Digital contract management for the RACE project with Thinkproject
Commercial & Contract Management from Thinkproject supports this crucial decommissioning work.
Project
RACE is responsible for definition, design and delivery of all equipment to ensure that the Active Cells is fully up and running in time for the start of operations at ESS. The project is part of the UK Government’s ‘In-Kind’ contribution to the ESS facility, providing support to the construction to secure a long-term stake in the facility.
To do so, they are working with multiple subcontractors all designing in parallel to meet the project deadlines. The equipment delivered will include two radiation resistant gantry cranes: one deploying a remotely latching grapple, and one deployed a pair of robotic manipulators via a 14 m long telescopic mast.
All the equipment to process and package the radioactive waste must be able to be operated and maintained by these cranes, as well as being able to survive in radiation levels that would be fatal to humans in a few minutes. The equipment includes radiation shielding doors with masses of up to 140 tonnes, diamond wire cutting stations to allow the waste to be cut into a manageable size and an integrated control system which allows operation of the facility from the safety of a control room.
Solution
The management and coordination of the subcontractors delivering each piece of equipment is vital to the project’s success. All the equipment must work together for the facility to do its job, and each piece of equipment must be delivered in a phased schedule to allow the complex installation to take place.
Thinkproject has been a key tool in allowing RACE to achieve this. The packages have been managed through Commercial & Contract Management (CONTRACTS), with a consistency of reporting and notification, allowing responsive and organised project delivery, prioritising actions and concluding issues in a timely manner.
The flow of the documents within our solution has allowed for easy completion of notifications and instructions, as well as keeping a record of all correspondance in one place which can easily be searched at a later date. Overall, Thinkproject has assisted in making the NEC suite of contracts easier to administer.