Tecnatom - Integrity inspection and Training for Industry Personnel

Tecnatom is an engineering company that has provided services to the nuclear industry since 1957. The company's main activities centre on the rendering of inspection and structural component integrity services, the training of electricity generating plant operations personnel by means of full-scope simulators and engineering in support of plant operation. Its main characteristic is the capacity to provide global services in an independent manner, but with full integration with the objectives of the client, such that maximum added value is obtained in its services.

TRAINING AND SIMULATION

More than 500 training courses and a team of highly qualified instructors guarantee training based on practical reality and adapted to the specific requirements of each client.

Electricity generating plants count on the collaboration of Tecnatom to train their personnel, to provide support in resolving operational problems and to improve production processes, guaranteeing the safety and availability of their facilities through tests, checks and analyses.

Tecnatom provides overall training services in the following fields:

• Organization of training centres
• Drawing up of training manuals and design of training profiles
• Development of advanced teaching resources (simulators, virtual reality, etc.)
• Delivery of complete training plans
• On-line training (e-learning system)
• Training consultancy

For the rendering of its services, Tecnatom count with the following training centres:

OPERATOR'S TRAINING CENTRE

The mission of the Operator's Training Centre is to train the operating personnel of the following areas:

• Nuclear power plants (PWR, BWR, KWU)
• Non-nuclear power plants (fossil, co-generation, combined cycle, hydraulic and diesel engines)

TRAINING CENTRE FOR SYSTEMS AND COMPONENTS MAINTENANCE

The training centre for systems and components maintenance is equipped with a hydraulic loop and actual equipment for practical drills.

Mock-ups and equipment identical to those installed at industrial installations are available. These facilities allow training to be provided in the three typical maintenance specialities:

• Mechanical, electrical and instrumentation and control
• Complete initial training programs for new groups and specific courses have been developed for on-going training programs
• Training of maintenance managers and supervisors
• Multi-subject training in the area of 'minor maintenance' (aimed fundamentally at such as plant auxiliary operators)

NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING QUALIFICATION TRAINING CENTRE

The NDT training centre provides training in different non-destructive testing methods at different levels of qualification:

• Ultrasonic
• Eddy currents
• Visuals
• Magnetic particles
• Dye penetrants
• Leak testing

These are delivered in accordance with the American SNT-TC-1A and the European UNE EN-473 standards, and prepare the trainees for the NDT certification examination given by the independent Spanish certification organization (CERTIAEND).

SIMULATOR DEVELOPMENT

Tecnatom develops full scale simulators for industrial processes with:

• Its own simulation technology, giving the models a highly accurate level of engineering
• Using UNIX and WINDOWS XX operating systems
• With thermo-hydraulic and neutronic codes (TRAC-RT and NEMO) with best estimate quality adapted to real time
• Man-machine interface (HM) based on its own developments
• Configuration control based on ACCESS as a central repository allowing automisation in the development of the simulator
• Advanced instructor posts
• Emulating processing computers or digital instrumentalisation systems and control

SIMULATOR OPERATION

Full scale simulators are an essential resource for the training of electricity generating plants, since they replicate the actual working environment in the control room.

In relation to simulator maintenance and operation, Tecnatom carries out four basic types of activities:

• Implementation of simulator modifications.
• Integral simulator maintenance service.
• Configuration control systems applied to simulator operation.
• Advisory services