Safety Case Toolkit

Equipment Qualification Schedule

Introduction

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) Safety Assessment Principles (SAPs), specifically principle EQU.1 Equipment Qualification (EQ), identifies the requirement for EQ procedures to confirm that Structures, Systems and Components (SSCs) will perform their allocated safety function(s) in all normal operational, fault and accident conditions identified in the safety case for the duration of their operational lives. The requirement for safety in design and qualification of SSCs is also discussed in the IAEA Specific Safety Requirements (SSR-2/1), Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Design. Guidance for the management of external and internal hazards in the design on Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) can be found in the SAPs and ONR Technical Assessment Guides (TAGs) such as NS-TAST-GD-013 and NS-TAST-GD-014.

EQ procedures are required to provide a level of confidence commensurate with the safety classification of the SSCs. Guidance on the maintenance, inspection and testing of components important to safety can be found in NS‑TAST-GD-009.

EQ procedures are required to provide a level of confidence commensurate with the safety classification of the SSCs and should address all relevant operational, environmental, fault and accident conditions, including severe accidents.

EQ information presented in the safety case can be consolidated in the form of an Equipment Qualification Schedule (EQS) either as a single database, document or series of documents. Most importantly, EQ requirements presented in the safety case should be easily accessible and flow through the maintenance, inspection and testing arrangements, and operational documentation where necessary to ensure that safe operation is maintained.

Additional Information and Guidance

  • IAEA, Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Design, Specific Safety Requirements No. SSR-2/1 Rev 1, IAEA: Vienna, 2016.
  • ONR, Safety Assessment Principles for Nuclear Facilities, 2014 Edition Revision 1 (January 2020).
  • ONR, NS-TAST-GD-013, External Hazards, October 2018.
  • ONR, NS-TAST-GD-014, Internal Hazards, November 2019.
  • ONR, NS-TAST-GD-009, Examination, Inspection, Maintenance and Testing of Items Important to Safety, May 2019.