House HP/RP Techs on backshift

[RRhoads]

So...given what the NRC approved this week at Pligrim...pretty sucky IMO!,
how many HP/RP Techs does YOUR plant (BWR) have on BACKSHIFT???
Columbia has 3.

[TENN-1]

D.C. Cook: Three Emergency Response Organization Technicians 24/7.

[Already Gone]

Back when I was a house HP, there was one HP tech on shift.  The shift HP did all primary chemistry, release permits, daily instrument checks, rad monitor filter changes, and did all the secondary chemistry on backshifts.
The tech specs only required one person per shift to be qualified on radiation protection procedures.
When they wanted to put two of us on shift, I was livid.  There wasn't enough to keep the one tech busy for half a shift as it was, and doubling up would mean that I would have had to work twice as many evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays.
I imagine that they do things a little differently these days.  They probably have the techs doing routine surveys to keep them busy - something that they could be doing during weekdays.  Routine surveys are not a really good reason to be missing your family life.

[retired nuke]

Each crew at VY has:
3-4 NLOs
1 Chem tech
1 RP tech
The usual ctrl rm and security staff.
Some shifts are busy, some are not.
Most of the RP dept is straight days. Ustabee, more people wanted days than shift, so people were forced on shift. Now more want shift than days, and mgmt is picking the shift crew.
Looks like the Pilgrim techs wanted to have 2 on shift, but my experience at other plants has been 1 RP tech per shift crew per unit.

[grantime]

Farley requires 3 HP's on shift 24/7.  Plus there are a half dozen or so on call positions that must remain fit for duty and can be on site within 60 minutes. 

[jjordan]

Brunswick is a dual unit BWR. We are required to have three ERO techs 24/7. ( more must respond within 60 minutes, so we must remain fit for duty and within an hour of the plant, for no pay! This is one of my sore spots. Management said they would find out what other plants do and get back to us on this. Haven't heard anything as of yet. It's been 4 or 5 years. They wonder why there is a union movement afoot.
JJ

[grantime]

The on call slots are a sore spot here as well.  The folks on call are told that they have to do it cause of the "privilige" of working straight days.  But being tied to plant (for free) for hourly workers is a continuing source of friction. 

[retired nuke]

At VY, the only on call positions are management. Union folks are expected to respond, if fit, for an emergency - but there is no "on call duty" for the union. We get the weekly pager / phone test, but we aren't even required to respond to it.....

But yes, if it were real, and we were called - we would respond. Matter of pride and all....after all, we live here.

[allforthenukie]

At Point Beach we have 1 RP tech and 1 Chem tech on shift 24/7.
Switching back and fourth from 12ves nights to 12ves days can really start to suck after a while, but I would rather do that than be "on call" 24/7. At least I can have a beer on my personal night/day off.

[Dustball]

At VY, the only on call positions are management. Union folks are expected to respond, if fit, for an emergency - but there is no "on call duty" for the union. We get the weekly pager / phone test, but we aren't even required to respond to it.....

But yes, if it were real, and we were called - we would respond. Matter of pride and all....after all, we live here.

Very similar here at Monticello.  1 RP/1 Chemist 24/7.  12 hour rotating shift schedule which follows the operations crew.  Which is nice.  You always have the same ops group with you.  Union RP's have pagers for non-working hours and respond if they can.  No 60 mile rule or fit for duty rules apply.  If you get the phone/pager test you just let them know your response time to the plant and if you're fit for duty.  If we didn't go union 3 years ago more than likely we would have been carying required pagers by now.

Just read the news clipping.  Our chemists are cross trained as RP.  Our plant has been considering the possibility of having 2 RP's on backshift.  Rumors are this year sometime.  But you know how that goes.

[hamsamich]

salem had on-call chemtechs, and although I didn't do it but once, it sucked.  I think I got paid 2 hours of straight time to be on call all weekend.  and Salem is a Union plant.  i think it should be 4 hours a day pay, and I still wouldn't do it unless they made me.

[jjordan]

We also have an ERO qualified chem tech on shift. He isn't HP qualified, although a lot of our chem techs could be if they wanted too. some work the HP side as jrs during the outage, and do an excellent job. Do they think that the on duty chemist doesn't have anything to do during an emergency? Hmmm, during some of our drills, I do recall they send the chem techs on missions too. I think reducing the required number is foolish. In drills I barely have time to pretend I'm doing something. I hope I never see a real crisis. Making all of our staff carry beepers, not travel more than an hour from the plant, and stay fit for duty without any compensation, isn't fair.

[grantime]

Currently Farley isn't a union plant.-- (yet).. How is the issue of on call emergency responce positions handled at plants with union HP groups?  Do they pay on call pay? Is it handled by supervisory staff?

[Limited Quanity]

Watts Bar staffs 1 chem tech, 2 RP techs, and 1 RP supv. on the backshifts to meet our REP.  We work a 5 crew 12 hr rotation and keep a 6 person straight days crew also.  Sounds like a hefty staff for a one unit site but we cover alot of maintenance on the nights and weekends.   What I've heard from other folks some plants work everything on dayshift and it can be pretty kicked back after hours.  We are issued the pagers too but aren't forced to wear them when off site.  TVA didn't want to pay the 4 hr pager pay for being on call.

[retired nuke]

Watts Bar staffs 1 chem tech, 2 RP techs, and 1 RP supv. on the backshifts to meet our REP.  We work a 5 crew 12 hr rotation and keep a 6 person straight days crew also.  Sounds like a hefty staff for a one unit site but we cover alot of maintenance on the nights and weekends.   What I've heard from other folks some plants work everything on dayshift and it can be pretty kicked back after hours.  We are issued the pagers too but aren't forced to wear them when off site.  TVA didn't want to pay the 4 hr pager pay for being on call.

Good point about maintenance - my usta plant had a maintenance backshift. VY does not have a maintenance backshift, unless we are in LCO work (RHR HX, Pump rebuild, etc). Extra RP Techs are offerred OT to cover the maintenance period. We get paid a schedule change (12 hrs pay for the annoyance of changing to the backshift unscheduled...) and if the mantenance work doesn't run for the whole week, we get paid for the transition day to get back on days while we sleep...called rest time
Yeah, unions are bad...