It is essential that all personnel whose activities have the potential to impact on nuclear safety are suitably qualified and experienced (SQEP) to carry out their jobs. This includes both those who directly carry out operations and others such as directors, managers, designers, safety case authors etc whose roles, if inadequately conceived or executed, may affect safety in less visible ways – for example, through introducing latent technical or organisational weaknesses.and conversely ''suitably'' means ''suitably'', not ''particularly well'': the Office of Nuclear Regulation takes SQEPness to be broadly equivalent to the
IAEA has defined competence as "the ability to put skills and knowledge into practice in order to perform a job in an effective and efficient manner to an established standard" ONR concurs with this definition, which is widely accepted within the international nuclear community. Other factors contributing to a person's competence include the person's prior experience, aptitudes, attitudes, behaviours, skills and qualifications.In the context of UK nuclear licensing, the term "duly authorised person" (DAP) was extensively used for trained and experience operational staff, on plant or in control rooms. This may have come from UK power-station practice originating with the CEGB and nuclear operations. SQEP was introduced for those staff who may not have direct responsibility on plant, but whose actions or input could be safety related. SQEP is also in wider usage in engineering, defence, human factors, training and safety-related contexts.
References
Certification marks Engineering occupations {{engineering-stub