September-October 2017 NPJ

Nuclear Plant Journal, September-October 2017 NuclearPlantJournal.com 21 (Continued on page 22) has GE Predix contract oversight and implementation as one of its key responsibilities. That is because asset performance management, or the asset management module of the GE standard offering, is a key value driver for that contract. We are making sure that the roadblocks are removed from implementation, that we understand the details around the sources of value as the platform is implemented. 5. What are the other innovative applications at Exelon, other than Predix and the Viewer? We have sites looking for good- use cases for drones. Some are using a drone with a specialized cage around it, which has a number of advantages because both the drone and surrounding areas are protected. Some sites have used underwater drones to do inspections. We are building a database, a one-stop shop for folks that want to deploy a drone for inspection. That resource would include governance and checklists of prerequisites for deploying drones at nuclear facilities. Use of drones is also being facilitated by Exelon Power Labs. We believe that drones can be used to take the place of building some scaffolding, or potentially replacing divers. An example is inspection of the exhaust stack at a boiling water reactor. We are trying to understand if that can be effectively completed with a drone. 6. Spotlight different elements of Predix which you have implemented and which you are planning to implement? Predix applications are being used in nuclear, the fossil fleet and in the renewables fleet. The Predix platform has several different layers and tracks, only some of which apply to nuclear. For instance, they have a controls layer for optimization of plants that can control gas plants remotely. With feedback from the software, it could control operation at the gas plant. That is not directly applicable to a nuclear plant. However, the base layer of Predix, the asset performance management layer, can be utilized by our nuclear fleet. This layer consists of advanced analytics for equipment, equipment monitoring and trending and early prediction of failure. We can use the diverse data source inputs to build better analytics to monitor larger sections of the plant. We can do advanced thermal performance monitoring. In addition, we can use their maintenance optimization module to aid in value-based maintenance activities to reduce the overall cost of maintenance at our nuclear sites. When we began engaging with GE, we referred to our trials of Asset Performance Management (APM) as Watchtower. As we moved into deployment of APM, we refer to it as APMWatchtower to provide that connection to the trials and recognize the name of the GE core offering. One of the co-innovation projects that we’ve been working on with GE is called Digital Plant Viewer.