ISO 19443

The concept of nuclear safety culture was popularised by the analysis of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 and the publication of a report dedicated to this concept by an IAEA advisory group of experts (INSAG-4). The Chernobyl accident, as well as other severe accidents such as TMI and Fukushima-Daiichi, have shown that the consideration of human and organisational factors are key elements in improving nuclear safety.

For this reason, ISO 19443 was published in 2018. The new standard is a supplement to ISO 9001 and aims to apply the principles of ISO 9001 specifically to the civil nuclear sector, namely

• Develop a high level of nuclear safety and a culture of quality in all activities,
• ensure that the supplier provides the appropriate level of quality in the delivery of products and services that meets the customer's expectations and complies with applicable regulations,
• contribute to operational excellence by supporting continuous improvement initiatives that may be required to achieve the expected level of quality,
• standardise quality management systems as far as possible throughout the supply chain
• Improve quality, lead time and cost by standardising requirements in the supply chain and by wider application of best practice

ISO 19443 is written generically so that it can be used at all levels of the supply chain, for any product or service with the potential to affect nuclear safety, and by organisations around the world.