PCM project at NRG Pallas

Purpose of the project

NRG Pallas (Nuclear reactor for medical isotopes in Petten) is legally obliged to transport historical radioactive waste to COVRA in Zeeland. Prior to this transport, the waste must be sorted and then packaged multiple times in a specially equipped facility.

This installation was realized in a former storage location, which had to be converted into a nuclear zone before it could be put into use. This required a careful project-based approach, in which safety, regulations, and technical feasibility were central. Within this context, Ditio led and supported several projects.

Ditio's Expertise

Ditio has started implementing Primavera P6 at NRG Pallas to gain better insight into:

• the status and progress of ongoing projects,
• the coherence between projects,
• and the deployment of resources within the organization.

After successful implementation, NRG Pallas hired its own planner to carry out daily planning activities. This created a need for additional project management capacity. A consultant from Ditio filled this role and took responsibility for managing and executing multiple projects within the waste processing program.

Challenges and solutions

The projects within this program were all unique in nature, which increased the complexity. There was no standard approach possible, and each project required a customized solution. In addition, the projects operated within a nuclear organization, where safety requirements, procedures, and regulations carry significant weight.

In practice, this meant:

• long-term and careful decision-making,
• involvement of many internal and external stakeholders,
• and a strong dependence on established processes.

Ditio advanced the projects by closely monitoring the processes, providing clear guidance on scope, and explicitly organizing decision-making. By creating clarity in planning, responsibilities, and dependencies, projects could be continued in a controlled manner, despite the complexity of the environment.

Results

The main project was successfully implemented from the initiative phase through to outsourcing. In addition, two smaller projects, which had been making little progress for some time, were finally completed.

With this, NRG Pallas has taken concrete steps toward the safe and regulated disposal of historical radioactive waste, with a clear project structure and progress monitoring.

What did we learn in this project?

This project demonstrates that Ditio not only supports organizations in the areas of planning and capacity management, but can also be deployed flexibly when the situation requires it.
By combining planning expertise and project management experience, Ditio can quickly adapt to changing needs within complex, regulated environments.