Stochastic Maintenance Optimization at Candu Power Plants

The use of various innovative maintenance optimization techniques at Bruce has lead to cost effective preventive maintenance applications for complex systems as previously reported at ICONE 6 in New Orleans (1996). Further refinement of the station maintenance strategy was evaluated via the applicability of statistical analysis of historical failure data. The viability of stochastic methods in Candu maintenance was illustrated at ICONE 10 in Washington DC (2002). The next phase consists of investigating the validity of using subjective elicitation techniques to obtain component lifetime distributions. This technique provides access to the elusive failure statistics, the lack of which is often referred to in the literature as the principal impediment preventing the use of stochastic methods in large industry. At the same time the technique allows very valuable information to be captured from the fast retiring “baby boom generation”. Initial indications have been quite positive. The current reality of global competition necessitates the pursuit of all financial optimizers. The next construction phase in the power generation industry will soon begin on a worldwide basis. With the relatively high initial capital cost of new nuclear generation all possible avenues of financial optimization must be evaluated and implemented.Copyright © 2004 by ASME