ASME Offers Nuclear Quality Assurance Certification Program

ASME’s NQA-1 standard, Quality Assurance Requirements for Nuclear Facility Applications, provides requirements and guidelines for the establishment and execution of quality assurance programs during siting, design, construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. In an effort to promote the proper application of the NQA-1 requirements, ASME worked with industry leaders in the field of quality assurance, members from the NQA Standards Committee and its Subcommittees, and the Committee on Nuclear Certification to develop the NQA-1 Certification Program.

Launched in 2012, the program has been successful in helping suppliers from around the world gain entry into the supply chain – as well as reducing purchasers’ risk, time, and the cost of evaluating and qualifying suppliers.

The first company to be approved for an NQA-1 certification program was Premier Technology Inc. of Blackfoot, Idaho. With a staff of approximate 250 employees, Premier designs and manufactures for the government and for many different lines of commercial businesses— nuclear, oil and gas, and food and beverage.

Mathew Burke, quality assurance manager at Premier, had been looking at ways to verify the strength of his QA program and with the support of his organization’s senior management, submitted an application. In February of 2013, after undergoing successful audit, they received a certificate, and immediately began to see dividends. According to Premier’s President and Chairman Doug Sayer, the NQA-1 Certificate has facilitated their securement of millions of dollars of contracts.

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