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MRO Software's Maximo Enables Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station to Improve Its Information Management Efficiency

Posted on: Saturday, 27 August 2005, 03:01 CDT

The Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station, completed in 1996, is located on the coast of the Daya Bay in Guangdong Province, China. The power station is designed to generate 10 billion to 12.6 billion kHz of electricity per year, with 70% of its capacity being delivered to the Hong Kong power grid, and the remaining 30% going to the Guangdong network.

The company's Corporate Operation Management Information System (COMIS), has become an indispensable management platform for safe and efficient operation. After all, the power units of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station run 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

MRO Software's strategic asset management solution, Maximo, was adopted in 1988 as the unified platform for the COMIS production management information system.

Before the Maximo-based COMIS system, GNP Co. relied on dozens of inhouse applications that were largely independent and incompatible. ; Consequently, the power station's operations were not unified, impeding the overall efficiency of the business.

Mr. Peter Chow, Executive Deputy General Manager of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station, "The introduction of Maximo brought new management concepts and methods and new business modes which have definitely helped the GNP Co. generate higher returns."

Maximo is being used at Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station to monitor and control work procedures, preventive maintenance, inventory, order and procurement planning. In addition, the tool management system was enhanced to replace the former special tool and common tool management systems. MAXIMO also interfaces with the company's financial system and the safety isolating system, which is critical for equipment maintenance.

Using MAXIMO, the company has an outstanding classification system for monitoring equipment, inventory and resources. Employees can easily examine equipment defects in generating units and have better access to maintenance data. MAXIMO also provides an effective auxiliary decision-making platform for the station's production management.

The COMIS system also helps the company optimize its inventory management. The power station's inventory of materials, strategic parts, and material consumption decreased 26% from US$14.486 Million in 2000 to US$10.711 Million in 2001. The average inventory value decreased from US$103.015 Million to US$102.710 Million with the cost of refuelling maintenance falling from US$14 million to US$13.9 million.

The COMIS system allows data from the Daya Bay station to be used in other new projects.he basic data from the Daya Bay Power Station can be replicated at the nearby Ling'ao facility including equipment, preventive maintenance and other working data. Both power stations can benefit from the common platform by sharing human, tool and inventory resources. "Without Maximo, we could not reach these management goals," said Mr Chow.

The company's latest assessment report of the COMIS system achieved a high rating. "The Maximo-based COMIS system has strengthened the risk management and quality control of equipment maintenance," concluded Mr Chow. "It has prepared working papers in a more detailed and accurate manner and fended off malfunctions. There have been no shutdowns attributable to human error at the power station during the past three years."

Finally, prior to the installation of Maximo-based COMIS System, the Power Station's annual refuelling maintenance program meant a reactor shutdown of 40-45 days, at a cost of ι approximately US$1 Million per day. The 2002 refuelling maintenance was completed in the record time of 32 days, resulting in considerable cost savings for GNPCo.

Copyright EQES, Inc. Jul/Aug 2005

Source: Nuclear Plant Journal

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