LightWaterReactorSustainabilityR&DProgram

Development and Testing of Work Package Automation for Plant

Modernization Ahmad Al Rashdan, Ph. D.Idaho National Laboratory

Presented to: Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation, 2017 NE I&C Review.

Acknowledgement

• DepartmentofEnergyLightWaterReactorSustainabilityProgramforfundingthiseffort.

• XcelEnergyInc.forcollaboratingonpartsofthiseffortunderCRADA17-CR-05.

• OtherINLcontributors:– KennethThomas,Vivek Agarwal,RonaldBoring,ShawnStGermain,JohannaOxstrand,ThomasUlrich,andBrandonRice.

Work PackageWork

Package

Worker Order

Documents References

…

Group of Steps/ Task

Material list, equipment

list, ...

StepGroup of

Steps/ Task

Step Step

Electronic Work

Package

Automation Technologies

Work Process Deficiencies

Automated Work Package

Development of Work PackagesPaperWP

ScannedWP

FormsWP

InteractiveWP

IntelligentWP

AutomatedWP

eWPPWP AWP

Automation of Work Packages

InitiationofWorkRequest

(5functions)

ScreenWorkRequest(1functions)

WorkPackageCreationandScheduling(7functions)

Pre-ImplementationWalkDown(2functions)

SupervisorAssignsWorkPackagetoCraft(3functions)

HoldsandPre-JobBrief(5functions)

MeasurementandTestEquipment,Tools,and

SpareParts(4functions)

WalkDownClearance(TagOut)and

OperationsPermissiontoStart

(6functions)

PerformWorkActivity(13functions)

Sign-OffClearanceandReview

(1function)

QualityAssuranceandArchiving

(3functions)

• Fiftyfunctionsenvisioned targetingallphasesoftheworkprocess.

-AlRashdan etal,2016,AutomatedWorkPackage:ConceptualDesignandDataArchitecture,INL/EXT-16-38809.IdahoFalls-EPRI,2015,ImprovingtheExecutionandProductivityofMaintenancewithElectronicWorkPackages:AMobileWorkManagementInitiative,3002005363,ElectricPowerResearchInstitute.

Survey

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

100%

Initiateworkrequ

est

Screen

ingworkrequ

ests

Planne

rcreatesworkpackage

Planand

con

ductpre-im

plem

entatio

n…

Supe

rviso

rselectio

nandassig

nmen

tof…

ValidationofCraft'sq

ualifications

Cond

uctp

re-jo

bbrief

Verifythecurren

trevision

ofall…

Walkdow

nclearancetoverifyprope

rly…

Sign-onclearanceandup

dateth

e…

ReceiveOpe

ratio

n'sp

ermissiontostart…

Signontoapprop

riateRadiatio

nWork…

Performworkactiv

ity

Sign-offclearance

Supe

rviso

rreview

Workpackagedisassem

bly

FilingofQArecords

Archiving

WhatandHowtoChangetheProcess

Automate Remove Change(butnotautomate) Keepasis

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Abilitytochangelevelofdetailintheworkinstruction…

Augmentedreality(e.g.,technologysimilartoGoogle…

Automatictoolrecallforcalibrationordisqualification

Locationtrackingoftoolsandspareparts

Automaticreassignmentoftoolswhennotneeded

AutomaticevaluationofCraft's performance

AutomaticnotificationtoresourcesforQAandother…

Remotevideomonitoringof taskexecution

Remoteaccessoftaskprogresstoallinvolvedentities

Voiceassistedinstructions(e.g.,talk-to-text)

AutomaticnotificationstoSupervisors,Operations,…

AutomatictrackingofCraft’slocation

Automaticplacementand/orremovalofholdpoints

Automaticschedulingandguidanceofwalk-downs…

Pre-recordedpre-jobbriefvideosforfrequently…

Automaticallocationandreleaseoftoolsand…

Automatictrackingoftaskprogress

Automaticintegrationofplantriskinformationduring…

Automaticschedulingoftasksaccordingtothe…

Automaticacquisitionofplantinformation

Automaticpopulationofworkpackageinformation…

Historicaldatacollectionofequipmentfailures

Integrationofenterpriseassetmanagementsystem…

Whichof thelistedcapabilitieswouldhelpincreasetheefficiencyoftheworkpackageprocess?

Infrastructure Development of Work Packages

eWPPWP AWPText Data

Perform….onequipment…usingtool…;refertodocument…forinformation;….

Thefullmigrationofoneworkpackagefrompapertodataresultedinthefollowingexampledataarchitecturefindings:1. Topology:hierarchicalmeshofdata2. Functionality:liveandconfigurationversionsof

thesamedata.3. Properties:aggregatedupwardsanddownwards

thehierarchy.

Work Package

Worker Order

Documents References

…

Group of Steps/ Task

Material list, equipment

list, ...

StepGroup of

Steps/ Task

Step StepTool

Equipment

Materials, Tools, and EquipmentThenuclearpowerindustryisinneedformeanstoautomatematerials,tools,andequipment's(MTE)trackingfor:1. VerificationofproperMTEuseby

thecraft.2. Accountabilityinforeignmaterials

exclusionszones(FMEZ)thatimpactstheplantcriticalpath.

3. Enforcingcalibrationschedulesfortoolsandequipmentinthefield.

4. PreventingremovalofcontaminatedMTE.

5. PreventinglossofexpensiveMTE.6. Inventoryofoutagecontainers.

Step

Materials

Documents

HazardsDiscipline

Cautions

Trainings

Tools

Notes

Qualifications

Review

Risks

Tags

Tests

Equipment

Ultra High Frequency Radio Frequency Identification ( UHF RFID)

• Passivelypoweredtags.• Variousformsandsizesoftags.• Varioustypesofreaderspower

methodandantennasconnection.• Low-costtechnology.

UHF RFID Prototype and User Study

Example of study findings• TagSize:

– Largetagscausespuriousdetection;smalltagsarehardtodetect.Optimaltagsizewasidentified.

• SetupLayout:– Portablereaderwithanintegratedantenna forFMEZ.– PortablereaderwithexternalantennaforsearchingofMTE.– FixedsetupwithantennasgateforpreventingremovalofcontaminatedMTEand

lossofexpensiveMTE.• TagMountingandStructure:

– Tagsarealmostalwaysbiasedtowardscertainorientation,andneedtobeinstalledinamannerthatfavorsexposureofthatorientation

– Tagsaresensitivetointerference(includinghumanbody),andneedtobeinstalledinlocationsthatminimizesinterference.

– Sometagsaremoresuitableforcertaintypeofsurfaces.Forexample,notalltagsaremountableonmetals.

– Tagsthathavesoftorrubbersurfacescanbehardtodecontaminate.– Radiationtoleranceoftagsremainsunknown.

Cautions and Hazards: Asthenuclearpowerindustrymovestowardsmobiledevices,theindustryisinneedtodetectthecraftlocationfor:• Complementingtheconventionalwarnings

withelectronicwarnings.• Automaticallyenforcingsafetymeasuresin

criticalsituations.

Step

Materials

Documents

HazardsDiscipline

Cautions

Trainings

Tools

Notes

Qualifications

Review

Risks

Tags

Tests

Equipment

BluetoothLowEnergyBeacons:• CanbedetectedbyanyBluetooth

enableddevice.• Verycompact,light,andeasilyattachable

towallsandsurfaces.• Verylowenergyconsumption.• Inexpensive(tensofUnitedStates

Dollars).• Thresholdtriggeringofradiosignal

strengthwasused.• Thresholdassignedtoactionsthrougha

textfile.

Example of study findings

– BroadcastsofthebeaconIDandbatterylevelaremoresuitablethanpeertopeercommunicationfromacommunicationandpowerperspectives.

– Broadcastsfrequencyshouldberelativelylowtopreservepower,butnottoolowtoresultinmisdetection.Multiplebeaconstoinitiatethesameactioncanbeusedtocompensateforthelowbroadcastsfrequency.

– Increasingtherangeincreasestheprobabilityofdetectionbutincreasesthepowerconsumptionandfalsepositives.Thesignalstrengthneedstobeoptimizedaccordingtothenatureofthelocationandtheapplication.

– Radiationtoleranceofthebeaconsarenotexpectedtopresentasignificantlimitation.Modulescanbereplacedannuallyifneeded,duetotheirlowcost.

Video Recording and Remote Monitoring Thenuclearpowerindustryisinneedformeanstoimprovetheprocessof:• Peerreview• Remotesupervisionandapprovals.• Trainingincludingjust-in-time

training.• Pre-jobbriefings.• Qualityassurance.

Conclusions

• Identified50functionsthatcanbeaddressedbyautomatingtheworkpackagesprocess.

• Verifiedthealignmentoftheproposedfunctionswiththeindustrythroughasurvey.

• Developedthedataarchitectureprinciplesoffullydigitizedworkpackage.

• Prototypedandstudiedthefeasibilityandimpactofmultipleworkpackageautomationtechnologiesinnuclearpowerplants.

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