Overview //
The process of managing documentation throughout the nuclear plant life cycle has been defined as the information management process by the Nuclear Engineering Institute (NEI) and can be found in the Standard Nuclear Performance Model as process SS003. To further refine this process the Nuclear Information Records Management Association (NIRMA), a group of information management process owners and practitioners, formed a committee called the Nuclear Information Management Steering Leadership (NIMSL) team to work collaboratively with Institute of Nuclear Plant Operations (INPO) to provide a defined set of best practices. The result of this ongoing effort is a guideline called INPO® AP-907.
eB Nuclear Information Management includes applications for Controlled Documents and Records Management that are based on the INPO AP-907 guidelines and that comply with Enterprise Information Management (EIM) best practices.
INPO is a registered trademark of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. References to INPO and its guidelines do not represent endorsement of Enterprise Informatics' products.
Controlled Documents and Records Management Solutions
eB ensures that information is trustworthy, relevant and secure.
Business Values
"We selected eB because of its extensive out-of-the-box functionality and flexible application programming interface. The team also demonstrated its experience in the nuclear environment and knowledge of managing nuclear-related information."
-Nicoletta Durand,IRG manager, Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant
Each phase of the plant life cycle produces new information, the majority of which is presented in the form of documents. Documents produced in the early phases of the plant life cycle, such as permits, licensing, facility and plant design documentation, will have complex interdependent relationships with other documentation produced throughout the life cycle. These can include industry and federal regulations that must be linked to documents that are required to support construction, operations, maintenance and, eventually, decommissioning of the plant. Industry oversight organizations such as INPO (Industry of Nuclear Plant Operations) and the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) provide guidelines and policies to ensure that the information is recorded and accessible. Industry oversight organizations ensure that plants are operating safely, efficiently and are compliant with the approved license. eB's Information Management solution follows the guidelines outlined in INPO AP-907 and other industry specific requirements to ensure compliance.
In addition to the compliance benefits that eB solutions provide, eB customers have garnered other significant business values, including:
- Increased Visibility – When the document control organization prepares a work package all related work order documents are output as a single print job. Users can see all related information for each document on one screen. [Seabrook Story]
- Automated Notification – When a controlled document is updated appropriate users are automatically notified and audited that a change has occurred.
- Information Integrity – eB's change control features increase the integrity of information as well as users' confidence in the information.
- Records Management – Seamless record policy definition is automatically applied when a user creates a document in eB if there is a records policy for retention and archiving associated with the document template. The template is controlled by the Records Manager.
- Electronic Archiving – In the nuclear industry documents that are electronically archived require a process to ensure there is no degradation of electronic media. eB checks document integrity every time a file is accessed.
- Digital Signature – Throughout the workflow process an electronic approval is produced when a task has been completed. eB captures and records each electronic approval and generates a digital signature record when the workflow is completed.
- Drawing Management – eB has an integrated solution to support the drawing change process for AutoCAD and MicroStation, and supports any other CAD authoring tool as well.
- Auditing – Each object is audited throughout it life cycle.
- History – Historical instances or revisions can be managed by definition for every document in eB.
- Impact of Change – The impact of document changes are made visible through a thorough change effects analysis.
In some cases eB's business value is realized through efficiencies and work reduction where employees can be used on other tasks. For example, Seabrook Station, an FP&L nuclear plant, uses eB for controlled documents and other supporting documentation. A time study completed by Seabrook showed that a set of mechanical work packages that used to take four days to assemble manually took approximately an hour with eB. As a result, work packages can now be assembled two weeks before an outage instead of two to three months ahead, and the resulting employee efficiencies produce significant savings.
Next Tab: Applications
Applications
"Managing document content rather than just the documents themselves will take Callaway to the next level of information management."
— Bruce Bredemen, Superintendent, AmerenUE/Callaway Plant
Information Management is involved in each stage of the nuclear facility life cycle. eB Nuclear Information Management offers a robust set of Document Management features that is easily configured to support Enterprise Content Management. The nuclear industry defines Information Management, based on NEI process definition (SS003) and incorporated into the INPO AP-907 guidelines, to be “document management related processes to support business requirements for Controlled Documents, Records, Procedures, Reference Libraries and other document related activities.” eB provides the following features that support these guidelines:
- Revision control
- Image capture, scanning
- Information classification
- CAD integration for AutoCAD and MicroStation
- Support for large format drawings
- Security by group, user, and project
- Viewing for over 260 different document formats
- Management of multiple formats of the same document
- Management of physical media or paper
- Support for location management
- Workflow to support document review and approval processes
- Change management
- Analysis to determine impact of change
- Management of historic revisions
- Digital signatures
- User defined templates to capture information
- Reporting
- Publishing
- Rendering to create different document formats
- Controlled Documents
To ensure that the latest information is being used in the operation of a nuclear facility any documents that have been identified as being critical to safe operation are required to be managed as Controlled Documents. A Controlled Document designation requires that all status and revision changes be communicated to all holders of the document. Prior to electronic documents Controlled Documents were marked as valid for use for only two or three days and then a new copy needed to be distributed or requested. With the advent of electronic documents new processes and work habits have emerged as a result of the accessibility of information. Today many sites have adopted electronic information systems as the primary source of documentation for their users, though there are still some work areas that require paper documentation, such as the control room.
The eB Controlled Document application supports both electronic and paper media. Using robust distribution management capabilities eB will keep track of all holders and location of each document. The eB distribution feature will automatically notify, distribute and accept a receipt for any controlled document that has been updated or approved. The eB Controlled Document application leverages the full features of eB’s Document Management core features, providing comprehensive controls to allow or restrict access to information based on a user’s responsibilities. Responsibility-based access control is applied where required, for example, allowing only Engineering access to Design Basis information to ensure that enterprise information is available only to authorized personnel.
Records Management
Records Management is the process of managing information identified as being required for legal evidence, most commonly documents. Records Management practitioners are responsible for maintaining a records program, which is normally defined with a file plan for all corporate documents. The file plan within eB is supported through our records classification feature which identifies each record type and its associated records policies. Record policies consist of a disposition policy, an archive policy and the ability to identify how a record will be managed if it is put on a business hold for processes such as litigation.
When applied to nuclear information, eB Records Management uses all of the standard records management processes. However, for the nuclear environment there are other guidelines such as RIS2000 and TG-15 that must be addressed. When electronic information is identified officially as a record, nuclear guidelines require that it be stored in two places on non-destructible media with a process to randomly check for degradation. eB is designed to support these nuclear-specific business needs and industry guidelines for records management. Embedded within the eB technology is a feature that checks for degradation each time a document retrieved. In addition, eB provides Digital Signature capabilities, creating a document that contains a history of all reviews and approvals to provide support for each record.
Next Tab: Technology
Technology
Built upon an advanced Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), eB uses the latest Microsoft technologies. Developed with the same technologies as SharePoint, eB embraces Microsoft's .NET framework to form the foundation of its application server tier, web services and user interfaces. This architecture allows eB to easily be integrated to other business critical applications.
eB is compatible with Windows 7 and certified for Windows Server 2008. Enterprise Informatics is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.
The eB architecture is proven to be enterprise scalable and highly reliable, and offers the flexibility to adapt to the unique business requirements of a diverse customer base. eB is a highly effective solution for building bridges between SharePoint sites across the enterprise (eB for SharePoint) and other information repositories that are required to realize an effective EIM strategy.
eB for Enterprise is certified by the Institute of Configuration Management (ICM) as a four star Configuration Management software platform.
For more information visit the Technology page.
Next Tab: Resources
Resources
eB for Nuclear Solution Brief
Nuclear Information Life Cycle Solution Brief
Nuclear Knowledge Management White Paper
Webinar: eB Nuclear Design Engineering
AmerenUE: Callaway Nuclear Plant Case Study
Configuration Management White Paper
Configuration Management Data Sheet
Further information is also available by following these links:
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Institute for Nuclear Power Operations (INPO)
Next Tab: Customers
Customers
Energy Customers // Nuclear Information Management
AmerenUE (Callaway Plant)
Uses eB to manage their complete Design Basis requirements consisting of the licensing documents and Master Equipment List (MEL).
Energy Solutions
Uses eB to manage all project documentation in context to federal and project requirement structures.
Excel Services Corporation
Uses eB to provide independent project oversight on nuclear projects by means of eB managed compliance matrices.
Nustart Energy
Uses eB to prepare, review collate and issue completed COLA’s to the NRC. Subsequent management of RAI responses are also managed using eB.
Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Station
Uses eB to manage their complete Design Basis requirements and Master Equipment List (MEL).
Constellation Energy (Calvert Cliffs 1 & 2, Ginna, Nine Mile Point 1&2)
Uses eB to manage their complete Design Basis requirements consisting of the licensing documents and Master Equipment List (MEL).
Nuclear Fuel Services
Uses eB to manage their complete Design Basis requirements consisting of the licensing documents and Master Equipment List (MEL).FP&L
Uses eB to manage all of their Controlled Documents and is tightly integrated with Maximo at their Seabrook Station facility.
For more information about our customers and our nuclear products, visit the Download Center.
First Tab: Business Values
