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Identifying, Cultivating... Continued from page 32 2. How does your organization take advantage of Nuclear Industry Assessment Committee (NIAC) and Nuclear Utility Procurement Issues Committee to certify safety related vendors? AREVA actively participates as a member of NIAC. The advantage to AREVA of being a NIAC member is to reduce both schedule and cost associated with evaluating suppliers. We are able to utilize NIAC audits in order to put a supplier on our Approved Suppliers List (ASL). However, this still does not mitigate our responsibilities and program relative to performance of that supplier as discussed previously. In other words, the roles of the QC Inspectors and Procurement Engineers are not changed. AREVA is a member of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) Infrastructure Taskforce. This taskforce, under the leadership of Carol Berrigan at NEI, is focused on developing the supply infrastructure in the U.S. As a member of that taskforce, AREVA was a co-sponsor of three supplier workshops in 2008, and we are continuing this effort in 2009. These workshops focus on providing companies considering entering the market with information about what it means to be a commercial nuclear supplier. These workshops describe “typical” nuclear project requirements and operations and provide QA information and resources, ASME Code requirements, NRC requirements, industry information, etc. These have been extremely successful, with over 400 supplier representatives attending each workshop. Additional outreach activities include active participation in the major trade shows in the power industry, giving talks to various engineering societies, many visits to suppliers’ facilities, and a focused effort to locate and visit Canadian nuclear industry organizations and suppliers. Overall, our effort to reach out to suppliers has been extremely successful. We are confident that we now have a diverse supply base to support the U.S. EPR deployment. 3. How do you promote need for new safety related vendors to the industry in the United States and worldwide? The supply of equipment and materials for the construction of the U.S. EPR plants is a joint effort between AREVA and Bechtel. AREVA’s specific focus is supply for the nuclear island equipment. Bechtel’s focus is supply of the turbine island equipment and supply of construction bulk materials plantwide. We have jointly created a complete list of equipment and materials required for construction of the plant. We have also jointly identified multiple suppliers for each commodity. There have been some specific areas of concern over the past few years, particularly heavy forgings, but the supply chain should eventually balance out with demand due to ongoing industry-wide efforts to address this issue. The current shortage for the U.S. nuclear industry is suppliers that have the appropriate 10CFR50 Appendix-B QA program and ASME N-stamps. As an example, the number of companies with ASME N-stamps in 1984 was 400. By 2007 the number had decreased to 84. Therefore, part of our challenge has been to encourage existing suppliers to obtain these certifications. So far, we have been successful at this – through the workshops -- but there is more work to do. ASME has noted that the number of applicants for N-stamps have increased dramatically over the past six months, which is an example of partial success. We also have targeted companies that manufacture specific critical components to convince them to obtain the needed certifications. A good example of this is the increased availability of safety-related diesel generators. It should be noted that NSSS companies, along with NEI, are all focusing on obtaining a diverse supply of safety-related equipment in the USA. The combined effort of the entire industry is producing the results needed to support the first major deployment of nuclear power plants in decades. As a result of all of these efforts, there are now over 350 suppliers identified for the U.S. EPR supply chain. We anticipate that about 150 primary suppliers will ultimately be needed to support one EPR project. 4. What incentives are provided by your organization to attract new vendors or to re-certify old vendors so that they are ready to supply safety related products and services to the new build nuclear power industry? We have instituted a multi-tiered program for evaluating suppliers and ensuring that not only quality requirements, but also scope, schedule and cost are maintained. This starts with performing an initial assessment of the capabilities of a supplier to determine if their products and services fit the needs of the U.S. EPR design. Following this, we perform a detailed holistic assessment to look at all aspects of the company, including quality, safety, project management, financial strength, experience, engineering, etc. These assessments require many trips to suppliers’ facilities throughout North America. The final step is for Quality Assurance to perform an audit to put the supplier on AREVA’s ASL as a supplier for the EPR plants. The program does not stop once a supplier is on the ASL. Procurement Engineers work closely with suppliers to ensure that the scope of work is performed on schedule, within budget, and of high quality. This is done in partnership with Quality Control Inspectors. Finally, Quality Assurance performs periodic audits of the supplier to ensure that the tenets of the quality assurance plan are being followed. For some of the most critical and complex procurements we will assign a full-time resident Expeditor at the supplier’s facility. 34 www.nuclearplantjournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2009
Enabling Suppliers... Continued from page 31 5. Please describe any innovative efforts of your organization in developing new suppliers for safety related products and services in the United States. AREVA is not just a designer, it is also a supplier. In this regard, we have demonstrated innovation by our aggressive efforts to provide certainty for the U.S. EPR program. The EPR plants will be truly made in America by American workers. For example, the recently announced AREVA Newport News, LLC, a joint venture with Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, will manufacture heavy components in the USA. We are the only designer-supplier to have announced plans to construct new manufacturing facilities in the USA. All of our efforts in one way or another are innovative and demonstrate AREVA’s commitment to the industry, to the EPR design and deployment and establishment of a robust, safety-certified supply chain. Perhaps the strongest indicator of AREVA’s innovative approach to supply chain certainty is the fact that three EPR plants are currently under construction, one each in Finland, France and China – five additional projects are in the procurement phase with plans or option agreements to build more. This speaks to the certainty provided by our large global footprint and our innovative supply chain coordination efforts. EPR is a trademark of the AREVA Group. Contact: Susan Hess, AREVA NP Inc., 3315 Old Forest Road, Lynchburg, VA 24501; telephone: (434) 832-2379, fax: (434) 382-2379, email: susan.hess@ areva.com. Longer term, we see opportunities to develop new supply chains in the United States and other nations. 9. How does your organization ensure that the selected suppliers are cost effective and deliver the job on schedule? GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy exercises a competitive bidding process that includes only qualified suppliers. Our experience, as a nuclear industry leader for over five decades, demonstrates that this approach is a successful strategy for satisfying our customers’ needs. Contact: Ned Glascock, GE Hitachi Nuclear; fax: (910) 819-5549, email: edward.glascock@ge.com. has a special significance to us. And it does to your facility, too. With “N”, “NPT” and “NS” Certificates covering Class 1, 2 and 3 Valves, Pressure Vessels, Pumps, Supports, and Parts, code reconciliation, designing, supplying, replacing, and maintaining certified equipment is just part of our extensive repertoire of services. So besides being the first letter in our name, “N” gives us the “in” on providing superior ASME Section III N-Certificate products and services to the nuclear industry. And that’s always been our incentive. Call us when engineered excellence is indicated. NUCLEAR LOGISTICS INC > the single source www.nuclearlogistics.com 800.448.4124 Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2009 www.nuclearplantjournal.com 35
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