The basic premise of evolution is survival of the fittest; for the nuclear industry, it's just plain survival. Over the past several decades, the industry has gone from constructing hundreds of plants and having many hundreds of suppliers with nuclear quality assurance programs to keeping 100 plants operating with a small handful of suppliers with nuclear QA programs. Obsolescence is a top industry challenge, and suppliers are often painted with a sinister brush for causing it. Herein is a look at the issues involved, followed by two examples of solutions that the nuclear supplier base has developed to address the problem of parts obsolescence.
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