We are excited to announce that our consultants Ben Phillips and Dean Yates will be delivering three expert talks at the American Nuclear Society’s 14th International Nuclear Plant Instrumentation and Control & Human-Machine Interface Technology (NPIC & HMIT 2025) conference. Covering critical topics across nuclear safety, digital transformation, and regulatory innovation, these talks highlight our contribution to advancing the resilience, efficiency, and future-readiness of the global nuclear industry.
Adopting CAE: A Deployment Approach for a Performance-Based Nuclear Industry
Our Managing Consultant Safety Engineer, Ben Phillips, will be presenting the paper “Adopting CAE: A Deployment Approach for a Performance-Based Nuclear Industry" written in collaboration with the Office for Nuclear Regulation and EDF Nuclear Services. The paper explores the benefits of performance-based approaches to regulatory compliance in the nuclear industry - offering greater flexibility, innovation, and focus on key safety outcomes compared to traditional prescriptive methods.
While many international nuclear industries are shifting towards performance-based approaches, widespread adoption still faces significant challenges. Common concerns include the perceived high costs of training, and the risks associated with deviating from established processes.
Our paper discusses how incorporation of performance-based approaches complements and strengthens existing safety frameworks, aligning them with positive real-world trends and enriching the nuclear engineering skillset. We look at how successful adoption can be achieved through the application of the Claims, Arguments, Evidence (CAE) methodology, and how the uptake of this approach is being facilitated in the UK by a tiered training programme harnessing a spiral model of learning to incrementally build skills and experience for practitioners at every level.
Date: 17 June 2025
Time: 3:15 CDT
Access the paper here.
Digitisation of NPP I&C Systems via Wireless Technologies
Our Consultant Safety Engineer Dean Yates will be presenting a paper: “Digitisation of NPP I&C Systems via Wireless Technologies.” The paper provides a comprehensive review of the current constraints across various regulatory regimes that affect the use of wireless technology in Instrumentation & Control (I&C) systems within nuclear power plants. It further assesses recent research into emerging wireless technologies and examines how these advancements may influence regulatory frameworks - highlighting their potential to support future deployment in the nuclear industry.
Focusing on WirelessHART, the paper also presents the outcomes of our security-informed hazard analysis performed using a wireless test bed. A key part of this work was a collaborative sandbox workshop involving the UK nuclear regulator and industry stakeholders, allowing for open, non-regulatory discussions of the risks and opportunities associated with wireless deployment in nuclear applications.
The paper, offering insights and recommendations, aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse on the safe and effective integration of wireless technology in nuclear I&C systems.
Date: 17 June 2025
Time: 4:35 CDT
Access the paper here.
Evaluating IEC 62671: Implications for Safety Justification of Embedded Digital Devices in I&C Systems
Ben will return to the stage for a second presentation at the conference, this time focusing on the paper “Evaluating IEC 62671: Implications for Safety Justification of Embedded Digital Devices in I&C Systems”.
Compliance with IEC 62671 is increasingly being recognized as a means of demonstrating the adequacy of development processes for digital devices of limited functionality. But how does this standard compare to other approaches and standards used in the nuclear industry and other safety-critical sectors?
The paper discusses where the requirements of IEC 62671 strengthen or extend other practices, and areas where its requirements may not be sufficient to support device’s safety justification. It also examines the practical challenges of applying traditional clause-by-clause compliance methods to IEC 62671, given its broader scope and structure. Finally, it considers the potential implications for nuclear safety arising from the differences between IEC 62671 and alternative established approaches.
Date: 18 June 2025
Time: 1:40 CDT
Access the paper here.
Adelard is commited to supporting the safe, effective, and forward-looking evolution of nuclear technologies. Through technical leadership, collaborative research, and active engagement with regulators and industry, we aim to contribute meaningfully to the future of nuclear safety and innovation.