What is the conceptual basis for quality assurance? Is there anything deeper about QA than a need to show that we adhere to a set of requirements imposed by regulators?
There certainly is. First, keep in mind that those regulatory requirements basically call for us to do what we ought to do anyway to produce quality results, based on experience and lessons-learned in other nuclear projects. They call for us to put into practice common-sense policies that lead to assuring the quality of our work. But beyond that, here at Sandia, efforts to achieve quality in our work and to assure that quality to our customers, particularly on projects that have national security and environmental implications, are completely consistent with providing “exceptional service in the national interest.” In a broader context (beyond regulatory or SNL policy issues), scientists, technologists, and engineers normally strive for high quality in their work, as a matter of pride, commitment, and reputation. In the SNL WIPP QA Program, that background comes together in efforts to achieve and maintain high standards of rigor and defensibility in research and engineering. The QA Pro
