INL/CON-15-33992 PREPRINT Use of Collaborative Software to Improve Nuclear Power Plant Outage Management 9th International Conference on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control and Human Machine Interface Technologies Shawn St. Germain February 2015 This is a preprint of a paper intended for publication in a journal or proceedings. Since changes may be made before publication, this preprint should not be cited or reproduced without permission of the author. This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, or any of their employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for any third party s use, or the results of such use, of any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed in this report, or represents that its use by such third party would not infringe privately owned rights. The views expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of the United States Government or the sponsoring agency.
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Use of Collaborative Software to Improve Nuclear Power Plant Outage Management Shawn St. Germain Idaho National Laboratory P.O. Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415 Shawn.stgermain@inl.gov ABSTRACT Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) refueling outages create some of the most challenging activities the utilities face in both tracking and coordinating thousands of activities in a short period of time. Other challenges, including nuclear safety concerns arising from atypical system configurations and resource allocation issues, can create delays and schedule overruns, driving up outage costs. Today the majority of the outage communication is done using processes that do not take advantage of advances in modern technologies that enable enhanced communication, collaboration and information sharing. Some of the common practices include: runners that deliver paper-based requests for approval, radios, telephones, desktop computers, daily schedule printouts, and static whiteboards that are used to display information. Many gains have been made to reduce the challenges facing outage coordinators, however; new opportunities can be realized by utilizing modern technological advancements in communication and information tools that can enhance the collective situational awareness of plant personnel leading to improved decision-making. Ongoing research as part of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program (LWRS) has been targeting NPP outage improvement. As part of this research, various applications of collaborative software have been demonstrated through pilot project utility partnerships. Collaboration software can be utilized as part of the larger concept of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). Collaborative software can be used for emergent issue resolution, Outage Control Center (OCC) displays, and schedule monitoring. Use of collaboration software enables outage staff and subject matter experts (SMEs) to view and update critical outage information from any location on-site or off. Key Words: Outage Control Center 1 INTRODUCTION Nuclear power plant (NPP) refueling outages are some of the most challenging periods that utilities face, in both tracking and coordinating thousands of activities in a short span of time, usually between twenty to thirty days. Outage work requires a large supplemental workforce, including hundreds of contract personnel, which increases the complexity of communication and information flow. Other challenges, including work sequencing, work group coordination, nuclear safety concerns arising from atypical system configurations, and resource allocation issues, can create delays and schedule overruns, driving up outage costs. The current technologies employed at most NPPs to communicate critical information are slow, inaccurate at times, and rely upon the physical presence of outage staff and key personnel to obtain and validate critical system and work progress status information. Today, the majority of outage communication is done using processes and technologies that do not take advantage of advances in modern communication technology. Some of the common practices include: runners that deliver paperbased requests for approval, radios, landline telephones, email, desktop computers, daily printouts of the schedule, and static whiteboards that are used to display information. The outage control center (OCC) is
the central information gathering and decision making hub during a refueling outage. There are large amounts of static information that are displayed and require regular evaluation to determine its validity. These current processes for controlling information are also labor intensive, and as NPPs attempt to reduce staff, these manual and disconnected processes have the potential to become more difficult to manage. The current methods of displaying and tracking information will likely be inadequate to process the increased use of real-time information that will be available with the growing use of handheld technology, automated work packages (AWPs), computer-based procedures (CBPs), or computer programs that passively track work completion and readiness. In general, the commercial nuclear industry has not yet taken full advantage of advancements in modern mobile technologies that enable communication, collaboration, real-time data streaming, and information sharing to and from the field. Many gains have been made to reduce the challenges facing outage coordinators, however, new opportunities can be realized by utilizing modern technological advancements in communication and collaboration hardware and software tools that can enhance the collective situational awareness of plant personnel, leading to improved decision-making. Use of modern technology will enable outage staff and subject matter experts (SMEs) to view and update critical outage information from any location on or offsite. The general study of the application of technology to work is called Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). The concept of CSCW is not new, but is has not been extensively applied to NPP outages to this point. The concepts presented in this paper are straight forward and quickly adopted by utilities when put into practice. Rather than rely on each facility trying to imagine how to apply these tools, several example applications that have been proven useful at commercial NPPs are presented. 2.1 Status Displays 2 TYPICAL USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE OCC Maintaining outage status is an important function of the OCC. Typically OCC staff are monitoring the progress of critical path jobs and several other important pathways such as major turbine generator work, significant engineering projects, or plant modifications. Additionally, outage staff need to monitor the progress in completing "bulk work" as delays and a buildup of non-critical path work can create situation where not enough resources are available to complete the bulk work and it becomes the critical path. Schedule status is usually maintained by printing out portions of the work schedule and hanging them on the wall. This paper schedule is then typically marked up by hand throughout the day as status is reported to the OCC. The scheduling software is updated by staff as the work completion is reported. The working schedule is typically updated once or twice per day and new paper copies are printed and posted. There is often a chain of communication that occurs where status is communicated from the worker completing the work to their shop supervisor, who often updates an outage maintenance coordinator who then updates the OCC outage maintenance manager who then updates the paper copy of the schedule. The delays in this reporting chain typically prohibits using the scheduling software directly to coordinate work throughout the day as work is completed well before it is reported as complete in the scheduling software. Managing this delay is necessary to ensure that critical hand-offs occur expeditiously. Additional status displays in the OCC track schedule milestones, such as owners group window completion. Outage risk level, time to boil, and protected train information is typically displayed in the OCC and throughout the plant. Outage priorities and significant evolutions planned for the day may also be displayed in the OCC. Unfortunately, many of the status displays and schedules in the OCC can only be viewed or updated by physically going to the OCC or contacting someone who is in the OCC. Additionally, copies of this information may be distributed throughout the plant and have the potential to get out of alignment with the true status if not carefully controlled and updated. Figure 1 shows a typical OCC layout and use of status boards and schedules.
Figure 1. Typical OCC Status Displays. 2.2 Action Item Lists Action item lists are commonly used to track emergent issues that could potentially cause schedule delays if not properly managed. Usually an action item list is maintained for each major outage support organization. Action item lists in current typical OCCs are maintained on dry erase boards or possibly as a spreadsheet on some form of electronic display. Completed action items are often erased from list and no history is typically maintained. To update or view an action item list usually requires physically visiting the OCC or calling someone in the OCC, such as the department representative. More significant emergent issues, especially those that require more than one organization to resolve are typically assigned to a small team for resolution. This team is often referred to as an issues response team, emergent issues team, or emergent issues expeditors. These more significant emergent issues require significantly more supporting information than can be displayed on a simple action item list. 2.3 Information Inflow Information is currently provided to the OCC through various communication channels. The primary communication methods typically relied upon are face to face, telephone, radios, and email. Face to face communication occurs through either routine briefings held in the OCC or staff travelling to the OCC to physically provide information. Face to face communication requires people to pause their work at their work location and physically walk to the OCC, which can result in significant lost productivity. Use of telephone calls to either provide or request information is not always effective for complex issues and can disrupt the concentration of the recipient. Radio communication is useful since you can usually reach the intended recipient regardless of their location. The problem with radio communication, however, is there are a limited number of frequencies or channels available and the volume of radio traffic can be quite large. Additionally, radios volumes must be kept loud enough to be heard by the intended recipient, causing users and anyone near the user to be subjected to increased background noise and distraction. Email provides the capability to include rich data such as photos and diagrams, but is typically only sent to a limited number of recipients. The limited list of recipients results in groups of individuals with more information than others and increases the need to evaluate how to further share the information.
2.4 Turnover Logs Refueling outages are worked continuously from start to finish, typically through two shifts of twelve hours. Turnover logs are an important tool for each shift to communicate with the next to ensure important commitments are not missed. Turnover logs are typically maintained by each department using a variety of methods, often not standardized or shared between the departments. It is difficult to summarize an entire shift worth of work and set up the oncoming staff while still completing the required work for the current shift. 2.5 Remote Video Cameras Video cameras are an extremely useful method of monitoring critical path work without requiring workers to provide constant status reports. Video cameras are typically placed inside containment, on the refuel floor, and on the turbine deck. These cameras may be permanently mounted or installed at the beginning of the outage. Permanently mounted cameras located inside containment need to be radiation hardened. 3 OVERVIEW OF COLLABORATION SOFTWARE 3.1 Computer-Supported Cooperative Work Collaboration software is sometimes thought of as tool within a larger concept called computersupported cooperative work (CSCW). A detailed analysis or description of CSCW is beyond the scope of this paper, but a brief introduction of the concept is warranted. The term was first used in 1984 at a workshop for individuals looking into how to use technology to support people in their work [1]. One description of CSCW is that it addresses "how collaborative activities and their coordination can be supported by means of computer systems" [2]. The study of CSCW involves not only the application of software, but also a deeper understanding of how work is accomplished in groups. It is not as easy as selecting a new software application and giving it to some group and expect that it will significantly improve their productivity. The nature of the group's work needs to be understood and various technology applications evaluated as compared to the needs of the tasks performed by the groups. A useful representation of how to think about where collaboration software, sometimes also referred to as groupware, might be applied is the CSCW Matrix shown in Figure 2. Versions of the CSCW matrix have been used by several authors in discussing CSCW, this matrix is attributed to Johansen [3]. The CSCW matrix divides interactions by how the groups involved in the activity may be separated by place or time. For NPP outages, the time distinction can be applied in that the outage organization is divided by time in that there are different shifts working on the same tasks. NPP outage tasks may also be separated by location. Often support or oversight is provided by remotely located corporate resources or vendors may provide support from remote locations. Additionally, outage support groups may be separated in place at the site and travel to the OCC to allow same time/same place interactions. Given the limitations in the currently used technology, many outage tasks are forced into face to face interactions when in reality remote interactions may be more productive.
Figure 2. CSCW Matrix (Johansen, 1988). Before any decisions are made about the application of technology to support group work, the nature of the group's work should be characterized to support such decisions. One useful tool to characterizing a groups work is a function and task analysis. The overall functions that must be accomplished are documented as well as the specific tasks that support the functions. Then, technology can be evaluated to determine if the functions could be better performed by reallocating some of the tasks to the technology. The CSCW matrix can be useful in determining what sort of technology might be applied in function or task reallocation. Some of the typical outage activities are assigned to the various quadrants of the CSCW matrix: Same time/same place - This quadrant represents face to face interactions and describe most of the activity in the OCC. The OCC uses co-located staff supported by various wall displays to support decision making. Same time/different place - This quadrant represents remote interactions. Remote interactions in an outage environment could include corporate oversight, vendor support or information provided by staff on site but remote from the OCC. Currently, remote interactions are supported by email, telephone, or possibly video conferencing in limited situations. Different time/same place - This quadrant represents continuous tasks. Continuous tasks include all the information that needs to be maintained to support several shifts of staff working on issues through the duration of the outage. The OCC and all the wall displays and turnover logs support the time distribution of the staff. Different time/different place - This quadrant represents communication with coordination. NPP outage activities that may fall into this group include use of operating experience to support decision making that either came from an earlier outage or even from another utility. The quality of the operating
experience to support decision making is going to depend upon the capability of the knowledge management system supporting the operating experience. 3.2 Collaboration Software Collaboration software, also known as groupware, can be thought of as any software application used to support a group or team in achieving a common goal. Collaboration software needs to support users separated by place or time in contributing to the common solution of a problem. Collaboration software should support sharing rich data to enable more effective team communication, collaboration, and problem solving. Some examples of collaboration software include video conferencing, email, web conferencing, application sharing, electronic calendars, workflow systems, websites, and many others. There are numerous software vendors providing collaboration software applications; it is beyond the scope of this paper to describe each of them, and they are constantly evolving and any description would be immediately out of date. Each of these various types of software have a specific function and have particular limitations. There is not a single software application that is likely going to be adequate to support a task as complex as a NPP outage. There is, however, an opportunity to improve NPP outage coordination by better taking advantage of what collaboration software has to offer. To fully take advantage of the capabilities of these software applications, the various outage processes need to be evaluated and matched to the appropriate application and supported by the required technology infrastructure. This matching can be supported by the CSCW concepts described above. 4 COLLABORATION SOFTWARE APPLIED TO OUTAGE TASKS Matching a particular collaboration software application to a NPP outage process should be evaluated individually, but a few examples are provided here to illustrate some of the potential benefits of such an application. Applications will be related to the typical currently used processes described in Section 2. The general goal of using collaboration software is to make information available and updatable from any location. Additionally, collaboration software will allow increased use of rich data; such as photos, videos, and diagrams rather than relying on text and voice communication methods. Knowledge management is also enhanced since all the information tracked and communicated during a refueling outage can be archived for future reference, something not practical if statically displayed information is relied upon. All of the concepts below have been demonstrated at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station and Plant Farley and have been shown to improve collective situational awareness and reduce the number of phone calls to the OCC and the amount of printed paper used. 4.1 Status Displays Use of collaboration software to support the various status displays in the OCC is one of the more useful applications for NPP outages. Collaboration software allows all the displays in the OCC to be viewed and updated from any computer connected to the network supporting these displays. Rather than requiring staff to travel to the OCC or contact someone in the OCC to obtain or provide information, it is available anywhere with computer access. If plant wide wireless networks are available, then this information can be updated and viewed through mobile devices such as tablet computers as well. Additionally, through remote log-in applications, staff may be able to access and update information from home or any remote work location with internet access. Collaboration software used for this application should support the number of users expected to simultaneously interact with this information, likely several hundred at a time. In addition to the collaboration software, high-quality displays will replace printed copies of schedules and dry erase boards typically used to track this information. For sites that are part of a fleet and are required to provide status information to corporate management, these status displays can be shared with them to reduce the amount of information that needs to be collected and provided. Figure 3 shows OCC status displays using collaboration software.
Figure 3. OCC Displays Using Collaboration Software. 4.2 Action Item Lists Action item lists are easily supported by collaboration software. Use of collaboration software allows these action item lists to be viewed and updated from any location. These action items lists that are displayed in the OCC can be remotely updated without needing to travel to the OCC or call someone in the OCC to update them. Having access to the action items list from any location increases the collective situational awareness of the entire organization and ensures greater access to important information. Allowing staff to provide status remotely saves time travelling to the OCC that can be used more constructively accomplishing work. 4.3 Information Inflow Use of collaboration software to manage OCC information will change the way that staff communicate with the OCC. Since information can be provided directly through the software applications, it is not be necessary to call the OCC as frequently or visit the OCC to conduct a face to face meetings as often. The reduced number of phone calls and traffic in the OCC will allow decision makers more time to evaluate information and coordinate activities with fewer distractions. 4.4 Turnover Logs Turnover logs for each of the various outage support organizations can be supported through the collaboration software. Use of collaboration software allows organizations to see each other's logs ensuring key information is not missed in any one turnover.
5 CONCLUSIONS In summary, nuclear power plant refueling outages are complex and require intensive coordination to complete efficiently. This intensive coordination requires effective communication and information transfer and processing. Currently, outage management relies primarily on traditional methods of information transfer. The typical methods of communicating status currently involve radio messages, phone calls, and face to face conversation. Information that needs to be tracked in the OCC is currently maintained on dry erase boards, printed paper displays, or electronically on simple spreadsheets. The concepts of computer supported cooperative work can be readily applied to many of the outage communication processes using readily available, commercial off-the-shelf collaboration software applications. The use of collaboration software can improve access to important information increasing the collective situational awareness of the entire organization. Collaboration software allows multiple users to simultaneously view and update information, improving access to information and decision making resources. Additionally, the use of collaboration software will improve the capability for knowledge management by providing an electronic file of all significant activity and information for an outage. 6 REFERENCES 1. J. Grudin, "Computer-Supported Cooperative Work: History and Focus," Computer, 27, pp. 19-26 (1994). 2. P. H. Carstensen and K. Schmidt, "Computer Supported Cooperative Work: New challenges to systems design," In Itoh, Komatsubara and Kuwano (eds.): Handbook in Human Factors/Ergonomics (in Japanese), Asakura Publishing, pp. 619-636 (2003) 3. R. Johansen, Groupware: Computer Support for Business Teams, the Free Press, New York (1988).