Nuclear Quality Specialists, LLC

Tena Graben-Galyon is the owner of Nuclear Quality Specialists, LLC, and leads the audit team as the principal Quality Assurance Lead Auditor. She has thirty years experience in the nuclear industry in quality assurance and radiation protection. She has thirty years experience in U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulated facilities and 26 years experience in U.S. Department of Energy regulated facilities; including 15 years experience in uranium enrichment, processing, and downblending.

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Tena's extensive lead auditing experience includes conducting system, process, and product audits on a diverse spectrum of companies supplying items and services to the nuclear industry. These companies include manufacturers, construction firms, engineering consultants, analytical laboratories, and commercial grade suppliers.  Additionally, she served as a NIAC lead auditor for ten years. She also has experience providing independent lead auditing services in accordance with the U.S. FDA’s 21 CFR 820.

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Tena conducts NQA-1 Lead Auditor Training, NQA-1 Standard Training, and ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel NCA-3800 training to various manufacturing and consulting organizations. Additionally, she mentors newly trained internal and external auditors and lead auditors.

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Tena's comprehensive quality management experience is extensive and includes serving as the quality assurance corporate manager for three companies.  She creates, implements, and maintains all aspects of the quality management system, including quality programs, manuals, and implementing procedures. She develops and implements internal and external audit programs, records management and document control programs, nonconformance and corrective action management programs, lessons learned programs, customer satisfaction programs, and supplier qualification and management assessment programs. Tena's experience includes objectively comparing companies quality system internal performance results to external performance results and helps resolve issues. She conducts and leads operational readiness reviews, performs root cause analyses and failure prevention and investigations, and facilitates problem solving sessions for corrective and preventive action. She works with suppliers to find equitable solutions to issues identified during the audit process and coaches suppliers in improvement processes and techniques.

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As a consultant, Tena provides assistance and support to a wide variety of organizations providing items and services to the nuclear industry. This support enables her to bring a realistic and practical perspective to the development, documentation, and implementation of quality management systems and helps organizations achieve continuous improvement and continued growth. She coaches management in understanding their role and importance in the quality management system and in system improvement. Additionally, she supports management in implementing strategic quality goals and tactical objectives. She routinely performs effective management reviews.

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Tena holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She is certified by the American Society for Quality as a Certified Quality Auditor and certified as an ASME NQA-1 lead auditor.