Transforming Asset Management for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Through Collaboration and Innovation

Jacobs and PA Consulting have worked with the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to transform its approach to asset management, decision-making and planning

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The NDA is responsible for one of the largest nuclear decommissioning and remediation programs in Europe and aspires to be a pioneer in the civil nuclear sector. It is a non-departmental public body created by the Energy Act 2004 to lead the clean-up and decommissioning work at 17 sites on behalf of the U.K. Government. The NDA strives to deliver the best value for the UK taxpayer by focusing on reducing the highest hazards and risks while ensuring safe, secure and environmentally responsible operations at the nuclear sites.

In August 2020, Jacobs and PA Consulting were contracted to provide asset management consultancy services to help develop the NDA’s asset management capability and focus on asset performance, a key catalyst for its overall success in becoming a pioneer in nuclear decommissioning and achieving its strategic mission. 

This work has supported the delivery of benefits of the ‘One NDA’ vision — increased value for the taxpayer, enhanced performance and delivery of outcomes, stronger organizational health, improved stakeholder confidence and trust and improved culture. 

 

Piecing the way forward with a ‘Jigsaw’ approach

To create a successful asset management framework, Jacobs and PA Consulting used a strategic approach to deliver a series of critical outcomes to support the NDA in improving asset management maturity across the estate. This was achieved through a combination of workshops with key stakeholders, including subsidiary companies (OpCos) and reviews of existing requirements and previous assessments.

This collaboration resulted in a tailored strategy that was developed against the current organizational context as a baseline and reviewed the gaps against improvements in six key asset management dimensions (strategy and planning, asset management decision-making, lifecycle delivery, asset information, organization and people, and risk and review) and four digital dimensions using Process Organization Technology Information (POTI). 

This innovative strategy relied on harnessing a ‘Jigsaw’ Box model from the Institute of Asset Management (IAM), creating a Digital Steering Committee (SteerCo) and using asset management capability groups. Later in the process, Jacobs and PA Consulting also implemented IAM’s newer 10-box model of asset management. 

Delivering asset management excellence through eight key work packages

After identifying the needs through the ‘Jigsaw’ Box model, these pioneering work packages were developed by the Jacobs and PA Consulting and NDA partnership:

  • Women in PPE looking at computer screens
    Driving change with an asset management digital roadmap

    Driving coordination and collaboration with an integrated strategy

  • Lady typing on a laptop
    Creating best practice with asset information benchmarking

    Unlocking asset insights through smarter standards and assessments

  • Group of five individuals brainstorming round a table
    Integrating technology and talent by enabling intelligent asset management

    Installing interoperability through an integrated, software-savvy approach

  • Dounreay
    Delivering data-led insights through connected infrastructure

    Transforming manual processes into data-empowered decisions at Dounreay, Scotland, U.K.

  • Two colleagues talking
    Building best-in-class standards with an asset transfer standard protocol

    Creating a proven blueprint for successful asset transfer

  • Women looking at an iPad
    Showcasing success at scale with the Magnox Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Transformation

    Accelerating business transformation with technology and talent

  • Two people wearing helmets looking at computers
    Defining industry guidance for managing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in asset lifecycles

    Improving asset measurement and performance with industry-leading guidance

  • Four people in PPE looking at an iPad
    Empowering decision-makers by making Nuclear Transport Systems (NTS) performance data accessible

    Saving time and reducing errors with tailored PowerBI dashboards

Investing in an iterative, data-led framework for the future

This partnership has brought the ‘One NDA’ vision to life and delivered an industry-leading integrated asset management framework that aligns with the NDA’s strategic goals. It has created a community of asset management leaders who work together to overcome challenges and demonstrate best practice. 

The Jacobs and PA Consulting collaboration has helped the NDA understand the power of data in managing their assets and the importance of ensuring data is consistent, reliable and integrated across platforms. 

Within the NDA, this collaboration has helped to raise the profile of asset management and its importance to operational excellence and expenditure (OpEx). It has developed a set of crucial capstone procedures and common principles and enabled the NDA and subsidiary companies to work more effectively in managing and optimizing the vast portfolio of assets.