Thimble Puller BCP’s Plant Services Division has been working on fine tuning two new products that are immediately available for use by utility clients for their Incore Flux Thimble needs. The first is a lightweight hand tool called the ‘Thimble Puller’. The Puller is a manually operated device that can be used to aid in […]
We hear this debate rage about how US has lost its “nuclear prowess” to countries like China, Japan, South Korean and EU countries. I must admit I feel some angst when looking at the peaceful use of nuclear power that began as an industry in the US and see countries taking that technology and deploying […]
In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series of articles on the importance of configuration management in new plants, an argument has been made for the importance of a well developed CM program and tools to assure success in the design and construction of the next generation of nuclear plants. Also the importance of […]
In the last article, Part 1, the need for a robust Configuration Management System (CMS) was established. It is true for all nuclear plants and particular important for the new plants being proposed. The new plants as programmed for design and construction with compressed schedules and consortia development teams are at particular risk to cost […]
The Shuttle Challenger explosion was a configuration management issue. The bridge over the Tacoma Narrows nicknamed “Galloping Gertie” had a configuration management (CM) issue. Balconies that have collapsed and soccer stadium stands that have failed all can be tied to poor configuration control issues. In the nuclear power industry we have wrestled with configuration management […]
photo credit: striatic Nearly three-quarters of all US nuclear plants have applied for twenty year license renewals from the NRC. Fifty-four units have received approval of their applications from the NRC. An additional twenty are still awaiting decisions from the regulator. If your plant has made its license renewal application (LRA) is it time to […]
Silos of Excellence Part 1 The Solution – The Answer to the Question The solution to the question of expert systems and silos of excellence is to make all information pertinent to the work of others available to others. What might this look like? Figure 1 above depicts a workstation that has role based access […]
Introduction The technical knowledge and division of responsibilities necessary to satisfy the technology and regulatory aspects of designing, constructing and operating power plants is broad, and impacts the communications and information flow. Establishing a common platform for the management of information improves the efficiency and effectiveness of project and operational organizations. For existing plants the […]
PLM has been thrown around as a buzzword by consultants, vendors and others who are trying to make sure they are seen as relevant in the marketplace. The truth of the matter is that PLM is more than a technology or group of technologies and has the potential for far reaching benefits when successfully implemented. […]
Plant Lifecycle Management or PLM is a business strategy. The advent of increased computing power present for the average capital intensive business today has made this strategy possible. In manufacturing, where PLM was focused on products instead of plants, the PLM business strategy was adopted more than a decade ago. Part of the reason was […]
