Concept For An In-field Inventory Assistant To Strengthen IAEA Inventory Activities

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed the concept and user experience for an in-field software assistant to support a variety of nuclear item inventory activities at nuclear fuel cycle facilities. The concept was modeled after the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) paper-based item counting and tag checking of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) cylinders at fuel fabrication and enrichment plants which may have thousands of cylinders. The proposed inventory assistant was designed to significantly reduce the number of person-days of inspection (PDIs) currently expended by the IAEA, and it could be integrated into the IAEA’s existing workflow to enhance their ability to conduct inventory activities more quickly, accurately, and reliably. The assistant provides capabilities to digitally record field observations, quickly display discrepancies between provided listings and actual observations, and to maintain records of actions to resolve discrepancies. The authors suggest that significant PDI savings can be achieved, and the IAEA can apply these savings to conduct other more impactful on-site verification activities. The proposed assistant consists of two software components—one for the inventory teams to record observations in the field and one for the inventory lead to (1) distribute the inventory list to each team, (2) integrate the observations from each team, and (3) reconcile the inventory list with observations. This paper discusses the concept and proposed workflow, illustrates key conceptual screens, and describes the anticipated PDI savings.