Selective development of ISO 9001 quality management documents for use at a volume reduction facility

Abstract

NLM is a division of Necsa. Their primary focus is to reduce the amount of waste that needs to be cared for in the long run. This includes the reduction of volume by compressing drums containing radioactive waste in a large press. This is done in the VRF. The VRF was operated for several years but became dysfunctional due to outdated technology.Quality is one of the most important aspects of the VRF and therefore the ISO 9001 principles for quality will be applied at the facility. In order to obtain the required level of quality; the existing QMS needs to be amended by creating work instructions, process descriptions and specifications.Work instructions, process descriptions and specifications were developed for use at the VRF. A heuristic to optimise the puck packing station was developed. This will be used to programme the PLC which will control the VRF. The importance of Internal Auditing in the quality management system and its interaction with the other procedures were highlighted and explained.