PLANT MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS
Nuclear agreement
targets big savings
BNS Nuclear Services is to
carry out a £13-million
contract for Dounreay Site
Restoration Ltd (DSRL) to
provide maintenance and
operations services in
support of the
decommissioning of the
site’s two fast reactors.
The contract is to run for
three years, with an option
to extend it by up to two
years. Until now, four
different companies have
provided maintenance and
operations support at the
reactors but DRSL said it
expects to benefit from the
economies of scale when
operations and maintenance
tasks are combined.
“We needed to make a
change and I believe this is
the right thing to do,” said
Mike Brown, DSRL's fast
reactors decommissioning
manager and the contract’s
corporate sponsor. “As we
move towards combining
work on our two reactors,
rather than having separate
teams for each, it makes
sense too to combine the
old contracts.
“If BNS is able to deliver
the efficiencies we expect,
then this business model
could be adopted for wider
business integration,” the
DSRL manager explained.
“Even though our
reactors are of different
designs, there is a great deal
of commonality about the
decommissioning approach
needed for liquid, alkalimetal-cooled,
fast reactors,
said Brad Smith, DSRL's site
project manager. “This
contract should act as a pilot
study to show we can take
advantage of this.”
Central to this challenge
is the combining of the two
reactor workforces, who
each have specialist
knowledge. This means not
only sharing knowledge and
skills built up over years, but
also managing a major
culture change.
The work will include the
development and
implementation of a
common electronic works
control system. As this
involves critical safety
issues, BNS is to develop an
integrated planning system
for the reactors’
maintenance and
operations activities.
Once up and running, the
system should give
performance statistics, such
as how long individual
maintenance tasks are likely
to take, further aiding task
planning, said the company.
“Our team has proposed
a programme of short and
medium-term improvements
to create a more streamlined
work flow,” said David
Hubbard, BNS site agent.
“We have already begun
work and intend our team to
put in place demonstrable
improvements, while
meeting all the safety
requirements associated
with the site licence.”
Screening deal
Southern Water has recently concluded a two-year
service agreement with Hydro Wastewater, which
operates nearly 60 Hydro SludgeScreens at 30 waste
treatment sites. The deal removes the main
responsibility for the SludgeScreens from the site
maintenance teams. The equipment comprises 19
older, chain-driven machines and 37 modern, directdrive
Hydro units, all on sludge dewatering duties.
“Efficiency and reliability of operation are critical to
wastewater treatment works,” said Frank Baker,
supplier agreement leader for Southern Water. “With
this contract we can now predict our costs much more
tightly, and reduce the cost provision we might have to
make for reactive maintenance if the screens go down,
with all the associated additional costs.“
The Hydro units provide screening, dewatering and
coarse material discharge in one operation, without
requiring washwater. The equipment responds to
regular servicing to maintain its effectiveness,
according to Neil Hobbs, sales and service manager
for Hydro Wastewater: “When a site only has one
machine, with no back-up, it is essential that it doesn’t
break down, otherwise the sludge may have to be
tankered off site for processing, with heavy extra costs.
We can maintain them with minimum downtime at low
flow times, reducing any disruption to treatment.
“There is also the element of predictive
maintenance and condition monitoring. We are able to
spot wearing components, and suggest how soon they
might need replacement, so identifying a problem
before it becomes a crisis.”
Liquid Flow Measurement Solutions for Industry
Process • Chemical • Oil Gas & Petrochem • Powergen • Food • Marine & Agriculture applications
sales@trimec-europe.com www.trimec-europe.com Tel: 01444 417880
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