OREANDA-NEWS. November 27, 2007. Heads of IT services of nuclear power companies met in Moscow in late Oct 2007

The conferees discussed problems of IT policy and approaches to the formation of the target IT architecture and IT strategy of the nuclear power industry. 

The director of the IT Department of Atomenergoprom OJSC, Professor Viktor Vyazgin has told us about the results of the meeting.

— Mr.Vyazgin, who was the initiator of the meeting?

— The initiator of the meeting was the IT Department of Atomenergoprom OJSC. Atomenergoprom has not taken full shape yet. That’s why we sought to get acquainted with our colleagues from other nuclear power companies and to exchange our views of the problems and prospects of information technologies. Our second objective was to outline specific IT strategy and IT policy for the nuclear power industry and ways of their development and implementation. Our third objective was to discuss the principles of organization and financing of corporate IT projects and centralized purchases of IT resources.

— What does your department do?

— Our department has several important functions: first of all, to ensure the elaboration and to control the implementation of conceptual documents, such as IT concept, target IT architecture and IT policy; corporate IT planning and control; IT budget; organization and control over corporate IT projects and centralized purchases of licensed software, IT equipment and IT services; tenders and contracts, etc..

One of our key projects was the formation of a single reference data system. In order to implement single technical, price, purchase and other policies, we need single information system. Until now each company (and even its departments) has had its own reference book. But most of the books are incomplete, inaccurate and, most importantly, unavailable.

For example, the general contractors of new NPP projects — Moscow, St.Petersburg and Nizhniy Novgorod Atomenergoproekts –use different equipment and material reference books and find it difficult to unify their projects.

Now, by establishing Atomenergoprom, we have created a real chance to unify all local reference data systems into one corporate database. Our specific proposals on this and other urgent corporate IT projects were discussed and supported during the meeting.

— Is your department planning to build a corporate information system?

— To create a corporate information-communication system is the key task of our department. The corporate system will integrate all local systems into single information space.

The concept of corporate information-communication system is not new. Such systems have long been designed and introduced worldwide. However, we don‘t yet have a system that could embrace the whole sector.

The first step towards integrated information-communication system is Rosenergoatom’s information-communication system. The system controls sales, purchases, finances, capital construction, maintenance, modernization, personnel, bookkeeping, reference data, information safety, electronic document flow. The pilot projects have been carried out at the Central Office of Rosenergoatom and Balakovo NPP. Volgodonsk NPP is testing the possibility of the system’s replication for its further introduction at all REA nuclear power plants.

Head of Rosatom Sergey Kiriyenko has named Rosenergoatom as the basic company of the nuclear power industry in the field of IT, which means that the Concern’s major IT projects should be regarded as pilot projects of the holding and their products – organizational and technical solutions, technologies, systems – should be replicated at the other companies of the sector. That’s exactly what we are doing. Rosenergoatom’s IT solutions for resource management, capital construction, reference data, work flow are basic for Atomenergoprom companies and are being actively introduced therein.

— Who is taking part in the project?

— The project is being implemented by a group of 10 well-known IT companies led by Rosenergoatom Concern. The director of the project is the director general of the concern – presently, Alexander Lokshin.

It was not easy to create such a team: it took the companies a lot of time to come to terms. But now this team is our valuable asset, something we have no right to destroy.

Among the key participants are Inline Group (system integration and resource management), Documentum Services Russia (work flow), Intertex (reference data system), Computel (corporate system infrastructure), Informzaschita (information security). The applied IT systems are based on platforms accepted by Rosenergoatom as IT standards: SAP ERR, SAP MDM, EMC Documentum, Primavera.

— How much time will the project take?

— The system is already being designed but its construction will take several years. As regards sub-systems – the bricks of the house – their construction will take much less time. For example, by the end of this year we are planning to launch the first two sub-systems at Rosenergoatom and Moscow AEP (Novovoronezh NPP site) and then on the sites of the other two AEPs.

The key obstacle here is organization of financing. Corporate IT projects and centralized IT purchases require centralized financing. However, we have not yet formed our centralized financial-economic system and have to search for other solutions. During the meeting we discussed and approved a scheme stipulating that our department should undertake the role of integrator, while concerned companies should provide financing.

— What are the key results of the meeting?

— I believe that the meeting was a success. It was attended by Travin, Obozov, Apkaneyev, Sokolov, over 70 representatives of 52 companies. During the seminar the world’s leading vendors Microsoft, SAP AG, IBM, EMC, HP, Cisco and leading Russian partners presented their products and solutions. We would like to thank Intertex company for its active support.

The conferees signed a protocol approving the initiatives of the IT Department of Atomenergoprom OJSC for consolidating the IT activities of the companies of the nuclear power industry.