Nuclear plants worldwide are using the same central radiation monitoring systems that they installed 20 years ago. Plant managers are being forced to deal with the systems’ increasingly poor reliability and hard-to-find replacement parts.
To address this problem, Industrial Peer-to-Peer (Ip2), a subsidiary of InStep Software, has developed RadServ, a software-based monitoring solution for the nuclear industry. RadServ addresses safety and regulatory concerns, removes the threat of future obsolescence and greatly improves functionality and usability.
RadServ, which runs on the Windows operating system, maintains an online history of all measured radiation levels, calibration parameters, set points and control signals. System managers, operators or emergency personnel who need to know critical radiation levels of field unit monitors can be notified through alarms, automatic paging or e-mail messages when set points are exceeded. Users can also manage and control in-field monitoring equipment more closely.
RadServ automates the complex reporting process so that, in a matter of minutes, a single user can generate – with 100% accuracy and no human error – reports that would otherwise take plant engineers hours each day to create. It uses standard terminology and an interface that lets users check radiation levels throughout the plant with the click of a mouse.
RadServ can easily be enhanced to monitor other plant equipment, systems and processes, including heat rates, fuel costs, input and output levels, and transmissions.
The software is based on Ip2’s flagship eDNA data historian solution, which integrates with enterprise systems and trading floor programs to make time-sensitive data accessible throughout the entire organisation.
RadServe is currently installed at several sites, including Clinton and Kewaunee in the US.
