Knowledge Management Reduces Risk -- Applying knowledge management software to reduce the risk of new nuclear plant construction and operation

Some of the most frequently heard objections to the development of new nuclear plants are the schedule and cost uncertainties. “We do not know how long it will take or how much it will cost,” it's said.

Recent and past history does not provide much comfort either. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, the average time required to bring a plant on line from order date increased from three to 13 years. More recently the Olkiluoto plant, currently under construction in Finland, has a project completion date -- originally planned for 2009 -- delayed to at least 2012.



New developments, such as modularized design processes and more efficient construction and operating license process by the NRC will certainly help to resolve past problems.

But recently software companies catering to the nuclear plant industry are filling a need, and it’s an exciting new area to talk about. Using knowledge management systems, these companies are capturing lessons learned from past construction and plant operation and developing tools which allow plant owners, architect engineers and regulatory organizations to develop a comprehensive knowledge based management system for design, licensing, construction and operation.

Combined data management and expert system tools allow the transparent flow down of design/licensing requirements to the construction and operation phase of power plant build. Of course this approach can also be applied to existing plant licensing for uprates and modifications.



The International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) have come out with guidelines and standards for developing knowledge management systems. Here is a report from the IAEA -- http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1377_web.pdf

While working with new construction in Europe -- as a subcontractor to the main EPC --I saw my share of changing requirements which required re-design of piping supporting structures during construction. I feel that the industry can reduce the risk in cost and schedule for new nuclear plant build and existing plant modifications by taking advantage of the new suite of tools being created by software companies for developing nuclear plant knowledge base systems.



For more details, check out recent announcements from two software providers, Enterprise Informatics and Wiznucleus -- http://nuclearstreet.com/blogs/nuclear_power_news/archive/2009/08/03/enterprise-informatics-and-excel-services-team-on-nuclear-knowledge-management-1804.aspx 
http://nuclearstreet.com/blogs/nuclear_power_news/archive/2009/07/17/wiznucleus-announces-new-it-platform-for-nuclear-plants-785.aspx