Wyle Laboratories and ARES Corp. have signed a teaming agreement to jointly pursue commercial nuclear equipment qualification optimization programs for new nuclear power plant construction and the U.S. Department of Energy facilities with the goal of significantly reducing costs to its customers.

Cost savings will be achieved through use of historical data contained within proprietary databases, prequalification of equipment vendors, and the use of test planning and engineering experts in their fields.

"Utilizing ARES's and Wyle's combined engineering and testing capabilities, the team will provide total solutions for all equipment qualification requirements," said Jim Neu, Wyle senior vice president and general manager of its Test, Engineering and Research unit.

The companies will develop a qualification program applicable to a wide range of equipment; analyze the quality of services and commercial grade equipment; and provide time and cost estimates for equipment qualifications. The result will be a tailored qualification program that can be plant/equipment/elevation specific, resulting in lower costs to its customers.

"The team's approach is to provide planning, analytical solutions and equipment testing that takes advantage of existing qualification test data to minimize the total scope of the equipment qualification program," said Dick Stuart, ARES Corp.'s president and CEO. "This approach will provide a significant reduction in the overall equipment qualification program costs."