Improved safety
Figure 1. Honeywell's wireless gauge readers reduced workers' time spent exposed to radiation.
The enhanced monitoring capability also enables operators and engineers to gather data on the performance of the system in between scheduled readings, which means they have improved analysis of the system when needed. "Going forward, Vermont Yankee will establish a feed from the WGRs to the process computer, which will allow the system data from the WGRs to be captured and mapped against other system data for analysis," adds Von der Esch.
Safety and Savings
In addition to reducing the time that personnel need to be near energized and high-temperature pressure equipment, Vermont Yankee has documented annual cost savings. "By reducing the need for operators and engineers to have access to radiation areas to gather data, we are able to have gauges in both our Reactor and Turbine buildings, and the WGR technology provides a very cost-effective tool to help us achieve the nuclear industries' goal of reducing radiation exposure to ALARA," says Von der Esch.
However, the savings go beyond achieving ALARA goals. The wireless technology also eliminated wasted man-hours traveling into and out of the plant. During the trial phase of the implementation, Honeywell's WGRs documented a savings of 730 person hours annually for a labor cost savings of $29,200. The full implementation going forward has the potential to save more than 2,000 person hours and approximately $90,000 plus in annual labor costs.
More Innovation
Entergy also partnered with Honeywell to help find a process to achieve its ALARA goals. Key elements to the success of this innovation were the adapting and testing period prior to installation. Vermont Yankee was able to provide timely information and recommendations to Honeywell that were quickly adopted to improve performance and reliability of the wireless devices.
Innovative technologies used in the WGRs at the Vermont Yankee facility include:
- Miniature cameras that capture an image of the gauge face—much like cameras on cell phones today;
- Software to calculate the angle of the gauge needle and calculate a digital reading;
- LED lights to illuminate the gauge face so that optical images can be captured;
- Ultra low-powered WiFi radio that conserves power, allowing the device to operate from two commercially available long-life batteries.
"This technology opened the door to unimagined opportunities and benefits, including dose reduction, improved equipment monitoring, real-time readings and more data points for analysis," continues Von der Esch.
Productivity and Efficiency
The use of WGRs saves time for the operator performing rounds, reduces potential human error, and provides real-time updates to the system. With data being collected every 15 minutes, the WGRs feed more extensive data into statistical process control models. This increases the ability to monitor variation early, set trend parameters, and give personnel more time to appropriately respond to evolving situations.
"Honeywell's WGRs provided a solution to the inefficiencies we saw in our current system, allowing us to save time, reduce dose, and provide continued monitoring—enabling our employees to spend more time doing more productive work such as analyzing data," says Von der Esch.
In addition to the documented benefits above, the WGR technology is transferable to any commercial facility using the 802.11 b/g communications protocol. Entergy has plans to incorporate the technology into additional fleets.
"Vermont Yankee has demonstrated the efficiency of the WGRs, and has plans to expand the use of these devices to continue to drive down dose. We will look at expanding the system monitoring features by feeding the data to the plant process computer, building an alarm notification into the program, and looking at other applications for equipment monitoring," concludes Von der Esch.
Nancy Bartels is Control's Managing Editor.