Lessons learned from CEA experience with dismantling project

Since the late 1980s the CEA has been actively implementing methods to benefit from its experience in dismantling nuclear facilities. Capitalizing on prior experience - originally to address safety requirements - has now acquired greater importance in the CEA with the implementation of project management knowledge bases that require better control of performance and cost from initial estimates to completion. Changing regulations (waste, radiological protection, safety, etc.) and decommissioning policies in major organizations (objectives, funding, deadlines, organization, etc.) significantly influence dismantling projects. Experience with knowledge management has shown that the approach consisting in exhaustive project data collection often produces large, unwieldy information bases that are difficult to apply to subsequent projects. Principles and recommendations can nevertheless be derived, but require detailed analysis of all the aspects of dismantling (waste, dosimetry, conventional and nuclear safety, cost, deadlines, physical and radiological environment, regulatory provisions, etc.). The wide range of CEA facilities, the different stages in the course of a project that often lasts for several decades, changing operators and supervisors, all imply that a given situation can be assessed and reconsidered differently depending on the project organization, participants and background. Past results can be considered technically satisfactory, but poorly rated in terms of cost or scheduling. The current approach consists in focusing more on the relevance of the information conserved, favoring common practices emanating from a dedicated center of expertise, and applying suitable processes after discriminating between the lessons learned directly from experience and from consolidation of professional knowledge bases. (author)