[en] The objective of the maintenance program at a Nuclear Power Plant is to be proactive and prevent unexpected failures of equipment that can impact on Nuclear or Conventional Safety and Plant Production. This does not mean that all equipment failures will be prevented; in a number of cases the most cost effective solution is to allow equipment to run to failure. Deciding what components are critical to the plant is the first step. The industry uses guidance from INPO Advanced Process, AP913, to classify components as Critical, Non Critical or Run to Failure based on the consequence of the failure. Once this is complete, then the right maintenance program needs to be specified. This is done through utilization of experience from the industry based on the type of component. Maintenance strategies and templates have been produced for most power plant components. Each station or fleet needs then to apply the criteria, with exceptions as required, to determine the maintenance requirements and frequency for their components. This includes predictive and preventative maintenance. The more critical the component is the more rigorous the maintenance requirements. Once the maintenance program is defined it can be implemented. This requires that the Preventative Maintenance (PM's) are updated to ensure the correct tasks are in place and the frequency is correct. Work Management will group the PM's so they can scheduled efficiently and to minimize equipment down time. The last element is to ensure that the required parts are specified and are stocked or readily available for the maintenance when it is scheduled. This is an ongoing effort since components become obsolete or suppliers go out of business or change hands. (author)

[en] The CANDU Owners Group (COG) has initiated a joint utility project to create an Industry Maintenance Guide. The primary goal of the guide is to provide a structured template of activities to implement the maintenance program, based on industry best practices, and with consideration for new regulatory requirements identified in the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission document S210. The guide will be prepared with a macro view of the maintenance program, which includes core maintenance activities as well as supporting activities and programs in Engineering, Supply Chain and Work Management. Currently there is no such document that solidly links all the requirements to develop, support and execute a maintenance program. Some elements are captured in various industry documents such as INPO documents AP928, Work Management, AP913, Equipment Reliability and AP908, Materials and Services. The guide will not replicate these good practices, but will focus on how they are linked and interrelate to create an optimum program. It is expected that utilities will be able to utilize the guide to take the next incremental step in performance based on cross functional alignment and efficiency.

[en] Ontario Hydro's Tritium Removal Facility is presently in it'searlier operating phase. The DTRF was build in order to reduce the average dose rate per worker and tritium emmissions in all of Ontario's Hydro's CANDU reactors. As a byproduct tritium may be sold to civil users. This paper provides an overview of the system design, commissioning philosophy, program and results. Three areas of the plant are considered separately: Main Extraction Process, Concentrated Tritium Handling, Support Systems (author). 3 refs.; 1 tab