Regulatory Considerations in Long-Lead Items for Nuclear Reactor Facilities

Abstract of the technical paper presented at:
15th Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing (INCOM)
Ottawa Convention Centre, Ottawa, ON, Canada
May 11–13, 2015

Prepared by:
Dariusz Mroz, Nick Shykinov, Garry Schwarz and Marcel de Vos
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Canada

Abstract

The term “long-lead items”, as a concept, refers to equipment, products and systems that are identified at the earliest stage of a project as having a delivery time long enough to directly affect the overall lead time of a project. Long-lead items are found in most industries. To avoid negatively affecting the project timeline, these items may need to be sourced and manufactured years before a project is set to begin.

For reactor facilities, long-lead items have traditionally included physical components such as large pressure vessels, instrumentation or control platforms. Increasingly, however, licensee programs and management systems important to the safety of the facility have shown the same traits as traditional long-lead items. Some examples now considered as long-lead items are authorized nuclear operator training, site evaluation programs and procurement.

There is increasing pressure in the nuclear power industry to meet very demanding construction and commissioning timelines. As a result, the use of long-lead items is increasingly being used as a tool to mitigate risks to a project timeline.

A number of regulatory and licensing factors need to be considered when planning long-lead items to ensure that those items will meet regulatory requirements for a reactor facility project. This paper discusses these considerations, including the regulatory tools used by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to address the use of long-lead items.

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