Protecting People and the EnvironmentUNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555
September 22, 1988
Information Notice No. 88-78: IMPLEMENTATION OF REVISED NRC-ADMINISTERED
REQUALIFICATION EXAMINATIONS
Addressees:
All holders of operating licenses or construction permits for nuclear power
reactors.
Purpose:
This information notice is being provided to inform addressees of the NRC
staff's intention to implement a revised requalification examination program
beginning in October 1988. It is expected that recipients will review the
information for applicability to their facilities and consider actions, as
appropriate. However, suggestions contained in this information notice do not
constitute NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written response
is required.
Background:
The regulation 10 CFR Part 55, which became effective on May 26, 1987, pro-
mulgated a requirement that each holder of an operator's license in a nuclear
power facility pass "a comprehensive requalification written examination and
operating test administered by the Commission during the term of a six-year
license." The initial program to implement this regulation experienced dif-
ficulty because of a number of deficiencies that were made known to the NRC
staff. In September 1987, the staff suspended all NRC-administered requali-
fication examinations to evaluate the feedback received from the field and to
consider appropriate revisions to the program. The program now has been
revised and field tested at one site in each of the five regions. Having in-
corporated corrections of the known deficiencies of the previous program and
also the lessons from field testing at the five sites, full-scale resumption
of the NRC-administered requalification examination will begin in October
1988.
Discussion:
The requalification examinations conducted by the NRC will consist of the
following:
1. Operating Test
a. Crew Evaluations: Evaluations of crew performance will be performed
in the simulator. Individual operator weaknesses will be flagged
for followup evaluation during the plant walkthrough.
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September 22, 1988
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b. Individual Evaluations: The NRC will observe plant walkthroughs
during which operators will be expected to successfully implement
job performance measures for selected tasks. Operators also will be
expected to demonstrate understanding of the job performance
measures by satisfactorily answering performance-based questions
related to the tasks.
2. Written Examination
The written examination will be administered in an open-reference format,
which allows the use of available reference materials, and will consist
of the following two sections:
a. Plant Operations: This section will be administered in a simulator
or an equivalent device. Questions will be based on the status of
the "frozen" simulator (or the equivalent device). The operator
will be able to refer to simulator indications and reference
materials present in the simulator in responding to test questions.
b. Limits and Controls: This section will be conducted in a simulator
or a classroom. Questions will be asked about plant procedures and
administrative controls. A complete set of reference materials used
to operate the plant will be available during the written
examination.
Before the examination is administered, all aspects of the examination will be
reviewed by facility representatives to ensure that examination questions,
scenarios, and job performance measures are performance based and technically
correct. This revised process will result in an examination that accurately
reflects the ability of operators to satisfactorily perform licensed duties.
The staff fully intends to continue to improve the process on the basis of the
feedback received so as to maximize operational safety. Addressees may wish
to provide a copy of this information notice to each licensed operator and
senior operator at their facilities.
No specific action or written response is required by this information notice.
If you have any questions about this matter, please contact the technical
contact listed below or the Regional Administrator of the appropriate regional
office.
Charles E. Rossi, Director
Division of Operational Events Assessment
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Technical Contact: L. A. Wiens, NRR
(301) 492-3171
Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices
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