Commissioning industrial facilities
Validate requirements facility in terms of operation, safety and maintenance. Support the operating phase (training, operating procedures, diagnostic assistance, consulting).
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Given the specific needs of high-risk industries, non-detection of malfunctions before commissioning may cause:
- Difficulties due to investigations and modifications (with significant cost-deadline consequences),
- A production capacity that does not comply with expectations,
- Possible consequences on safety demonstrations (credibility).
Hence, it is necessary to:
- Successfully and progressively commission facilities, making it possible to reach nominal performance levels as soon as possible,
- Optimise outages for maintenance throughout the operating phase.
To prepare for the test phase, Orano sets up upstream from this phase, a test engineer team suitable for the scope of the facilities. The identified steps are:
- Define from the design phases the test strategy to remove uncertainties and risks
- Develop validation plans and define prototypes or demonstrators
- Progressively integrate operating equipment and conditions
- Prepare, develop, analyse, and interpret the tests to demonstrate the operability and maintenance of facilities in nominal and degraded conditions
- Turn on equipment before transfer to ensure proper assembly
- Guarantee the safety of the tests and control over coactivity and safety
- Integrate configuration changes
- Make the evidence and demonstration of safety available
- Support the operator in the phases of training and preparation for operation.
- Approach that integrates tests as soon as possible in project teams (strategy, validation plan)
- Performing tests that ensure the safety of people and property: test preparation, test progressivity, facility transfer
- Facility compliance with expected requirements
- Validating the maintainability of equipment particulary in inaccessible areas
- Providing support during commissioning
Nearly 40 years, Orano has been commissioning and operating facilities.
Among the new facilities:
- In France
- Used fuel recycling plants : UP3 and UP2 800 at La Hague with rapid ramping-up and production capacities meeting expectations,
- Uranium enrichment plant GBII S/N and RECII facility at triscatin
- Uranium conversion plant Philippe Coste in Pierrelatte.
- Waste facility TRIDENT at Tricastin
- Waste conditioning facility UCDA at CEA Marcoule
- Outside of France, support for tests:
- 800T fuel recycling plant in Japan,
- Deconversion facility in Russia,
- HABOG facility (dry storage facility for used fuels and waste canisters) in Netherlands.
The Orano test teams also have experience in implementing equipment in environments that are already active:
- Implementing a cold crucible technology to replace a melting pot,
- Research fuel processing.
In this case, tests on mockups for complete validation before introduction and integration tests on site if necessary.
- Removal of risks as soon as possible (remote tests)
- Complete tests guaranteeing normal and degraded operation
- Maintenance operations in non-accessible areas validated
- Exchanges with authorities simplified
- Faster rate increase
- Outage times optimised
- Training of operating personnel with optional assignment to tests teams
