U.S.
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Revision 3
October 2001
REGULATORY
GUIDE
OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH
REGULATORY GUIDE 1.149
(Draft was issued as DG-1080)
NUCLEAR POWER PLANT SIMULATION FACILITIES
FOR USE IN OPERATOR TRAINING AND LICENSE EXAMINATIONS
A. INTRODUCTION
This regulatory guide describes methods acceptable to the NRC staff for complying with those
portions of the NRC's regulations associated with approval or acceptance of a simulation facility for use in
reactor operator and senior operator training and NRC license examinations.
In 10 CFR Part 55, "Operators' Licenses," Paragraphs 55.45(a) and 55.45(b) require that an
applicant for an operator or senior operator license demonstrate both an understanding of and the ability to
perform certain essential job tasks. The operating test will be administered in a plant walk-through and on
a simulation facility or on the actual plant if approved by the Commission.
A simulation facility as defined in 10 CFR 55.4 means one or more of the following components,
alone or in combination, used for the partial conduct of operating tests for operators, senior operators, and
license applicants or to establish on-the-job training experience prerequisites for operator license
eligibility: (1) a plant-referenced simulator, (2) a Commission-approved simulator in accordance with 10
CFR 55.46(b), or (3) another simulation device, including part-task and limited scope simulation devices
approved under 10 CFR 55.46(b).
The requirements for the use of a simulation facility for the administration of the operator
licensing operating test are in 10 CFR 55.46, as are the requirements for the use of a plant-referenced
simulator for fulfilling a portion of the experience requirements for applicants for operator and senior
Regulatory guides are issued to describe and make available to the public such information as methods acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific
parts of the NRC’s regulations, techniques used by the staff in evaluating specific problems or postulated accidents, and data needed by the NRC staff in its
review of applications for permits and licenses. Regulatory guides are not substitutes for regulations, and compliance with them is not required. Methods and
solutions different from those set out in the guides will be acceptable if they provide a basis for the findings requisite to the issuance or continuance of a permit
or license by the Commission.
This guide was issued after consideration of comments received from the public. Comments and suggestions for improvements in these guides are encouraged
at all times, and guides will be revised, as appropriate, to accommodate comments and to reflect new information or experience. Written comments may be
submitted to the Rules and Directives Branch, ADM, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Regulatory guides are issued in ten broad divisions: 1, Power Reactors; 2, Research and Test Reactors; 3, Fuels and Materials Facilities; 4, Environmental
and Siting; 5, Materials and Plant Protection; 6, Products; 7, Transportation; 8, Occupational Health; 9, Antitrust and Financial Review; and 10, General.
Single copies of regulatory guides (which may be reproduced) may be obtained free of charge by writing the Distribution Services Section, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, or by fax to (301)415-2289, or by email to DISTRIBUTION@NRC.GOV. Electronic copies of this guide
are available on the internet at NRC’s home page at <WWW.NRC.GOV> in the Reference Library under Regulatory Guides and through the Electronic Reading
Room, as Accession Number ML012770164, along with other recently issued guides at the same web site.
operator licenses. The requirements for the licensed operator requalification programs, including
evaluation, are in 10 CFR 55.59(c)(3) and (4).
The information collections contained in this regulatory guide are covered by the
requirements of 10 CFR Part 55, which were approved by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), approval number 3150-0018. If a means used to impose an information collection does
not display a currently valid OMB control number, the NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a
person is not required to respond to the information collection.
B. DISCUSSION
THE ROLE OF SIMULATORS IN OPERATOR LICENSING
Facility licensees are responsible for ensuring that individuals who receive operator or
senior operator licenses possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to operate the facility
in a safe manner. In 10 CFR Part 55, Section 55.45, "Operating Tests," requires the applicant for a
license to demonstrate (1) an understanding of and the ability to perform the actions necessary
during normal, abnormal, and emergency situations; (2) the operation of systems that affect heat
removal or reactivity changes; and (3) behaviors that show the individual's ability to function
within the control room team in such a way that the facility licensee's procedures are adhered to
and that the limitations in its license and amendments are not violated.
The use of a plant-referenced simulator for testing enables the examiner to evaluate a
license applicant’s performance in a manner that replicates conditions in the plant for which that
applicant has applied for a license. When applicants are tested on plant-referenced simulators,
major facility differences are minimized between testing and operating environments, and
examiners are able to make pass-fail judgments with confidence.
REGULATORY BACKGROUND
In 1981, the industry developed ANSI/ANS-3.5-1981, “Nuclear Power Plant Simulators for
Use in Operator Training.” ANSI/ANS-3.5 has been revised three times: in 1985, 1993, and 1998.
Regulatory Guide 1.149 has been revised to endorse successive versions of ANSI/ANS-3.5.
Exceptions to previous standards in the area of performance testing were specified in the initial
issuance through Revision 2 in 1996 of Regulatory Guide 1.149 to ensure that application of
previous standards would support the requirements of the regulations and be responsive to the
NRC’s concern that simulator fidelity must be ensured on a continuing basis.
SIMULATOR PERFORMANCE TESTING
The 1981 version of the standard specified a testing regimen that was written in the context
of initial simulator procurement. Until the 1998 revision, the primary focus of the standard was
the initial design and construction of the simulator, a unique condition in which extensive factory
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acceptance testing is performed on the basis of individual simulator capabilities before establishing
a software configuration baseline. Except for infrequent simulator replacements and
modifications, facility licensees’ simulators are now in an update and maintenance phase of the
simulator life cycle (an area for which previous revisions of the standard were not intended and for
which the standard has offered little specific guidance); these simulators therefore do not need to
repeat exhaustive full-scope testing. The type of testing described in previous revisions of the
standard provides basic assurance that no noticeable differences exist between the simulator
control room and simulated systems, when evaluated against the control room and systems of the
referenced unit.
The performance testing formerly specified in 10 CFR 55.45 was suited for a capabilities
and schedule-based performance testing program. This requirement is difficult to apply to the
process of structured software development coupled with the scenario-based testing that is now
fully adopted by the 1998 revision of the standard. The software development and performance
testing requirements of ANSI/ANS-3.5-1998, “Nuclear Power Plant Simulators for Use in
Operator Training and Examination,"1 although neither prescriptive nor as extensive as those of
Appendix B, “Quality Assurance Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants and Fuel Reprocessing Plants,”
to 10 CFR Part 50, bring the simulation facility into closer conformance with current industry
norms and practices for software quality assurance and training program administration than did
the 1985 and 1993 revisions of the standard. The NRC staff considers this improved software
development and testing philosophy to be consistent with the NRC’s intent that the simulation
facility’s ability to faithfully portray malfunctions and its general operability are to be verified by
periodic performance testing.
In the staff’s view, verification and validation testing in the software development process,
coupled with scenario-based testing in the training and examination preparation processes,
provides additional assurance of acceptable simulator performance over that provided by previous
simulator capabilities-based, stand-alone testing programs.
C. REGULATORY POSITION
1. ENDORSEMENT OF ANSI/ANS-3.5-1998
ANSI/ANS-3.5-1998, "Nuclear Power Plant Simulators for Use in Operator Training and
Examination," sets forth provisions acceptable to the NRC staff for addressing minimum design,
testing, performance, and configuration criteria for a plant-referenced simulator; for integrating
simulator design and performance with an accredited training program; for comparing a simulator
to its reference plant; for upgrading simulators to reflect changes to reference plant response or
control room configuration; and for improving simulator fidelity. ANSI/ANS-3.5-1998 provides
methods acceptable to the NRC staff for a facility licensee to demonstrate that, through meeting the
criteria of ANSI/ANS-3.5-1998, the plant-referenced simulator will possess a sufficient degree of
completeness and accuracy to meet the requirements of 10 CFR Part 55, “Operators’ Licenses,” for
1
Copies of this standard may be obtained from the American Nuclear Society, 555 N. Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL
60525.
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use in reactor operator and senior operator training and NRC license examinations. The following
clarifications are applicable to the endorsement of ANSI/ANS-3.5-1998:
1.1 Licensees using a plant-referenced simulator in the conduct of operator licensing
examinations after the date of this regulatory guide should meet the applicable requirements of
ANSI/ANS-3.5-1998.
1.2 Unless otherwise specifically endorsed by the NRC, other documents referenced in
Section 1.2, "Background," of ANSI/ANS-3.5-1998 are not endorsed in this regulatory guide.
1.3 Section 4.4.3, “Simulator Performance Testing,” of ANSI/ANS-3.5-1998 requires
that a record of the performance test results be maintained, including data comparisons. Section
4.4.3 has a footnote reference to Appendix A, “Guideline for Documentation of Simulator Design
and Test Performance,” of ANSI/ANS-3.5-1998. Appendix A provides examples that are
applicable only to Section 4.4.3.1, “Simulator Operability Testing.”
1.4 In regard to Section 4.4.3.2, “Scenario-Based Testing,” documentation and
performance test results should be consistent with facility licensees’ defined objectives of the
accredited training program or approved operator licensing operating tests.
1.5 The standard’s quality assurance methodology (i.e., verification and validation
during software development in a controlled configuration environment with ongoing scenario-
based and recurring operability testing) is not expected to be included in the facility’s Quality
Assurance Program as described in Appendix B to 10 CFR Part 50. Appendix B does not apply to
simulation facilities; it applies to nuclear power plants and fuel reprocessing plants, including their
structures, systems, and components that prevent or mitigate the consequences of postulated
accidents that could cause undue risk to the health and safety of the public. Appendix B
establishes quality assurance requirements for the design, construction, and operation of those
structures, systems, and components.
1.6 Editions of ANSI/ANS-3.5 that were previously endorsed by the NRC remain
acceptable methods of meeting the regulations.
2. USE OF A SIMULATOR FOR MULTIPLE PLANTS
If a licensee wishes to use a simulation facility to train or examine operators for more than
one nuclear power plant, it must be able to demonstrate to the NRC that the differences between
the plants are not so significant that they will result in negative training. This demonstration
should include an analysis and summary of the differences between each plant, including:
1. Facility design and systems relevant to control room personnel,
2. Technical specifications,
3. Procedures, primarily abnormal and emergency operating procedures,
4. Control room design and instrument/control location, and
5. Operational characteristics.
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3. ACCEPTABILITY OF LICENSEE’S SIMULATION FACILITY
Licensees who maintain simulation facilities certified under editions of ANSI/ANS-3.5 that
were previously endorsed by the NRC may, but are not required to, revise their software and
testing documentation so that the simulation facility will be maintained in accordance with
ANSI/ANS-3.5-1998. The NRC expects that a simulation facility will be maintained in
accordance with a single revision of the standard.
4. SCHEDULING OF PERFORMANCE TESTING
The scheduling and evaluation of simulation facility testing under ANSI/ANS-3.5-1998 are
set forth in Section 4.4.3 of the standard and are considered a function of the facility licensee’s
accredited training program.
D. IMPLEMENTATION
The purpose of this section is to provide information to applicants and licensees about the
NRC staff's plans for using this regulatory guide.
Except in those cases in which an applicant or facility licensee proposes an acceptable
alternative method for complying with the specified portions of the NRC’s regulations, the
methods described in this guide will be used in the evaluation of the implementation of a facility
licensee’s simulation facility.
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REGULATORY ANALYSIS
A separate Regulatory Analysis has not been prepared for this regulatory guide. A
Regulatory Analysis was prepared for the recent amendments to 10 CFR Part 55; this Regulatory
Analysis applies to Revision 3 of Regulatory Guide 1.149. A copy of the Regulatory Analysis is
available for inspection and copying for a fee at the NRC Public Document Room at 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD; the PDR’s mailing address is USNRC PDR, Washington, DC
20555; telephone (301)415-4737 or toll-free 1-800-397-4209, fax (301)415-3548; email
PDR@NRC.GOV. Electronic copies of the Regulatory Analysis are available in NRC’s Public
Electronic Reading Room, which can be accessed through the NRC’s web site,
<WWW.NRC.GOV> .
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