NextEra Energy's Fleet Operations Training Manager Chuck Sizemore (Click to enlarge.)
NextEra Energy’s fleet operations training manager, Chuck Sizemore, oversees the initial licensing and continual training of reactor and senior reactor operators at the company’s five nuclear energy facilities in Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. Sizemore has 27 years of experience in the U.S. Navy and the commercial nuclear power industry and currently chairs the industry’s Licensed Operator Focus Group, which works with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to promote effective operator licensing and training programs.
Q: What is the most interesting aspect of your job? The most challenging?
Sizemore: The most interesting aspect of my job is working with colleagues who have a wide range of experience in the industry. Some of my colleagues have worked at nuclear plants since they were being built in the 1960s, but there are quite a few who are right out of the Navy or recent college graduates. Helping these individuals to obtain a reactor operator license and develop their careers is very satisfying.
Every day, I ensure that I am driving the standardization of processes and procedures at all five of our plants. This allows our plants to use what we call “fleet muscle” to learn from each other and improve every day. Standardization is an important part of the equation because it streamlines the process of incorporating operating experience and lessons learned from other facilities. Our oversight procedures and initial license program are standardized across our fleet of nuclear plants, and we’re currently in the process of standardizing all of our training procedures and the licensed operator re-qualification program.
Q: Walk us through the process of becoming a licensed reactor operator at one of NextEra’s plants.
Reactor Operators Train In Control Room Simulators
Sizemore: To get into the program, a candidate has to meet education and experience requirements, which includes having a high school diploma and first becoming a non-licensed operator, which takes 14-18 months. The licensed reactor operator program is about 18-24 months long and includes classes on reactor theory, power plant components and thermodynamics, as well as training on plant systems, procedures and processes. Next, the training moves into the simulator–which is an exact replica of the plant’s control room–where they do on-the-job training and are trained and evaluated on tasks by licensed operators. The program also requires hundreds of hours in the actual control room as an extra staff member on-shift to gain direct experience under the control and direction of a licensed operator.
When prospective operators complete their training, they prepare for the NRC Operator Licensing Initial Exam, which tests both knowledge and skills. In addition to taking an extensive written exam, candidates are tested on two to three scenarios in the simulator and evaluated on tasks in both the simulator and inside the plant itself. NRC representatives travel to the plant to administer this exam.
Q: What kind of training is required to maintain a reactor operator’s license?
Sizemore: All reactor operators are required to participate in a continuing training re-qualification program, which has both fixed and flexible components and includes both written exams and scenario training in the simulator. Every plant analyzes the types of tasks performed by operators at their facility and they determine how often to retrain operators on certain tasks. About 80 percent of that is fixed and goes through a two-year cycle. Twenty percent of the re-qualification program is based on operating experience, ensuring that we incorporate lessons from the other NextEra plants and the industry as a whole.
Q: How are reactor operators trained to prepare for emergencies and extreme events?
NextEra Energy's Dan Dueno trains a non-licensed operator (Click to enlarge.)
Sizemore: In addition to our regular training programs, we do drills and graded exercises on emergency preparedness. We put the operating crews in the simulators and run scenarios on a wide variety of situations, including events that are beyond what each plant is designed to withstand. During these drills and exercises, we work with county, state and federal agencies to test our emergency preparedness capabilities. Some of the drills take as long as two days to complete. Following each exercise or drill, the participating emergency response personnel conduct an in-depth critique of our performance to identify any areas needing improvements.
Q: Do you think training standards in the nuclear power industry will change as a result of the Fukushima accident?
Sizemore: NextEra Energy took very aggressive action following the Fukushima event to re-validate all of our equipment and processes to ensure that we are ready for these types of events. Our fleet operates in prevention and detection, which means that if we spend most of our time detecting or preventing issues, we can avoid having to correct problems. Our standards are very high, but they are always evolving since we’re constantly in pursuit of excellence. As an industry, we’re reviewing guidelines and procedures that reactor operators use to respond to extreme events to make sure that we’re even better prepared than we are now.
Training standards improved after the 9/11 attacks and they will also improve as a result of Fukushima.
Q: How does the NRC oversee and regulate the training process?
Sizemore: The NRC administers and evaluates the initial licensing exams. Additionally, NRC resident inspectors, who work onsite at each plant to oversee and inspect the facility’s day-to-day operations, perform monthly and quarterly observations of the initial license training program as well as the license operator re-qualification training program. Every two years, an NRC licensing inspection team goes to each plant to perform licensed operator re-qualification inspections. This team inspects the training program, simulator and license maintenance of reactor and senior reactor operators, and observes them taking the re-qualification exam that is being administered and graded by the utility. The NRC grades the exams simultaneously to ensure that the results match and that the utility has the same high standards as the NRC.
Q: How does the training in the nuclear power industry compare to other industries?
Sizemore: In my opinion, our training standards are more rigorous than any other field, including aviation.
I attended Navy flight school, so I’ve gone through aviation training and have also been able to operate commercial flight simulators. Their training standards are extremely high, but I believe our training program is even more challenging. A lot of people just don’t realize how difficult the program is that we put individuals through to become a licensed reactor operator.
Currently, about 60 to 70 percent of prospective reactor operators make it through the program, and these are people that meet extensive education and experience requirements prior to even being enrolled into the program.