This Wall Street Journal article*
reports that the new Vogtle units may be in construction schedule
trouble. The article notes that the new, modular construction
techniques being employed were expected to save time and dollars but
may be having the opposite effect. In addition, and somewhat
incredibly, the independent monitor is citing design changes as
another cause of delays. Thought that lesson had been learned a
hundred times in the nuclear industry.
Then there is the inevitable finger
pointing:
“The delays and cost pressures have
created friction between the construction partners and utility
companies that will serve as the plant's owners, escalating into a
series of lawsuits totaling more than $900 million.”
The Vogtle situation also serves as a
reminder that nuclear safety culture (NSC) is applicable to the
construction phase though to our recollection, there was not a lot of
talk about it during the NRC’s policy statement development
process. The escalating schedule and cost pressures at Vogtle also
serve to remind us of how significant a factor such pressures can be
in a “massive, complex, first-of-a-kind project” (to quote the
Westinghouse spokesman). These situational conditions will be
challenging construction workers and management who may not possess
the same level of NSC experience or consciousness as nuclear
operating organizations.
* R. Smith, “New Nuclear Plant HitsSome Snags,” Wall Street Journal online (Dec. 23, 2012).
One trip to Hanford and the Waste Treatment Plant Project any time in the past ten years, might have revealed the inevitability of this report and saved all that money spent suing everyone in sight over misperceptions that were entirely unavoidable. That is certainly Dekker's message in Drift into Failure. Alas.
ReplyDeleteI can hardly read the faint type in this blog. Can it be made darker? Are there adjustments I can make on my computer to made the type darker?
ReplyDeleteThanks for mentioning this. The text was looking lighter than it used to; I have no idea why. Anyhow, it's darker now.
ReplyDelete