News Articles

Nuclear News Asks: What is the most difficult part to replace?

The nuclear industry should give itself a pat on the back: a quick review of plant capacity factors and plant trip trends demonstrates that, for the most part, the industry is very resourceful when it comes to locating even the most difficult-to-find replacement parts. That said, some parts are harder to replace than others. It’s important to note, however, that the challenge of replacing parts is not generally due to the part itself, but is instead the result of inadequate planning at the plant.

In our experience, the level of difficulty varies from situation to situation and is highly dependent on the timeline required to have the component back in service. The easiest part to replace is the one plant management knows will need to be replaced well in advance. Forward-looking, plant-managed programs such as a critical spares program, an active obsolescence program, or a repair/refurbishment maintenance program can all help mitigate part replacement challenges. Paragon has partnered with several utilities to develop data-informed programs to identify critical spares, obsolescence issues, I&C circuit card repairability, parts quality issues, and reverse engineering opportunities. If a plant does not have a well-defined and effective parts management process, then every needed part can become an emergent issue and likely becomes more difficult to replace.

Of course, no plant can plan perfectly nor have every potential part in stock. Luckily, the nuclear industry has pooled resources so plants can buy parts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A buyer can easily search a parts database, such as PeAks or RAPID, to determine if other plants or suppliers have the needed part in inventory. If the item is available, most of the time the plant can take delivery of the part the next day.

However, some of the most difficult-to-replace parts are typically associated with unique metal castings, custom transformers, or large custom motors. Parts in these categories create significant problems with long-lead-time solutions. Often, a utility has no option but to wait for the part to be manufactured.

While there are many options available to the nuclear industry for parts supply, it is incumbent on utilities to both build a relationship with a trusted supplier and – very importantly – form a strategy for long-term operation. In the end, the most difficult part to replace is the one that is not planned.

See the full article here.

Interview with John Portillo, Senior Director Nuclear Sales Operations 
Paragon Energy Solutions

Paragon’s CEO, Doug Van Tassell, and COO/VP of Business Development, Tighe Smith are featured in an interview in the June, 2020 issue of Nuclear News.

In February of this year, Paragon acquired Nuclear Logistics LLC to form a third-party supplier of equipment solely focused on the nuclear industry. Engineering, design, manufacturing, testing, and qualification are performed in Paragon’s three facilities, located in Fort Worth, Texas, Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Schenectady, N.Y.

Paragon provides critical and safety-related equipment, including electrical, mechanical, instrumentation and control (I&C), HVAC, and specialty one-of-a-kind items; equipment maintenance; equipment qualification; and engineering services that include thermal aging, radiation testing, electromagnetic interference/radio-frequency interference testing, loss-of-coolant-accident testing, seismic testing, and software verification and validation.

Doug VanTassell is Paragon’s president and chief executive officer and has more than 31 years of experience in the power generation industry. He received his master of business administration (MBA) degree from Queens University in Charlotte, N.C. Prior to joining Paragon, VanTassell spent 25 years at AP Services, becoming owner and CEO in 2009. In 2012, Curtiss-Wright purchased AP Services, and VanTassell became the general manager for Nova and AP Services. In 2014, he joined ATC as president of its Nuclear Division. On August 30, 2017, VanTassell and Argosy Capital purchased ATC Nuclear and renamed it Paragon.

Tighe Smith is chief operating officer at Paragon. Smith has spent the past 17 years working in various roles in the commercial nuclear power industry. His experience includes nuclear business management, product development, and safety-related system sales and service. He has a bachelor of science degree in nuclear engineering and is a graduate of the University of Tennessee’s MBA program. Smith served in the United States Army National Guard from 2001 to 2007.

VanTassell and Smith talked about supply chain issues with Nuclear News Editor-in-Chief Rick Michal and shared thoughts on having spare parts available quickly, efficiently, and at good value.
Click here to read the interview.