INPO has nothing to do with the NRC outside the NRC now accepts your training program as meeting their requirements if you meet INPO recommendations.
There is no way to access anyones ratings via the INPOs website as its a restricted webpage, it can only be accessed from a member utility. INPO doesn't put the ratings on their website. The ratings are 1,
2 (Average to above average) 3: Below average. 4: Piss poor. They rate each department then come up with an overall site rating. You used to be able to get an INPO 1 if the majority of the site is INPO 1 but now INPO won't issue a 1 without having a 1 Ops Department.
Their evaluation consists of.
1: A Pre Visit usually lasting a few days. Many times they try to do this during a refueling outage.
2: Pre Eval: The Eval team reviews data they've requested the utility to provide. IRC this lasts about 2 weeks.
3: Simulator Visit: They come to your site for 1 week and watch at least two crews perform drills.
4: THE VISIT: a 2 week eval. Usually it consists of 3 or 4 INPO people and 2 Industry Peers (employees from other Utilities)
5: Exit Meeting, they give preliminary findings.
They then issue a report with their findings and your plant rating. The report is usually maybe 40 or so pages long. It has your Strengths which are what you do very well and your AFIs (Areas For Improvement) where you don't meet either an Industry recognized standard or are way out of line with INPO Guidelines.
And example of a Strength would be if you use an evaluation tool to evaluate your SROs then use it and training in order to target areas of individual improvement. You might have weak SROs but if you've recognized it and developed a program which is improving performance you might get a strength for the tool you use BUT an AFI for your SRO performance.
The utility takes the AFIs and developes action plans to improve the performance for that area. In two years when INPO comes back you'd best have improved in that area.
Many insurance companies base their rates on INPO Ratings, in other words as a condition of your policy you have to reveal your rating. IIRC the Fermi INPO 1 saved them something like 3 million in insurance.
Yes it's partly political but 99% of the time INPO gets it right and can usually use data YOU provided to prove it as so. Some of it is kind of BS in that if you are an INPO 3 it doesn't matter how squared away you become, you won't get a 1 in your next 2 year eval. On the other hand Diablo Canyon was at one time the only plant to ever get INPO 1 in every eval. I found it dubious in that Diablo Canyon has had MORE than their fair share of screw ups and the first time they got INPO 1 was the same year they become infamous when they boiled their core during mid loop refueling ops. HOWEVER, their electricity rates were based on regulatory and INPO performance.... HMMMMMM
The NRC uses an entirely different process which is made public on their website.
Here is an example of what the NRC uses. They also fill out quarterly inspection reports which are available on their website.
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/DAVI/davi_chart.htmlMike
