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The notion of "quality" acquires a special meaning at the production facilities of nuclear fuel cycle, because it is closely linked to nuclear safety. Special attention has been paid to the quality-related issues during more than 60 years of existence of nuclear industry in
Presently, one can positively state that the products of TVEL Fuel Company completely meet international standards as well as regulations related to the requirements for nuclear fuel. The results of performances of Russian fuel assemblies demonstrate high values of electricity output, operational reliability and safety.
The Quality Management System (QMS) has been established and is successfully functioning at all production enterprises of the Fuel Company. Such system ensures the perfect operation of all processing chains. The quality control is carried out at all stages of production cycle.
At that the QMSs of the main corporate plants – JSC “MSZ”, JSC “NCCP” and JSC “CMP”, as well as of the managing company – JSC TVEL - were certified according to ISO 9001:2000 international standard. The audit was done by TUV CERT (Germany) – an authoritative certification body. The representatives of this company regularly conduct the compliance audits, which have to confirm the correspondence of all key indicators with the stated standard.
In addition to this the enterprises regularly pass the quality audit, carried out by customers of product (namely, by representatives of nuclear power plants and energy generating companies). Additional quality assurance programs, corresponding to the IAEA regulations, are developed for each supply contract. This makes it possible to fully satisfy their anticipations related to economic and technical performances of fuel.
It is of an interest to trace the history of the QMS improvement following the example of JSC “Mashinostroitelny Zavod” in Electrostal. In the 80’s a complex system of the products’ quality control was introduced at the Plant. Many of the ISO 9000 series’ standards had been already included in it. In the 80’s and mid-90’s the automated lines were developed and put into operation, which helped not only to increase the productivity but to ensure stable high quality (it is not accidentally that the accomplished works were twice by State Prize of the USSR and by the State Prize of the Russian Federation).
In 1996 the Plant became the first one in Russia’s nuclear power industry and one of the first among the country’s enterprises to receive the QMS compliance certificate to ISO 9002:1994. A year later the Plant became a holder of the Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation in the field of quality by winning a contest which was held for the first time ever. In 2001 the enterprise received a diploma of the European quality prize, awarded by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). In 2004 the Plant received ISO 9001:2000 certificate.
Particularly it is worth of mentioning, that in 1994 MSZ started cooperation with Siemens (at present incorporated in Franco-German Framatome ANP). Within this cooperation the rigorous European standards were applied. The “Western-design” FAs, manufactured by MSZ in cooperation with Framtome ANP, are supplied to Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands. During all these years not a single fuel assembly manufactured for foreign NPPs has failed.
The same path follow Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates’ Plant (NCCP) and Chepetsky Mechanical Plant (CMP). The managing company – JSC TVEL – in 2004 certified its QMS according to ISO 9001:2000 standard. A year later CJSC TVEL-Invest passed the same procedure. In the nearest future JSC Priargunsky Industrial Mining & Chemical Union (PIMCU) is planned to pass certification.
Presently, one of the company’s strategic goals is creating a corporate QMS, unifying those of the TVEL’s enterprises.
Therefore, JSC TVEL has turned a systematic work in the field of quality into an element of its long-term strategy. Sequential steps in the field of quality enable the Russian nuclear fuel producer to successfully compete with Western suppliers in international market.
JSC TVEL’s Quality Policy
- To improve operational safety, reliability and effectiveness of products aimed at maintaining its high competitiveness at present and in future.
- To create the Corporate Quality Management System, which corresponds to ISO 9001 certification and to increase steady its effectiveness.
- To establish at the affiliated enterprises the Environmental Management Systems, meeting ISO 14000 certification for constant minimizing the environmental impact during product manufacturing.
- To meet the customers’ demands and to exceed their anticipation related to operational safety, reliability, effectiveness of products and the level of its environmental impact.
- To improve continuously the Company’s activity, aimed at constant quality improvement of product, services and at provision of safe operation of nuclear and radiation facilities.
- The Company’s Management is committed to participating directly in the implementation of the Quality Policy and to creating the conditions, necessary for sustainable quality improvement of product and services.
- The Company’s Management announces that it bears full responsibility for the implementation of the Quality Policy and relies on support of the employees.
ISO 9000 International standards
ISO 9000 international standards set forth the requirements for the Quality Management System of organization. Its distinctive feature is that it specifies requirements not for the product’s quality directly, but for the system of production’s management, which has to assure a stable level of product’s quality. According to ISO 9000, a quality product means the product, which meets both specified (set) anticipations and estimated (not set) ones of customers.
The said series include three international standards: ISO 9000:2000, ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 9004:2000. Namely, ISO 9001:2000 is an international standard, unifying global experience in the field of production management; it contains requirements for organization of manufacturing.
(according to “Standard and Quality” No. 11, 2005).
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