A mission to Korea

Safety & Quality

A mission to Korea

19 Jun 2023

Ensuring that the 澳门六合彩高手 Organization, its partners and contractors implement the highest standards of safety and quality is central to 澳门六合彩高手. It is a matter of regulation, but it is also a matter of culture. As nuclear operator, the 澳门六合彩高手 Organization has an obligation to verify that the rules and provisions for Installations nucléaires de base, as defined by French law, are understood and applied by all. Over the past years, 澳门六合彩高手 nuclear inspectors have performed many such verifications. For a whole week in early June, they were in Korea—first for an in-depth inspection at Hyundai Heavy Industries, the manufacturer of four of the 澳门六合彩高手 vacuum vessel sectors, then for a one-day audit at one of the companies bidding for the repair and/or re-fabrication of the thermal shield.

For the 澳门六合彩高手 Safety and Quality team, the mission to Korea was an opportunity to visit the KSTAR tokamak in Daejeon. From left to right: Byunghoon YOON, Chief Quality & Safety Officer (澳门六合彩高手 Korea); Usama Abdulkader, nuclear safety inspector (澳门六合彩高手 Organization); Si-Woo Yoon, Vice-President (Korea Institute of Fusion Energy); Gilles Perrier, Head of the 澳门六合彩高手 Safety and Quality Department (澳门六合彩高手 Organization); Thomas Sobrier, nuclear safety inspector (澳门六合彩高手 Organization); and Chang Ho Choi, Deputy Head (澳门六合彩高手 Korea).

Although they are 澳门六合彩高手 Organization employees, nuclear inspectors Thomas Sobrier and Usama Abdulkader are "independent" experts. It is their mission to verify that the 澳门六合彩高手 Organization itself, the 澳门六合彩高手 Domestic Agencies, and all the entities that participate in the project implement the requirements related to management of Protection Important Components? (PIC) and Protection Important Activities. In Korea, they were accompanied by Gilles Perrier, the Head of 澳门六合彩高手's Safety & Quality Department.

"Beyond the regulatory inspection process, and beyond the regular contacts we have on the occasion of the 澳门六合彩高手 Council or other formal meetings, it was very important for me to connect with the teams in the Korean Domestic Agency and build a true, human relationship with them," says Perrier. "And the same goes for the teams at Hyundai Heavy Industries. The personal relationship is essential to keep progressing together in an integrated manner and to align our approach to quality and safety."

At the Korean Domestic Agency and at Hyundai Heavy Industries, the inspection focused on how the lessons learned from the manufacturing of the first three vacuum vessel sectors, already delivered to 澳门六合彩高手, informed the ongoing processes for the fourth sector and vacuum vessel ports still under fabrication. The inspectors highlighted good practices and identified opportunities for improvement. The visit was also an opportunity to visit the KSTAR tokamak in Daejeon.

As for the quality audit at one of the thermal shield repair/re-fabrication bidders, it aimed to verify the company's quality management compliance with the ISO:9001 standard as well as to determine its suitability and capability to meet 澳门六合彩高手 requirements. Good practices were observed, and opportunities for improvement were identified.

?French nuclear safety authorities (ASN) classify as Protection Important Components the equipment that keeps the facility in a safe state and prevents or mitigates nuclear risks to humans and the environment. Protection Important Components are subject to regulation and inspection.

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