sample size for the biennial team inspection is 1 and is defined as the biennial team

inspection. These minimum sample sizes apply regardless of the number of reactor units at the

site. See IMC 2515 for further guidance on procedure completion.

Issue Date: 02/26/15 18 71152

71152-06 REFERENCES

Audit of NRC’s Implementation of 10 CFR Part 21, Reporting of Defects and Noncompliance

(OIG-11-A-08, March 23, 2011, ML110820426)

IMC 0326, “Operability Determinations and Functionality Assessments for Conditions Adverse

to Quality or Safety” (Link to external directory containing links to the latest version of this IMC

and to other IMCs including the following. Note: This directory also contains links to public

versions of Operating Experience Smart Samples [OpESSs] by IP)

IMC 0305, “Operating Reactor Assessment Program”

IMC 0308 Attachment 2 “Technical Basis for Inspection Program”

IMC 0612, “Power Reactor Inspection Reports”

IMC 0620, “Inspection Documents and Records”

IMC 2515, “Light-Water Reactor Inspection Program – Operations Phase”

IP 36100, “10 CFR Part 21 Inspections at Nuclear Power Reactors”

IP 43004, “Inspection of Commercial-Grade Dedication Programs”

IP 93002, “Managing Fatigue”

IP 93100, “Safety Conscious Working Environment Issue Follow-up”

IP 71111.12, “Maintenance Effectiveness”

IP 95001, “Supplemental Inspection for One or Two White Inputs in a Strategic Performance

Area”

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Enforcement Manual

Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations

NRC/INPO Memorandum of Agreement, dated November 14, 2005 (ADAMS ML060060035)

See the following web links for reference documents:

http://nrr10.nrc.gov/rorp/ip71152.html

END

Appendix A: Guidance for Gathering SCWE and PI&R Insights

Attachment 1: Revision History

Issue Date: 02/26/15 App A-1 71152

Appendix A – Guidance for Gathering SCWE and PI&R Insights

The following are suggested questions that may be used when discussing PI&R issues with

licensee individuals. It is not intended that these questions are asked verbatim, but rather, that

they form the basis for gathering insights regarding whether there are impediments to the

formation of a SCWE.

In cases where a potential problem with SCWE is identified in response to these questions,

inspectors should consult with regional management to determine if inspection resources should

be applied using IP 93100, “Safety Conscious Work Environment Issue Follow-up” to gain

additional SCWE insights.

IP 71152, Problem Identification and Resolution (PI&R)

Contents

Text

INSPECTION BASIS:

71152-01 INSPECTION OBJECTIVES

71152-02 INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS

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IP 71152, Problem Identification and Resolution (PI&R)

Text

INSPECTION BASIS:

71152-01 INSPECTION OBJECTIVES

71152-02 INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS

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