New nuclear programs – how?
We have built a new advisory company whose target is to support the future NPP and SMR owners in executing their new nuclear programs and major projects. We have named our company Kind Atom because the carbon-free energy sector is on the driving seat of protecting our planet. We have to build more wind, solar and nuclear!
There are so many requirements out there to be fulfilled but no single recipé to follow. Our experience tells us that for sure, projects can be managed through contracts, licenses and schedules. However, to be truly successful, one needs to lead and support all the people for being effective in their daily work and decision making. That applies both to the owner and to the supplier in their work for project progress, production safety and sustainable performance.
In fact, it is the human aspect of complex programs and projects that is so easily forgotten. Because there are so many parties involved, one needs to learn how to be clear about own needs but also responsive to the needs of others. Furthermore, the more upstream one can communicate the big picture and the way forward, the better chances there are to do well through the different phases. People need a credible story and clear criteria for what is good enough.
Successful nuclear business requires a step-wise evolution to a responsible owner, an intelligent customer, a competent operator, and in effect, a trusted nuclear licensee. This cannot be achieved by trying to minimize own risks by maximizing the requirements on others, i.e., by only outsourcing scopes and tasks. Therefore, strong leadership and clear decision making are crucial also on the owner’s side, concerning the nuclear units both technically and operationally. Instead of endless commenting rounds, good leaders are capable of setting the bar, justifying it and thereby enabling good cooperation.
And how about being kind to oneself too? That is possible by making sure that the key stakeholder expectations do match and that both the owner and the supplier know how to turn the expectations into project deliveries and operational performance. That is why we recommend to start the program execution by building a clear owner’s plan and related risk analysis, as focused on the owner’s perspective. More exact project plans and time schedules can then be related to it.
With our experience, we want to support our customers in all of this. If interested, please check out kindatom.com and follow us at linkedin.com/company/kindatom.
And while you are painting and perhaps tackling with the way forward, never hesitate to give us a challenge and we’ll work it out with you. We want to help you in getting on top of the problems!
Blog by Timo Okkonen
Speaking here at the Fermi Energia’s conference on SMR’s in February 2022.
Timo also works as program advisor to support Fermi’s SMR deployment.