Templates and records · UNE 73401

Nonconformance report and disposition in nuclear QA

In the nuclear sector a nonconforming item is not simply fixed: it is identified, set aside and a formal decision is made on what to do with it, with a technical justification whenever it is accepted.

In one sentence

The nonconformance report and disposition identifies the item or activity that does not comply, sets it aside to prevent its use and records the disposition —use as is, repair, rework or reject— with its technical justification, who approves it and the re-inspection, because the nonconforming items criterion of nuclear quality assurance requires it, and Instruction IS-24 treats records of items accepted with deviations as lifetime records.

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Type of information: Mandatory record Nonconforming items and corrective action criteria; lifetime record for the licensee (IS-24)
Who fills it in: Quality assurance The disposition is approved by the design organisation or whoever has designated authority; for a supplier, by the licensee where the order requires it
When: As soon as it is detected The item is held until its disposition; re-inspection follows repair or rework
How long it is kept: Lifetime or at least 5 years IS-24 requires licensees to keep as lifetime records, for the whole life of the facility or component, those meeting any of its criteria, and to keep non-permanent records for at least five years. Suppliers apply whatever the licensee’s purchase order specifies.

What the standard requires

What UNE 73401 demands and what it leaves to your judgement

Nuclear quality assurance criteria call for control of items that do not meet requirements in order to prevent their inadvertent use or installation: identifying and documenting them, segregating them where possible and deciding their disposition under documented procedures. 10 CFR 50 Appendix B, an alternative accepted by GS-10.1, sets out the options of accepting, rejecting, repairing or reworking.

Accepting an item as is, or after a repair, requires a technical justification that it performs its function, normally approved by the design organisation and, for a supplier, by the licensee. The item’s documentation must reflect its actual condition.

Significant nonconformities also require root cause analysis and corrective action, reported to management. This report differs from the ISO 9001 one in that the item’s disposition is formal and, for the licensee, its record is permanent.

Read it in context: Nonconformities, corrective actions, and audits, in the UNE 73401 Academy

Structure

Fields the template should include

Number, date, who detected it and in which inspection
Item, identification, order and safety class
Requirement not met and description
Identification and segregation of the item
Disposition: use as is, repair, rework, reject
Technical justification of the disposition
Approval of the disposition and, where applicable, by the licensee
Re-inspection and result
If significant: root cause and corrective action
Update of the item’s documentation and closure

Example

Example: an indication in a weld radiograph

Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.

Field	Content
Number	NCR-2026-011 · 14 March 2026 · radiograph of weld S-3 on support SP-114
Requirement	Radiographic acceptance criterion of the code specified in the order
Description	Slag inclusion longer than permitted
Segregation	Support marked with a red tag in the quarantine area
Disposition	Repair: excavation and re-welding under repair procedure PR-022
Approval	Welding engineering and licensee acceptance through the order channel
Re-inspection	New radiograph on 18 March: acceptable
Cause	Inadequate cleaning between passes · instruction reinforced and surveillance on the next two orders
Documentation	Final dossier including the NCR, the repair and the new radiograph

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

Repairs made without a nonconformance report or a repair procedure.
“Use as is” dispositions with no technical justification or design approval.
Nonconforming items installed because they were not segregated.
The final dossier does not reflect the nonconformity or the repair.
Repeated nonconformities with no cause analysis.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1Each nonconformity is recorded with its root cause analysis and the item affected.
2Corrective actions are followed up until they are effectively closed.
3The item’s inspection status is documented in its file until disposition.
4The complete historical record is kept for inspection.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

What does “use as is” mean?

Accepting the item without modification because a technical evaluation shows that, despite the deviation, it performs its function. It requires documented justification and approval by whoever has authority over the design.

What is the difference between repair and rework?

Rework brings the item back into full conformity with the original requirements. Repair makes it fit for its function without meeting every original requirement, so it needs an approval similar to “use as is”.

How long is this record kept?

IS-24 includes among the licensee’s lifetime records those documenting items accepted with deviations: they are kept for the whole life of the component or facility.

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Sources

Where each figure comes from

References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.

10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B — Quality Assurance Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants and Fuel Reprocessing Plants (an alternative accepted by GS-10.1) U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission · Current text
Instrucción IS-24, de 19 de mayo de 2010, del Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear, sobre el archivo y los periodos de retención de los documentos y registros de las instalaciones nucleares (CSN Instruction IS-24 on archiving and retention periods for nuclear facility documents and records) BOE-A-2010-8779 · BOE no. 133, 1 June 2010
Guía de Seguridad GS-10.1 (Rev. 2) — Guía básica de garantía de calidad para instalaciones nucleares (Basic quality assurance guide for nuclear facilities) Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (Spanish Nuclear Safety Council) · February 1999