AUTOMATION OF URANIUM ACCOUNTABILITY AUDIT PROGRAMS

Year
1990
Author(s)
Rosemary G. Dalton - Westinghouse Electric Corporation
Charles F. Sanders - Westinghouse Hanford Company
Abstract
Customer Uranium Accountability Audits at the Westinghouse Commercial Nuclear Fuel Division's Columbia Plant have been enhanced through utilization of automation and computerization making it practical to review increased volumes of data while simultaneously improving the quality of accountability audits. Historically, all customer audits were conducted onsite and required the use of handwritten forms and hardcopy computer reports. This severely limited the amount of data that could be reviewed and made it difficult to identify trends and anomalies. We currently employ automated data retrieval techniques to improve access to key audit data elements. This is accomplished through the use of computerized software systems which query the audit data and execute user-defined audit requests. A small portion of these audit resources are still managed manually to supplement computerized operations. However, the quality of the accountability audits has been significantly improved and the volume of data that can be reviewed has been increased. These audits are generally performed onsite, but can also take place on a limited basis at the customer auditor's home office. Development work is underway to completely automate these activities within the personal computer environment, and thus, make it practical to perform comprehensive, high-quality uranium accountability audits at the auditor's home office.