Nuclear Engineering & Quality Assurance Services
Quality Assurance
At United Controls International (UCI), we are committed to being the Quality Behind the Power. This means maintaining the highest standards for all of our services—designing, procuring, fabricating, handling, shipping, storing, cleaning, inspecting, repairing, and supplying components for the nuclear industry. Our thorough Quality Assurance (QA) Program ensures that standards are maintained throughout our processes, leaving no room for error. For every service we provide, our customers can be sure of the reliability and safety of their equipment.
UCI’s QA Program serves as a system of controls to ensure that all equipment serviced by UCI performs to the highest standards.
Standards & Certifications
Our QA Program is strictly aligned to essential industry standards, including:- 10CFR50 Appendix B, 10CFR Part 21
- ANSI N45.2
- ASME NQA-1
- Supplements to ASME NQA-1
- ISO 9001:2015
Combining administrative measures and procedures, the QA Program assesses field service equipment and items supplied by UCI for compliance with applicable codes, standards, and customer specifications. At each stage of the process, equipment requires QA approval before moving on. And, before items leave UCI, the QA Program has final authority to ensure that it will perform to specifications.
UCI’s commitment to quality standards extends to our vendors and suppliers. For nuclear generation equipment, our purchases and vendor agreements are restricted to audited suppliers on our Qualified Suppliers List (QSL). These vendors have been personally audited by UCI, maintaining control over processes and quality.
Quality Assurance Responsibilities
Specific duties and responsibilities coordinate the efforts of our QA experts. The major responsibilities of our Quality Assurance Personnel include, but are not limited to:
- Ensuring effective implementation of the QA Program
- Reviewing the status and adequacy of the QA Manual on an annual basis
- Maintaining records for personnel training
- Making sure that all suppliers and vendors have been verified by an audit
- Updating and distributing the Qualified Suppliers List (QSL)
- Ensuring that suppliers on the QSL are evaluated annually and audited as required
- Verifying that the qualifications of welders, weld procedures and equipment, and AWS Certified Weld Inspectors are maintained
- Ensuring that annual internal audits are performed to evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of UCI’s QA Program
- Verifying that all personnel are properly trained on the requirements of 10CFR Part 21
- Making sure that proper Certificates of Conformance release all safety-related shipments
Quality Assurance Personnel Responsibilities
Specific duties and responsibilities coordinate the efforts of our QA experts. The major responsibilities of our Quality Assurance Personnel include, but are not limited to:
- Ensuring effective implementation of the QA Program
- Reviewing the status and adequacy of the QA Manual on an annual basis
- Maintaining records for personnel training
- Making sure that all suppliers and vendors have been verified by an audit
- Updating and distributing the Qualified Suppliers List (QSL)
- Ensuring that suppliers on the QSL are evaluated annually and audited as required
- Verifying that the qualifications of welders, weld procedures and equipment, and AWS Certified Weld Inspectors are maintained
- Ensuring that annual internal audits are performed to evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of UCI’s QA Program
- Verifying that all personnel are properly trained on the requirements of 10CFR Part 21
- Making sure that proper Certificates of Conformance release all safety-related shipments
Lab Personnel Responsibilities
Lab Personnel responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Completing inspections on UCI-procured materials and customer-furnished materials and equipment
- Performing tests according to written procedures
- Documenting nonconforming procured items or services in nonconformance reports
- Implementing all UCI standards, in-process inspections and tests
- Completing calibrations of equipment
- Inspecting items after rework to ensure that the nonconforming condition was corrected
Engineering Personnel Responsibilities
- Reviewing and preparing design documents
- Verifying the sufficiency of designs before release
- Documenting technical evaluations, qualification reports, and test plans
Our Quality Assurance Process
The following processes also fall under the regulation of our QA process:
- Design control
- Procurement document control
- Instructions, procedures, and drawings
- Document control
- Control of purchased material, equipment, and services
- Identification and control of materials, parts, and components
- Control of special processes (welding, heat treating, non-destructive examination, cleaning, soldering)
- Inspection
- Test control
- Control of measuring and test equipment
- Handling, storing, and shipping
- Inspection, test, and operating status
- Nonconforming items
Highly Trained & Qualified Experts
UCI teams combine the efforts of highly trained and qualified experts. For the QA process, this ensures that work is performed and monitored to the highest standards. Our teams include certified Project Management Professionals, Certified Welding Inspectors, Certified Nuclear Lead Auditors, and a variety of other technicians with verified expertise in their fields.
UCI’s QA Program is a core aspect of our commitment to quality. It is the concrete system that governs quality throughout our services. Our customers can rest assured that UCI will develop innovative solutions held to the highest standards and that their parts have received expert assessment for reliable performance—confirming the Quality Behind the Power.