Human Factors Affecting the Performance of Inspection Personnel in Nuclear Power Plants

The maintenance and safe operation of nuclear power plants is a major concern of the utility industry. Of particular interest is the development of competence in flaw detection among inspectors who perform IGSCC (intergranular stress corrosion cracking) inspection. Despite efforts focused on the implementation of stricter qualification codes, the remediation of skill deficits (e.g., training efforts), and equipment upgrading, two problems remain: There is a relatively low pass rate on the qualification exams among workers who attend the EPRI NDE Center’s IGSCC detection course; and Of those who are qualified, there is an apparent disparity between their good performance in training and poor field results.