The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Foratom recently held an event called Management systems for a sustainable nuclear supply chain in early September. This event was the sixteenth in a series of joint events intended to raise awareness and increase understanding of management systems as integrating all the vital objectives of nuclear facilities and activities.
Participants were told that the nuclear industry will need to foster even closer coordination between licensees, regulators and suppliers to ensure that its supply chain can efficiently meet the needs of buyers. Some of the changes that were the result of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic including the intensive use of digital platforms will not disappear.
The virtual event looked at how the nuclear industry is coping with recent global developments. These developments include a shift from global to localized supply; the adoption of novel and innovative technologies such as additive manufacturing methods; and preparation for the introduction of the new small modular reactors (SMRs) currently in development against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Mikhail Chudakov is the IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Energy. He said, in opening remarks at the event, that the COVID-19 pandemic had influenced the nuclear supply chain by causing longer lead times for new construction and some major refurbishment projects while also impacting the mobility of contractors. He also went on to say that the industry was still resilient. He added that “Despite the pandemic and all the related lockdowns, there were no enforced shutdowns of nuclear power plants or major disruptions or outages.”
Different national regulations, standards and legislation highlight the problem of harmonizing the nuclear supply chain. These issues also impact developing a global framework to enable the use of high-quality ‘commercial grade’ components not manufactured specifically for the nuclear sector. The nuclear industry can manage such developments through further innovation. One important innovation is the development of a methodology for qualifying materials and components produced by additive manufacture that comply with nuclear codes and standards.
The members of the global nuclear industry need to be fully aware of the all the requirements and emerging guidance, as the deployment of SMRs for electricity and non-power application approaches. The industry must also be open to suppliers that are new to the nuclear sector. If necessary, licensees should be ready to educate new suppliers to enable them to bring their products into compliance and keep them in the supply chain.
Changes implemented by companies to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic have included remote work, remote audits and verifications, digital sampling of documents and better risk management. In an IAEA webinar held as part of the meeting, Marc Tannebaum, the project manager at the U.S. Electric Power Research Institute, quoted a survey that found that almost seventy percent of the respondents planned to retain some of those changes.
The IAEA is supporting the development of proactive management systems of supply chains and well-planned procurement by owners and operators, with the goal of facilitating industry co-operation. The agency launched a Nuclear Supply Chain Toolkit. It has also launched a series of webinars, training courses and other events to support countries in coordinating among regulators, technical support organizations, nuclear facility owners and operators and their suppliers, and nuclear facilities and their suppliers to improve common understanding when dealing with supply chain issues.