[en] The application of predictive maintenance techniques to nuclear valves is emerging with the use of more powerful diagnostic tools and the systematic analysis and feedback of experience. As advances continue, gains in valve maintenance efficiency will provide significant reductions in dose exposure, maintenance costs and plant unavailability. (author)

[en] As the complexity of and strict compliance to codes and standards increases throughout the industry, in both the design and construction of nuclear power plants, so do the requirements placed on a maintenance department. Nuclear plants must be repaired, modified, or otherwise maintained to the standards under which they were built or later ones. The effort, technical knowledge, and support necessary to accomplish this is only further complicated by the high cost of replacement power when a unit is forced out. The solution to the problem involves advance planning and the development of a highly trained organization on site which can deal effectively and efficiently when equipment problems arise. This organization necessarily includes maintenance, quality control, and quality assurance personnel and other groups which must work together harmoniously

[en] After TMI's accident, the american industry began a process to solve the problems detected, in order to ensure a trust able, secure and efficient production of the nuclear installations. With this objective was created INPO. This organization and NCR later has recommended that the training programmes of the personnel performing their activity in nuclear installations should be supported by a systematic analysis based in the job position's profit. The european industry has taken the risk in the same aspect, recommending through the IAEA the application of a similar process in its activity's field, as shown is the IAEA-TECDOC-525 document. Moreover, this methodological development endeavour to be the way of performing the demand of electric energy plants training departments, which keep demanding, day by day, training methodologies related to the principle that this should start, in its design, from the labour reality of its plant's personnel, and approach to the same labour reality in its application. (Author)

[en] A summary is presented of current maintenance methods, tools, procedures, training programs, and planning techniques used in nuclear power plants

[en] The Universal Delivery Machine (UDM) is a new CANDU reactor maintenance tool that allows safe, timely, and cost-effective inspection and maintenance of fuel channels. The UDM must align precisely with reactor end-fittings in order to clamp onto fuel channels without applying excessive force. This alignment process is called fine homing. This paper describes the UDM instrumentation and control design features used in the fine homing process. (author)

[en] Facilities should be maintained in solid operational condition and the time required for correcting the malfunctions should be minimized since the operational pause due to malfunctions would be one of the most influencing factors on the accomplishments of research goals. It is well-known that we are able to obtain about a 30% reduction of the disbursement through the scheduled pre-repairing processes and to minimize the duration of the malfunctions provided that the relevant factors were administered under systematic coordination. Hence, the development of the facility integrity management system is necessary in order to minimize the duration of the operational pause due to malfunctions with the least disbursement and to minimize the repair time, and also to maximize the efficiency of the budget execution, manpower organization and maintenance management

[en] 'Full text:' Plant Engineering and Maintenance Association of Canada (PEMAC) is a national not-for-profit association providing global leadership, education and certification in world class maintenance, reliability and physical asset management practices. This presentation will introduce the MMP (Maintenance Management Professional) education and certification program and its 8 Modules. You will see the learning elements and learning outcomes of each of the 8 Modules which are delivered through selected colleges, institutes and universities across Canada using in-class, on-site and live, on-line formats in both official languages. (author)

[en] Design of a nuclear power plant for safe, reliable and efficient operation involves much more than theory, regulations, regulatory guides, procedures, inspectors, and even quality assurance. It also involves a full knowledge and understanding of the activities which must be carried out to operate and maintain the plant. It must be remembered that a nuclear power plant is different from fossil designs and the designer must constantly keep in mind that access by people to every component is required for maintenance

No abstract available

[en] An analysis of nuclear power plant operation and maintenance (O and M) costs based on information reported to the Federal Power Commission for the years 1971 to 1976 indicate costs increasing at a rapid rate for the ten single-unit plants analyzed. Standard statistical techniques of correlation analysis compared the O and M cost to the nameplate rating, the capacity factor, and the average number of employees. Analysis showed that a portion of the total O and M increases is directly attributable to the increase in the average number of station employees. An analysis of thirteen O and M cost subaccounts indicates that five contain 10% of the total cost increase. In 1976 these five subaccounts contained 72% of the total O and M cost. These five are: maintenance of the reactor plant, miscellaneous steam plant expenses, steam expenses, maintenance of the electric plant, and operation, supervision/engineering. 7 figures, 4 tables