NRC Commission Briefing

Digital I&C:

An Industry Perspective

November 8, 2006

Jay Thayer

Vice President Operations - NEI

Amir Shahkarami

Digital I&C and Human Factors

Working Group Chairman

Jack Bailey

New Plant Working Group
Topics

Application of Digital Technology

[ Need for a Shared Vision

Ongoing Activities

E Problem Statement

[ Success Criteria

Requested Actions

[ Conclusions

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Digital Technology

Necessary for the future of the

Nuclear Industry

U Improved reliability and performance =

enhanced safety

L Addresses obsolescence and

spare/replacement parts issues

L Reduces burden on operators

(surveillances, automation)

L New Plant I&C Systems
Digital Technology Applications

[ Not a "new" technology

[ Embraced by other industries and

countries as superior to analog

technology

" Energy, airline, military, aerospace and

petroleum industries

" Foreign nuclear power plants

" U.S. nuclear power plants - Secondary

Systems (Feedwater Control Systems),

some Primary Systems (not fully

integrated)

6 NE
Need For A Shared Vision

The safety, reliability, and

efficiency improvements gained

by using digital technology in U.S.

nuclear power plants dictate that

the behaviors and actions of both

the regulator and industry

embrace and encourage its timely

deployment and safe

implementation.

7 N'S: i
Ongoing Activities

17 New plant guidance is being

developed

Lj Draft Regulatory Guide (DG-1 145)

u Standard Review Plan updates

m NRC Staff is still forming opinions on

several key issues

Li Adequate diversity in digital applications

(BTP-1 9)

Li Risk informing reviews

L Inter-channel communications

iwNE i
Ongoing Activities (Continued)

SResearch efforts are ongoing to

support advanced technologies

and control rooms

L Expected to result in changes to

existing guidance and new

guidance being developed

9 EI•"i
Obstacles Exist

* Regulatory Guidance Issues

Lz Current guidance / regulations being updated

New plant design certifications have been and are

based on existing guidance

L In some cases current guidance does not reflect

changes in staff positions

* Technical Issues Need To Be Addressed

Li Duke Energy submittal review identified potential

generic technical issues and apparent changes to

existing guidance (BTP-19)

L Recent new plant discussions indicate technical

issues will need to be addressed - some generically

Li No criteria for incorporating risk insights into digital

applications

10 I
Obstacles Exist (Continued)

Process

ui Many issues cross multiple

organizations and disciplines, leading

to coordination issues and untimely

resolution

[] Lack clear guidance for amendment

submittal content timing
Problem Statement

n In spite of recent activities, there is no

clear success path for resolving longstanding technical and process issues,

causing...

" Existing plants to delay and/or change plans for

digital upgrades

" Issue resolution in the I&C and human factors

areas are a critical path activity for new plants

" Potential removal of important features from or

addition of unnecessary complexity to the I&C

systems

12
We All Need...

ri A stable, predictable, and timely licensing

process for both new and existing plants,

evidenced by:

" Timely, generic resolution of emerging issues

" Submittal of high quality license amendment

requests, standardized to the extent possible

Li Using the right process when there is a need to

take positions contrary to existing published

guidance

[] Understanding that the application of mechanical

system or analog design concepts to digital

technology may not be the appropriate model

13 NEM I
We All Need...

* Integration of activities in and across

multiple areas and organizations

Li Human factors, I&C, cyber security, PRA, research

L Industry, NRC, standards organizations,

international organizations

* Use of risk insights to help us better

understand system vulnerabilities and

develop safer and more reliable digital

designs

* Understanding of, agreement on, and, to

extent possible, collaboration on research

initiatives

14 Lx
M

-Digital P)RA

Task Force,

K&C Technical

Issues

Task Force

Human Factors

Task Force

Cyber SecurityFocus Group,

Existiong:Plant

Licentsing'-

Pcess;

Focus sGtroup

The Industry Digital I&C and Human Factors Working Group, along with its

associated Task Forces and Focus Groups, provides an infrastructure for

industry and vendors to effectively interface with NRC and address potential

generic issues that arise from the implementation of digital technology.

15
FDigital PRA Task

Force

I&C Technical

Issues Task

Force

Human Factors

Task Force

Focus Groups

Coordinates industry efforts relative to

the use of risk insights associated with

digital technology for both existing and

new plants. The group also reviews

NRC research activities associated with

digital applications.

Coordinates industry efforts relative to

I&C technical issues associated with the

application of digital technology for both

existing and new plants.

Coordinates human factors and control

room design issues associated with use

of digital technology for both existing

and new plants.

Coordinate with existing NEI task

forces to address issues related to

cyber security and the licensing

process.

16 ", IE: I
Moving Forward

m A commitment of resources (Industry &

NRC) is needed to develop action plans

and coordinate issue resolution in a

timely, efficient manner

L Industry has developed an infrastructure to

move digital I&C forward from a regulatory

perspective

L Commission/Senior NRC Management

attention is needed to help ensure

consistency and coordination between

multiple NRC offices (NRR-NRO-RES-NSIR)

17NEI
Requested Actions

m Develop an interaction protocol that will

capitalize on previous successful

initiatives

L Apply License Renewal Model for interactions

[ In concert with stakeholders, develop an

integrated plan to address issues with a

well-defined scope and schedule for

deliverables

o Include a mechanism for getting "unstuck" on

technical issues

[] Ensure changes to current positions are made

in accordance with appropriate regulatory

process and well communicated to

stakeholders

18
License Renewal Model Applied to

Digital I&C

m Develop a Digital I&C / Human Factors Steering

Committee comprised of senior management

(Deputy Office Director and above) from:

L NRR

LNRO

o RES

Li NSIR

n Hold quarterly meetings with industry working

group

[ Hold frequent meetings with NRC technical staff

and industry task forces / other stakeholders

[ Conduct periodic Commission briefings

18a
Requested Actions

* Endorse the application of risk insights

into digital applications -and reviews

* Direct the staff to work more closely with

stakeholders to clearly define acceptance

criteria in guidance documents (e.g. BTP19)

r] Conduct a near-term briefing so that both

NRC and Industry can develop a full

understanding of the implications

research activities might have on both

new and existing plants

19
Requested Actions

Issue

these

a policy statement to capture

thoughts that can be used to:

Li Instill a sense of urgency on this effort

ci Acknowledge that the use of proven

digital technologies will enhance

safety, reliability, and efficiency at our

nuclear power plants

20 2E U) i
Conclusions

* Business as usual will not result in

success

* Both parties need:

Li A common Vision

Li An effective, efficient method for

interacting and resolving issues

ci A clearly defined plan for moving forward

ci To regularly monitor progress

* It is imperative that we act now

N4IE: I
List of Acronyms

im ABWR: Advanced Boiling Water Reactor

* APWR: Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor

[ BTP: Branch Technical Position

[ DG: Draft Regulatory Guide

EPR: Evolutionary Power Reactor

[ I&C: Instrumentation and Controls

[ NEI: Nuclear Energy Institute

* NRC: Nuclear Regulatory Commission

[ NRO: Office of New Reactors

[ NRR: Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

[ NSIR: Office of Nuclear Security & Incident Response

[ PRA: Probabilistic Risk Assessment

[ RES: Office of Research

22
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CI

Digital Instrumentation

and Controls

November 8, 2006
Acronyms

(excluding reactor identifiers)

COL

D3

DOE

FPGA

I&C

NRC

NRO

Combined Operating License

Diversity and Defense-in-Depth

Department of Energy

Field-Programmable Gate Array

Instrumentation and Controls

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of New Reactor Licensing

2
Acronyms - continued

NRR

NSIR

RES

SRP

Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation

Office of Nuclear Safety and

Incident Response

Office of Nuclear Regulatory

Research

Standard Review Plan

3
Agenda

" Background

* Licensing activities

* Technical issues

* Research activities

" Conclusions

4
Current Technology

5
Digital Technology

6
Digital I&C

Future Workload

" Operating reactor modifications

" Design Certification

" Combined Operating Licenses

7
Diversity and Defense-inDepth (D3)

* Current approach

• Improving methods

* Acceptable level of D3

* Digital control room

8
Digital Risk Assessment

* Industry proposed D3 analysis

" NRC initiatives to update modeling

" Future activities

9
Highly Integrated Control

Room

* Communication independence

-between safety channels

-safety to non-safety

* Control room design

10
Cyber Security

* Guidance for safety systems

* Industry guidelines

* Issue and resolution

11
Infrastructure Development

• Updates to guidance

" Recruiting

" Training

" External contacts

12
Digital System Research

* Comprehensive research plan

* 27 research projects that support

program offices

• Products include technical review

guidance and acceptance criteria

* Research supports current and

future reactor key issues

13
Diversity and Defense-in- Depth (D3)

o Knowledge and technology has

evolved

i Complex process to consider

diversity attributes

o Develop combinations of D3

strategies

14
Digital Risk Assessment

" I&C licensing process is

deterministic

" Developing modeling methods

" Other industries have used

reliability and risk methods

* Goal is to establish a risk-informed

review method

15
Highly Integrated

Control Room

* Will provide licensing guidelines

-Safety channel communications

- Safety to non-safety system

displays and controls

* Will develop review criteria

16
Cyber Security

* Cyber security assessments

- Evaluating potential

vulnerabilities

- Safety system assessments

- Safety to non-safety connections

17
Additional Research Areas

* Alternatives to micro-processor

technology

- Field Programmable Gate Array

(FPGA) based technology

- Develop review guidance

* On-line Monitoring

-Provide guidance on analytical

methods and uncertainty

18
Conclusions

* Evolving digital

challenge from

perspective

* We are working

stakeholders to

technology is a

a regulatory

closely with

update guidance

* Leverage other sources

• Working to have the right people

and procedures to license digital

systems

19