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Title: Root cause of failure analysis and the system engineer

Conference · · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA)
OSTI ID:6375561

In an industry where ever-increasing emphasis is being placed on root cause of failure determination, it is imperative that a successful nuclear utility have an effective means of identifying failures and performing the necessary analyses. The current Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) good practice, OE-907, root-cause analysis, gives references to methodology that will help determine breakdowns in procedures, programs, or design but gives very little guidance on how or when to perform component root cause of failure analyses. The system engineers of nuclear utilities are considered the focal point for their respective systems and are required by most programs to investigate component failures. The problem that the system engineer faces in determining a component root cause of failures lies in acquisition of the necessary data to identify the need to perform the analysis and in having the techniques and equipment available to perform it. The system engineers at the Palo Verde nuclear generating station routinely perform detailed component root cause of failure analyses. The Palo Verde program provides the system engineers with the information necessary to identify when a component root cause of failure is required. Palo Verde also has the necessary equipment on-site to perform the analyses.

OSTI ID:
6375561
Report Number(s):
CONF-900608-; CODEN: TANSA; TRN: 91-008305
Journal Information:
Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA), Vol. 61; Conference: American Nuclear Society (ANS) annual meeting, Nashville, TN (USA), 10-14 Jun 1990; ISSN 0003-018X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English