EDF unveils "excell", an excellence plan for the nuclear industry

This morning EDF is unveiling "excell", a plan that will drive the nuclear industry to achieve the highest standards of craftsmanship, quality and excellence. The execution of this plan will be overseen by a senior officer in charge of manufacturing standards, training and qualification, reporting directly to EDF’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Excell will start being rolled out in 2020, with 100 million Euros being specifically earmarked for the period of 2020 - 2021. The plan will rest on three cornerstones:

1. Enhancement of manufacturing quality:

• An in-depth overhaul of the customer-supplier relationship seeking a more balanced risk sharing, as well as the establishment of contracts that align with manufacturing standards. The choice of suppliers will put stronger emphasis on quality requirements. Suppliers will also be more actively involved in the drafting of specifications and the assessment of manufacturability.
• A new supplier qualification scheme will be implemented for the construction of new reactors, making expectations more stringent and potentially extending to level-2 sub-contractors and beyond.
• For the most critical operations, stricter qualification criteria and record-keeping systems will be used, thereby guaranteeing the quality of parts.
• The senior officer in charge of manufacturing standards, training and qualification will investigate malfunctions and will ensure that best practices are implemented by EDF, FRAMATOME and the nuclear industry as a whole.
• These guiding principles have been transposed into Framatome’s strategic plan with a view to improving the quality of its manufacturing process.

2. Boosting skills:

• EDF will consolidate the initiatives taken by the business alongside GIFEN with the founding of a University specifically dedicated to nuclear disciplines.
• A knowledge management system will be used to capitalise on the industry’s knowledge and disseminate this knowledge within EDF’s engineering centres.
• Diversified career paths will be established within EDF and the industry as a whole, as well as between the manufacturing, construction and operations disciplines.
• The nuclear industry will establish a specific plan for the hiring and training of welders, who will be qualified to meet the industry’s standards.

3. Tighter governance of major nuclear projects: For each major project, EDF’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer will chair a strategic committee whose role it will be to review the project’s initial data, to set its objectives, costs and timeframes, to review the associated financial commitments and to approve key contracts. The Board of Directors will be regularly briefed on the progress of these major projects.

Jean-Bernard Lévy, EDF’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: "The excell plan is expected to lay the groundwork for a renewal of confidence in France’s nuclear industry, as well as to address the challenges described in Jean-Martin Folz’s report. Our aim is to ensure that nuclear power, a carbon-neutral energy source, continues to fulfil its pivotal role in the fight against climate change".