001-48_126_RENEW_SEPT-OCT26_PT - Flipbook - Page 43
extensively on heavy-duty mock-ups to systematically test tasks
before launching them in live vaults.
Mark Philpotts-Delisser, deputy construction director with Aecon,
described these intensive trial sequences as vital to maximizing
e昀케ciency and dose management.
“Time trials are really important,” Philpotts-Delisser emphasized.
“Like I said, you’re almost rehearsing a ballet when you’re doing this
work, and it’s people like the fact in the neighborhood that everybody
is trained properly, they learn, and they can do this work e昀케ciently.”
This 昀椀eld-level perfection was driven by continuous process
adjustments, ranging from specialized tool kitting to implementing
motorized drives to remove ergonomic strain from the reactor face.
By utilizing continuous observation methods—or “waste walks”—the
昀椀eld crews stripped unnecessary transit time and friction out of every
operational shift.
Overcoming bottlenecks and commercial friction
A project spanning an entire decade will inevitably run into complex
human resource and technical challenges. According to David
Leclerc, senior project manager at Aecon, the key to scaling past
initial manufacturing bottlenecks, such as early de昀椀ciencies in weld
quality, is establishing robust structural loops that continuously feed
operational insights back into the trades workforce.
“Unit one is the lesson learned program and maintaining that
昀氀ow,” Leclerc stated. “That’s a key structural element of having any
improving projects unit over unit.”
By pulling workers through intense, multi-month training
Local energy
Long-term
resilence
pipelines, the team cultivated a highly skilled, legacy
workforce where personnel safely rose from entry-level
positions into critical supervisory roles.
Crucially, the panel highlighted that the ultimate driver of
this commercial predictability is the industry’s shift toward
Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) contract models. Traditional
infrastructure projects are frequently detailed by litigious backand-forth between clients and contractors. IPD completely
realigns those 昀椀nancial incentives.
“The fundamental of what makes this project, especially
DNNP work right now, is the IPD essentially,” Leclerc
concluded. “We’re not sitting in, ‘Well, you said you said,’
because you’re going to end up in change order management
for the entire project. A lot of that friction that comes from that
is resolved over; let’s all get to the same place because we’re all
in this together to get to that end goal.”
A model for global infrastructure
Canada’s current nuclear build-out is providing a masterclass
in modern asset management. By shifting away from isolated
silos, building long-term labor pipelines, and leaning into
shared-risk contract structures, the country’s energy sector
is demonstrating how to successfully deliver complex, clean
infrastructure at scale. As the industry moves into grid-scale
SMR development, the enduring relationships forged between
owners and builders remain the true backbone of the nuclear
renaissance. —JOHN TENPENNY
revay.com
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