Over the last 18+ months, the launch of generative AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Microsoft’s Copilot has created significant buzz, both in optimizing business operations and in personal use. Bloomberg Intelligence expects generative AI to skyrocket, growing from a market size of $40bn in 2022 to $1.3tn over the next decade.
In the nuclear energy industry, advancements in AI have brought opportunities to scale operations and drive growth. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has supported AI’s impending place in nuclear power plants, AI “holds promising potential for advancing nuclear energy production.” This is especially true with its ability to improve processes and increase efficiency, automation, predictive maintenance, and safety.
Before implementing AI into any process, it’s important to understand what data is needed to fuel the solution. This includes understanding what type of data is needed and also how to process this data. Nuclear industry teams cannot reap the full benefit of AI solutions without the right data.
Nuclear industry leaders should work with each of their teams – departments ranging from finance to IT to project management to accounting – to find out what project data they have on hand and what type of data would help them unlock new efficiencies. Taking these details into account, teams throughout the company can set up an AI-enabled process to optimise administrative, approval, and alerting processes on their jobsite.
Streamlining administrative tasks
Many people worry that AI will eliminate their jobs. Although some jobs face being lost to automation, AI also creates new opportunities and is more likely to complement human work than replace it. AI cannot replace intuition or human emotional intelligence.
In the nuclear industry, businesses and facilities can – and should – deploy AI and automation to support teams. The technology empowers people through greater visibility and additional information to make better business decisions. On the administrative side, these solutions significantly speed up the analysis and creation of contracts, work orders, and other important content. For example, when contractors are hired to work at a nuclear jobsite, intelligent contractor management software can capture each worker’s certifications and pay grades. When those contractors clock in and out for the day, the software automatically knows how many hours each contractor worked and at what rate, ensuring accurate payments for every worker. Using manual spreadsheets to track such information is time-consuming and error prone.
Another way AI can help is when a nuclear project owner sources a contractor for a new project. Based on data from previous contracts and data that the owner provides after projects conclude, AI can assist with data entry and provide recommendations to drive the greatest cost savings. Specifically, such tools can present insights and suggest whether the owner should run a project on a time and material basis or on a lump sum basis to better manage budget and spend.
Furthermore, the combination of AI and automation can offer significant support during the review and approval process for contracts and expenses. For instance, when a contractor submits an invoice to the nuclear project owner, that team’s AI solution can use previous data to analyse the invoice and recommend that the owner approve, reject, or conduct further investigation before deciding.
Similarly, such tools can also use historical data to determine whether a purchase order is priced fairly and in line with what the nuclear facility’s procurement team has paid in the past. In doing so, the technology frees employees to perform more complex duties.
Create safer sites and boost the bottom line for power plants
Automated contractor data and spend management technology can enable nuclear facility owners to monitor key safety metrics, such as the employees onsite, equipment usage and maintenance, and fatigue management.
The technology can track who is certified to work with which pieces of equipment or on different projects, and it can also provide visibility when someone may be working in a capacity they aren’t certified to do. Once managers are notified, they can reassign that worker to a job they are qualified for, eliminating a potential safety risk.
Proof of presence of contractors also supports project ownership and jobsite management in a safety-related incident. By knowing who is onsite at all times, management can easily direct teams to their specified muster stations or rally points and then easily account for each person on site.
Finally, the technology can also automatically monitor which contractors have worked for too many consecutive days or too many days of overtime, alerting project owners when an employee is exceeding fatigue limits and poses
a safety risk. OSHA reports that working 12 hours a day a day is associated with a 37% increased risk of injury, not only affecting the health and well-being of employees, but potentially costing businesses billions of dollars each year.
AI and automation are not new concepts, but with the latest innovations spurring rapid growth and adoption, the nuclear industry should be keen to understand where and how these solutions can be applied to their operations to support the business’s bottom line.
With adequate data and buy-in from all teams, nuclear industry leaders can experience streamlined administrative, approval, and alerting processes, all of which will contribute to automated cost control and compliance. Proactively using AI, automation, and other emerging technologies will ensure the nuclear industry has its pulse on the latest developments and can use them to stimulate growth, progress, and future success.
Author: Michael Lewis, Chief Technology Officer, Management Controls
