CNE

Work control department

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MESSAGE OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER DCL

“The Planning Process is one of the most important processes in the Central Office, being the one that sets the priorities, what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. We control a complex activity in which all the departments of the Central Office are involved. Thus, through the Planning Process, all activities are coordinated in a timely and optimal manner and are executed in a logical manner.

We will follow the path of the other high-performing nuclear power plants and focus on the most disciplined execution of the Planning Process”.

 

The Principles of Realizing an Effective Planning Process:

  • Ensuring nuclear safety by identifying, selecting, evaluating, planning and executing the necessary activities so as to maximize the availability and operational safety of the plant’s equipment and systems;
  • Risk control associated with the execution of activities;
  • Identifying the risk associated with the execution of the activities on the plant and the staff, as well as protecting the Plant from unanticipated transients that could result from the execution of the activities. A general assessment of the impact of the application of the established program on the nuclear safety of the plant must be made before issuing the final execution program. This risk must be re-evaluated in the event of emergencies that resulted in the modification of the reference conditions of the previous evaluation;
  • Maximizing the productivity and efficiency of the plant’s staff as well as material resources;
  • The daily work plan has several components: predictive and preventive maintenance, mandatory tests, implementation of approved changes. It must be analyzed from a technical point of view to validate the purpose. The daily work plan must be prepared and carried out unconditionally, as much as possible, without accepting postponements.

 

Planning Service

The Planning Service coordinates the Planning Process with Central Power, through which the activities are identified, selected, evaluated, planned, executed, closed and analyzed. In order to achieve excellence, the whole organization must be involved and fully support this process. The effectiveness of the implementation of the planning process results from a variety of conditions associated with the management’s behavior and actions, as well as from the Organization’s processes and values .

Achieving excellence in the Power Plant Planning Process depends on the following:

  • ≥ 98% Completeness of the Daily Work Plan;
  • ≥ 92% Plan Stability;
  • No mandatory test whose execution exceeds the maximum admissible date;
  • No preventive maintenance requirement on critical equipment whose execution exceeds the maximum admissible date.

The purpose of the Power Plant Planning Process:

  • It ensures a cyclical, repetitive process that also integrates the risk control methodology associated with the execution of activities;
  • Scheduling primary maintenance activities, resources and support activities necessary for their realization;
  • Coordination of the execution of all scheduled activities (corrective, elective, other type of maintenance, implementation of changes, preventive, predictive maintenance and tests) so that the performance is optimal;
  • Preparation of activities for execution as a result of the evaluation of the evaluation groups;
  • The grouping of activities within the maintenance windows of the equipment (using various methods, including the Functional Grouping of Equipment) and implicitly reducing the period of unavailability of the equipment.

 

Stop Service

The Stop Service manages the planned/unplanned stops within the Central, by managing the processes of preparation, management and their application in order to successfully achieve the proposed objectives in conditions of safety, quality and compliance with the schedule.

The Shutdown Service obtains information about shutdown activities from Technical Services, administers all shutdown work orders, prepares the shutdown work program, calculates the indicators established for shutdown preparation and schedules all preparatory work orders for execution.

The Planned Shutdown represents the most important and complex annual project of CNE-Cernavoda.

The reliability of the plant’s equipment, as well as the capacity factor, are strongly dependent on the timely and quality execution of the Planned Shutdowns. The long-term planning effort is strengthened and the long-term management of shutdowns, especially the systematic use of contractors for major repetitive works, is established and implemented. The planned stops take place in the months of May/June, with a planned duration of execution on average of 25 ÷ 35 days (24/24h)/unit, depending on the volume and difficulty of the activities on the critical road.

In order to fulfill the established performance indicators and to prepare the necessary documentation for the execution of the planned shutdown, the preparation process of each shutdown begins 4.5 years in advance.

The success of the Planned Shutdown consists of:

  • compliance with the daily plan;
  • conservative decision process;
  • team work;
  • strict compliance with procedures;
  • strict compliance with the work schedule;
  • security of personnel, installations and environmental protection;
  • communication and use of error prevention means;
  • the quality of works performed according to nuclear standards.

Purpose of the Planned Outages management subprocess

The entire process of a Planned Shutdown includes four major stages, namely:

  • initiation;
  • preparation;
  • execution;
  • the end of the stop.

Stop Initiation

This involves setting the completion dates for the activities preparatory to the shutdown (milestones), then establishing the list of activities (Shutdown Goal), followed by the elaboration and approval of the Shutdown Logic.

In accordance with the objectives established in the Strategic Plan of the Plant regarding the Management’s expectations, the production plan, the budgeting and durations allocated to the Planned Shutdowns, as well as the best performances and practices obtained in the nuclear industry in the world, the completion dates are established (” Milestones”) for the preparatory activities for each Planned Stop.

Preparation of the Stop

The process of preparing a Planned Shutdown must be continuous, even if certain completion dates (“Milestones”) overlap the interval in which the other unit is in the execution phase of the Planned Shutdown.

The most important stages are:

  • identification of works preceding the shutdown;
  • evaluation of stop activities;
  • preparing and issuing procurement requests for shutdown activities;
  • issuing the necessary documentation, including security analyzes and approvals of the regulatory bodies.

Control over the goal is the key to success in preparing the stop. This includes a scope management process for both added and removed activities.

Execution of the Stop

Control over the daily work plan is the key to success in the shutdown execution phase.

The main objectives in the successful implementation of the stops are the following:

  • strict implementation of the shutdown program;
  • following the activities on the “critical path”;
  • the implementation of the schedule of stop sessions;
  • monitoring the progress of the shutdown program.

Closing the Stop

  • analysis of the execution of the shutdown program in comparison with the initially established goal, identification of lessons to be learned and elaboration of the Shutdown Report;
  • establishing an Action Plan in order to improve the shutdown process;
  • scheduling meetings regarding the lessons to be learned and analyzing them for the improvements that must be made in the next stop.

 

Work Plans Office

The Work Plans Office develops, evaluates and issues the necessary work plans U0, U1 and U2, with the provision of the necessary support for the Planning and Shutdown Services, structured according to domains that associate groups of systems of the units.

He is responsible for initiating/revising work plans, evaluating and obtaining the necessary approvals.

It thus ensures, through the work plan, an execution procedure that meets the operational standards, nuclear security, aspects of environmental protection, chemical, radiation protection and labor protection.

 

Work Control Support Group

Within the Work Control Support Group, the control function of the Work Control Department was integrated and the following responsibilities were defined:

  • The control of the performance indicators in the Central by the integration of an effective reaction system that promotes and ensures the continuous improvement of the processes;
  • Identification, scheduling and evaluation of major works with the La Putere Power Plant with sufficient time in advance so as to ensure the obtaining of technical documentation, equipment, spare parts or materials with a long manufacturing cycle and the necessary human resources;
  • Development and review of documentation related to the Planning Process;
  • Coordination and follow-up of technical problems with a particular impact, as well as the follow-up of activities in the Top-Ten process;
  • Develop WANO/INPO PO&C and OSART gap analyzes as well as performance analysis for the planning process following internal and external OPEX analysis;
  • Work Control Department staff training.

Energy Management

Within the Works Control Department, the Energy Manager of CNE Cernavoda is also active, he is certified by ANRE/ME and is responsible for:

  • Forecasting, monitoring and reporting of electricity and heat production data for Unit 1 and Unit 2 Cernavoda to the reporting bodies (ANRE, ANDR, INS);
  • Communication of the withdrawal from operation or the earlier coupling to the National Energy System of the two nuclear units for the production of electrical and thermal energy;
  • The calculation of the production indicators specific to the set of Cernavoda CNE Performance Indicators and their reporting to those responsible for making the monthly/quarterly/annual Reports on the Power Plant;
  • Improvements regarding the energy efficiency of the 2 units (electrical or thermal part).

The Energy Manager prepares a year in advance the electricity forecast for the two units, for the duration of one year, with the estimate of the planned shutdown period and its duration and sends them to SN Nuclearelectrica and for notification to the National Energy Dispatch (DEN). In addition, according to the agreement concluded and the regulations in force regarding the operation and operational management of CNE Cernavoda within the National Energy System (SEN), CNE Cernavoda submits to the DEN a request for decommissioning the unit that is to be shut down and a request for synchronization to SEN for approval (72 hours in advance).