Moving to Outage work

[nickelrodent]

Hi I have a question for you guys and gals. I am moving from a shipyard Radcon position to an Outage position and I was wondering what I really need to know that will be different and where I can find it. I am currently reading and re-reading the NPs and RPs, I have read up on DPMs as we use uuCi at the shipyard. I have been talking to people at work that have helped with outages. I just want to be a valuable worker (and not make to much of an ass out of myself). Any help is appreciated. Thanks

[61nomad]

How many years experience in shipyard radcon do you have?  Will you be starting out as a Jr or Sr HP?

[nickelrodent]

almost 5 years in the shipyard and I will be going as a Sr.

[tolstoy]

Hi I have a question for you guys and gals. I am moving from a shipyard Radcon position to an Outage position and I was wondering what I really need to know that will be different and where I can find it. I am currently reading and re-reading the NPs and RPs, I have read up on DPMs as we use uuCi at the shipyard. I have been talking to people at work that have helped with outages. I just want to be a valuable worker (and not make to much of an ass out of myself). Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Sounds like a good attitude. Expect to see are the 'dose is dose' concept played out (no respirators), a cavalier approach to anything under say twenty or thirty mr/hr and higher contamination than you're probably used to, and an emphasis on 'git-r-done' - safely, but still git-r-done. And if you ever want to alienate the staff start constantly whining that  'this isn't the way we do it in the shipyards...'

[nickelrodent]

So......

Hi I have a question for you guys and gals. I am moving from a shipyard Radcon position to an Outage position and I was wondering what I really need to know that will be different and where I can find it.

Still wondering what I should be reading up on/need to know?

[GLW]

So......


Still wondering what I should be reading up on/need to know?

check your PM's,...

[Marlin]

And if you ever want to alienate the staff start constantly whining that  'this isn't the way we do it in the shipyards...'

Excellent point, adaptability is key.

I just want to be a valuable worker (and not make to much of an ass out of myself). Any help is appreciated. Thanks

  At a fundamental level dose is dose and contamination is contamination, but, each facility is it's own process system that produces different contaminates in different physical and chemical manifestations, to some extent from a PWR to another PWR or BWR to BWR but definitely if you work DOE or some of the D&D projects. Listen to the old timers in the facility, you may have to endure a couple of dubious horror stories but experience is frequently more important than theory, theory will help you with the unexpected or unknown. The mechanics, operators, and technicians that you will be covering likely have done the job before and are a good source of information (trust but verify here   ). I have not been on the road for a while but I enjoyed it when I was, I made sure I saw the local sites from the Everglades, to the Smithsonian, to San Onofre state park and on and on for over 15 years.
  I am not sure that being a Road Tech is a career unless you are very good about handling your own finances and aggressive about job shopping to stay employed when and where you want to be. At the end of each job you are unemployed possibly with the promise of more work from the contract company. If you are good with that let the adventure begin.


I hope you enjoy your little adventure and good luck.  

[61nomad]

Not having shipyard or Navy experience I can't really relate but job coverage is basically the same whether it is a commercial plant, DOE, or shipyard.  If you really want to study something, study 10CFR20 and the design of the plant that you will be going to just so you have an idea of the layout.  When you get there just study the procedures and follow them.  If you get along with people and are a team player you will enjoy the change of scenery I think. Yeah, and people don't want to hear stories about the Navy or the shipyards  

[nickelrodent]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to a PWR so it is relate-able to what I am used to. Are layouts of reactors available online? I will be reading 10CFR20 asap. Thanks for the advice/help. 

[Marlin]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to a PWR so it is relate-able to what I am used to.

You shall see 



I expect you will do good, the hundreds of other shipyard techs who have made the same move are doing fine.

Post us with your impression after doing the outage your observations could be helpful to others considering the same move.

[RDTroja]

Be prepared to endure a great deal of culture shock.

[tolstoy]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to a PWR so it is relate-able to what I am used to. Are layouts of reactors available online? I will be reading 10CFR20 asap. Thanks for the advice/help. 

Check out American Nuclear Power Plants by Bill Runge - one of the guys that hangs out here quite a bit. He gives a good basic overview.

http://www.americannuclearpowerplants.com/

[nickelrodent]

Check out American Nuclear Power Plants by Bill Runge - one of the guys that hangs out here quite a bit. He gives a good basic overview.

http://www.americannuclearpowerplants.com/

Thanks!


And I expect more than a little culture shock. Thats why Im asking all these questions to try and ease the fall, not going to lie, its a little intimidating leaving everything your good at to try something new.

[nickelrodent]

Check out American Nuclear Power Plants by Bill Runge - one of the guys that hangs out here quite a bit. He gives a good basic overview.

http://www.americannuclearpowerplants.com/

Good Read. Just a well written book.

[hamsamich]

I bet you will do less air sampling and less wearing of respiratory protection gear.  You may do more dose intensive work instead of contamination control work.  You may be working with higher comtamination levels with "looser" controls than you are used to.  Alpaha contamination may be less important than it used to be for you.  Not a whole lot of handi-counts being used.  Most of the time smears are counted in the field with a portable meter, alpha is either not done or sent to the count room at many plants, although some plants have portable alpha.  It is hard to find a portable alpha meter at many plants.  RAM controls may be loose compared to what you are used to.  You will probably have less help and reley on your own skills for job coverage.  There won't be "a guy on the air samples, a guy at the door, a guy assisting you, and a guy over the line with a radio waiting on you".  You might have one person helping you, but maybe not.  There aren't as many "fake" contaminated areas in commercial nuclear power.  I have worked shipyard DOE and commercial, but haven't worked shipyard for a long time.  So take everything with a grain of salt. As usual, the training you receive at the plant and the way it gets done out in the plant are varying degrees of different for different plants.

[surf50]

You also may feel "time pressure" (perceived, of course) to get the job done ASAP, and typically without the materials/instruments you need when you need them.
Make sure you know where you can find supplies quickly.

And like anywhere else, first impressions last a long time. Make it count.

You'll do fine.

[Ksheed]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to a PWR so it is relate-able to what I am used to. Are layouts of reactors available online? I will be reading 10CFR20 asap. Thanks for the advice/help. 

This link will give you a couple different layouts. It may not have the one your are going to but there is sure to be one of similar design.

http://econtent.unm.edu/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=/nuceng&CISOSTART=1,1

[nickelrodent]

Thanks for the replies and the links!

[nickelrodent]

Just a quick reply. Loving the commercial side of the nuke world. So much more of a  common sense approach to things (if you havent seen the shipyard side you probably think im crazy). Thanks for the help. NEVER  GOING BACK!!!!!!. 

[GLW]

Just a quick reply. Loving the commercial side of the nuke world. So much more of a  common sense approach to things (if you havent seen the shipyard side you probably think im crazy). Thanks for the help. NEVER  GOING BACK!!!!!!. 

I have not gone back either, not for > 22 years,....

Never say never,....