Project management, quality and risk

A project to provide an AFR facility for spent fuel storage would require proper management service for the implementation of the project. Since the key responsibilities of the nuclear power plant organizations are the operation and the maintenance of the nuclear power plants to generate electricity, project management capability may not already exist within such organizations to handle such projects. This situation may also be true in the case of implementing organizations charged with the task of providing AFR storage. These organizations may acquire such expertise by outsourcing, i.e. through the hiring of project management personnel, depending on the availability of relevant resources. Such staff could include:

• A project manager accountable for the AFR storage project possibly from within the organization to help define a process by which AFR storage need could be resolved;

• External (or internal) expert project management staff to support and manage the project on behalf of the organization; and

• Advisory bodies consisting of experts in different areas to provide ongoing support to the project.

The project management organization, so appointed, will be generally responsible to carry out the initial feasibility studies, technology selection, and selection of suppliers/contractors to design, procure, construct, commission, and train staff for the AFR storage. This organization may include on its staff experienced consultants and architect/engineers (A/Es) integrated in its structure so as to provide appropriate support to the overall project contract strategy.

Project Manager NPP

Management

& Engineers

Implementing Organization Senior Management*

Regulatory agencies (Nuclear licensing, environmental assessment, transportation etc.)

Communities

& the general public

Vendors/suppliers

& Subcontractors Project staff

Government agencies

*If applicable

Fig. 1. Partners in the AFR storage project.

3.4.1. Contractual terms and conditions

A contract to perform a project is likely to include the following contents [45]:

• Contractual frame;

• Terms and conditions;

• Financial clause;

• Schedule of delivery;

• Performance;

• Warranty and resolution of conflicts;

• Reporting.

3.4.2. Quality assurance

All activities related to an AFR storage facility shall be subject to a quality assurance program encompassing the entire procurement cycle including the selection process and the various stages such as the detailed design, construction and the operation.

The objective of the quality assurance is to ensure with confidence that the storage system will perform satisfactorily during service. To that end, quality assurance will include all planned and systematic actions necessary to assure that all aspects of the project, covering activities, systems, components and materials meet the quality requirement. The quality assurance requirement shall always be commensurate with the safety and licensing requirements. There are relevant IAEA publications elaborating quality assurance needs in nuclear projects that may be taken into account in developing a quality assurance programme [46].

3.4.3. Stakeholders involvement

Successful AFR storage projects include also successful partnerships between the project and its various stakeholders. The stakeholders include the project staff, NPP management and plant engineers, senior management of the project, regulatory authorities for licensing and environmental assessment, various government agencies that may have a stake in the project, site communities and the general public, vendors and suppliers and their subcontractors (see Fig. 1). Nurturing these partnerships would be an important consideration in many countries for a project and a strong determinant for success. It might be a daunting task to obtain public participation where needed if proper attention is not given to public involvement. Lack of public support could delay or even prevent the implementation of any AFR storage solution.

Decision to construct an AFR spent fuel storage facility cannot be made without the full participation of all relevant stakeholders. Depending on the intent, this could include the need to alleviate local community concerns, concerns of the general public, or concerns expressed at national or even regional levels (if neighboring countries could be affected or international facilities are considered).

Implication of stakeholder involvement must be envisaged at a very early stage as it could deeply influence storage plans, degree of regulatory and political support to storage plans, public and community support, etc. Therefore it is important to identify early who might be the stakeholders involved, and design a process to involve all stakeholders in order to reduce risks related to stakeholder acceptance in various stages of the project life cycle [47].

There may be specific requirements in Member States to involving the public in consultation activities and decision-making. This area is currently subject to many discussions at various local, national and international levels that could result in evolving future requirements [48].

3.4.4. Project risk management

3.4.4.1. Nature of project risks

Exposure to project risk is expected in a project like AFR storage as in the case of any other industrial projects. The project sponsor and project management organizations are accountable to their stakeholders, and have a range of obligations to be met, such as in terms of cost, quality, legislative compliance, safety and environmental protection, financial liability¹⁷ and political support. A mature organization would have a risk management strategy fully integrated into its procurement cycle. Figure 2 illustrates the essentials of the risk management process.

Risks could arise both due to external factors (legal challenges, environmental causes) and internal factors (cost, schedule, safety, quality). A good strategy will have a continuous process to identify, assess and respond to risks during the entire project. Risks are generally the greatest in the early stages of the project and should diminish as the project evolves towards completion. Early risk assessments provide opportunities to take mid-course corrections and allow the project staff to change risk-causing uncertainties into opportunities.

Risk assessment carried out prior to award of contract permits the project manager to recognize business and financial risks, and put in place measures to avoid, reduce or absorb such risks [49].

In an AFR storage project, unmitigated risks could lead, in the extreme, to unacceptable situations such as: inability to store the fuel making continued operation of the NPP difficult;

serious challenges from the public or other stakeholder groups; inability to finance the project due to cost over-runs; unmanageable safety and environmental issues, or similar contingencies. Without consideration to avoidance strategies, alternatives and fallback positions, risks could have disastrous consequences on the project as well as the NPP.

3.4.4.2. Project risk assessment and management

At the simplest level, project risk assessment is carried out by the project staff through structured discussions about potential pitfalls and unusual occurrences that can be expected in the course of the project. Steps are taken to screen risk situations, quantify identified risks, mitigate, and adapt the lessons learned to future project risk situations. At a detailed level, a variety of comprehensive risk assessment and management methods including statistical and computerized techniques can be used. These techniques help the project team to reduce the drudgery and time required in handling large amount of risk scenarios and data, and to carry out “what if” risk modeling assessments.

17 Generally defined by nuclear liability acts of the government.

Fig. 2. Project risk management process.

The detail and extent of the risk assessment and management will depend on the complexity of the project, past experience with similar projects and benefits that can be expected from consideration of business risks [50].

Assessment of risks can be carried out from the formative stage of the project to the contractual stage, often with an iterative process through the project life cycle. Formal documentation in a risk register and structured assessments help the project in building a sound risk response capability throughout the project. A historical database of project risk information would be a valuable resource to quickly assess new risks in an ongoing project.