Nuclear safety: combining rigour and efficiency

Nuclear power is a powerful energy source that requires absolute vigilance. Ensuring the protection of people, preserving the environment and maintaining the safety of facilities are all essential conditions for maintaining confidence in this industry. It is with this in mind that SEGULA places safety at the heart of its projects.

Safety built in from the outset

At SEGULA, nuclear safety begins with the very first sketches of a project. Each deliverable, from feasibility to commissioning, includes sections dedicated to risk analysis. An internal committee analyses bids to ensure that technical responses take safety requirements into
account, and specific questionnaires are used to identify sensitive issues even before work begins. This rigour applies to all of the group’s sites worldwide: SEGULA deploys an ISO-certified management system that formalises these best practices so that the same
safety standards are uniformly applied in Lyon, Shanghai or Detroit.

A constantly evolving regulatory framework

In France, the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) is constantly updating regulations. The Fukushima disaster in 2011 marked a turning point. Overnight, it became necessary to rethink the resistance of power plants to extreme events such as earthquakes, floods and heat waves. Facilities designed in the 1970s must now meet the standards of 2025. This regulatory dynamic requires constant agility. SEGULA’s teams must anticipate changes, adapt their methods and sometimes completely rethink certain technical solutions. It is a constant challenge that requires close monitoring of regulations and the ability to innovate quickly.

The challenge: improving security while streamlining processes

This requirement also entails more complex procedures. The challenge is to maintain maximum safety while making processes more efficient and less costly. To achieve this, SEGULA is focusing on several levers:
→ Standardised files, to avoid duplication and save time;
→ A risk-based approach, which allows efforts to be focused on the most critical equipment rather than treating everything at the same level
→ Digitalisation of traceability, to track each stage of manufacturing and each control in real time
→ Modernisation of controls through the use of connected sensors, drones and predictive maintenance
→ Modularisation and prefabrication, which improve quality while reducing complexity on site
→ Continuous training for teams to ensure a high level of expertise and vigilance.

Document management: the requirement for transparency

‘A nuclear reactor generates tens of thousands of documents,’ explains David Williams. In fact, to ensure maximum safety, every step, from ordering a bolt to commissioning a reactor, is documented, archived and tracked. This requirement responds to a need for transparency (the guarantee of nuclear acceptance). But this transparency also requires extremely rigorous document management. With its experience in the automotive, aeronautics and rail industries, SEGULA has developed multi-sector expertise in document management, enabling it to apply innovative technologies to the nuclear industry, such as Electronic Document Management (EDM), digital catalogues and augmented reality.

These tools modernise the management and use of technical information, facilitating access, updating and dissemination in the field: ‘It is now possible to access all the documentation for a piece of equipment by pointing at it with 3D glasses. In addition, digital twins make it possible to integrate preventive maintenance and simulate interventions,’ explains Jérôme Bridier.

Design to Cost : balancing safety and cost control

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 in an interview which you can read here.

➡️You can find this article in our energy magazine.