Nuclear power leader ensures enterprise-wide compliance with Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Company background

A pioneer in nuclear power and technology has been leading the nuclear industry for over a century. With a rich history dating back to 1800s, the company has continually driven innovation in the energy sector, providing reliable and efficient nuclear power solutions. The company’s commitment to safety, efficiency, and sustainability has positioned it as a leader in the global energy market, serving utilities worldwide with advanced technology and unparalleled expertise.

The challenge

In the nuclear industry, compliance with regulatory standards is a necessity for continued operations. One of the key regulatory requirements for the company is to comply with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) mandate to archive all documentation in a specific PDF format for 60 years. This includes converting volumes of Excel and Word reports, JPEG, and TIFF graphs and charts into compliant PDF formats.

Traditionally, the company relied on manual workflows to meet these stringent requirements. This labor-intensive process involved significant manual effort to ensure each document was converted correctly, resulting in numerous challenges:

• Delays: The manual conversion process was time-consuming, leading to delays in document archiving.
• Format Errors: Manual conversions often resulted in formatting errors, jeopardizing compliance and data integrity.
• High Overhead: The reliance on manual labor led to increased labor costs and inefficiencies.

Solution implementation with Dassault Systèmes and Adlib

The company sought a robust solution to address these challenges which could pair with Dassault Systèmes, their Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system. This collaboration aimed to integrate a seamless document management solution that could automate the archival process while ensuring compliance with NRC regulations. Dassault Systèmes, renowned for its innovative PLM solutions, provided a centralized repository for all documents, ensuring traceability, version control, and streamlined workflows. However, the challenge of automating the document conversion process still remained.

Adlib's document transformation solution

To address this, the company integrated Adlib’s advanced document transformation capabilities into the Dassault PLM system. Adlib's solution provided the necessary automation to convert various document formats into compliant PDFs, complete with precise formatting elements such as headers and footers. Key features of the Adlib integration included:

• Automated Conversion: Seamless integration with the PLM system to automatically convert documents into the required PDF format.
• Compliance Assurance: Ensured that all documents met NRC's archival requirements, reducing the risk of non-compliance fines.
• Enhanced Efficiency: Eliminated the need for manual labor in document conversion, significantly reducing overhead costs.
• Scalability: Capable of handling large volumes of documents, meeting the scalability demands of Westinghouse’s operations.

Benefits of the implementation

The implementation of Adlib’s document transformation solution within Dassault Systèmes’ PLM system brought numerous benefits to the organization:

• Improved Compliance: Automated conversions ensured that all documents adhered to NRC's strict archival requirements, minimizing the risk of fines and regulatory issues.
• Operational Efficiency: By eliminating manual document conversion, Westinghouse significantly reduced labor costs and improved overall operational efficiency.
• Accuracy and Reliability: Automated processes reduced formatting errors, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of archived documents.
• Scalability: The solution’s ability to handle large volumes of documents allowed Westinghouse to scale operations efficiently without additional overhead.

Conclusion

The organization's collaboration with Dassault Systèmes and the integration of Adlib’s document transformation solution exemplify the benefits of leveraging advanced technology in compliance-driven industries. By automating the document conversion process, the company met regulatory requirements, enhanced operational efficiency, reduced costs, and ensured the accuracy and reliability of its documentation. This is a prime example of how impactful integrated PLM and document management solutions are in the nuclear industry, setting a benchmark for compliance and efficiency.