By David Wagman, Chief Editor
This autumn is shaping up as a busy one for many of North America’s nuclear power plants.
Almost three dozen refueling outages are scheduled for the fall, along with three steam generator and one reactor head replacement. The industry also must implement a personnel fatigue rule by October 1, which may require additional staffing. And significant upgrade projects are underway at Canadian and European nuclear facilities.
For radiation specialists, many of whom work during nuclear power plant outages, all of this represents good news. “We’re looking at 200 to 300 people; that’s huge,” said Jerry Hiatt, chief technical officer and certified health physicist with Bartlett Nuclear, which provides supplemental staffing for nuclear outages. But radiation staffing resources are also largely maxed out, meaning as many as 50 positions could go unfilled.
“The workforce challenge has been getting more tenuous,” Hiatt said. The upcoming fall outage season may simply ratchet up hiring and staffing pressures felt by Bartlett and by others across the nuclear power industry.
“The emergent need is no longer emergent, it’s here,” said Jeff Klein, vice president of General Physics’ nuclear energy services group. Key drivers behind the push for new hires are the aging and retiring workforce and new reactor construction.
Growing demand exists for radiation protection technicians, operators, maintenance technicians and instrumentation and control technicians at existing power plants, said Carol Berrigan, senior director of industry infrastructure for the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). With new power plant construction expected within the next several years, demand is also growing for skilled craftspeople. Skills in short supply include welders, carpenters and electricians.
Even in the midst of a recession, the nuclear industry remains open for business and hiring. Not counting positions that will be replaced due to retirement, an estimated 15,000 new jobs will be created over the next two to three years, Berrigan said.
And during outage season, utilities typically maintain their baseline staff and turn to supplemental staffing firms to provide such tradespeople as rotating equipment repair specialists, planners, schedulers, instrumentation and control technicians and radiation protection specialists. During an outage as many as 1,300 additional workers may be on site.
One concern is whether or not current training and education pipelines are big enough or long enough to supply sufficient numbers of qualified people. After all, many utilities built their nuclear power plants in the 1970s and 1980s and expected to retire them after 40 years of service, said General Physics’ Klein. Efforts to recruit and train a steady stream of technicians and plant operators dropped off. University engineering programs ended their nuclear coursework and only a handful of technical schools around the country trained technicians.
“We have a gap and it’s a catch-up game now,” Klein said.
From Engineers to Technicians
Starting in the late 1990s the nuclear industry began addressing shortages among engineers who play a wide number of roles in nuclear plants. From fewer than 500 graduating engineers in the 1990s the industry now counts around 2,000 new engineering graduates annually in disciplines applicable to nuclear power.
“We’ve seen those efforts pay off and they are going in the right direction,” Berrigan said. The industry’s focus now is on community colleges, which provide technical training for skills that are in high demand.
Five years ago the number of community colleges offering technical training for nuclear power careers could be counted on one hand. Today, more than 40 community colleges have courses that either are being offered or are poised for launch.
Work also is underway to standardize training on a national scale. As a first step, the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) and NEI formed the “Future of Learning Initiative” and targeted health physics and train-the-trainer courses as the first to be standardized. Train-the-trainer is crucial because instructors are retiring, too. Training a generation of new instructors was seen as a particularly critical early step, Klein said.
In 2010 the standardization target will focus on fundamental theory training and generic fundamentals, the latter a set of courses that leads to a licensing test administered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Klein said General Physics offers what amounts to the de facto standard for both curricula.
Community Colleges
The Internet has yet to play a big role in training and education, Klein said. “We are still to a great extent using traditional stand-up training.” More of that is being done through community colleges, which typically partner with nearby nuclear power plants.
One fast-growing program is nuclear training offered at Linn State Technical College in Mexico, Missouri. The two-year program graduated 17 people this spring. All are expected to find jobs quickly. Plans are to enroll as many as 75 freshmen in this fall’s entering class.
“We prepare people with an associated in applied science degree that is designed to get them in the workforce,” said Bruce Meffert, nuclear technology instructor and chair of the school’s Advanced Technology Center. Courses include radiation protection, instrumentation and control maintenance and reactor operations. A fourth discipline—quality control technician—is not offered currently. Focused on new construction, the courses will be offered when the new-build renaissance emerges.
Thirty years ago many nuclear power plant jobs were filled by high school graduates, Meffert said. “Our high schools aren’t that good any more” and post unacceptably high failure rates, he said. One problem is work ethic. To get students in the habit of showing up on time, Linn State classes start at 7:30 am (“we keep time with an atomic clock,” Meffert said) and students can fail a class for being chronically late.
Industry has been good about donating equipment to offer hands-on training experience. Everything from pumps and valves to control systems have been donated allowing students to tear the equipment apart to learn how it works. Exelon, Ameren, Entergy, Nebraska Public Power District, Omaha Public Power District and FPL Group all have provided support to the program.
Sharing Resources
The Linn State radiation protection curriculum was developed with a Department of Labor grant and with support from the University of Missouri. The federal money came with the requirement that any courses be made available to other schools. Since the coursework was first developed in 2002, courses have expanded to include schools in California, Tennessee, Georgia and Michigan, said William H. Miller, professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Missouri.
In an approach that’s unusual for academia, the nuclear industry plays a role as a big driver in course development. In effect, the nuclear industry has said “here are the requirements we want and we’ll grade the programs,” Miller said. “They’re driving the system, which is good.”
For example, to address shortcomings in math skills, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission funded development of a nuclear math curriculum. Courses are designed to teach math within a specific nuclear context. And this summer, Miller said the school plans to offer the first classes on quality control in an effort to get a jump on the new-build cycle.
“We are gearing up quickly,” Miller said. Enrollment in Missouri’s degree program has grown substantially from its all-time low. Enrollment is “really vibrant” at present, he said. “We are getting close to meeting demand.”
LUMINANT ACADEMY: ALLIANCES DELIVER RESULTS
By Greg Mallory, General Physics Corp.
Dirk Hughes, Luminant Academy Director, likes to tell a story about a Luminant employee who came to him one day and said she’d like to be a supervisor. He told her that there were only two questions she needed to answer. “What was the company’s most important asset?” “People,” she said. “Right answer,” he responded. “Now for the second question: Do you really believe it?”
Luminant management had an objective: To found a new academy to provide technical and leadership training for Luminant’s 3,500 employees. The initial challenge was to create a physical training center, with curriculum, for new employees at three of the company’s new power plants with a target opening date of March 2008. According to Hughes, that project would be the answer to his second question.
Luminant (formerly TXU) had operated a training facility from the early 1970s until 1995. Due to stable workforce conditions and limited growth, the facility was underused and eventually closed. But with the construction of three new power plants and attrition levels due to an aging workforce, management realized that training was a critical piece of the future planning process at Luminant.
When Hughes took on a new role at Luminant in 2006 with the single goal of resurrecting the training program, he had his work cut out for him. The only training materials in existence were on Betamax, floppy disks, and overhead projector slides.
Luminant management interviewed four colleges in search of a small to medium-sized college or university to partner with. Tyler Junior College (TJC) in Tyler, Texas met the criteria: they actively supported continuing education, they had experience working with industrial customers, they were receptive to working with organizational behavior, and the college was centrally located in Luminant’s service area. Luminant and TJC entered into a business agreement for managing floor space within the Tyler Junior College’s West Campus Skills Training Center for the Academy.
Luminant Academy was founded and announced to the employees of Luminant in October 2006. But Luminant did not want to re-create the wheel, nor did the management team have time to develop new curriculum for their new worker classifications. In early 2007, Luminant contacted General Physics Corp. (GP) to discuss the potential for another alliance.
The objective of this new alliance was to design, develop and implement a “best in class” workforce qualification program that would support numerous power plants and mines. The project encompassed full workforce training program development including both immediate and long term visions.
With an investment of $2.5 million, a state-of-the-art, two-floor, 25,000-square-foot training complex was constructed. The key to designing the Academy’s facilities was enabling the curriculum to focus on hands-on training; in addition to traditional classrooms, the facility offers technical labs containing process simulators purchased from Lab-Volt. These training simulators provide the students hands-on experience with electrical and mechanical technologies including pumps, piping, lifting, rigging, hydraulics, pneumatics, wiring and tubing.
The keystone of the academy’s audio/visual catalogue is the video conference room. Two 60-inch plasma screens present material on one wall and high definition projectors present the same materials on five-foot screens on the opposite wall, giving students a 360-degree view. The room also boasts ceiling-mounted speakers and microphones, an AMX control panel and a Sympodium touchscreen interface from Smart Technologies that makes any instructor an accomplished artist at the electronic whiteboard.
The academy also will house eight high-fidelity distributed control system (DCS) simulators site-specific to all coal-fired generating stations in the Luminant fleet. The $7.8 million Emerson contracted and GSE-built simulators use the same digital control system as the units they simulate, allowing students to be trained in safe start-up and shut-down of a power plant. Operating anomalies can be programmed into the simulator, so the students also get training for unusual operating events. Elbert Page, plant operator and Academy student said, “Being able to get on a simulator pays off; then when I get down to the plant and we get ready to start it, we don’t make million-dollar mistakes.”
Tyler Junior College’s responsibilities include providing assurance that courses offered by Luminant Academy meet the standards of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for Texas Colleges and Universities. TJC maintains a permanent record of each student’s participation for both stand-alone certified courses and certified curriculum courses, provides qualified instructors for courses taught by TJC, and maintains documentation proving the instructors’ credentials and experience. Luminant Academy’s responsibilities include working with TJC staff to ensure courses have proper documentation and curriculum structure to qualify for certification.
TJC receives continuing education contact hour reimbursement from the State of Texas per employee contact hour of training that is conducted at Luminant Academy. This money comes from the State of Texas—not from Luminant. It is estimated that Tyler Junior College will receive $475,000 to $500,000 a year from this program.
GP was contracted to generate a project plan, now known as Phase 1, and to outline Phases 2 and 3.
Phase 1: The project plan generated a single document that overviews the task and methodology for meeting aggressive Luminant goals. GP reviewed information from Luminant’s needs and skills assessments, collected survey data from the plants, reviewed the different approaches needed for the Luminant fleet mix (coal and gas generation divisions), determined the optimum “blended learning” delivery methods, and designed an e-learning approach that supports these programs.
Phase 2: GP designed curriculums for the “Equipment Specialist” Foundation, Process, Mechanical and Electrical technologies based on required knowledge, skill and job task analysis supplied by Luminant. A GPiLearn portal with specific integrated learning sequences enabled Luminant Academy to implement training immediately, with 24/7 access for the students. GPiLearn is GP’s web-based training, offering access to over 3200 lessons and exams designed for the power industry, the ability to be incorporated into the Luminant’s Learning Management System from Oracle and reduced training costs with potential for Associates or Bachelors Degree accreditation.
Phase 3: The curriculum work of Phase 2 resulted in an 18-week “Basic Skills Toolbelt” program required for all power plant employees.
GP has a large database of entry-level and apprentice training material for employees entering the power industry. Luminant Academy purchased several of the apprentice training programs and adapted them for training entry-level employees, saving man-hours.
GP also worked with Luminant Academy instructors and Lab-Volt employees in a teaming environment to develop a comprehensive hands-on technical skills training program using Lab-Volt equipment. Only Luminant instructors, however, were used in the Technical Foundation courses. These courses instill the culture of Luminant, so it was important that they be provided by Luminant Academy employees. GP conducted the initial power plant Technical Process training and provided oversight for Luminant instructors, who now instruct Technical Process. GP instructors are currently providing Technical Mechanical and Technical Electrical classes for the new “Equipment Specialists” and, starting in 2009, GP will provide instructors to the Academy to kick off apprenticeship programs.
After completing the Basic Skills Toolbelt, employees will begin Luminant’s apprenticeship program and will be required to take training in specific areas of process, electrical technologies, and mechanical technologies coursework. Successful completion of the coursework, along with demonstration of job performance measures and good performance reviews, will earn an employee a promotion and pay increase.
The launch of the first pilot Basic Skills Toolbelt Training class was in February 2008, two months ahead of schedule. This initial class gave Luminant Academy hints about how to adjust schedules and streamline content in anticipation of the coming flood of new employees. In March 2008, the first large class came in with over 40 employees. Since opening, more than 130 employees have entered Basic Skills Toolbelt Training.
The location of the Academy on the Tyler Junior College campus helps employees see this training as serious continuing education. Every student is given a GP pre-assessment test before beginning training and then given a similar test as a final exam. Results show the training is not only increasing knowledge, it’s sticking with students beyond graduation. “This tells me they are not only doing well in school when they graduate, but they are actually retaining the information,” said Hughes.
GP continues to assist Luminant with training needs. Supplemental work outside of the original three-phase scope has included additional Instructor-led Training, developing a Technical Coal-Handling series and supplying technical instructors. GP has also been contracted to develop site-specific systems training and procedure documents for Luminant’s new Sandow 5 CFB generating station.
Corporate University Xchange recognized Luminant Academy as a finalist for the 10th Annual Corporate University Xchange Awards for Excellence and Innovation. The awards establish high standards in eight important learning areas; the Luminant Academy was nominated in two of those areas, Alliances and Launching.
A year ago, the question posed by the management team of Luminant Academy was, “Can we do this?” Now, after forming strong alliances, the question is, “What can we do next?”
Author: Greg Mallory is Senior Training Specialist for General Physics Corp.
Demand Grows for Training Simulators
A key tool for training new nuclear power plant personnel and for keeping existing personnel sharp is a simulator.
One important improvement to the nuclear power industry has been the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s mandate following Three Mile Island that every power plant have a simulator, says Tom Kauffman, senior media relations manager for the Nuclear Energy Institute.
A simulated control room environment is virtually identical to the real thing, he says. And with nuclear power plants running for 18 to 24 months on full power, the simulator allows personnel to practice a wide range of operating scenarios.
Simulators also help ease the problem of knowledge transfer, which comes about as older employees retire. A retirement could, for example, see a core employee leave who knows how to start the unit from a black start, a critical yet seldom used procedure.
“You can get the equivalent of six years on-the-job training in one year by repeating training on a simulator,” says Tom Szudajski, vice president of nuclear power at Invensys Process Systems.
Simulators also play a role in the nuclear plant design process. Simulators can help design engineers find and correct seemingly trivial problems while the plant is still under construction, saving costly repairs once the unit is in service.
Because simulators are used in so many ways, finding enough time to handle their varied workload can be difficult.
“Simulators are becoming a bottleneck, particularly on the operations side,” says George McCullough Sr., vice president of business development for GSE Systems. The crunch may be most acute at some multi-unit sites that have a single simulator.
One way around the bottleneck is to build more than one simulator. But that can be expensive. The price tag to duplicate control panels can be $3 to $5 million, McCullough says.
GSE uses soft rather than hard control panels by putting controls on a touch screen. An entire control room can be simulated for around $1 million.
“Simulators are now keyboard-based because that is what the control room will be,” says Jeff Klein, vice president of the nuclear energy services group at General Physics. The first generation of nuclear plants was built with analog controls. The new generation will be digital, a shift that will present new training challenges. —DW