Quality Assurance

Holtec International places utmost importance on maintaining a strong and effective quality assurance (QA) program that befits the company’s reputation as the global provider of safety significant goods and services. Holtec’s QA program complies with the provisions of 10CFR 50 Appendix B, 10CFR72 Subpart G, 10CFR71 Subpart H, ISO 3834:2005, and ISO 9001:2015. Holtec’s nuclear quality program is docketed with the USNRC under docket No. 71-0784.

Holtec International’s QA program encompasses the entire gamut of Company activities including design, analysis, licensing (certification), procurement, testing, fabrication, delivery, installation, field services, and commissioning. The completeness of Holtec International’s QA program and its effectiveness has been subjected to audit by dozens of clients, regulators, and utility consortia (NUPIC). Holtec International’s commitment to a rigorous implementation of its QA program is evidenced by the unbroken record of acceptance of Holtec International as a qualified supplier of safety significant (refer to both “safety-related” and “important-to-safety” goods and services) projects by every prospective client since the inception of the program in the mid-1980s.

qa-diagram

Holtec International currently holds the following industry accreditations and certificates related to quality:

Quality Documentation

Holtec International’s QA program is documented through a set of hierarchical documents, with the Holtec Quality Assurance Manual (HQAM) situated at the apex of the hierarchy. The HQAM sets the broad criteria and organizational requirements for quality. The commitments of the HQAM are executed through the Holtec Quality Assurance Procedures Manual that is a compendium of some fifty Holtec Quality Procedures (HQPs). A series of Holtec Standard Procedures (HSPs) serve to provide lower tier implementation details.

The Quality Triad

Holtec International firmly believes that to reach and maintain unimpeachable quality, a state-of-the-art quality assurance program must be supported by the triad of (i) comprehensive quality procedures, (ii) a vigorous program of implementation, and (iii) a shared sense of ownership and accountability among the company’s associates. The QA triad is held as the fundamental QA doctrine of our company.

Measures to Maintain and Sustain QA Program’s Caliber

Holtec recognizes that a strong QA program is a pre-requisite for delivering high quality goods and services to the Company’s clients. To insure continued excellence, Holtec continually evaluates the strength of its QA Program through:

  • Intrusive Senior Management oversight;
  • Performance of internal audits and surveillances;
  • Reviewing results from audits and surveillances by company’s clients and taking necessary actions;
  • On-line trending of issues;
  • Obtaining client feedback on ongoing projects;
  • Company’s internal enhancement drive through the Quality Initiatives Committee.

Industry Inputs to Strengthen the Holtec Quality Program

  • Holtec’s long history of involvement in the nuclear industry has also allowed us to strengthen elements of our QA Program through:
    Feedback from over three decades of nuclear related work has been filtered into our program from most of the nuclear utilities in the USA;
  • Both top performing plants as well as plants on the watch list have provided valuable input to our program.
  • Quality Leadership & Staff:
    • Holtec’s QA program is led by Mark Soler (Vice President-Quality), a degreed Mechanical Engineer (University of Pennsylvania, 1986). Mark Soler has led Holtec’s QA program since 1988.
    • The QA Department includes a Corporate QA Manager, Divisional Quality Managers and supporting quality engineers.
    • A Quality Control Department includes a cadre’ of inspection personnel qualified to applicable standards such as ASNT-TC-1A and NQA-1.

Continuous Improvement

Holtec International is committed to enhancing all elements of its QA program through a sustained drive for self-improvement. The improvement in the quality program is an ongoing process at the company with the Quality Initiatives Committee (QIC) serving as the conceptualizer and catalyst for the enhancements.

Essential Features of Holtec’s Quality Program

  1. Well articulated procedures that enable and facilitate literal compliance and an unyielding adherence to written procedures and instructions.
  2. Continuous vigilance of work practices by the top management of the Company.
  3. An unending campaign for weakness detection and self-improvement.
  4. Intensive personnel training and QA indoctrination
  5. A relentlessly delivered mantra that schedule adherence is a distant third to safety and quality