It would be remiss of me not to start this week's blog without mentioning the awful attack that took place in Paris last week. 129 people killed with many others injured all in the name of religion. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be on an evening out on a normal Friday and to suddenly be set upon by terrorists. The fear these people must have felt, the complete disregard for life displayed and families loosing Mothers, Fathers, Brothers, Sisters, Husbands, Wives, Partners and Best Friends. You can only imagine the grief these people are feeling. The fear this attack has instilled in people going about their day to day business is obvious. On Saturday I had to sit and explain to my 9 and 11 year old why this had happened when I didn't really understand it myself. I had to hold my youngest whilst she cried as she didn't want me to go to London in a couple of weeks as she thinks I will be killed. If this whole situation wasn't bad enough now there are daily reports of Muslims being attacked. The two latest attacks I have read about one was verbal and one was physical and both were on women. They were being attacked for their religion and it is so very sad. As I explained to my children these terrorists aren't Muslims they are extremists who have taken parts of a religion and twisted it so they can inflict pain and death on others in the name of their God. I may not be religious but what I do know is regardless to your religion no God would allow you to inflict harm and suffering onto others. The principals of all religion are based around kindness and respect. It is so hard with all that is going on to not hate and not be scared, but I watched a video made by a man who lost his wife and mother of his son in the shootings. He simply said "I will not hate you and I will not live in fear as if I do then you have won. I will live my life with freedom and have laughter and love for me and my son then I win and not you." What he is saying is so true. These people want us to be suspicious of other people, they want us to hate, they want our fear, they want us to fight one another, they want us to attack Muslims and by doing this they win. They take your freedom, they take your humanity, your kindness and your love. I for one will not allow that to happen. I will grieve for those lives lost but remind my children every day that life is for living and loving, as are the people in it.
So moving on with the blog. There hasn't been much nuclear news this week so I will keep the blog brief.
Sellafield
A 50 tonne 'transfer tunnel' has arrived at Sellafield and has been successfully hoisted into place in the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo building.
The tunnel is the main component of the first Silo Emptying Plant (SEP) – one of three massive 360-tonne machines which will scoop out the highly radioactive contents of the building as part of its decommissioning.
The silo, which was built in the 1960s, contains waste created during the early days of the nuclear industry. It represents one of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's four highest priority decommissioning jobs. The other three are also at Sellafield.
The silo is now well beyond its operational life and its contents must be removed so they can be stored in more modern facilities before the material is ultimately consigned to the UK's underground repository.
Installing such a large and weighty piece of kit into a 50-year-old building containing some of the most hazardous material stored anywhere in the UK is a huge logistical challenge.
The metal structure, which was manufactured by Ansaldo NES at its engineering base in the West Midlands, first had to be transferred to a warehouse about two miles from the Sellafield site.
It was then sent to the site at walking pace on a flat-bed truck operated by a 'driver' following behind the load.
The next morning it was hoisted up into the silo building through a gap with only 20mm clearance either side and secured in place.
Attention will now turn to delivering the remaining components of the SEP machine so it can be assembled in situ before it can begin retrieving waste, currently scheduled to start in 2018. Production of the two remaining SEP machines is still ongoing.
The start of waste retrievals at the silo will mark the beginning of approximately two decades of work, with the final material expected to leave the building in about 2038.
Sellafield Ltd announced in October that it expects the silo to be cleaned up quicker and for about £1bn less than originally planned following a switch to a simpler method of treating and storing the material.
The original plan to treat the waste via a complex 22-step method has been shelved in favour of a 'raw waste' storage option that simply places the material untreated into containers, with a final finishing step added prior to its consignment to the underground repository.
NDA
This week saw the commencement of the court case EnergySolutions vs NDA.
EnergySolutions are suing because they wrote to the NDA expressing its concerns about the adequacy of the procurement process and requesting further information following notification they had not been successful with their bid to continue to manage the Magnox sites. EnergySolutions did not issue proceedings within the ten-day standstill period and the NDA entered into a contract with the successful bidder. EnergySolutions brought a claim for damages within the 30-day period, alleging breaches of the 2006 Regulations.
It will be interesting to see the outcome of this.
EnergySolutions & Atkins
Another mention of ES this week was the news that they have signed a definitive agreement for the sale of its Projects, Products and Technology business to WS Atkins plc.
Atkins will pay $318 million for the PP&T business, which is comprised of EnergySolutions' North American government, Europe, and Asia businesses. Atkins will hire approximately 650 EnergySolutions employees pursuant to the agreement. EnergySolutions will retain its logistics, processing and disposal ("LP&D") business, its reactor decommissioning business, including current projects at Zion, IL and LaCrosse, WI, and its North American utility services, including liquid waste processing, fuel pool services, and other commercial projects.
Nuclear industry is too white, too male and too middle-aged
First of all this wasn't my title this was one from In-Cumbria on Monday. My title would have been Nuclear industry too white, too male and too old! (Ha ha ha )
So this headline came from Al Mather who is the former CE of Centre for Leadership Performance.
The report reads as follows:
"She argues that, as in nature, diversity is the key to success in business and the nuclear industry is nowhere near diverse enough.
Mrs Mather said: "If you happen to attend one of the many nuclear shindigs and conferences you will notice a common theme – male, white and middle aged – a singular form a sociocultural monopoly that has featured for many years.
"Monopolies on the whole are viewed as unsustainable, risky and undesirable. "However, in our nuclear world we have all let this be the status quo for some considerable time."
"Diversity delivers business results. "The fact is that companies that have both male and female board members perform better.
"To be fair, the nuclear industry has started to grapple with how to promote women. "But diversity is not merely about gender," she said.
"Having a diverse team in terms of race and sexual orientation, as well as gender, enables and facilitates different perspectives to become part of the company narrative and in turn will lead to better, more rounded thinking, creativity and results.
"Ultimately, a diverse labour base will better enable UK plc to engage with, and play a leading role in the global nuclear renaissance.
"If the nuclear industry is serious about bridging the looming skills gap, developing a more dynamic and effective supply chain and engendering a stronger culture of innovation, then making a conscious decision to mix it up a little might be a good start."
This did make me chuckle and also made me realise my own business USP. So not only are we the best nuclear recruitment business but we are an SME (tick one) We have 3 female and 2 male employees (tick two) We have an employee of mixed ethnicity (tick three) and an employee of a different sexual orientation (tick four). – What more reasons do you need to work with our business? We tick all your socio economic and diversification boxes!
Britain's Energy Coast
News has come out last week regarding Steven Szostak the current MD of Britain's Energy Coast. After 3 years he will be stepping down today and handing the reins to Michael Pemberton who is currently working for BEC as a Programmes Director. He will aim to draw up a strategy to secure the long-term financial future for BEC, in order to deliver regeneration into the west of Cumbria.
Nuclear Institute
I would like to give a little plug to the Nuclear Institute as I believe it is something that everyone in our industry should be involved with. I used to think that it was only open to really clever people with Engineering degrees and doctorates but this really isn't the case and they welcome all people who can display professionalism within the industry. Here is some information on what they do and if you aren't a member please do think about getting involved:
"As a charity (No:1125404) we work with our members to promote high standards of professionalism as well as support education and training in the nuclear sector.
Our work in education and training involves offering a variety of services, events and resources for everyone from young people in schools and universities, to professionals, the government and the general public. These events and resources provide information on a range of subjects, such as advice on career pathways; the discussion of technical issues which can advance nuclear science, engineering and technology; and basic information to help public understanding of nuclear sciences and their impact on society and the environment.
In the interests of public safety, we also promote high standards of education and professional performance within the nuclear industry. We have previously done this by developing the Nuclear Delta™, which is the leading document for outlining the professional standards for the entire UK nuclear industry. Each of our professional members have shown that they have reached this standard as part of the membership process.
We promote education, careers development and maintain the standards of the industry by providing the following:
•Lectures, seminars and training events
•Outreach to schools and the general public about nuclear energy and careers in the sector
•Awards to students and professionals
•The Nuclear Delta, ensuring the safety and competency of professionals
•Accreditation of nuclear professionals through our membership process
•Support to individuals' career development and recognition (including registration as an engineer and scientist)
•Networking opportunities for industry members
•A range of printed resources and online media for education and training
The Nuclear Institute also publishes its journal, Nuclear Future, every two months which contains news and information about the industry as well as a number of high quality technical articles.
NuExec
We have been very busy these past couple of weeks and are delighted to be working with some new clients too. In addition, Matthew did a great presentation at the BECBC meeting in launching NuExec Recruitment and came away with some work, so a job well done. We always have time to take on more though so if your company, regardless of industry, is looking to recruit Exceptional Individuals or you yourself are looking for a career move please do get in touch.
It Doesn't Only Happen To Me!
I was delighted at the Cluster meeting last week when a lady came and had a chat with me. She told me that she really enjoyed my blog, especially this section as she was relieved that these things didn't only happen to her. So she proceeded to tell me a story. It made me laugh so much that I have decided to share her story with you. So this is how she told it:
"I was rushing one morning to get my kids out of the house to school and pulled my cardy out of the tumble dryer. Now, it was one of those with that really static material which everything sticks too. I peeled off a sock that had stuck to it and headed to the car. I ran the kids to school and as I was walking back across the road the lollypop man approached me. "Excuse me are these knickers yours?" He was holding up a black thong! I was outraged why an earth would I be dropping my knickers in the middle of the street. I gave him a stern look and said "Of course they aren't mine," Feeling rather annoyed by the lollypop man's outburst I headed to the office. As I walked in one of my colleagues stopped me and said you have a sock on your cardy and proceeded to peel it off. Then it hit me! The black thong obviously was mine and had been stuck to my cardy and it must have fallen off as I crossed the road!"
See, these things don't only happen to me!
Until next time.....