In this article we describe an approach to develop a checklist for foreign material exclusion. Foreign material is material that should not be part of, or supplied with, the product because it can affect the performance of, for example, nuclear fuel rods of nuclear plants. The research itself was initiated by the presence of different types of human errors. Specifically in the nuclear industry, where there is zero tolerance for errors, work to continuously improve safety and quality is of major importance. Our approach should support such work. As a theoretical base, we have considered team errors as well as individual errors. The suggested practical approach is based on foreign materials that originate in or are introduced into a product or a process.

Many companies implement a modular architecture to support the need to create more variants with less effort. Although the modular architecture has many benefits, the tests to detect any defects become a major challenge. However, a modular architecture with rlefned functional elements seems beneficial to test at module level, so called MPV (Module Property Verification). This paper presents studies from 29 companies with the purpose of showing trends in the occurrence of defects and how these can support the MP V.