A platform for effective requirements management and collaboration in nuclear compliance and licensing

Buoyed by its promise as a cost effective and low-carbon-footprint source of electricity, the nuclear industry is in the midst of a world-wide renaissance. However, significant challenges, including responding to increased safety and regulatory mandates, making a smooth transition to next-generation reactor technology, and dealing with the adoption of digital instrumentation and control (I and C) systems that rely heavily on software must be effectively addressed to ensure the momentum continues. New technology solutions, such as those developed by IBM's Rational business unit, coupled with well codified processes, policies and best practices leveraged across the nuclear ecosystem's participants have been shown to aid in overcoming these obstacles. This paper will highlight some of the compliance and collaboration challenges facing the extended nuclear ecosystem, describe a potential solution that can aid in addressing the challenges, and present several examples of where the solution has been implemented in the nuclear space. (authors)