IBM MAS Manage – Nuclear Industry Solution

The Nuclear Industry Solution for IBM Maximo Application Suite (MAS) Manage is not necessarily new functionality, but it is worth another look given the recent increased interest in this method of producing electricity. MAS Nuclear was designed to support the necessary management and operations of plant related equipment, tracking regulatory requirements, and work management surrounding the operations. It extends the functionality in MAS Manage to suit the needs of nuclear plant operations and maintenance.

This article will walk through the more significant features and functions of this industry solution. Nuclear can be added to the MAS environment at any time after MAS Manage is deployed and activated. Further, the add-on functionality is the same whether the MAS Manage environment is being hosted on-premise or in the cloud.

Manage End-to-End Equipment Operational and Maintenance Lifecycles

The types of equipment (assets) that are needed to operate any plant are numerous. Requirements to operate them safely or maintain them to achieve the maximum ROI are also numerous and varied. Having a system of record such as MAS Manage with the Nuclear solution provides ample opportunity to record assets, materials, and work details. The advantage is that when it comes to reporting and analysis, the data sets will potentially come from this single source vs. piecing together the needed data. Modeling those nuclear objects, including their tech specs in the MAS Manage/Nuclear system, will assist with meeting industry requirements such as those related to surveillance.

Purchasing and inventory control are often overlooked when discussing assets and work management. Quite often multiple software/database solutions are used to accomplish these functions, and then any information the asset/work management teams need is either manually entered or simply not available. With enterprise solutions such as MAS Manage, a wide range of functions in these areas are included, and these functions are naturally integrated with the asset and work management areas.

Preventive maintenance and condition monitoring are also critical activities for both asset and work management. Having a robust methodology to define, execute, and optimize the approach to preventive maintenance is central to having confidence in the health of assets. Once defined with preventive maintenance definitions, frequency, job plans, qualifications, responsibilities, and any seasonal requirements, MAS Manage will generate work orders to be planned and executed. No more missed preventive maintenance tasks. The “PM” work orders are simply in the system at the right time to be picked up and taken care of.

The Nuclear solution enhances the project management required for more sophisticated activities such as refueling outages. As it is common to perform a significant amount of corrective and preventive maintenance during these blocks of time, it is critical that the solution contains tools that promote efficient project execution.

Condition monitoring and reporting are also built-in functions in MAS Manage, the Nuclear solution, and other components of IBM MAS. MAS Monitor, Health, and Predict can take condition monitoring to new levels of detail and confidence. The connection between condition monitoring and work management is far closer than it has been in the past due to the advent of tools such as the components of IBM MAS.

Configuration changes to equipment are never ending. The Nuclear solution provides configuration change management infrastructure to not only coordinate changes, but to also provide an appropriate level of control as it relates to ongoing work. Change and release records are created to document the change activities. Version control with effective dates is easily used for change management and regulatory compliance.

In the end, equipment is disposed of or decommissioned. The entire lifecycle of the equipment has been recorded in MAS Manage/Nuclear and will remain in the system unless it is archived in some manner. The status of decommissioned assets prevents further work from being performed upon them, but history remains. This is very important when it comes to reporting non-functional equipment or depreciating capital expenses.

Manage and Monitor Safety and Compliance

Specific to the Nuclear solution, it brings in many safety functions beyond those in MAS Manage. Elements such as lineups, clearances, impact plans, permits, condition reports, and corrective actions are all necessary for a robust approach to safe plant operations.

Regulatory compliance is also enhanced with the ability to define and then track limiting condition for operation (LCO) using the technical specifications of the equipment as a guide. Requirements for surveillance can also be introduced as part of the business process.

Clearances are managed via several applications within the Nuclear solution. Once a clearance is defined, along with its boundary, tagging, and approvals elements, they can be used on work orders and other operational records. There is a clearance “kiosk” application making it efficient for operators to access the clearances related to them. The “Sign On/Off” application assists in the proper processing of clearances.

Compliance with technical specifications is a key functional area in the Nuclear solution. With the tech specs represented in the asset management area, the related regulations and eventual work processes are ensured to match. Surveillance requirements are defined in this area, making clear the tests, observations, or activities that are needed to prove compliance.

Manage Duty Station and Shift Operations

Shift operations can also benefit from the definition and execution of standard duty station plans for the variety of functions and roles involved. Shift records can be formed to facilitate the capture of equipment readings, status reporting, shift turnover, and log processing.

The Nuclear solution anticipates shift cycles and on-demand processes can also be described well ahead of time. With duty stations starting and stopping during consecutive shifts, the required shift-round readings can be specified in advance – ensuring that each station reliably fulfills its operations responsibilities.

Shift activities are clearly documented and available for review by the next shift and management as needed. The results, statuses, and readings of shift-rounds are all captured in narrative logs, using templates where available.

Any approved change in plans or definitions are seamlessly integrated into shift workflows. Only the approved version of a plan can be used for subsequent operations.

Formalize and Standardize Work Practices

The MAS Manage Nuclear solution facilitates the development and implementation of standards for critical and recurring plant activities. Permits, impact plans, job plans, clearances, and lineups are all examples of entities that can be used to guide work safely.

The approach to preventive maintenance can leverage the advanced sequencing and scheduling functions that are extended from those in MAS Manage out of the box, to those in the Nuclear solution. The resulting work orders that staff refer to are complete with references to the tasks at hand, safety processes, materials and tools needed, and other information that comes together for safe and successful work activities.

Predefined workflows, based upon the Standard Nuclear Performance Model, are in place to automate work and other processes. Identifying work via Service Requests and condition reports/triggers is also built-in to MAS Manage and extended in the Nuclear solution. Reporting content and KPIs can also be pre-defined and then refined as conditions change.

MAS Manage Nuclear Solution in the Cloud

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the feature/functionality of the Nuclear Industry Solution is the same whether it is being hosted on-premises or in the cloud. Security of data, applications, and operations in the cloud is a preeminent concern no matter what the industry. TRM has developed a High Security Cloud solution that meets NIST 800-53 at the moderate level. This means that the TRM cloud solution follows and maintains the security framework of over 300 security and privacy controls. Our cloud solution is ideal for federal agencies, utilities, and commercial entities where critical infrastructure and closely held data are of utmost importance.

Next steps

TRM has been in the EAM, process mapping, and system integration business since 1993. We have vast experience across industries in integrating multiple systems to suit the needs of the business and the related processes. TRM is also highly experienced at hosting MAS solutions in the cloud whether commercial, high security, or FedRAMP. (To learn more about our offerings, consider attending our recent webinar on how to select the right cloud infrastructure for maximum security, flexibility and system requirements.

TRM is in a unique position with not only our across-industry experience, especially those that are heavily regulated, but also our ability to work with clients from the initial planning and requirements gathering all the way to the end of the implementation… and beyond.

Reach out to us at sales@trmnet.com to discuss what your requirements are and let’s see which options we offer can be supportive. Of course, we can form a full proposal and project plan that will cover the entire process and any ongoing support.