A few experiences and lessons learned in installing radiological access control systems

Unforeseen obstacles are often encountered during the installation of any information system. Radiological access control systems add unique complications. Many costly events can be averted if appropriate action takes place prior to installation and system startup. Based upon experiences gained from installing systems into radiological environments since 1980, several key areas are addressed with recommendations in how to avoid these pitfalls. These areas include hardware considerations, working with vendors and customers, implementation schedule pitfalls, system design considerations for successful startup, user and system training (especially dosimetry), the value of factory acceptance testing, and the importance of user support at the site. Actual examples from installations at several nuclear facilities will be presented