A very well-organised mens household

The revision of the Beznau nuclear power plant is a complex undertaking and is probably one of the most strenuous and at the same time most fascinating phases of the year. It is a time when one of the KKB's reactors is shut down, but our colleagues are working flat out. At the heart of this operation is the overhaul office. This is where everything comes together. It's a small world of its own, which I was allowed to immerse myself in for half a day. 

Michi and Dani, the two shift supervisors who run the overhaul office, are considerate enough not to start too early, taking into account my commute. So at 7:00 a.m., I walk through the office door. Dani admits that I've already missed the first big rush at this time of day. Most of the workers have already received their assignments. 

The inspection office is divided into two parts: first there is a kind of entrance area with compartments for the various departments and a counter. Behind it are four workstations, flanked by plant plans and diagrams. On the left are the various parts of the secondary plant, on the right the primary plant. Work on the electrical systems is organised from a separate office next door. In this inspection office, all orders carried out on the mechanical and nuclear parts are meticulously coordinated and monitored. This is where orders are issued, checked, timed and put in the right order. And, incidentally, a cherished tradition is upheld: Sugus for everyone! A welcome sweetener in what is often a strict daily routine. The atmosphere is a mixture of concentrated professionalism and family cohesion. Everyone knows each other, some of them having worked together for decades. 

Precision work in Beznau 

Various employees, both internal and external, come to the inspection office this morning. They pick up orders, collect signatures or have questions about the plant. Their papers are covered in abbreviations and they speak in a technical foreign language. I don't understand a word, but Dani and Michi immediately know which part of the plant is involved. A quick check in the planning tool and the diagram on the wall, and the situation is clarified. I am repeatedly speechless at the extent of their knowledge of the plant. No wonder, as both have been working at the Beznau nuclear power plant for a long time. Michi has been there almost as long as I have been alive. This loyalty to the company is not uncommon at KKB and is the basis for the family atmosphere. The two shift supervisors answer all my questions – even the critical ones. When I ask about their filing system, Michi just smiles and says, ‘That's just our male household.’ An inappropriate allegory, in my opinion, because the inspection office at KKB is anything but chaotic.

What I witness this morning in the audit office is the result of a well-coordinated team. Many KKB employees have been busy planning and preparing for the audit for months. Each department evaluates which work, tests and inspections are due on which parts of the plant. These are compiled by the specialists and the corresponding orders are created. Each order has a dossier which, in addition to the order, the plant components, their location, their specifications and the necessary switching operations, also contains important occupational safety information.

Anyone who thinks that work can simply begin as soon as the plant is taken off the grid is mistaken. Valves must be opened or closed, tanks emptied or filled, the power supply to individual parts switched off or on, and much more. There are around 2,500 work orders with countless switching operations in this overhaul. They are all written, checked and coordinated by the overhaul office and assigned to the shift group. Michi explains to me how everything works, and the melody from Tetris comes to mind. All these orders, all these switching operations – they are interlinked, sometimes interdependent, and must be coordinated in terms of timing. No wonder, then, that the orders and the associated activities are checked a thousand times and reviewed again before execution. Kay, also a shift supervisor, is checking an order on the primary system using the diagram on the wall, and I imagine I can understand the order. Shortly afterwards, we accompany the shift handover in the control room and I overhear two operators having a conversation that I don't understand at all. I express my observation as we leave the plant, but Michi waves it off. ‘If you were here for a few weeks, you would understand these conversations and the inspection.’ I'm not so sure about that.