NEA Mandates and Structures


Working Group on Digital Instrumentation and Control (WGDIC)

Chair(s): Ismael GARCIA, United States
Secretary:  Thomas BUCKENMEYER
(thomas.buckenmeyer@oecd-nea.org)
Vice-Chair(s): Stephen WARDLE, United Kingdom
Member(s):All NEA member countries*
Russia (Suspended*)
*Russian Federation suspended pursuant to a decision of the OECD Council.
Full participant(s): European Commission
Under the NEA Statute
Participant(s): India
Observer(s)(International Organisation): Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
By agreement
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
Date of creation:01 August 2017
End of mandate:31 December 2022

Mandate (Document reference):

  • Summary record of the 37th meeting of the CNRA, held on 29-30 May 2017 [NEA/SEN/NRA(2017)3]
  • Mandate of the Working Group on Digital Instrumentation and Control (WGDIC) [NEA/SEN//NRA(2017)4/ADD1]
  • 2017-2022 CNRA Operating Plan and Guidelines [NEA/CNRA/R(2017)5]
  • Participant Status of India in the CNRA and its subsidiary bodies: 2018 Update of the NEA Participation Plan [NEA/NE(2018)8] and official letter received from India on 15 October 2018 confirming its acceptance of Participant Status in the CNRA and its subsidiary bodies

Mandate (Document extract):

Extract from document NEA/CNRA/R(2017)5

[...]

Mandate:

In this context, the mandate of the Working Group on Digital Instrumentation and Control (WGDIC) is to promote harmonisation and improvements in nuclear safety through the development of regulatory guidance to address DI&C topics and technical issues of concern to its member countries, for both operating and new reactors. This guidance is not intended to replace the guidance already available from international standards organisations; instead, the collective scientific and technical knowledge and experience of the WGDIC members is brought together to develop Consensus Positions (CPs) representing the common understanding and harmonisation of regulatory practices.

The CPs provide a consistent set of regulatory expectations for industry and may be used by members in the development of guidance in their own specific domain.

The WGDIC constitutes an international forum for nuclear regulatory organisations to co-operate in the development of CPs and to exchange information and experience.

To this end, the WGDIC will:

  • develop and maintain CPs concerning current and emerging technical challenges in the DI&C field for both operating and new reactors;

  • promote harmonisation of DI&C regulatory practices and standards of significance;

  • increase collaboration, co-operation, and knowledge transfer among members;

  • explore the synergies between safety and security of DI&C systems;

  • identify research needs, in co-ordination with Committee on Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI), where the WGDIC concludes that the current level of technical knowledge is not sufficient to support establishment of technical guidance;

  • collaborate with Standards Development Organisations (SDOs) and other international organisations, including the Regulator Task Force on Safety Critical Software, to provide regulatory insights and lessons learnt from the WGDIC activities regarding the harmonisation and convergence of standards and guidance (e.g. comparison of standards during the development of technical guidance);

  • develop and maintain interfaces with international industry organisations and stakeholders [e.g. Co-operation in Reactor Design Evaluation and Licensing DI&C Task Force (CORDEL DICTF).