ABSTRACT
This chapter provides specific methods and procedures for engineering reliability into nuclear equipment and components during acquisition and for maintaining high reliability levels during plant operation. The methods and procedures cover the engineering program elements, i.e. prediction, FMECA, degradation control, assessment and feedback and others described in Chapter 3, that would make up an overall life cycle reliability assessment-evaluation-improvement methodology as outlined in Chapter 2. These procedures, when applied during development (and operation) as part of a life cycle reliability methodology, are performed to assess the reliability of an equipment as it progresses through acquisition and operation and to flag and rank items impacting reliability which can be fed back to the design and development process. They support the determination of the cost-effectiveness of proposed equipment changes. Results of equipment reliability analysis including MTBFs, failure modes, criticalities (as well as effective changes) and their LCC factors can also be incorporated into a dynamic real-time database from which the effectiveness of the reliability methodology (as well as the overall reliability program) can be continually assessed. The database would also represent a primary experience pool for designing new equipment with respect to reliability.
