ASME Nuclear Power Certification Program

Technology Exchange | 2018-02-08

 

The first edition of the ASME Boiler pressure Vessel specification, published in 1963, Volume III, "Structural rules for Nuclear facilities components" is an important symbol of ASME's support for the nuclear power industry. The nuclear Power certification program that ASME started in 1968 has further strengthened its support for the nuclear power industry.

ASME issued the N class authorization certificate, the QSC Quality system certificate and the NQA-1 supplier's nuclear quality assurance System certificate means that the certified firm has passed the rigorous nuclear review, which proves that they have fully and effectively implemented the quality assurance system.

  (1)N class authorization certificate, which allows the certificate holder to comply with the ASME Boiler Pressure Vessel Specification Volume III to ensure that its products meet the requirements and/or to mark the product with a certified seal.
  (2)QSC Quality system certificate, allowing material manufacturers to ensure that their materials meet the requirements of ASME Boiler Pressure Vessel Specification Volume III.

  (3) NQA-1 Nuclear quality Assurance System certification, is to ensure that suppliers have the appropriate knowledge and ability to provide products in line with NQA-1 standards.

ASME is deeply proud of its unprecedented contribution to the nuclear power industry:
About half of the world's nuclear power plants use the ASME Nuclear standard in all or part of their construction, operation and maintenance.
  √ ASME Boiler pressure Vessel standards and specifications (BPVC) are approved and adopted by more than 60 countries.
  √ More than 30 countries require the use of ASME nuclear power standards and specifications in the procurement of nuclear components.
  √ Certified companies with ASME Nuclear power certification are located in 20 countries.
  √asme provides training to more than 10,000 professionals each year.
  √ To meet the diverse technical and professional needs, we provide a large number of alternative publications.
  √ More than 30 technical meetings per year ensure that you keep abreast of current trends and new developments.


ASME publishes the following types of certificates for the nuclear power industry:
Construction of n– containers, pumps, valves, piping systems, tanks, core support components, concrete containment and transport packages
Onsite installation and factory assembly of all parts of na.
Manufacture of npt– parts, accessories, welded pipe products and piping assemblies.
Construction of nv– pressure relief valve.
Construction of n3– transport and storage containers.
NS– Supporting Parts Manufacturing.
Own– in accordance with the BPVC Volume III Quality Assurance System outline approved nuclear power plant owners.
Manufacture and supply of qsc– materials and raw materials.
Approval of nqa-1– supplier Nuclear quality assurance System.


How to start an application:
Step 1th: Preparation and application.
Login URL: GO.ASME.ORG/BPV Browse all application requirements, BPV lists, FAQs, and determine the scope of the ASME-certified work.
 
• Additional content to be completed before submitting the application include:
-Get the required criteria (for more details, please login to the website go.asme.org/requiredcodebooks).
-As stipulated in the standard, it is necessary to sign a contract with the Authorized Inspection Agency (AIA), CSEI-ASME Inspection Co., Ltd.---Special Inspection ASMI Technical Inspection (Beijing) Co., Ltd, is the ASME authorized nuclear power Inspection organization.
-Prepare and train personnel to implement this quality system by preparing and complying with the quality system applicable to the BPVC part of the standard.

• When you have completed the above steps, please apply for authorization or quality system certification online.

2nd Step: Nuclear Review

The purpose of the nuclear review is to assess the applicant's quality control manuals and the ability to perform quality control manuals. The scope of the review is based on the expected range of activities described by the applicant in the application.

ASME will review all activity points that are referred to by the applicant in the quality control manual for impact and quality control, and ASME shall arrange for the review team to examine the sites mentioned in the application on a convenient date for both parties.

Procedures for on-site audits include:
  1, Quality Handbook Audit: By the review team on the first day of the nuclear review. The manual review is usually done in the hotel and not at the applicant's factory.
  2. First meeting/Factory visit: The first meeting will give the review team and the applicant an opportunity to introduce each other: to introduce the two sides, review the type of certificate applied and the scope of application and make a schedule. ASME encourages the company's senior management to attend the first meeting. The review team usually asks for a factory tour to familiarize the applicant's factory.
  3, the implementation phase: the applicant needs to demonstrate their ability to perform their quality assurance system. If any non conformance is found at the nuclear review, the review team will notify the applicant immediately.
  4. Internal meeting of the Review Group: Before the final meeting, this internal meeting will be held in the applicant's factory and the meeting shall only be allowed to participate in the review team. During the meeting, the review team will evaluate the results of the nuclear review and vote on the recommendations to be submitted to ASME.
  5. Last meeting: This meeting needs to participate with the management of the applicant and review the results. ASME encourages senior management to attend the last meeting, and if anything is found, they can review and inform the applicant's status. Announcing the recommendation of the review team to ASME, the applicant was allowed to ask all questions related to the review.

3rd Step: Announcement of Nuclear review content/Certification.
All non-closing entries in the ASME Nuclear review need to be corrected within 30 days or treated as recommended by the review team and ASME accepted. Correction and closure of the non conformance will need to be completed within the agreed time, otherwise ASME may detain the certificate.

4th Step: Certification and renewal
The ASME Nuclear certificate is valid for three years. Depending on the criteria and certification requirements for a particular certificate, additional review may be required during the certification period to verify that the quality assurance system of the licensee is maintained and that the elements selected in the previously identified quality assurance system are executed in accordance with the specific requirements. In the final phase of the certificate cycle, the licensee will receive information about the process of renewal.


Problems
• prepare for forensics phase
Q: Application form and Quality manual can be submitted in Chinese version?
A: No, you can't. All documents submitted to ASME must be submitted in English.

Q: Do I have to sign a contract with the Authorized Inspection Agency (AIA)?
A: If you are applying for a certification program that requires you to have an authorized inspection agency, this requirement is mandatory. You must sign a contract with an authorized inspection agency.
 
Q: Can ASME provide advice to help applicants get their certificates?
A: ASME does not provide consulting services to help the quality control system meet BPVC standards. Such behavior can cause conflicts of interest.

• Financial Issues
Q: How much does it cost to apply for a certificate?
A: ASME does not charge an application fee alone. However, the submission of the application form requires the payment of a certificate fee and a deposit, which includes an audit fee. The cost and deposit for each project will be given in go.asme.org/ca pricing.
 
Q: What kind of payment does ASME accept?
A: ASME can accept telegraphic transfer, cheque or credit card payment
 
Q: How can I get proforma invoices?
A: Proforma invoices need to be submitted for application. Please send ca@asme.org a proforma invoice with your application number in the mail.
 
Q: What happens when you pay a fee?
A: If you have received a service contract with the authorized inspection Agency (if necessary), your application status will be changed to "Waiting for scheduling" and will enter the evaluation/audit/audit phase. You will be required to wait for the review/approval/audit date of ASME or Nbbi or your regulatory authority. It usually takes 3-4 months to determine the date.


• Certificate identification
Q: What is the size of the certification seal?
A: There are 1/2 inches and 3/4 inches of two. When you request a certificate identification, you need to indicate what size you want.
 
Q: Can we apply for more than one certification Mark Seal?
A: Yes, additional application for the certification logo seal need to be purchased.


• Scheduling
Q: When do we arrange for our review?
A: The ASME Review arrangement is usually 4 months after the full application form and the application fee are received. ASME will try to arrange the date of review as soon as possible.
 
Q: We have more than one site to apply for BPV certification. How can I arrange the date of the review?
A: In order to arrange the review dates for multiple sites, you need to submit the application form and the corresponding application fee in accordance with each site. Once submitted, please write to ca@asme.org to request coordination of the review date. ASME arranges them at the same time as possible.
 
Q: How do we accept the proposed review date?
A: The date of the review must be accepted by the CA system in the 7 working orders that you receive a reminder. If we do not receive any reply, we will send a reminder again in 7 working orders. Please refer to the steps in your queued mail to accept the proposed date.
 
Q: When can I get specific review details?
A: Your company will be notified to log in to the CA system 4-6 weeks before the review schedule for specific review details.
 
Q: How many hotel rooms should we reserve for the ASME Review Group?
A: You only need to book a hotel room for the ASME Review Group identified in the CA system. Your authorized inspection agency will contact you directly if you need to book a hotel.
 
Q: If we have a meeting room in our factory, do we need to book a meeting room at the hotel?
Answer: Yes. ASME has chosen to audit the quality manual at locations outside your factory.
 
Q: What should we do when we need to reschedule, extend, or cancel the review date? What's going to happen?
A: Cancellation or extension requires deduction of a certain fee. If you need to reschedule the review date, write a message to ca@asme.org explaining the reason for the cancellation and the new review date that you want. For more information, see the relevant consequences of cancellation and the content of the fee deduction in the delivery notification.

ASME CA System
The CA system is an online system of ASME Management certification and accreditation project. Through this system can be realized from the application to forensics, from the change of information to obtain invoices, such as the entire process of online operations, in the near future we have been in the system speed and performance optimization and upgrade, welcome to use the CA system, please login caconnect.asme.org.