Productivity Improvements and Cost Reductions Through the Use of “Advanced Technology”

Joseph NaserTechnical Executive

Productivity Improvements Strategy Group Kick-Off MeetingJune 29-30, 2010

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Agenda

• Why are we here?• What are the solution possibilities?• What are the roadblocks?• What can we do?• What are the goals for the

meeting?• What is the Productivity

Improvements Strategy Group?

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Efficient and Reliable Plants Essential for Continued Long Term Operation

• Plants are doing well now but …– Concerns about maintaining high

levels of plant performance and reliability over extended plant lifetimes due to:»Aging and obsolescence»Knowledge drain»Reduced staff»New requirements and

commitments– Goals to improve performance and

reduce costs• We need to take advantage of

technology to help us

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What About New Plants?

• New plants also need to operate efficiently, reliably and cost-effectively

• Goal is to perform better than current fleet

• Should be deciding now what is needed to support high productivity and reliability during construction, operation and maintenance

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Why Do We Need To Do Anything Different?

• Conditions are changing• To paraphrase a famous quote:

– If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always gotten

• Need to use new tools and capabilities to help people do their job more effectively– Reduce burdensome workload

and stress levels • Need to reduce inefficiencies in day-

to-day, frequent and infrequent activities

• Need to provide support to reduce likelihood of human error

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What Technologies Offer Solutions to Plant Needs?

• Technologies offering beneficial solutions include:– Simulation– Visualization– Automation– Interactive human system

interfaces– Information management– Communications– Cognitive systems

engineering• Aspects of all of these are

being used in cockpits

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Application Examples

Military Aviation Entertainment Medicale.g., Design e.g., Boeing e.g., World Soccer e.g., Da Vinci Surgical Systemevaluation of Maintenance Winning Eleven 9 with 3-D vision and roboticArmy vehicle Performance video game instruments - hundreds in use

Toolbox

Limited use in nuclear power industry

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What Types of Activities Can be Facilitated in the Nuclear Power Industry?

• Technology tools and capabilities provide support for: – Design– Work planning– Operations– Maintenance– Training– Decision-making– Scenario testing– Knowledge capture– Information presentation– Dose reduction– Remote collaboration and support– …

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Why Aren’t They Already Being Used Widely?

• Why are these capabilities and tools not being used more in the nuclear industry– Lack of awareness of the

opportunities– Convincing business cases– Changes lead to new processes, new

procedures, new training etc.– People don’t like changes– Lack of standards, requirements,

guidance– Others?

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What Can We Do?

• Identify what is possible– Capabilities and tools are available – How being used in other industries not

just the nuclear industry– Problems and opportunities that can

benefit from these technologies• Identify from multiple perspectives what is

needed to enable plant implementations– Gaps and limitations / needed research

and development– Requirements and implementation

guidance

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What Are the Goals by the End of this Meeting?

• Establish an awareness of what is possible

• Identify preliminary lists of:– Plant problems / opportunities that

could benefit from advanced tools and capabilities

– Obstacles to implementation– Gaps and limitations that require

research and development»Includes for tools, capabilities,

guidance, requirements …• Define initial objectives• Define future meeting frequency and

format

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What Is the Productivity Improvements Strategy Group?

• Productivity Improvements Strategy Group’s objectives will be to:– Identify new paradigms, new

technologies, and new approaches to develop and implement successful solutions to address utility needs and take advantage of opportunities to improve productivity

– Take more effective advantage of currently used technologies

– Remove barriers to successful implementation of productivity improvement solutions

– Explore tools and capabilities for continuous improvements

Different is not always better…

but better is always different!

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What Is the Productivity Improvements Strategy Group? (continued)

• Productivity Improvements Strategy Group will continue to work together to:– Identify capabilities and tools that will

support productivity improvements– Identify gaps and limitations that

require research and development – Provide links / input to the EPRI base

research programs and other RD&D organizations

– Facilitate technology transfer– Provide interactions amongst the

members including needs, experience, lessons learned, best practices

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What Is the Productivity Improvements Strategy Group? (continued)

• Productivity Improvements Strategy Group will:– Set research priorities for this area

for EPRI programs and other organizations if they desire to follow

– Be funded by the members who will provide input on goals and directions

– Be open to utilities and other organizations

– Formally start in 2011• Bottom line: Working together to

understand needs, remove gaps and develop solutions to improve productivity

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Why Is This Group Identified With I&C?

• The solutions of interest cover a wide range of technical domains far past the boundaries of I&C

• The enabling technologies and tools rely heavily on I&C, HSI, information and communications technologies

• These are part of the I&C Program mission• Activities requiring EPRI participation will be

handled by the EPRI program(s) with the right domain knowledge

• For many applications, EPRI participation will not be needed and will be handled as a normal commercial activity

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What Is Needed Next to Join?

• Utilities– Productivity Improvements Strategy

Group is on the 2011 Solicitation as a supplemental funded offering

– Utilities interested in joining the group should talk with their METTs and appropriate management

• Other organizations should talk with Joseph Naser or Robert Austin

• Any questions contact– Joseph Naser– Robert Austin– EPRI Account Executives

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Last Word

• The opportunities made possible by technology for making a real difference in performance exist – the challenge is to take advantage of them

• The Productivity Improvements Strategy Group will be an enabler to realize the opportunities

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it…but that it is too low…and we reach it.”

– Michelangelo

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Message Recap

1. Start

2. technologies

3. today

4. or

5. see

6. performance

7. decrease

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Together…Shaping the Future of Electricity