On-line documentation in the nuclear industry

Nuclear power plants have to manage and control a large quantity of information, much of it in paper form. This includes equipment manuals, drawings, and documents relating to plant procedures. Not only are there a large number of paper documents to be maintained, there are often multiple revisions to the documents. It is often difficult and time consuming for plant personnel to find the required documentation, and there is always the concern that the documentation does not contain the latest information and revision. Electronic documentation can be used as an alternative or enhancement to paper documentation. Electronic documentation allows equipment manuals, plant drawings, and plant procedures to be available on a computer. Electronic documentation can be used to improve plant operation and enhance operator performance. Different system configurations are available. Electronic documentation can be distributed on stand-alone systems, networked systems, or integrated with plant computer systems. The approach to electronic distribution determines how a plant will manage and control the documentation and the availability of information to plant personnel.