July-August 2019 NPJ

20 NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, July-August 2019 In 2010, the U.S nuclear power fleet reported 77 scrams (emergency reactor shutdowns). In 2017, there were just 38 scrams. This significant reduction was driven by an industry focus on SPV identification, labeling, elimination, and mitigation. In 2015, EPRI issued an SPV guide that plant personnel have used for process improvements. Previously unrecognized SPVs caused half of the scrams in 2017, pointing to the benefits of ongoing action to address SPVs. Indeed, this is why EPRI created the tool—to facilitate collaboration among plant personnel. To help make the database comprehensive, EPRI and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) recently created a system that prompts plant operators to flag SPV-related scrams as part of their scram reporting requirements to INPO. Along with the tool’s release, EPRI plans to provide training to help utilities characterize the technical aspects of their plants’ vulnerabilities. A better understanding of what causes vulnerabilities in the first place is needed before an appropriate mitigation strategy can be developed. The tool is available for use by utilities in the United States and Mexico, and EPRI staff are working with utilities in Canada and China to enter their data. Utilities in United Arab Emirates and South Africa have expressed interest in using the tool. The industry’s knowledge of SPVs and their impacts is maturing, but operators are still on a learning curve. The industry can continue to improve by sharing information through the tool. Contact: Jacquelyn Fraedrich, EPRI, email: techexpert@eprijournal.com . Digital Worker Innovation Hub EPRI technical leaders from its four sectors are spearheading the Digital Worker Innovation Hub to facilitate collaboration and sharing research and best practices among various research areas. The focus is on practical applications near-term and evaluating emerging technologies. Among dozens of applications under development at EPRI: mobile field guides for inspecting cooling towers and steam condensers, AR-based verification for transmission switching orders, virtual reality training for turbine maintenance, AR graphics to show hazardous areas in switchyards, and electronic work packages. Researchers are also looking at the human health implications of these technologies, such as how AR impacts ergonomics and workers’ awareness of their surroundings. As part of the Innovation Hub, EPRI is developing a comprehensive Digital Worker project database and setting up laboratories where researchers and industry stakeholders can test technologies, discuss needs, and brainstorm new applications. An interest group provides a forum for utilities to strategize, plan, and implement technologies. Insights from these activities can inform a broader power industry strategy on Digital Worker technologies. Drawing on internal surveys and EPRI reports, EPRI is gathering information about DigitalWorker projects across the institute and organizing an online database to serve the interests of various groups. It can provide project details—who manages the research, how it’s funded, and what deliverables are planned. For utilities, project overviews and contact information can encourage collaboration. For the public, it can provide general descriptions of new technologies that EPRI and utilities are developing to enhance electricity service. EPRI is setting up Innovation Labs in Charlotte and Knoxville where researchers can develop, test, and demonstrate new technologies. Each will be equipped with AR headsets, virtual reality tools, iPads, and other digital devices. The labs will also showcase areas in which utility staff and other industry stakeholders experience the technologies firsthand, learn about the benefits, and provide feedback to the developers. Additional labs are planned in Palo Alto and Washington, D.C. To help utilities make the business case, EPRI is planning research to quantify the value of Digital Worker technologies—whether through reduced worker time, increased accuracy, or cost savings. A recent EPRI study found that line workers trained in the field with an AR app installed routers on utility poles 48% faster than workers who learned the task by reading instructions on index cards. Another study found that an AR app could cut in half the staff time for storm damage assessment relative to conventional pen-and-paper. Based on this result, the app could potentially reduce restoration time for a typical four- day outage by 12 hours, saving customers more than $8 million. Digital technologies can help save, store, and integrate decades of equipment maintenance data along with the knowledge of retiring utility staff. For example, one AR app enables a substation worker to direct an iPad’s camera at a component and access extensive information on its repair history and status. The app warns the worker if she is standing too close to the equipment or is in a high-voltage zone. Contact: Matt Wakefield, Micah Tinklepaugh, Matt Buck, email: techexpert@eprijournal.com . The above documents were reprinted from the EPRI Journal with permission from EPRI. To subscribe, go to www. eprijournal.com . Research & Development... ( Continued from page 19)