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For full details and to register to join, please visit the event website.
Please briefly explain your role, involvement, and experience with regards to the management of ageing nuclear assets
Nick Deavin (ND): As the company Senior Maintenance Authority, I assure the appropriateness of the asset maintenance derived and delivered, whilst also providing technical advice and guidance on standards, training and relevant good practice. On a site with over 50% of facilities predating 1960, this necessarily means a large amount of my focus is on ageing asset management.
What is the top challenge facing your industry at present?
ND: I would say that the nuclear industry has long suffered from poor media representation and image, which directly contributes to the lack of engineers, scientists and business personnel choosing nuclear as a career. Consequently, our biggest challenge is recruitment and retention; something we are actively collaborating on with the government and other nuclear sites.
How would you say your industry has evolved over the past two years?
ND: We historically evolve slowly as an industry but lately things are speeding up. With the demise of the standalone analogue control system phase, we are having to find new ways to safely replace with the new networked digital control systems and related test equipment, all the while working through the cyber security aspects.
What developments are going on in your industry that may have an impact on the development of future approaches to nuclear asset management and decommissioning?
ND: My particular area is looking to find efficiencies in managing the current sites, through implementation of the ISO 55000 asset management process and also upgrading the aged infrastructure, plant and process for the next product phase. An area of development in support of decommissioning is the timely re-characterisation and re-configuring of the aged facility process systems that will also need to remain operational to support decommissioning, such as electrics and ventilation.
What will you be presenting at the ‘Managing Ageing Nuclear Assets and Decommissioning’ conference and how will this benefit participants?
ND: I shall be talking around strategic decision making for asset management and some of the baseline requirements and assumptions that can enable or derail the successful outcome of those decisions.
Which other speakers and presentations are you looking forward to hearing at the forthcoming seminar?
ND: I would like to hear more on life extension, a common theme across many industries, and how we will all take the benefit and apply the learning from each other’s free experience lesson.
Why is it important for engineers and industry to come together at this event and share best practice?
ND: We cannot afford to keep making mistakes across the industry and not learn from each other. The title is ageing assets but it is just applying the asset management process and recognising that the risk and costs to maintain and repair those assets will go up the longer you operate them. The classic planning mistake is the assumption that the risk and cost remain the same when you push out the facility replacement/retirement date.
The Managing Ageing Nuclear Assets and Decommissioning conference will take place on 22-23 May 2024 at the Emirates Stadium, Manchester.
Bringing together the foremost site holders and experts together with the industry regulators, the conference is a key forum to address both the challenges of maintaining asset integrity beyond intended lifecycle and the process of decommissioning.
Presentations include input from Office for Nuclear Regulation, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield, Harbour Energy, Sellafield, AWE, UKAEA, Cavendish Nuclear and more.
For full details and to register to join, please visit the event website.