Design to Cost : concilier sûreté et maîtrise des coûts

Design to Cost enables safety and cost control to be reconciled by rethinking design and industrial processes. David Williams, Sales Manager for Nuclear Activities, and Jérôme Bridier, Technical Director, tell us more.

What exactly does Design to Cost involve in the nuclear sector?

David Williams : Nuclear safety is non-negotiable because an accident would have disastrous consequences. This justifies the existence of significant safety margins. However, these requirements can sometimes lead to additional costs. Design to Cost involves asking the question: ‘How can we ensure the same level of safety, but in a smarter and less costly way?’ ”

Jérôme Bridier: Indeed, getting back to basics does not mean lowering the level of safety, but eliminating what is not essential. For example, in the automotive sector, the basic function of a car is to transport people; everything else (sunroof, heated seats, etc.) is optional. In the nuclear industry, we are working on a similar approach: distinguishing between what is a fundamental need and what is a ‘comfort’ feature.

D.W.: In design to cost, you have to reverse the traditional logic: instead of starting with a list of technical requirements, you begin by defining a cost objective. Then, for each requirement, we ask ourselves: ‘Is this really essential for safety?’ If the answer is no, the option is discarded. At SEGULA, we sometimes refer to this as Design to Minimum Requirement. This method, shared across an entire industry, can generate significant savings.

J.B.: This requires taking into account the entire life cycle of a facility upstream: its construction, operation, decommissioning and even its dependence on resources. Integrating these economic dimensions from the outset allows for much better cost optimisation.

Is this approach also found in other industries such as automotive or aeronautics?

J.B. : Yes, in aeronautics for example, aircraft are designed to be both very safe and economically viable, thanks to the standardisation of parts and the targeted duplication of critical systems. In the nuclear industry, the same logic can help simplify equipment integration, reduce the space required for installations and limit additional costs, while complying with all safety regulations.
D.W.: Our strength at SEGULA is that we have experience in several industries at once: automotive, aeronautics and energy. This allows us to transfer best practices from one sector to another.

What does the future hold for design to cost?

J.B. : The rise of modular reactors (SMRs) is part of this design to cost approach. The principle is simple: instead of installing a single high power reactor with a suitable network architecture, several small modules are designed and installed as close as possible to consumers. These are factory-built and then assembled on site. This reduces construction costs, simplifies maintenance and maintains a very high level of safety, as each module is designed to shut down automatically in the event of a problem.

➡️ To find out more, take a look at our analysis of the new challenges facing nuclear engineering.