Inaugural implementation of advanced inspection tool drove more than 30 percent exam schedule savings.
The Challenge
Per federal regulations, a U.S. utility had planned various Non-Destructive Examinations (NDE) of their Reactor Vessel Head (RVH) as part of their spring 2020 outage. When it came to choosing a vendor to perform an RVH inspection, they wanted cost-effective yet reliable results.
Our Solution
Recognizing that existing methods could be improved upon, our teams got to work on developing a system capable of delivering RVH inspections with improved inspection duration and a lower dose rate. The resulting design consists of two mobile inspection platforms known as the Gemini RVH Inspection System.
Our Gemini system performs multiple inspections in parallel under the RVH while in the headstand to drive up to 40 percent improvement to the utility outage project exam schedule. The Gemini system can also be installed and removed through most RV headstand windows, allowing for emergent inspections and further reducing time on site.
The Impact
The implementation drove more than 30 percent exam schedule savings for the utility, returning them to operations faster and ultimately driving tangible cost savings. Our project team also demonstrated their commitment to customer service by delivering a field-ready system in less than 10 months from conceptual design. The customer was impressed with the performance of the system, and several more utilities have expressed interest in utilizing our Gemini system for their upcoming inspections.
Key Statistics
- Drove more than 30 percent exam schedule savings
- Design to delivery in just 10 months
- Two RVH penetrations inspected in parallel
