The business unit Nuclear Measurement (BU NM) has been recognized as a leading provider of nuclear measurement solutions for several decades. What is perhaps less understood, however, is the important role that it plays in administering a vital data sharing platform used by all 104 Nuclear Power Plants in the US.
For over 20 years, the BU NM has been entrusted with administering the Personnel Access Data System (PADS) system for the US Nuclear Power Plant industry. PADS is a network of computer systems and an associated central database designed to increase the efficiency of in-processing of workers into nuclear power plants through data sharing.
Information contained within PADS includes:
- dosimetry,
- access data, including employee background check confirmations,
- fitness for duty information,
- training and skill-set data.
The PADS system was initiated in the early 1980’s by a group of utilities interested in expediting the process of staffing nuclear plants. A set of rules was agreed upon in 1988 and PADS was live by 1989. In 1994, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) assumed oversight of PADS and has implemented the program with every operating nuclear power plant in the US.
PADS has been the software system used to track nuclear power plant workers for the entire US Nuclear Power Plant industry since 1999. Over 400,000 individual workers are documented in PADS, saving the industry valuable processing time for workers who are in the system. Though an incredible amount of data is being managed and safeguarded, just a handful of BU NM employees work on this program that has been providing valuable data to improve the efficiency of the nuclear industry for over 20 years.