The EDF failure reporting system process, presentation and prospects

This paper describes the procedure Electricité de France uses to exploit the information on pressurized water reactor operation it receives back from the field (operation feedback). rst requirement in analyzing such data is a knowledge of past records. The first step, therefore, is to record the data, particularly events occurring on the plant and failures occurring on equipment, in large reliability data banks. r, the ‘raw’ information stored is rarely usable directly. The first step in the second stage—analysis—is to review and qualify the data before using it for any purpose. This difficult, but essential, review provides valuable information on the improvement of equipment reliability. eater knowledge of plant and equipment behaviour, and the damage mechanisms involved, allows: • ty to be kept at a high level: operation feedback is also essential for probabilistic safety studies, x02022; ovement of availability and preventive maintenance practices, x02022; ection of the initial design (design changes) and help for designing future plants. y, operation feedback is a source of progress. Although it requires heavy initial investment, it is also a source of profit. It is a source of learning. The analysis results make it possible to define more suitable procedures and better preventive maintenance practices and thus improve the operation and safety of existing and future plants.