Background
TACIS programmes for Nuclear Safety agreed upon between the European Commission and the relevant beneficiaries of those states, contained provisions for on-site assistance.
Since 1992 at Kola NPP were operating the following diagnostic systems: primary circuit vibration monitoring system, loose part monitoring system and primary circuit acoustic leak monitoring system. The experience with the diagnostic systems had shown that the nuclear safety can be improved using reliable outputs from these systems. The development and project of the diagnostic systems for Kola Units 1 and 2 had been carried out by VNIIAES with the help of Siemens, but it was not assumed to supply the NPP with spare parts, and the reliable operation of those systems can be guaranteed only if spare parts are available. In the meantime the relevant software and hardware reached an advanced stage of development, and it was considered useful to enable the plant to adopt the improvement in software and hardware installed (new computers, new diagnostic modules).
This project interacted with TACIS 93/R2.02 “Service and maintenance centre for diagnostic systems”, which had as tasks to develop know how transfer and service for the diagnostic systems at NPP.
Objectives
The main task of the project was to ensure that the installed diagnostic systems would reliable operate and support the operational staff and specialists with additional information.
The specific objective of this project was to provide the beneficiary with contractor expertise in the needed managerial, technical and commercial aspects to achieve an operational safety improvement by ensuring the reliable operation and upgrading of the existing diagnostic systems with the following activities:

• procurement of spare parts for fast component exchange of diagnostic systems in case of sudden failure
• procurement of equipment and materials for safe data storage of the results and output of the diagnostic systems
• upgrading of the existing diagnosis systems in order to provide the operational staff with the information about safety related events noticed by the diagnostic systems
• training of the Kola NPP personnel to operate and maintain the diagnostic systems as well as to interpret the data obtained from the diagnostic systems
• linking the diagnostic systems with plant wide computer network

Project Results
The project beneficiary was Rosenergoatom and the end-user was Kola NPP.
During the contract period, the project progressed from contract signature to the stage of provisional acceptance.
The project results were the following:

• enabling the NPP personnel to carry out a fast maintenance and repair of diagnostic systems using spare components in case of failure
• upgrading the existing diagnostic system to adopt the improvements in the development of hard and software
• providing the Kola NPP with devices, hardware and PC to install a reliable diagnostic data storage, to archive the data, to make an off-line analysis for further investigation and to enable data transmission to the service centre in Moscow
• providing Kola NPP with local diagnostic computer network to link the diagnostic system with the control room to support the operational staff with relevant information about leakage, loose parts and vibrations of primary system components
• ensuring a high level of training of the personnel of Kola NPP to operate and maintain the diagnostic systems as well as to use the information from the diagnostic system to improve safe operation of the NPP
• providing Kola NPP with small measuring equipment

The delivered hardware consists of:

• spare parts for the diagnostic systems
• upgrading of the diagnostic systems (new hard and software, and documentation)
• special PC controlled measuring instruments

All spare parts and equipments delivered were subject to an entrance quality control performed by the end user staff.
The contractor provided technical assistance and support to the end-user to achieve reliable operating diagnostic systems by:

• delivery of spare parts for the diagnostic systems to ensure that the personnel at the NPP can fast repair and maintain them in case of sudden failures of the diagnostic systems
• development of procedures to repair and maintain diagnostic systems with the method of exchange of components

The contractor provided technical assistance and support to upgrade the diagnostic systems, by:

• adopting the improvements in the development of hard and software of single diagnostic systems
• providing technical supervision and assistance for installation of PC and network components and linking them with the diagnostic system as well as with the plant wide computer network

The contractor provided training of the end-user personnel involved in the project, in the elaboration of work plans, organizational schemes and work procedures. The training programme was related to operation and maintenance procedures for diagnostic systems as well as interpretation of diagnostic system results.
To allow the end-user to make special measurements (vibration measurements) the contractor was in charge to procure small measuring equipment. The equipment was PC controlled and consisted in an 8 or more channel-measuring device with amplifier, filter, RMS-unit, ADC and a common software to process the measured data.
The first draft of the project was suspended since the on-site Assistance Consultant at Kola NPP, KLE (Kernkraftwerke Lipp-Ems), ended its activities; it was later replaced by Finnish nuclear operator TVONS. The Procurement Agent (PA) Italtrend sent on 26 November 1998 a proposal to the EU for entering into a direct agreement with Siemens, with the overall project schedule of 12 months. The ToR was issued on 15.01.2001 and TS were developed on 16.03.2001. On the 18.02.2002 Framatome ANP submitted via Italtrend to NPP and EU a new offer proposal, taking into account the Kola NPP needs and budgetary constraints. Instead of full modernization of the system “SUS” the supplier proposed absolute displacement SAUM-sensors with corrective amplifier as the heart of SUS system. Kola NPP accepted the proposal.
Contract was signed between Kola NPP and Framatome (supplier) on 21.06.2002.
The conformity certificate of GOST was prepared by the supplier. Italtrend coordinated the procedures for customs clearance, for which Minatom certificates for transportation and EC delegation statement for free of charge supply were needed. The supplier stated earlier that the conformity certificate is not necessary for the spare parts, which are in conformance with the basic supply of the diagnostic equipment. However, the supplier promised on 03.07.2003 to submit the certificate.
Kola NPP received the spare parts on 06.10.2003. The custom clearance of equipment took 2 weeks. Representatives of suppliers visited Kola NPP in October 2003 and made an arrival inspection for equipment. The warranty period expired on 06.10.2004 (one year period). The project is completed.