Ask MAS: does it pay to go nuclear?

WM reader: "I want to tender for a nuclear supply chain contract but have heard on the grapevine the process is highly onerous- is that the case?" Taylor-Jayne Fox: "As you would expect from such a safety-critical industry, the requirements of the nuclear supply chain are necessarily high,. However, a business committed to continuous improvement with experience in dealing with large company purchasing structures should be able to target the sector. "The areas you would need to address are:.nuclear safety understanding and human behaviour; your emphasis on built-in quality; the traceability of materials and comprehensiveness of your paperwork; and accurate costing for all aspects of production including third party inspection, and the life time cost of the part for servicing and maintenance. "MAS can provide assistance with all of these, helping you through the contracts and tendering process." WM reader: "What types of supply contracts are there for nuclear beyond the reactors and other obvious areas?" Taylor-Jayne Fox: "There are huge opportunities for supply contracts outside of reactor-specific work, not least of which is decommissioning and waste management which remains a high priority for Government and industry. "The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has committed to expenditure of approximately £3bn a year for the next four years which has already resulted in some fast-track projects being undertaken at sites such as Bradwell and Trawsfnydd. In addition there are many other on-going projects such as the UK Deep Geological Repository (proposed spend circa £50bn) and the fusion research at Culham, Oxfordshire. "The requirements of the nuclear industry really are vast providing numerous opportunities for SMEs with the flexibility and expertise to provide solutions."