Problem

Next-generation reactor licensing has been plagued with extensive errors and inquiries from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) stemming from those errors. The next revision needs to have dramatically reduced errors or critical path schedule will have unrecoverable schedule delay worth millions of dollars.

Approach

  • Determine type and cause of errors to determine trends and common causes for targeted analysis and improvement.
  • Combine software development and contractual review models from other internal businesses into a robust, integrated framework to solve the problem.
  • Synthesize human performance (HU) tools, Poisson statistical sampling techniques, and Lean simulation method to identify and resolve errors as rapidly as possible.
  • Establish communication and training deployment to all affected individuals and collect feedback in a standardized process to accelerate systemic and product improvements.

Recommendations

  • Create and deploy standardized checklist addressing common error as well as other error-likely situations to all individuals at the lowest level of work product creation possible.
  • Establish the integrated review process utilizing facilitated Lean simulation that tests work product quality at the lowest level possible, integration and interconnection of work products, and uses Poisson statistical feedback to monitor progress.
  • Prioritize work products and integration using systematic risk profiling to rapidly correct problems.

Results

  • Deployed human performance (HU) checklist.
  • Instituted first statistical feedback and correction process for large scale documents (7,000+ pages).