Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted
Require Sellafield Ltd to explain actions addressing deteriorating asset condition and maintenance team productivity.
Conclusion
The failure of the Replacement Analytical Project illustrates the need to improve asset management at Sellafield. Sellafield is frequently in a race against time to complete work before assets (such as buildings or equipment) reach the end of their life or risks materialise (particularly as changes to planning assumptions can affect many other facilities on the site). Poor asset management caused Sellafield Ltd’s long–term plan for analysing waste to become incoherent: it did not understand what physical state its laboratories were in, or do the right remedial work to address their deterioration. Although Sellafield has resolved some of the maintenance issues which emerged during the COVID–19 pandemic, there is still a growing backlog of maintenance tasks that need to be performed. There are worrying implications for safety: malfunctioning equipment has limited Sellafield Ltd’s ability to retrieve waste from its oldest facilities, while its safety experts have warned that the deteriorating condition of assets is making the site increasingly unsafe. recommendation Alongside the Treasury Minute response to this report, Sellafield Ltd should write to the Committee to explain how it is addressing the deteriorating condition of its assets. This should include information about the specific actions it is taking to increase the productivity of its maintenance teams, and what impact these actions have had, and are expected to have.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation has been implemented. Sellafield Ltd has sent a letter outlining its asset management approach, including a targeted Asset Management Intervention launched in 2022, whose outcomes will be embedded into business-as-usual operations.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The Sellafield site contains a complicated asset base of over 900 buildings plus associated plant and infrastructure. Some assets are currently operational - many at or beyond their original intended lifespan. For some, the capability is not required in the long term and so it is more affordable to extend their lifespan by maintaining rather than renewing them, even though this increases maintenance demands. For others, long-term capability is required, and new assets are being built to replace the old ones. Some facilities are already redundant and awaiting demolition, but removal would not reduce the nuclear hazard, and so funding is not a priority. However, maintenance of assets is still needed to avoid conventional safety risks. As a result, the asset base is growing and safety, performance, and value for money across redundant and core operational assets requires careful balance. Solely increasing the productivity of maintenance teams misses the demands associated with the complex picture outlined above. There are greater benefits to be gained from focused improvement in other aspects of asset management. In its letter to the Committee sent alongside this Treasury Minute response, Sellafield Ltd set out its asset management approach including a targeted Asset Management Intervention launched in 2022. Programme outcomes will be embedded into business-as- usual operations to ensure sustained improvements in asset care and improved alignment with the principles of ISO55000 (Asset Management). Progress is monitored by the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency. Sellafield Ltd benefits from independent internal peer review through the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO).