Proactive
Obsolescence
Management
Program
By Electric Power Research Institute.
This is a Success Story from Electric
Power Research Institute.
Constellation Energy Nuclear Group
(CENG) applied EPRI research results
to implement a formal obsolescence
management program that will address
issues associated with obsolete plant
components and reduce adverse impacts
on operations and maintenance. The
EPRI guidance helped CENG:
•
Shift from reactive to proactive
management of obsolescence issues
in one year.
•
Incorporate obsolescence consider-
ations into system health reporting.
•
Automate collection of data
necessary for successful management
of obsolescence issues.
•
Implement processes to track early
warning indicators that equipment
may soon become obsolete.
•
Increase awareness of obsolescence
issues among plant personnel.
Equipment
Obsolescence: A
Continuing Challenge
Committed to providing safe and
reliable energy, CENG sought to address
a growing challenge facing nuclear
power plants: about 20% of plant
equipment and components are no longer
available as like-for-like replacements
in the marketplace. The lack of readily
available spares or replacements for
certain obsolete components presents
maintenance and cost challenges and
could potentially lead to plant shutdowns.
Responding to unanticipated needs for
replacement items that turn out to be
obsolete can require plant engineering
and supply chain organizations to develop
complex solutions on an emergent basis.
This reactive approach requires “heroic”
efforts by plant staff that can be inefficient
and costly.
Seeking a more proactive and
cost-effective approach for managing
obsolescence and maintaining safety
and reliability, CENG turned to EPRI
research results for guidance.
Collaborative Action
EPRI’s research on obsolescence
aims to develop methodologies to
minimize the impact of obsolescence
on plant production and cost. EPRI
worked with a number of nuclear plant
owners to develop and refine a basic
process that could systematically manage
obsolescence.
The initiative’s research results are
presented in a series of EPRI reports:
•
Obsolescence Management—A Proactive
Approach (product 1015391).
•
Obsolescence Management—Program
Ownership and Development (product
1016692).
•
Proactive Obsolescence Manage-
ment—Program Implementation and
Lessons Learned (product 1019161).
All three reports present underlying
concepts and discuss considerations
for developing and implementing
obsolescence management programs.
The third report emphasizes that although
identifying the population of obsolete
equipment and parts is a good starting
point, the key to an effective program lies
in the ability to effectively identify and
prioritize known obsolescence issues. In
addition, processes can be implemented
for tracking precursors to obsolescence.
The approach has three basic
elements:
1. The plant needs to identify the
scope of installed equipment and
replacement parts that are currently
obsolete.
2. The list needs to be prioritized based
on the criticality of the obsolete
equipment and the likelihood that
replacements will be needed.
3. The plant needs to effectively
develop and implement replacement
solutions in a timely manner.
CENG’s Application
Constellation Energy Nuclear Group
used the EPRI reports to implement a
proactive obsolescence program in a
single year. The guidance helped the
CENG project team clarify roles, define
an obsolescence management process,
develop prioritization examples, and
implement key performance indicators.
CENG incorporated major process
elements from EPRI report 1019161
(Plant Support Engineering: Proactive
Obsolescence
Management)
into
three main integration areas: Process
Development and Integration, Data Feed
Integration, and Data Cleanup and Gaps.
The CENG program development
team did the following:
•
Identified and logically consolidated
obsolescence issues
•
Prioritized obsolescence issues into
station-specific Top 10 Lists
•
Used existing processes to make the
transition fluid and logical to site
personnel.
“A key EPRI recommendation we
implemented was a graded approach
to solving obsolescence via station
top 10 lists,” said Laura Farrell, an
engineer at CENG’s Ginna station. “The
development of these lists has increased
visibility, ownership, and management
of each station’s high risk obsolescence
issues.”
“Another key takeaway from the
EPRI document that had a large impact on
CENG is the importance of having quality
make/model data for the identification of
obsolete parts,” said Tim Rogers, director
of supply planning and assurance. “CENG
has implemented several initiatives to
improve the quality of make/model data,
from data gathering projects to revising
design and configuration management
processes to ensure make/model data is
captured appropriately.”
Results and Benefits
The resulting program incorporates
obsolescence considerations into system
health reporting, automates collection
of obsolescence data, and implements
processes for tracking the precursor
signals of equipment obsolescence. The
program has increased awareness of
obsolescence issues at CENG’s three
nuclear power stations—Ginna, Calvert
Cliffs and Nine Mile Point. The sites are
working down their prioritized Top 10
lists, and each site is better informed about
processes for managing obsolescence
issues. Additionally, training sessions
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NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, September-October 2013
(Continued on page 49)
