Good Practice

INPO 15-001
January 2015

Nuclear

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Maintenance
Fundamentals D
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The principal elements, attributes, and

behaviors that exemplify excellence in
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maintenance fundamentals

NOTE: This document has been

superseded by INPO 18-003,
Maintenance Fundamentals and
Technical Skills on 9/10/2018.

GENERAL DISTRIBUTION
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GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: Copyright © 2015 by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. Not for sale or for commercial use.
This document may be used or reproduced by INPO members and participants. Not for public distribution, delivery to, or
reproduction by any third party without the prior agreement of INPO. All other rights reserved.

NOTICE: This information was prepared in connection with work sponsored by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO).
Neither INPO, INPO members, INPO participants, nor any person acting on the behalf of them (a) makes any warranty or
representation, expressed or implied, with respect to the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the information contained in this
document, or that the use of any information, apparatus, method, or process disclosed in this document may not infringe on privately
owned rights, or (b) assumes any liabilities with respect to the use of, or for damages resulting from the use of any information,
apparatus, method, or process disclosed in this document.
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INTRODUCTION

The document provides implementation information for meeting the performance objectives
contained in INPO 12-013, Performance Objectives, and Criteria. Other INPO documents
provide guidance or good practices for Leadership and Teamwork, although not considered
maintenance fundamentals are useful when developing programs or practices, and used as
determined by the utility

This document provides a compilation of INPO’s view of the picture of excellence in the
functional area of Maintenance that INPO evaluates. It was developed by a team of evaluators
working with their departments and senior managers to concisely identify the most pertinent
attributes or statements that, if satisfied, would represent a picture of excellence. It is recognized
that hundreds of specific statements or attributes could be written to address a given area.
Careful thought was given to keep the number of attributes or statements to a limited number to

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enable the intended audience to develop a clear picture of what constitutes excellence.

The intended use of this document is for evaluators and industry managers to gain a clearer

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picture of what excellence looks like in areas they are responsible for, and to assist with
identifying gaps to excellence in maintenance fundamentals.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section Page

INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... i

MAINTENANCE FUNDAMENTALS........................................................................................................ 1

FUNDAMENTALS FOR MAINTENANCE WORKERS .......................................................................... 1

MANAGING WORKER FUNDAMENTALS FOR FIRST-LINE SUPERVISORS .................................. 2

MANAGING WORKER FUNDAMENTALS FOR SUPERINTENDENTS.............................................. 3

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MANAGING WORKER FUNDAMENTALS FOR MAINTENANCE MANAGERS .............................. 5

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 INPO 15-001

MAINTENANCE FUNDAMENTALS

The fundamentals are defined as the essential knowledge, skills, behaviors, and practices
personnel need to apply to conduct their work properly. Maintenance worker fundamentals
include those skills and behaviors that are necessary for safe and effective maintenance.

FUNDAMENTALS FOR MAINTENANCE WORKERS

Principle:

Workers have the essential knowledge, skills, behaviors, and practices necessary for safe and
effective maintenance.
Workers are qualified, proficient, and prepared to perform high-quality corrective and preventive
maintenance.
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Prepare for work – Perform required walkdowns, review instructions in advance of work,
verify qualifications, and participate in pre-job briefing.
• Determine needed tools and test equipment and ensure they are used properly.
• Maintain work areas and open equipment clean and free of foreign material during and

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after work. Maintain situational awareness to prevent inadvertent equipment actuation,
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equipment damage, and injury to self and others.
• Work only when authorized and only on equipment that has been properly aligned for
the maintenance.
• Conduct skilled maintenance by applying proper techniques and using correct repair
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parts.
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• Ensure material is collected, preserved, and details are documented when abnormal
conditions are encountered.
Workers communicate and document technical information effectively.
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• Clearly communicate work plans and statuses during briefings, turnovers, and handoffs.
Advocate the maintenance technical position in troubleshooting, maintenance strategies,
and operating practices.
• Provide feedback to improve work instructions, procedures, and processes.
Maintenance workers know their trade.
• Know the basic design and key functions of equipment and components as they relate to
maintenance.
• Understand the risk significance of performing maintenance correctly. Know the
criticality and the impact to operators of equipment/components being touched.
• Know how to read plant drawings and vendor manuals.
Maintenance worker actions are deliberate and conservative.
• Anticipate and validate equipment responses from maintenance.

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• Search for and recognize abnormal conditions during repairs, troubleshooting, and
preventive maintenance.
• Ensure the high quality work is performed. STOP and obtain help or clear direction from
supervision when faced with uncertainty; unexpected results or changing conditions.

MANAGING WORKER FUNDAMENTALS FOR FIRST-LINE SUPERVISORS

Principle:

Supervisors reinforce management standards and expectations by coaching and correcting

workers.
Maintenance supervisors ensure workers are qualified, proficient, and prepared to perform high-
quality corrective and preventive maintenance.

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• Monitor crew performance in accordance with the established goals and expectations.
• Assign personnel who are qualified and proficient to do the work.
• Provide input into the training committees for continual process and personnel

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improvement.

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Provide workers time to prepare for work.
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• Monitor worker’s review of work packages to ensure readiness at T-0.
• Ensure workers follow work instructions, procedures, drawings, and technical manuals
as required and ensure instructions are properly documented to collect, preserve, and
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capture “as found” and “as left” conditions.

• Observe workers in the field focusing on their technical skills and coach or correct
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identified weaknesses.
Maintenance supervisors ensure workers communicate and document technical information
effectively.
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• Monitor or participate during briefings, turnovers, and handoffs to ensure workers

clearly communicate work plans and statuses.
• Advocate the maintenance technical position in troubleshooting.
• Ensures workers provide feedback to improve work instructions, procedures, preventive
maintenance activities, and processes.
• Ensures training requests are initiated during reviews as required to identify and evaluate
potential training needs.

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Maintenance supervisors know their roles and responsibilities.

• Understand the experience and performance levels of assigned craft, adjust your
assignments of work, based on performance, and provide additional coaching to improve
performance.
• Promote teamwork and excellence, celebrating in success and capitalizing on learning
opportunities.
• Understand what decisions you have and do not have the authority to make.
• Understand the risk significance of performing maintenance incorrectly. Know the
criticality and the impact to the workers, operators of equipment/components and the
plant before being touched.
• Evaluate and decide on a daily basis what work activities require increased oversight
and support based on worker level of experience, complexity and risk significance to the
worker, plant and equipment.

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• Know the basic design and key functions of equipment and components as they relate to
your discipline.
• Are familiar with the lessons learned described in maintenance must know operating
experience.
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Maintenance supervisor actions are deliberate and conservative.
• Coach workers associated with the importance of conservative decisions in the
performance of proper maintenance techniques and the use of correct repair parts.
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• Demand workers stop and communicate with you when plant or equipment conditions
are not as expected or when abnormal conditions are encountered.
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• Search for help from peers or your management when faced with uncertainty;
unexpected results or changing conditions.
• Do not give permission to resume work activities until all questions and concerns raised
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by the workers have been rigorously answered.

• Ensure a work environment is maintained that encourages input and feedback on both
nuclear and industrial safety concerns regardless of the impact to the organization.

MANAGING WORKER FUNDAMENTALS FOR SUPERINTENDENTS

Principle:

Superintendents reinforce high standards through communicating standards, monitoring

performance to identify actions needed to improve, and mentoring first-line supervisors.

Maintenance superintendents ensure workers and first-line supervisors are qualified, proficient,
and prepared to perform high-quality corrective and preventive maintenance.

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• Establish crew performance goals and indicators and evaluate crew performance in
accordance with the established goals.
• Own the discipline specific training program.
• Reviews shortfalls in worker performance as part of the maintenance training review
committees to ensure training gaps are identified and actions taken to address shortfalls.
• Ensures sufficient numbers of qualified and proficient workers are available to perform
required maintenance.
• Provide first-line supervisors time to be in the field observing and coaching worker
performance.
• Ensure workers/supervisors properly document “as found” and “as left” conditions and
this information is used to adjust PM frequencies.
• Observe first-line supervisors in the field focusing on their ability to evaluate technical
skills and coach or correct identified weaknesses.

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• Encourage the use of minor maintenance and single-person tasks to their maximum
extent within the work group.
Maintenance superintendents ensure workers and first-line supervisors communicate and
document technical information effectively.
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• Monitor briefings, turnovers, and handoffs to ensure supervisors clearly communicate
work plans and statuses.
• Advocate the maintenance technical position in troubleshooting, maintenance strategies,
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and operating practices.

• Ensures workers/supervisors provide feedback to improve work instructions, procedures,
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drawings, and technical manuals and actions are taken in a timely manner based on
feedback provided.
• Engage workers and first-line supervisors in improving technical skills training.
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• Ensures sound reviews of engineering products are performed to ensure technical

concerns and training needs are identified for inclusion.
Maintenance superintendents know their roles and responsibilities.
• Fully understand the experience and performance levels of assigned first-line
supervisors adjust assignments of work and provide additional coaching based on
experience and performance.
• Communicate to workers and first-line supervisors the risk significance of performing
maintenance incorrectly and the criticality and impact workers can have on touching the
plant.
• Fully understand what decisions you have and do not have the authority to make and
clearly communicate to first-line supervisors the decision they have the authority to
make.

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• Know the basic design and key functions of equipment and components as they relate to
their work group.
• Ensure a graded approach that is based on risk significance is used within the work
group for prejob briefings, walkdowns, work instruction content, and use of human
performance tools.
Maintenance superintendent actions are deliberate and conservative.
• Coach workers and supervisors associated with the importance of conservative decisions
in the performance of proper maintenance techniques and the use of correct repair parts.
• Demand workers stop and communicate with their supervisor when plant or equipment
conditions are not as expected or when abnormal conditions are encountered.
• Search for help from peers or your management when faced with uncertainty;
unexpected results or changing conditions.

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• Ensure work activities are not resumed until all questions and concerns raised by the
workers have been rigorously answered.
• Ensure workers and supervisors understand the risk significance of the work they are

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performing.
• Ensure a work environment is maintained that encourages input and feedback on both
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nuclear and industrial safety concerns regardless of the impact to the organization.

MANAGING WORKER FUNDAMENTALS FOR MAINTENANCE MANAGERS

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Principle:
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Managers establish, communicate, and reinforce high standards. The management team is able
to identify and correct gaps in performance.
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Maintenance managers ensure workers and supervisors are qualified, proficient, and prepared to
perform high-quality corrective and preventive maintenance.
• Establish and communicate department performance standards and goals through all
levels of the organization. Goals are challenging and achievable and align with
interfacing organization goals.
• High standards for department performance and individual behavior are established,
with emphases on nuclear, radiological, and industrial safety.
• Continuous improvement is valued. New ideas are drawn from broad application of
benchmarking and worker input. Change is managed well.
• Know industry best maintenance practices and what excellence looks like.
• Own the maintenance training program and ensure that training is valued as a tool to
improve performance and provide the fundamental knowledge and skills for
maintenance personnel.

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Maintenance managers ensure workers, supervisors, and superintendents know their roles and
responsibilities.
• Engage in the planning and preparation of safety-related work windows.
• Ensure workers/supervisors provide feedback to improve work instructions, procedures,
drawings, and technical manuals and actions are taken in a timely manner based on
feedback provided.
• Engage superintendents in improving technical skills training.
• Ensure the organization is effectively using the training request process for identifying
new training needs as a result of review of technical and work documents.
Maintenance managers ensure workers and supervisors communicate and document technical
information effectively.
• Establish standards, practices, and behaviors that promote effective use of process

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controls and organizational accountability.
• While maintaining high standards within the department, spend time in the field to
provide feedback.
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Keenly attuned to department performance ensuring each level of the department holds
individuals accountable for high standards of behavior.
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• Fully understand the experience and performance levels of assigned superintendents
adjust assignments of work and provide additional coaching based on experience and
performance.
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• Know how to manage conflict and hold others accountable.

• Provide the maintenance conscious to station management for equipment performance
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decisions.
• Be intolerant of unplanned equipment failures and assist in identifying the reasons for
such failures.
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• Advocate the maintenance technical position in troubleshooting, maintenance strategies,

and operating practices.
• Ensure a graded approach that is based on risk significance is used within the
department for prejob briefings, walkdowns, work instruction content, and use of human
performance tools.
Maintenance manager actions are deliberate and conservative.
• Clearly communicate the authority within the department for decision-making.
• Managers are aware of how superintendents and first-line supervisors are affected by
management decisions, and they evaluate changes in policies or processes for their
impact on supervisors.
• Demand workers stop and communicate with their supervisor when plant or equipment
conditions are not as expected or when abnormal conditions are encountered.

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• Search for help from peers or your management when faced with uncertainty;
unexpected results or changing conditions.
• Ensure work activities are not resumed until all questions and concerns raised by the
workers have been rigorously answered.
• Ensure a work environment is maintained that encourages input and feedback on both
nuclear and industrial safety concerns regardless of the impact to the organization.

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