V. Work Management Process

A. INTRODUCTION

A work management process is a method by which maintenance activities are identified, selected, planned, scheduled, and coordinated. The work management process supports the completion of tasks in a safe, timely, and effective manner to maintain safe and reliable unit operation. Different levels of control are provided for different types of tasks, depending on complexity and risk. The maintenance work management process addresses the following items:

· identification of deficient conditions

· generating repetitive tasks

· evaluating the impact of work activities on risk assessment

· planning and preparing work

· scheduling and coordinating work

· ensuring adequate resources to perform work

· establishing conditions to perform work

· conducting work activities

· controlling work during emergencies

· performing emergent work

· controlling non-department and contractor personnel working at the station

· documenting completed work

· post maintenance testing of work

· implementing removal/return-to-service procedures

· reviewing completed work records

· administrative procedures that describe the control of work, from identification and planning through completion, testing, review, and storage of history real data

· clear identification of responsibility for various types of work, such as packing adjustments, equipment lubrication, and maintenance on portable instrumentation

· a maintenance request (MR) form (electronic or hardcopy)(and/or work package) for directing and documenting maintenance activities -- The MR helps control maintenance activities by providing appropriate reviews and approvals and establishing necessary work controls for personnel safety, unit/system conditions, proper conduct of maintenance, and post-maintenance testing.

· controls on troubleshooting to prevent unauthorized work and equipment modifications

· a method to ensure that safety and risk significance are considered when planning maintenance on safety systems equipment that affects safety and reliability -- A balance is established between maximizing reliability and minimizing unavailability.

· technical reviews to ensure unauthorized modifications are not accomplished under the maintenance request and temporary repairs are appropriately controlled and identified for required permanent repairs, while monitoring to identify rework (maintenance that has to be repeated) and any related programmatic or performance deficiencies

· documentation of work accomplished and the results of post-maintenance tests, including satisfactory and expeditious return to service of the equipment or system

· management review of MRs following completion of maintenance to verify the activity was completed satisfactorily in accordance with maintenance procedures and standards and to capture maintenance history data

· control of non-department personnel and contractors conducting maintenance to ensure they are held accountable to the same policies and procedures as department personnel or that their procedures are reviewed and approved by maintenance management.

· management systems that accurately identify available human and equipment resources and coordinate them effectively to achieve optimum equipment availability and reliability

· provides for collecting and storing equipment maintenance data in the maintenance history database.

The work management process provides the data necessary to plan and schedule maintenance activities effectively. It also provides a means of collecting maintenance data that is used to identify, analyze, correct, and help prevent recurrence of equipment failures. The process used should be comprehensive enough to fulfill these functions, yet simple enough to function efficiently.

Operational control of maintenance is maintained by the proper use of process status and tagout procedures. Maintenance personnel are aware of activities that could impact the design configuration of the plant. These activities are identified and controlled to maintain plant design.

Configuration control is maintained by ensuring that systems and equipment are restored to their original conditions following maintenance. Maintenance personnel are aware of activities that could impact the design configuration of the plant. These activities are identified and controlled to maintain plant design.

Work planning is an important part of the maintenance process. In-depth work planning identifies the required support and detailed scope necessary to accurately schedule and effectively implement maintenance. Defining the work to be performed and providing appropriate procedures or instructions can reduce maintenance errors and improve efficiency of resource application. Assigning work priorities that reflect the relative importance of each job to unit operation maximizes the effect of maintenance in maintaining and improving safety and reliability. Planning also reduces work delays by ensuring that necessary support items such as special tools, other equipment, and repair parts and materials are available when needed. This, in turn, results in increased worker efficiency and contributes to maintaining a higher level of material condition.

Scheduling of inspections, tests, corrective and preventive maintenance, and planned and forced outage work is necessary to ensure that maintenance is conducted efficiently and within a prescribed duration. Scheduling daily activities based on accurate planning estimates can improve the use of worker time and help reduce unit/system unavailability and cost. Scheduling of planned outages is important to support the return of the plant to service on schedule (and within the approved budget) and results in a high level of reliable plant operations. A contingency schedule for forced outages should be developed and maintained current so that forced outage time is minimized and effectively used and needed maintenance is performed before restart. Work activities for the contingency schedule are planned, material is staged, and the amount of resources is identified to reduce station downtime.

Coordinating maintenance activities is necessary to accomplish work effectively. Examples of areas where interdepartmental coordination is necessary include preparing and using work, fire or burn permits, entering confined spaces, preparing equipment clearance tagouts, and performing quality control verifications. Coordination is also needed among the mechanical, electrical, instrument and control, and contractor groups for many work activities. Assign a designated individual responsible for the major portion of the job as the lead in identifying and coordinating needed support.

Post-maintenance testing is used to verify that the maintenance was performed correctly (that is, original deficiency corrected) and the equipment performs its intended function within design criteria (that is, corrective maintenance has not created an additional problem). Post-maintenance tests are performed after corrective maintenance and some preventive maintenance activities. The tests are commensurate with the maintenance work performed and the importance of the equipment to safety and reliability. In some cases, this may include testing of additional equipment to verify system performance.

B. GUIDELINES

18. Work Management Procedure

Each unit should have a procedure describing the work management process. Requirements may be contained in separate documents covering individual areas or in one overall procedure that describes the control of maintenance activities. The work management procedure helps personnel understand the requirements and controls for performing work. To accomplish this, the procedure must be concise, user-friendly, and easily understood by all readers. Flowcharts are recommended to provide an overview of the process and a pictorial flow-path for sequencing work activities. The basic intent of the work management process is to identify all plant deficiencies and work needed to be accomplished, to avoid redundant identification of these deficiencies, and to guide the accomplishment of work and subsequent post-maintenance activities. If the work management process does not include modifications, in-service test and inspections, work during emergencies, or preventive maintenance actions, the processes controlling these activities should interface with the work management process.

The work management procedure(s) describes the maintenance request (MR) form (electronic or hardcopy), including applicable attachments; and, as a minimum, addresses the elements listed below. In addition, elements that may be modified or bypassed during emergencies are clearly identified, and any compensatory requirements are defined. The procedure includes the following:

· personnel responsibilities for identifying deficiencies and initiating MRs that adequately describe the symptoms or problems

· management responsibilities for controlling the conduct of maintenance activities and processing MRs

· description of the process for initiating and processing the MR, including the pre-job review, approval cycle, and post-job review

· definition of the priorities used to schedule work

· resource loading of schedule

· determination of the impact of maintenance activities on operations

· work planning and scheduling

· requirements for personnel and equipment safety (for example, confined space entry permits, welding and burning permits, clearance tagouts, scaffolding, asbestos abatement)

· post-maintenance testing/operability testing

· collection of maintenance history and equipment failure data

· any applicable cross-reference to outage scheduling and management procedures

19. Maintenance Request

The station MR or another approved work management document controls maintenance performed on plant systems. This could be either an electronic or hardcopy process. In some instances, minor and less complex maintenance can be performed under a minor maintenance program without a detailed work plan. The documents clearly define the work to be performed and address the following items:

· equipment identification

· name of the person initiating the MR

· date MR initiated

· description of the symptom, problem, or work requested

· job priority

· personnel safety or permits (for example, confined space entry permit; welding and burning permit; clearance tagout; isolation, draining, and depressurization of the component)

· need for specialty contractor support

· applicable operating limitations and time restraints

· identification of qualification requirements (such as environmental code requirements and seismic qualifications)

· applicable work and foreign material exclusion instructions and references

· impact of maintenance activity on plant operations (such as derates)

· results of evaluation of risks to continued safe plant operation

· materials needed such as replacement parts, solvents, and lubricants

· inspection or safety hold points associated with the work

· required post-maintenance testing, inspections, and acceptance criteria

· authorization by the operations and maintenance management to commence work

· narrative description of conditions found by the craftsmen

· documentation of actual work performed with post-maintenance testing and inspection results

· documentation of measurement and test equipment used and applicable ranges

· acceptance of the equipment by operations

· final reviews and signoffs by maintenance and, when applicable, by other groups involved in the work

· documentation of lessons learned that would benefit the next individual assigned to perform the task

The MR is reviewed on as as-needed basis by applicable groups or representatives of these groups, such as maintenance, operations, technical support, and quality control during the planning process. This review can be simple or extensive, depending on various factors, such as the complexity of the job and its relation to safety or reliability. It is unnecessary and unproductive to have all groups review all MRs.

20. Review of Completed Maintenance

Requests for work on plant systems, a management review compares the work accomplished to the post-maintenance testing or inspection performed to determine that work is acceptable before the equipment or system is returned to normal service. Maintenance personnel review completed MRs for the adequacy of repair, completeness of documentation, and identification of rework. For complex or unusual maintenance work, a post-job review is held with the workers involved. This review could be a brief discussion or a comprehensive critique. The purpose is to determine if any unexpected problems occurred and if the activity can be accomplished more efficiently the next time and to identify best practices that could be applied to other jobs. The technical support, engineering, and other departments as appropriate and in accordance with instructions accomplish reviews as required. Feedback is provided to planning, scheduling, and maintenance personnel that highlights areas that were completed exceptionally well and areas that need improvement.

21. Temporary Equipment Repairs

Temporary repairs are temporary modifications to the unit that allow equipment to remain in or be returned to service in a condition that is not the same as the original design specification. Before implementation, temporary repairs receive an engineering review to determine the adequacy of the repair and its effect on personnel and equipment safety and reliability. Temporary repairs are tracked after their completion for eventual implementation as permanent repairs. Permanent corrective action is taken as soon as practical.

22. Planning for Maintenance Activities

XII. a. Planning Group Organization

Planning maintenance activities can be accomplished by a dedicated planning staff or by maintenance managers, technical staff, workers, or a combination thereof. If a dedicated group is used, it may be established as a central planning group or decentralized with planners for each discipline working within their respective groups.

A centralized planning group offers the benefit of improving the coordination among the various station groups and providing a central point for obtaining planning and scheduling information. A decentralized planning group facilitates a closer working relationship between each planner and the individual shop worker and can lead to increased planner credibility. However, this approach can diminish coordination among the planners. In addition to maintenance personnel, including knowledgeable and experienced personnel from disciplines such as operations, quality control, and materials can enhance the planning process. The alternative of assigning maintenance managers the responsibility for planning work has the advantage of having highly knowledgeable individuals perform the planning. However, their workload must be adjusted to allow the maintenance managers to carry out all of their assigned responsibilities properly.

A unit with a small organization may function well with managers responsible for all planning. A unit with a larger organization may gain by having a dedicated planning group to relieve the first-line manager of most planning duties and allow time for other managerial duties such as observing and directing ongoing maintenance activities at the work sites.

XIII.

XIV. b. Planning Group Responsibilities

Screen maintenance requests to determine if detailed planning and scheduling are required or if the work can be performed directly by a fix-it-now or similar expedited work control process. Establish specific criteria for making these determinations.

Different levels of planning attention are applied to MRs designated for planning. For example, correcting a packing leak on a manual valve normally does not need the same level of planning effort as overhaul of a major pump. Address the following items in the review to determine the level of planning needed:

· definition of the problem and identification of the work scope (for example, by work site inspection, by review of preventive maintenance activities, and other corrective maintenance that should or could be worked within the tagout boundary for the equipment)

· identification of risks associated with on-line maintenance and applicable contingency plans

· identification and review of necessary procedures, drawings, vendor manuals, and maintenance history

· identification of needed and available data for use in analysis of maintenance problems

· review of in-house and industry experience for possible generic implications related to safety-related or reliability-related maintenance

· procurement of necessary repair parts, materials, tools, equipment, and services

· assessment of resources and skill requirements for all personnel with work instruction or work package detail tailored to the results of this assessment

· identification and review of resources including other tasks scheduled to occur in the immediate area during the same period

· identification of initial conditions and prerequisites, including applicable limitations on operations

· identification of industrial safety concerns

· identification of quality control inspection, or code inspection requirements

· establishment of equipment restoration and post-maintenance inspection or testing requirements

· review of work instructions or work packages for completeness

· staging, special permits

Following completion of the work, an administrative review should address the following items:

· completed work packages or governing document for proper documentation, post-maintenance testing, and possible changes to the preventive maintenance program

· equipment history update

XV. c. Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting is the systematic process for identifying equipment problems and their causes. The process starts from symptomatic reports of a problem and progressively refines the analysis of the problem until the cause is precisely located and resolved. The process includes gathering evidence of what happened and when, where, why, and how it happened. For complex equipment or equipment that could significantly impact plant operations, a more structured and documented process is typically used. This information is then used to develop a troubleshooting plan that includes the following:

· documentation of the problem and possible causes

· documentation of applicable test equipment, drawings, and documents used in the troubleshooting process

· documentation of risk assessment and management approval to proceed (if troubleshooting has the potential to cause a unit transient)

· documentation of configuration control (that is, lifted leads, valve manipulations, temporary modifications, components replaced)

· documentation of post-maintenance testing requirements

The plan is then implemented, the specific equipment malfunction determined and documented, corrective actions taken, and long-term corrective actions identified.

23. Training of Planning Personnel

Design, develop, implement, evaluate, and modify training and qualification programs to meet the needs of planning personnel. The training program evaluates the entry-level candidate's knowledge and skills from past experience and the aptitude to learn the administrative and technical responsibilities of the work planning function. The training program addresses the following knowledge and skill needs for planners, as applicable:

· Determine applicable safety, administrative, and technical procedures necessary to perform the maintenance tasks.

· Identify current revisions to procedures, vendor manuals, drawings, and other plant policies related to maintenance tasks.

· Determine equipment classification and qualification requirements for replacement parts or component assemblies.

· Determine quality assurance inspection requirements and hold points.

· Understand plant system interactions and component isolation capabilities. This knowledge would be required for initiating risk assessments and contingency plans for on-line maintenance and other high-risk activities.

· Understand integrated scheduling techniques to evaluate how a specific work plan could affect another.

· Understand plant and equipment design for identification of large equipment transport paths, overhead lift capabilities, floor loading limits, and potential effects of a maintenance activity on surrounding equipment and systems.

· Determine the impact of the maintenance activity in the design configuration of the plant.

· Understand technical aspects and support activities required for the maintenance activity.

· Determine maintenance task schedule duration and resource requirements.

· Understand functional verification and retest programs.

· Understand the work management process.

24. Scheduling Maintenance Activities

XVI. a. Control of Work Backlog

The work management process provides the management with the means to identify and monitor the status of all valid MRs. It also helps other groups, such as engineering and materials management, identify work that is awaiting their support. The system should consider a MR as part of the backlog from the time the work is identified until all actions are complete, including post-maintenance testing and administrative reviews and signoffs. A serialized list of MRs with a brief description of the work requested, priority assigned, date the MR was initiated, and plant conditions required to perform the work is useful in managing work backlog. Other features of the process that could be helpful in managing the work backlog include the following:

· a computerized system with the ability to sort maintenance requests by priority, MR date, conditions required, systems affected, lead responsibility with support activities, and facilities or production equipment

· the integration of tests and inspection activities

· a status of MRs on hold for planning, parts, material dedication, engineering, or other constraints

· a tracking system to maintain the status of MRs currently being worked

· a tracking system to verify required post-maintenance and post-modification testing is accomplished before the return of a piece of equipment or a system to service (especially important following outages where many jobs may be performed on a system that is removed from service for an extended period or where several jobs are done under one clearance)

When feasible and when the balance between equipment reliability and availability indicates such actions are appropriate, accomplish all preventive and corrective maintenance activities on equipment when a tagout is issued for maintenance. These principles also apply on an interdisciplinary basis. For example, integrate operations, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and control, and technical staff activities. Establish a communication method for advising all groups of short and long-range maintenance schedules. This communication may be done independent of or within the scheduling process. Regardless of the method used, it is essential that all affected groups have adequate advance notification of corrective and preventive maintenance action to be accomplished. As an example, design verifications and walkdowns requiring removal of a system from service should be planned and coordinated with preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, and other inspections and tests to minimize system out-of-service time. Monitor the maintenance backlog to verify important jobs are not being delayed unnecessarily and that the amount of work in the backlog is controlled.

XVII. b. Assigning Work Priority

Personnel with strong knowledge of plant operations review each maintenance request to determine its impact on operations. Set meaningful priorities that determine how soon a maintenance request needs to be worked based primarily on personnel safety, unit reliability, and repair costs including generation losses. Establish communication among cognizant departments to set priorities properly. Implement a method that avoids congesting the work control process with jobs that are not important to safe and reliable operations.

Establish a priority system that is simple and flexible to enhance its use and accuracy. Assign corrective maintenance a priority based on the maximum time allowed before corrective action must be taken, as well as the system or equipment importance. Items to consider when assigning priorities to maintenance requests include the following:

· impact on plant safety or reliability until repairs are completed

· contingency or compensatory actions required while equipment is out of service

· availability of redundant equipment

· regulatory requirements (emission controls, OSHA)

· equipment and conditions required for equipment repair

The following listing illustrates a simple priority system:

non-outage work

· Priority 1 -- emergency, significant impact on personnel safety or unit operation (top priority -- Work immediately and provide special coverage if necessary; use of emergency work controls is authorized.)

· Priority 2 -- urgent, hinders or strong potential to hinder continued unit operation; station operations limited or in derate (Schedule as soon as possible in accordance with normal station practices and procedures.)

· Priority 3 -- necessary; has potential to degrade or hinder station operation (Schedule within the normal scheduling process.)

· Priority 4 -- as time permits, with little or no impact on continued plant operation or personnel safety

outage work (Subcategories for priority 5 and work as part of outage planning are also useful.)

· Priority 5 -- hot

· Priority 6 -- cold

Outage work is defined as work that must be performed with the unit not available.

25. Safety Management

Equipment important to safe and reliable plant operation requires careful consideration when maintenance is scheduled. The purpose of scheduling activities is to maximize and effectively balance systems' reliability and availability. For example, standby systems need to be not only available for operation, but also highly reliable, because they are required to successfully start and operate on demand. Therefore, it may be beneficial to take a system out of service for a short period to perform maintenance that will increase equipment reliability. Scheduling also takes into account the impact of maintenance on important support systems. For example, maintenance on support systems, such as cooling water, may render other systems incapable of operating for a period of time. When a system is out of service for maintenance, consider safety and reliability management when scheduling maintenance or activities on other plant equipment. Limit or reschedule activities that could result in a challenge to the remaining equipment and unit.

26. Training for Scheduling Personnel

Design, develop, implement, evaluate, and modify training and qualification programs to meet the needs of scheduling personnel.. The training program evaluates the entry-level candidate's knowledge and skills from past experience and the aptitude to learn administrative and technical responsibilities of the scheduling function. The training program should be designed to enable scheduling personnel to accomplish the following:

· Determine resource requirements (worker hours and task qualification requirements) for schedule resource loading.

· Understand system interactions and operability requirements for schedule sequencing determinations.

· Understand parts inventory systems for parts availability verification before scheduling.

· Understand total activity duration as planned and contingency plans for job scope changes.

· Understand critical path identification and scheduling methods.

· Understand integrated scheduling techniques.

· Understand support group interaction requirements.

· Understand the work management process.

27. Coordination of Maintenance Activities

The planning group (or maintenance managers) maintain the status of all open MRs and preventive maintenance that are overdue or coming due. Schedulers and managers recommend work assignments from this list based on job priority. Meetings involving routine job scheduling need to be held on a regular basis to properly communicate priorities, current problems, job interference, and requests for support among departments. A designated individual closely involved in the planning and scheduling process chairs these meetings. Managers or responsible spokespersons from all maintenance disciplines, operations, quality control, contractors, technical support, and materials management attend these meetings; other personnel are invited as needed. Frequent informal communication among groups outside the meetings is strongly encouraged.

Apprise station personnel of scheduled maintenance activities that affect them to ensure proper activity coordination. Publishing and updating a short-duration rolling schedule may do this. This schedule identifies scheduled activities for the next one to two days and planned activities for the remaining days. It is updated either daily or every other day following the routine planning meeting.

The responsible maintenance manager is provided with work packages in time for adequate shop-level preparation before starting the job. Each manager has sufficient fill-in work assigned to maintain crew productivity. When feasible, this fill-in work is independent of unit condition requirements, is easily coordinated, and is easily initiated. If this is not the case, identify the fill-in work on the rolling schedule so all-cognizant groups are aware of the jobs that maintenance managers may initiate.

The schedule allows for unexpected, higher priority emergent work requirements. Identify maintenance requests that could be postponed or stopped, or use some similar method to allow the work force to accomplish emergent work. Appropriate managers approve such postponements and work stoppages to ensure emergent work has a higher priority.

After jobs have been assigned and scheduled on the rolling schedule, the group having responsibility for the most significant portion of the job (lead group) assumes the responsibility for support coordination. The lead group is then responsible for coordinating activities such as verifying that clearance tagouts are available as requested; quality control inspectors are available as required; applicable permits and industrial safety job coverage is available; parts are available at the job site, and turnovers among work groups and different shifts are properly performed. Turnovers clearly communicate job status, including work completed and work remaining; changes in schedule, work plans, or procedures; and any problems that occurred during the job. Face-to-face turnover is preferred. However, when that is not possible or practical, thorough and accurate turnover notes or logs are necessary.

An ongoing review of schedule effectiveness is performed. This review can assist the unit in evaluating the credibility of the schedule and the ability of the maintenance department to adhere to the schedule. Performance in this area could be quantified and challenging goals subsequently established regarding effective scheduling and performance of maintenance.

28. Outage Planning, Scheduling, and Coordination

Manage maintenance activities during forced outages and unplanned power reductions to return equipment to service in a timely manner. Maintain a list of corrective maintenance, modifications, test, inspection, preventive maintenance, special items, or commitments that must be performed under system or station outage conditions or power reduction. Prioritize these items based on their importance to operation. Establish resource requirements and task completion time for each of the identified jobs to aid in planning, scheduling, and coordination. To the extent possible, prepare an up-to-date list of prioritized outage tasks and assembled work packages indicating amount of required resources including support activities, procedures, repair parts and material, special tools, clearance boundaries, and permit forms (such as confined space entry permits). Stage repair parts and material and special tools ready for use.

Prepare a forced outage work list and coordinate outage activities. Conduct forced- outage planning meetings periodically to update the list. Communicate the forced outage list, reflecting current planning for forced outages, to appropriate station work groups.

If a forced outage or unplanned derate occurs, appropriate managers initiate selected work from the forced outage list based on the estimated duration of the outage and available resources. For longer-duration forced outages (commonly, greater than three days), begin preparations for additional outage work while managerial decisions are being made to determine the actual length of the outage. In this case, each department reviews its current forced outage list and identifies any additional significant work to be conducted during the outage. If a forced outage is extended, consider assigning an outage manager to schedule and coordinate work for the expected duration.

Once the outage duration has been determined, conduct coordination meetings to determine the critical path and major milestones, evaluate the schedule for risk significance, and accept or reject any new or significant work to be accomplished. Support requirements are verified and coordinated among affected departments. During the outage, obtain a status during each shift to measure progress and make any required adjustments, such as coordinating special support needs. After completion of each forced outage, conduct a critique to determine how improvements could be made, and designate personnel to implement these improvements.

29. Post-maintenance and Post-modification Test Requirements

Establish a program to control and document post-maintenance and post-modification testing. This program may be a part of the work management process and may use the MR or work package to specify testing, assign responsibility, and document acceptance of all post-maintenance tests. The MR should provide specific instructions or cross-references a test procedure and is traceable to post-maintenance test data. This may be accomplished by recording the data directly on the MR or by referencing data recorded on post-maintenance test data sheets or documents.

A post-maintenance or post-modification test is any appropriate test, inspection, or surveillance performed following maintenance or modification installation to verify the following:

· A particular piece of equipment or system performs its intended function based on its design criteria.

· The original deficiency was corrected.

· New deficiencies were not introduced as a result of the repair or modification.

An operational test demonstrates normal operation of equipment under normal service conditions. A functional test demonstrates that a component is capable of performing its design functions. Evaluate operational or functional tests to ensure they fulfill the requirements of an adequate post-maintenance and post-modification test.

The assigned maintenance managers should review MRs received for planning to determine test requirements and whether the proposed repair is to equipment covered by applicable codes. Appropriate personnel review tests of any equipment affected by code requirements. These reviews ensure incorporation of testing required by the applicable code and any additional testing, data recording, or special documentation requirements. Technical support department assistance may also be required on tasks that are complex, even though no code requirements apply. The MR is reviewed to verify that testing will determine whether the equipment will perform its design function. Review post-maintenance tests for the possibility of combining one or more tests.

XVIII. a. Post-maintenance and Post-modification Test Program Scope

Since the purpose of corrective maintenance and modification is to resolve a deficient condition, perform a retest to verify that the equipment functions properly. Some preventive maintenance activities also require testing. Base the rigor of the testing on the work done and the importance of the component to safe and reliable operation. Perform testing on equipment, systems, or activities such as the following:

· maintenance or modification that affects the integrity or operation of a system

· maintenance or modification that affects mechanical strengths of components or fittings

· equipment that is included in special programs such as the in-service inspection and environmental qualification programs

· maintenance or modification that affects or removes design-approved temporary installations

· temporary systems that have been installed as substitutes for normally operational systems or portions of systems

· modified computer program software

Test equipment that is important to reliable operation in accordance with written instructions or approved procedures. Test procedures should contain acceptance criteria that aid in measuring the performance of repaired equipment. Provide baseline data, if applicable, for use in future condition monitoring.

If the entire procedure is not to be performed, identify the applicable sections, including necessary prerequisites and precautions. An engineering or system acceptance test procedure, alignment checks procedure, generic test procedure, or special test procedure also may be used to provide test instructions. Test procedures used for a range of generic equipment, such as manual valves or flow controllers, should have data sheets for specific equipment if acceptance specifications or performance data are required.

For troubleshooting MRs, it may not be feasible to fully determine the post-maintenance test requirements until the troubleshooting is complete. The responsible individual adds instructions to the troubleshooting MR stating that post-maintenance test instructions will be specified following the work. Upon completion of the work, the appropriate post-maintenance test is specified, verified by the appropriate individuals, and performed.

The following are examples of tests:

· hydrostatic or other pressure tests with visual inspection for leaks

· visual inspection for loose fasteners and mechanical misalignment or nondestructive examinations

· operational stem thrust measurements, including checks such as valve stroke time; measurement of vibration, flow, pressure, and temperature; operation of interlocks; and comparison against other applicable equipment calibration or alignment of an instrument or loop

· response time test of an instrument or instrument loop

· continuity, voltage, or current checks

· system or component inspections for cleanliness

· validation/verification of a computer software program

Specify a single test or a combination of tests such as those listed above to provide complete post-maintenance testing. On the MR or test procedure, reference the specific testing that is to be performed.

XIX. b. Post-maintenance and Post-modification Test Control

Establish a program to control testing. When more than one group is involved in the test or in a situation in which the test must be delayed until conditions permit, one organization, such as the operations department, should be responsible for coordinating testing performance. The designated organization reviews the total work scope to minimize redundant testing. The department performing or having the lead for performing the test assigns an individual with overall responsibility for conducting the test and an individual for reviewing test data and determining the acceptability of equipment.

If conditions dictate that testing cannot be completed immediately after maintenance or modification is performed, the MR or document is held open, or some other tracking method is used by the department having lead responsibility for testing until the equipment can be tested. Equipment is not declared operable until testing has been satisfactorily completed. However, equipment may sometimes be declared available for operation while still technically not declared operable pending testing. Operators must know the status of equipment on hold for testing and minimize the amount of equipment in this condition. This status is reviewed before any scheduled mode change. Equipment that can be tested during the upcoming mode is identified, and the tests are accomplished in the process of, or as soon as feasible after, reaching the new condition.

XX. c. Post-maintenance and Post-modification Test Performance, Documentation, and Acceptance

The operations department is typically assigned responsibility for the operational acceptability of all equipment and systems under its control. Accordingly, operators normally perform or are closely involved in testing. Maintenance, technical support, quality control, and other personnel may also be involved in or called upon to perform testing. For tests involving participation of more than one group, an individual in the lead group is assigned to coordinate testing activities. Minor equipment testing may be performed by the operator returning the equipment to service, the worker performing the maintenance, the engineer following the maintenance, or a combination of these and other needed individuals. The department responsible for specifying the test reviews the work actually performed to ensure that the test is appropriate. Any questions are resolved with the department that determined the testing requirements.

Operational acceptance of the equipment, based on satisfactory test completion, is verified by the operations department by signature on the MR or other reference document. Where possible, acceptance criteria are generated and available before the test and are included or referenced as part of the test instructions. This verification is made from objective evidence such as conducting or witnessing the post-maintenance test or reviewing completed procedures and documented test results. Test data and its acceptability are entered or cross-referenced to maintenance history.

Deficiencies identified during testing are documented and corrected on the original MR or control document, by a new MR or control document, or on another reporting system before the original MR is accepted as complete by operations. The original documents reference follow-up actions.

If a test fails and the equipment or system cannot be repaired and tested satisfactorily in a short period (normally, before the next shift change), the degraded or inoperable status of the equipment is documented so that operators understand the limitations of this equipment and/or system. Technical specifications are consulted for safety-related equipment or equipment that has an impact on safety-related systems, and appropriate actions are taken until the equipment is properly tested and returned to service.