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‘Simplification, Engagement, Teamwork’ leads SSES to rating last achieved in 1995

The results of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations’ (INPO) 2019 Evaluation of Susquehanna Station were conveyed face-to-face to Talen Energy and Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC, senior leadership team members Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, at Talen Energy’s Woodlands offices in Houston.

Susquehanna Station achieved an “EXEMPLARY” rating from INPO following its critical review of Station performance and worker behavior over the past two years.  It is Susquehanna’s first such rating since the last one which occurred in 1995—24 years ago.

“Team Susquehanna has worked tirelessly to change Station performance and to form a resilient work culture based on ‘Simplification, Engagement and Teamwork, with a Healthy Respect for Nuclear Safety’ to achieve top quartile performance in several critical areas,” said Susquehanna Chief Nuclear Officer (CNO) Brad Berryman.  “I could not be more proud of how Team Susquehanna has responded.  The team committed and delivered on achieving nothing less than the best.  And the most gratifying part for me?  Our execution was not a ‘performance’ for INPO.  Team Susquehanna treated this visit like we treat every work week at Susquehanna.”

In Houston, INPO executives shared their formal, final report and rating with Talen Energy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Alexander, President and Chief Financial Officer Alex Hernandez, Susquehanna Nuclear’s CNO Brad Berryman, Site Vice President Kevin Cimorelli and Plant Manager Derek Jones.

INPO’s Evaluation included observation of several onsite activities, including: Operation’s Crew Performance Evaluation (CPE), conducted in the Learning Center’s Simulator in November; Sequester Week, held at INPO Headquarters in Atlanta as Host Peer Assistant Operations Manager Ron Fry and Host Peer Engineering Branch Manager Joe Yenchak met with the Evaluation Team; and most recently, the onsite visit, conducted Dec. 2-12, Susquehanna welcoming six members of the inspection team.

INPO’s final report documented two Areas for Improvement (AFI) and four Strengths at Susquehanna Station.

Areas for Improvement (AFIs):

• Organizational Effectiveness:  Department Managers do not respond with sufficient bias for action in arresting some performance gaps. This can lead to a continuation of degraded performance trends or slow improvement.
• Chemistry:  Chemistry personnel have not driven full resolution of some repetitive or long-standing issues to maintain chemistry parameters within industry standards.  This has resulted in increased corrosion and potential surface fouling and degraded heat transfer conditions.

Strengths:

• Operations and Operational Focus: Leaders changed work force behaviors in risk mitigation and event prevention by consistently providing reinforcement of behaviors. They exercise consistent risk-mitigation expectations for stopping work (risk recognition) with the key aspect of requiring a “one-step removed” authorization to resume work
• Emergency Preparedness/Fire Protection:  Operations, Engineering and the Fire Marshal collaborate to improve fire protection defense-in-depth by aligning efforts to reduce fire impairments, fire watches and fire brigade training.  This is accomplished through an increased focus on aggregate fire and plant risk with ease of access for all personnel to the Aggregate Fire Risk Program.
• Organization Effectiveness:  Susquehanna has strategically implemented innovative technologies to drive improvements in the areas of obsolescence management, schedule ownership, refueling outage performance, preventative maintenance optimization, risk management and dose reduction. Employees have demonstrated their willingness to innovate, this is evident in review of 2019 Innovation Central program results, 244 ideas submitted and 135 (55%) ideas implemented.
• Organizational Effectiveness: A collective loss of more than 2,000 years of maintenance experience because of retirements caused leaders to develop a union leadership and talent development program.  The union leadership academy teaches the attributes of being a Nuclear Professional to recognized leaders within the bargaining unit.  Those individuals now embrace the leadership attributes to lead their crews more effectively, driving improved engagement, ownership, worker behaviors, safety and performance.

“Every nuclear professional that enters this Station on a daily basis demonstrates their commitment to the success of our plant,” said Susquehanna Nuclear’s Site Vice President Kevin Cimorelli.  “This ‘Exemplary’ rating of Susquehanna Station by an oversight body recognized worldwide in the nuclear industry should make every one of us proud.”

Congratulations, Team Susquehanna, for this outstanding achievement.