Can lean process improvement work in industries with the highest safety standards?
Project example: the Paluel nuclear power plant in Normandy, France.
Nuclear power is the dominant source of energy in France. It accounts for around 75 per cent of the total energy mix. Over the next ten years that share is expected to fall to 50 per cent through the build-out of renewables, but even then nuclear will remain the French main energy source. Today France operates around 60 commercially used reactors. The majority of these reactors have been in operation for more than 30 years and need to be technically refurbished in the coming years.
The upcoming maintenance and conversion of the reactors is cost-intensive and exceptionally complex. The elevated safety risk of a nuclear power plant raises the complexity of maintenance, as does the strict schedule which fixes a date for resuming operations. On top of that comes the demanding coordination of the appointed subcontractors.
Against this background, Lean Maritime was commissioned with the goal of sustainably lifting the productivity of maintenance and refurbishment work at the Paluel plant. Within the six-week project, a structured planning concept with day-by-day performance control was developed and implemented. The innovative methods made it possible to deploy the existing resources more efficiently and consequently to lift productivity significantly.
To realise and sustain the innovative planning concept, numerous aspects had to be considered and obstacles overcome. The fact that this was the first-time replacement of the 30-metre steam generators inside the reactor had to be factored into the planning, as did the legally regulated upper limit on radiation exposure for the workers. In addition, in the safety-conscious environment, an excess capacity in materials and personnel had built up over the years, weighing on productivity in the past.
The innovative planning concept — which guarantees the efficient completion of activities under the given conditions of safety and on-time delivery — was developed together with the staff on site and incorporating lean principles. In the following weeks the staff were accompanied and supported in using the new methodology, in order to secure the success sustainably.