BENCHMARKING TRANSPORTATION LOGISTICS FOR EFFECTIVE SYSTEM PLANNING

This paper presents preliminary findings of a benchmarking project by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) to identify best practices for logistics enterprises. The results will help OCRWM’s Office of Logistics Management design and implement a system to move spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste to the proposed Monitored Geologic Repository located at Yucca Mountain, NV for disposal. An initial effort examined three Federal radioactive material logistics operations that are widely viewed to be successful: (1) the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, New Mexico; (2) the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program; and (3) domestic and foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel acceptance programs. More recently, OCRWM examined logistics operations of AREVA NC’s Business Unit Logistics in France. A future phase will analyze specific domestic commercial campaigns and significant movements of non-radioactive hazardous materials. The report also suggests topics for additional study.