Safe Use of Smart Devices in Systems Important to Safety in Nuclear Power Plants

With rapidly advancing digital technologies, smart devices are increasingly used in nuclear power plants. These smart devices can be implemented as separate or standalone field components or embedded as components in other equipment or systems and can be used to increase plant reliability, enhance safe operation and improve testing and monitoring functions. However, the use of smart devices may potentially introduce new hazards, vulnerabilities and failure modes. The safety aspects and design criteria associated with the safe use of industrial commercial smart devices in systems important to safety considered in this publication include: functional suitability and the evidence required to demonstrate this suitability, quality, qualification, the consideration of certification by non-nuclear organizations using non-nuclear standards, and aspects affecting integration of the smart device into existing systems in order to ensure that the smart device will retain its suitability for the required lifetime.