Executive summary
Date(s) of inspection:
-
December 2024
Aim of inspection
To judge the adequacy of DRDL’s implementation of its arrangements made under Licence Condition (LC) 22 for readiness to commence Deep Maintenance Period without a refuel (VDMP(NR)) for a Vanguard Class boat (BN06) in 9 Dock. LC 22 includes the requirement for licensees to make and implement adequate arrangements to satisfy the requirements of the condition (full details can be found via the homepage of ONR’s website). We will sample evidence of DRDL’s implementation of its arrangements made under this condition (i.e. primarily DRDL Ref. No.’s NUA(D)-OV-022) and supporting references.
Subject(s) of inspection
- LC22 - Modification or experiment on existing plant - Rating: Green
Key findings, inspector's opinions and reasons for judgement made
The 9 Dock facility on the Devonport Royal Dockyard site has been subject to an extensive outage period in preparation for readiness to commence a Deep Maintenance Period without a refuel (VDMP(NR)) for a Vanguard Class boat. Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd (DRDL) has produced (and submitted to the ONR) a new Plant Safety Case (PSC) to justify undertaking these activities. The outage has included implementation of the PSC in the form of revised operator instructions and associated personnel training. This inspection judged the adequacy of DRDL's implementation of its arrangements for Licence Condition (LC) 22, specifically the readiness of the people and processes to undertake these activities. Its purpose was to gain assurance of DRDL's ability to implement the PSC requirements and inform the future regulatory decision on whether to grant permission for DRDL to commence the VDMP(NR) in 9 Dock.
The inspection was undertaken and rated against published guidance on regulatory expectations, as described in ONR's technical inspection guides NS-INSP-GD-022 and ONR-INSP-GD-064. Based on the evidence sampled at the time of the intervention against DRDL's arrangements and documentation, and regulatory guidance ONR judged that DRDL demonstrated adequate compliance with LC 22.
Conclusion
Based on the findings of the intervention, ONR considers that DRDL has implemented adequately its arrangements for compliance with LC 22, specifically that for the proposed modification DRDL has:
- provided adequate documentation to justify the safety of it;
- provided suitable training for those on site who have responsibility for any operations which may affect safety;
- operating instructions include instructions in the interests of safety and instructions necessary to ensure operating rules are implemented.