Wyle Laboratories and ARES Corporation have signed a teaming agreement to jointly pursue commercial nuclear equipment qualification optimization programs for new nuclear power plant construction and U.S. Department of Energy facilities with the goal of significantly reducing costs to its customers.
Cost savings will be achieved through use of historical data contained within proprietary databases, prequalification of equipment vendors, and the use of test planning and engineering experts in their fields.
"Wyle and ARES bring together the best nuclear testing and analytical capability in the world," said Jim Neu, Wyle senior vice president and general manager of its Test, Engineering and Research unit. "Utilizing ARES's and Wyle's combined engineering and testing capabilities, the team will provide total solutions for all equipment qualification requirements."
The companies will develop a qualification program applicable to a wide range of equipment; provide analysis services of qualifications and use of commercial grade equipment; and provide time estimates and costs for equipment qualifications. The result will be an easily tailored qualification program that can be plant/equipment/elevation specific, resulting in lower costs to its customers.
"The team's approach is to provide planning, analytical solutions and equipment testing that takes advantage of existing qualification test data to minimize the total scope of the equipment qualification program," said Dick Stuart, CEO and president of ARES Corporation. "This approach will provide a significant reduction in the overall equipment qualification program costs."
