Qualification of Non-Destructive Testing in Finland

1. Qualification of Non-Destructive Testing in Finland CURRENT STATUS NERS Meeting Vienna 23.9.2004 STUK Metso/Valkeajärvi/Aro, 10.9.2002

2. Progress made since September 2002 in NDT qualification in Finland • Top management of both licensees now understand the issue and are committed to work on it; national strategy document, presenting the involved organisations and their tasks, has in principle been agreed between the licensees • Management and planning of NDT qualification process has been contracted to an expert organisation rather than doing it within the licensee organizations as second priority work • Regulatory guide YVL 3.8 on In-Service Inspections has been issued (http://www.stuk.fi/english/publications) • Technical level guidance for implementation of qualification projects is ready • First qualification has been approved by STUK: internal inspections of Loviisa NPP reactor pressure vessel wall Metso/Valkeajärvi/Aro, 10.9.2002

3. European NDT qualification model is followed • European Network for Inspection Qualification (ENIQ) report "European methodology for qualification of non-destructive tests“, EUR 17299 EN in 1997 • Since then ENIQ has also published several recommended practices based on pilot studies Metso/Valkeajärvi/Aro, 10.9.2002

4. Finnish requirements for the NDT qualification • Qualification of NDT procedures, equipment and personnel has to be done as required in the regulatory guide YVL 3.8 • area of application: pre- and in-service inspections for equipment and structures in safety classes 1 and 2 • NDT qualification practices required in the YVL 3.8 are generally based on ENIQ methodology Metso/Valkeajärvi/Aro, 10.9.2002

5. Players in NDT qualification (1) • Licencees (utilities) • appoint the national Steering Group for the qualification activities • contract expert organizations to manage the qualification process (annual fee) and to provide planning and guidance • specify the inspections to be qualified and for each inspection: • contract a Qualification Body which is dedicated to this inspection only • provide input data and materials • Inspecta SFS Certification - independent (privately owned) expert organization for conducting certification and verification tasks in different areas of commerce and technology • manages qualification process on behalf of the licensees • provides a responsible leader and a second permanent member for Qualification Bodies (same individuals in all Qualification Bodies) Metso/Valkeajärvi/Aro, 10.9.2002

6. Players in NDT qualification (2) • VTT - independent expert and research organization • provides written guidance on compilation of qualification documentation • provides experts to Steering Group and to Qualification Bodies • Testing companies • provide experts to Steering Group and to Qualification Bodies when not involved in the respective inspection • prepare NDT procedure and technical justification (in case the company implements inspection and its qualification) • STUK - regulatory body • gives final approval of each qualification on the basis of assessment report prepared by the Qualification Body Metso/Valkeajärvi/Aro, 10.9.2002

7. Players in NDT qualification (3) • Steering Group (to be appointed by the end of year 2004, will meet 2-3 times per year) • membership: • all members are from management level • members from Inspecta, VTT, Polartest; they are alternating as chairman of the group • other members from licensees and STUK • the responsible leader of all Qualification Bodies serves as secretary • tasks: • agrees on resources and provides guidance and follow-up for the national qualification approach • appoints the Qualification Bodies Metso/Valkeajärvi/Aro, 10.9.2002

8. Players in NDT qualification (4) • Qualification Bodies • appointed and contracted separately for each qualification task (i.e., each inspection to be qualified) • continuity and consistency is provided by permanent members in all Qualification Bodies: the leader and the second member appointed from Inspecta SFS Certification • 1-3 other members from testing companies • members are inspectors with high level certificate and they bring technical hands-on experience to the process • not from the company who’s procedures, equipment and personnel is being qualified Metso/Valkeajärvi/Aro, 10.9.2002

9. Qualification of inspections for the new NPP • The main contract between TVO and Framatome ANP includes qualification of pre-service inspections • responsibility is with the FANP • However, there is a need to have a Finnish qualification framework and practice in place before the work starts • possibility of getting foreign expert support is being considered (SQC-Sweden, IVC-UK, ?) Metso/Valkeajärvi/Aro, 10.9.2002

10. Lessons learned • Licensees first underestimated the resources needed for qualification; qualification according to ENIQ requires a lot of work • Leaving the qualification process to technical level persons within the licensee and the regulatory body did not lead to progress • Key role given to independent expert organizations turned out to be necessary; roles and costs are now defined in a clear and transparent manner • Optimum use of existing expert knowledge and organizations is necessary in a small country, but adequate independence needs to be maintained Metso/Valkeajärvi/Aro, 10.9.2002