Daily power fluctuations as a measure of maintenance effectiveness in power plant safety

Work performed as part of an ongoing project sponsored by US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is described. The work is one of several projects attempting to identify and develop useful indicators in response to the NRC's maintenance rule and safety efforts. Daily power level has previously been identified as a potential maintenance performance indicator based on its representation, in a broad sense, of the availability and reliability of both balance-of-plant and safety equipment. The specific research described consists of the identification, rational, basis, development, refinement, verification and validation of the indicator developed, and demonstrates how the indicator could be used as a way of monitoring maintenance effectiveness easily and non-intrusively.<>