Monday, March 23, 2009
Change is………good?
We had a meeting with the site VP, the superintendent of Operations, Operations training manager, Operations Manager and all of the instructors on Friday. It looked bad, like the class was going to be canceled or something similar and it was, in a way. The staffing at the other unit sucks, and this is causing the SRO’s at that unit to want off of shift even more and the lack of availability of positions is causing them the same SRO’s to leave. So, in an effort to stem this hemorage, our class was changed to Unit 2. This is a definite issue with some of us, so much in fact that we will most likely lose 2 candidates, one RO and one SRO. My initial reaction is that from a field operator or licensed RO point of view, Unit 2 sucks because of the layout of the plant, but that the newer control room components may be nicer in the long run. As an aside, Unit 1 was licensed and operating before TMI-2 and Unit 2 was re-modeled and licensed after. It makes a huge difference in layout, but not so much in system operations. More updates as they occur!!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
more cautious advice
Here is the last of the scoop that I'm sending to my young nuclear buddie (minus the summary), for your enjoyment!!
So what does it take to get into a SRO program at a commercial plant? Lets start off with what the actual regulations are here (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/power-reactors/active/01-008/) and basically say that you need 2 years of experience in a “reactor operator” role. This is the reason for the interpretation of 2 years as an EWS, for non-RO navy guys. For my plant if you were in the navy at all and have a bachelors degree in an engineering field, you can get in. I will warn you that there are many companies (mine included) that will try to get a guy like you to start out in the non licensed role “to get some experience.” This is because, industry wide the work force is aging and they are desperate for all operators. This is how I ended up where I am, along with the fact that the SUBASE in Groton was on the BRAC list and none of the normal government contractors were hiring when I got out. I have a lot more experience in the plant and will have a much easier time in systems training than a SRO candidate off the street, but once you hire in, the company can decline to take your application for SRO until it is a their convenience (once again, my experience).
As for pay and overtime, I can only vouch for my plant which is unionized. The top step non licensed operator makes about 32$ an hour, RO’s make about 38$ an hour with a 5$ an hour bonus and standard rate (negotiable) for SRO’s is about 100K per year. We are currently working a 6 shift schedule with one week of afternoons, one week of midnights, one week of training days, and 2 weeks inplant daylights. Its not a bad schedule if you can handle the backshifts. The NLO’s and RO’s work some overtime, the “hogs” make a bundle (from 100K to 130K) but are always on site working overtime. They get time and a half for their “Saturdays” and doubletime for their “Sundays” so the overtime pay adds up quick. The SRO’s make overtime at a straight time rate, but at least get paid for it which is more than I can say for you guys. The company makes a 50% contributition to your 401K up to 3% (you put in 6% they put in 3%) and pays prorate for college courses, like for your masters degree. I can only assume that the other utilities are paying similarly, with area cost of living corrected.
So what does it take to get into a SRO program at a commercial plant? Lets start off with what the actual regulations are here (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/power-reactors/active/01-008/) and basically say that you need 2 years of experience in a “reactor operator” role. This is the reason for the interpretation of 2 years as an EWS, for non-RO navy guys. For my plant if you were in the navy at all and have a bachelors degree in an engineering field, you can get in. I will warn you that there are many companies (mine included) that will try to get a guy like you to start out in the non licensed role “to get some experience.” This is because, industry wide the work force is aging and they are desperate for all operators. This is how I ended up where I am, along with the fact that the SUBASE in Groton was on the BRAC list and none of the normal government contractors were hiring when I got out. I have a lot more experience in the plant and will have a much easier time in systems training than a SRO candidate off the street, but once you hire in, the company can decline to take your application for SRO until it is a their convenience (once again, my experience).
As for pay and overtime, I can only vouch for my plant which is unionized. The top step non licensed operator makes about 32$ an hour, RO’s make about 38$ an hour with a 5$ an hour bonus and standard rate (negotiable) for SRO’s is about 100K per year. We are currently working a 6 shift schedule with one week of afternoons, one week of midnights, one week of training days, and 2 weeks inplant daylights. Its not a bad schedule if you can handle the backshifts. The NLO’s and RO’s work some overtime, the “hogs” make a bundle (from 100K to 130K) but are always on site working overtime. They get time and a half for their “Saturdays” and doubletime for their “Sundays” so the overtime pay adds up quick. The SRO’s make overtime at a straight time rate, but at least get paid for it which is more than I can say for you guys. The company makes a 50% contributition to your 401K up to 3% (you put in 6% they put in 3%) and pays prorate for college courses, like for your masters degree. I can only assume that the other utilities are paying similarly, with area cost of living corrected.
Cautious advice!?!
One of my readers sent me and email this week and asked me for some advice concerning his term in the Navy and transitioning to the commercial industry. I only had enough time to send him my thoughts on his Navy time but will generate something on the comercial industry later. Here it is for your enjoyment:
Man, do I wish that I had your options! I will give you the same advice that I gave to my last several guys in your position when I was on active duty. Keep in mind that the economy was in much better shape and that there were a lot of jobs out there. Hey, be a savvy nuke. The navy promised you a boatload of stuff to get you to enlist, make sure that you get it all before you let them off the hook. The GI bill, advanced qualification (EWS), and other cool stuff is what you can get if you have the perseverance to make the navy give them to you. It might not sound too sweet now but here is what I would do:
Firstly, adopt a pseudo-lifer attitude. Keep your nose clean, be on time, have a sat haircut, don’t smell like booze (all of the time). Tell your goat (EMC) that you want to qualify EWS and start showing up at training. Don’t really ask, just do it. If anyone gives you a hard time, ask the XO why it is so hard to just get ahead in the engineering department and schmooze up the EDMC. It may seem fake, but you will need to have some “political skills” when you get into the real world anyway. Consider it an exercise in character. You don’t have to like it just do it long enough to get thru your board. For an EM this qual is like gold in the commercial industry.
Second, start talking up p-type. Like when the EDMC or ENG or XO can hear you. Sound cautiously interested. If you demonstrate significant interest you will get “command attention.” Once you get the attention you want, get the command to do the bargaining for you. Just remember that no matter what the XO says, he really can’t get you orders. Once you get to prototype, there are several colleges that will cater to you taking on campus classes or doing distance learning. You NEED to finish your degree before you get into the crap in the commercial world. So go there and get it done. Don’t get distracted by those Charleston hotties or the babes in the spa at Ballston.
Thirdly, hold out talking about reenlisting until the very last. Make it a bargaining tool for yourself. Remember that the money isn’t worth it but, the other benefits and the money just may be. Bargain for all that you can get including quals as EWS as a second (my ET2 did it) or the best orders. And remember, that if things don’t go right or you get pissed, you never, NEVER have to reenlistment or sign the contract. Even on the day of your ceremony.
Man, do I wish that I had your options! I will give you the same advice that I gave to my last several guys in your position when I was on active duty. Keep in mind that the economy was in much better shape and that there were a lot of jobs out there. Hey, be a savvy nuke. The navy promised you a boatload of stuff to get you to enlist, make sure that you get it all before you let them off the hook. The GI bill, advanced qualification (EWS), and other cool stuff is what you can get if you have the perseverance to make the navy give them to you. It might not sound too sweet now but here is what I would do:
Firstly, adopt a pseudo-lifer attitude. Keep your nose clean, be on time, have a sat haircut, don’t smell like booze (all of the time). Tell your goat (EMC) that you want to qualify EWS and start showing up at training. Don’t really ask, just do it. If anyone gives you a hard time, ask the XO why it is so hard to just get ahead in the engineering department and schmooze up the EDMC. It may seem fake, but you will need to have some “political skills” when you get into the real world anyway. Consider it an exercise in character. You don’t have to like it just do it long enough to get thru your board. For an EM this qual is like gold in the commercial industry.
Second, start talking up p-type. Like when the EDMC or ENG or XO can hear you. Sound cautiously interested. If you demonstrate significant interest you will get “command attention.” Once you get the attention you want, get the command to do the bargaining for you. Just remember that no matter what the XO says, he really can’t get you orders. Once you get to prototype, there are several colleges that will cater to you taking on campus classes or doing distance learning. You NEED to finish your degree before you get into the crap in the commercial world. So go there and get it done. Don’t get distracted by those Charleston hotties or the babes in the spa at Ballston.
Thirdly, hold out talking about reenlisting until the very last. Make it a bargaining tool for yourself. Remember that the money isn’t worth it but, the other benefits and the money just may be. Bargain for all that you can get including quals as EWS as a second (my ET2 did it) or the best orders. And remember, that if things don’t go right or you get pissed, you never, NEVER have to reenlistment or sign the contract. Even on the day of your ceremony.
Monday, March 9, 2009
moving forward??
The questions in question were indeed the controller and fuel defect questions. By Friday we had convinced the staff that the controller question was OK, and when the “interim exam key” came out excepting both answers, the whole issue became mute.
There are several differences in the Navy and commercial schools of thought and one was illustrated by the exam. The commercial industry does not mathematically include the terms for reactivity addition and source neutrons in the reactor period equation. One of my esteemed classmates is in the process of getting his masters degree in nuclear engineering and is familiar with derivation of the period equation. He agrees that several of the misunderstandings that our other classmates had would have been avoided had these factors been included. The other part of this issue is that the commercial industry (at lease here) stresses reactor period vice SUR for their classroom instruction and testing. This leads to inaccuracies in conceptualization for questions like the effect of changing the average effective delayed neutron fraction over core life. Using the SUR equation, it is easy to see this effect, using reactor period is more difficult.
As for this particular exam, I did get a 98%. Please believe me when I say that I am not bragging. If you can pass NPS and get thru NPTU, you should be able to ace this exam. I have a particular problem of often answering overly simple questions completely wrong. I call this “head in ass syndrome” and did a great job overcoming it during this phase of training. I started with missing an average of 3 questions to this syndrome per exam to 1. This is not perfect but a marked improvement.
This morning we started the systems portion of the training process with some basic print reading and some test taking techniques. At the outset it would seem that these topics would have been more effective prior to the GFES exams but they are painfully in depth for our plant. Once again, if you have ever been at the schematic level in a tech manual, you can make this work. Right now I’m just trying to stay awake……
There are several differences in the Navy and commercial schools of thought and one was illustrated by the exam. The commercial industry does not mathematically include the terms for reactivity addition and source neutrons in the reactor period equation. One of my esteemed classmates is in the process of getting his masters degree in nuclear engineering and is familiar with derivation of the period equation. He agrees that several of the misunderstandings that our other classmates had would have been avoided had these factors been included. The other part of this issue is that the commercial industry (at lease here) stresses reactor period vice SUR for their classroom instruction and testing. This leads to inaccuracies in conceptualization for questions like the effect of changing the average effective delayed neutron fraction over core life. Using the SUR equation, it is easy to see this effect, using reactor period is more difficult.
As for this particular exam, I did get a 98%. Please believe me when I say that I am not bragging. If you can pass NPS and get thru NPTU, you should be able to ace this exam. I have a particular problem of often answering overly simple questions completely wrong. I call this “head in ass syndrome” and did a great job overcoming it during this phase of training. I started with missing an average of 3 questions to this syndrome per exam to 1. This is not perfect but a marked improvement.
This morning we started the systems portion of the training process with some basic print reading and some test taking techniques. At the outset it would seem that these topics would have been more effective prior to the GFES exams but they are painfully in depth for our plant. Once again, if you have ever been at the schematic level in a tech manual, you can make this work. Right now I’m just trying to stay awake……
Friday, March 6, 2009
The GFES saga continues.......
You may think that after taking the actual exam, that the candidates would know if they passed or failed in short order. The truth is that much like the rest of the government, the NRC is bound by its own red tape. Here’s the rundown of how it’s going for us.
27 February, the exams came on site. The instructors that reviewed the exams or were proctors had to sign a statement to the NRC that they had no “technical” conversations with the students prior or during the exam period.
01 March, the instructors took the exam to generate the “preliminary onsite key.”
03 March, the exams were administered and Fedexed back to the NRC. All of the sites administering the test did so at the same time (i.e. east coast started at 1200, west coast started at 0900). We were not allowed to have any electronics or access to phones during the exam period (until 1500). As part of the unofficial evaluation, the instructors and the class reviewed each question and came up with a “best guess answer,” using the preliminary onsite key and looked for questions that may have not had a correct answer or may have had more than one correct answer.
06 March, when the NRC has received all of the exams, they will transmit via email their “preliminary” answer key. This key is preliminary because if there are challenges to the exam or key, they will be evaluated before the final key is sent out
??? the final answer key is out and the final grades are approved once all challenges are answered.
I am not concerned by the bureaucracy as I either scored a 94, 96 or 98, I just find it kind of amusing.
The rest of the “funny” associated with the exam is that one of the instructors that took the test, is hell bent that one of the answers is wrong and needs to be challenged and the rest of us think that it is just fine. He got it wrong by the way (and yes he is an @##$$).
27 February, the exams came on site. The instructors that reviewed the exams or were proctors had to sign a statement to the NRC that they had no “technical” conversations with the students prior or during the exam period.
01 March, the instructors took the exam to generate the “preliminary onsite key.”
03 March, the exams were administered and Fedexed back to the NRC. All of the sites administering the test did so at the same time (i.e. east coast started at 1200, west coast started at 0900). We were not allowed to have any electronics or access to phones during the exam period (until 1500). As part of the unofficial evaluation, the instructors and the class reviewed each question and came up with a “best guess answer,” using the preliminary onsite key and looked for questions that may have not had a correct answer or may have had more than one correct answer.
06 March, when the NRC has received all of the exams, they will transmit via email their “preliminary” answer key. This key is preliminary because if there are challenges to the exam or key, they will be evaluated before the final key is sent out
??? the final answer key is out and the final grades are approved once all challenges are answered.
I am not concerned by the bureaucracy as I either scored a 94, 96 or 98, I just find it kind of amusing.
The rest of the “funny” associated with the exam is that one of the instructors that took the test, is hell bent that one of the answers is wrong and needs to be challenged and the rest of us think that it is just fine. He got it wrong by the way (and yes he is an @##$$).
Miss Atom? you have to love the Russians
Looking at the PROS website the other day, I found that the former soviet republics have a Miss Atom contest each year. At first the thought is ludicrous, but on further inspection (and translation) it is a spotlight on careers in infrastructure and engineering for women. And hey, they are cute too. Check it out at http://miss2009.nuclear.ru/?from=300 and you may want to open a bablefish window to find out that all they want is a good job, a good husband and world peace.
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