Research & Development

摘要

Managing and maintaining the diverse pieces of information that relate to the physical configuration of a nuclear power plant is no simple task. Implementing an advanced configuration management information system (CMIS), however, could provide significant operational and economic benefits. A recent EPRI study estimated opportunity savings of $8 billion for the 100 operating U.S. nuclear power plants over the next 20 years by implementing a data-centric CMIS, and more than $1 billion for the four U.S. new nuclear plants under construction over their projected 80-year life. Through savings associated with more efficient data retrieval, reduced data errors, and increased workflow efficiencies, EPRI calculated a probable economic payback of 3.3 years for a new build and 5 years for an operating plant. An integrated CMIS encompasses data and information for all phases of the plant life cycle, including licensing, design, procurement, construction, testing, operations, maintenance, and decommissioning. A CMIS that is not data-centric requires plant staff to find the data in a documents or siloed databases and then verify that it is accurate and updated. Before the data can be used, users frequently must resolve document revisions, resolve naming discrepancies, assure consistency with the design basis, and assure compliance with licensing commitments. EPRI has found that plant staff spend 30-40% of their time searching and validating information in multiple documents, which reduces confidence that technical data needed to make decisions is readily available to evaluate a given design or licensing issue.