Pictured L-R: Roger Turner & Bruce Sherratt

April 2013Issue 05

BBrruuccee SShheerrrraatttt rreettiirreessaafftteerr 4400 yyeeaarrss’’ sseerrvviicceeOne of Capula’s longest serving members of staff has

retired after more than 40 years of service.

Bruce Sherratt joined the company in July 1972 and

retired this week following a rousing send off from

friends and colleagues past and present.

In accepting gifts from the company and colleagues

in recognition of his achievement, Bruce said: “Working

for Capula has taken me all over the world. I am proud

of what Capula has achieved and the reputation it

enjoys in its industries, and am honoured to have

worked with the many colleagues and friends that make

the company what it is – this is what makes the

difference for me.”

Bruce joined Capula in 1972 after graduating from

North Staffordshire Polytechnic with a first class degree

in Electrical Engineering and was soon promoted to the

role of Senior Engineer where he was responsible for the

full implementation of developments and customer

projects from inception to final commissioning.

In 1979 he became Capula’s Quality Assurance

Manager and was responsible for the management and

implementation of the company’s quality management

system, ensuring client requirements are fully satisfied

while international system standards are complied with.

After formally qualifying in Safety, Health and

Environmental Management in 2006, Bruce took up the

role of Health & Safety Manager for Capula, acting as

the focal point for all issues both in-house and on

customer sites while also playing an active role as a

member of the North Staffordshire Health & Safety

Group Executive Committee.

Bruce and wife Shirley now plan to relocate to

Buckingham to be closer to their grandchildren.

Capula would like to place on record its sincerest

thanks for Bruce’s dedicated service throughout his

career and wish him a happy and relaxing retirement.

Chief Executive Roger Turner said: “Bruce has been a

cornerstone of the business throughout his career with

Capula, always in the right place at the right time to help

others. We wish him every success in his future years.”

IINNSSIIDDEE:: MMooddiiccoonn PPLLCC rreeppllaacceemmeenntt •• SSuuppppoorrttiinngg SSttookkee ffooooddbbaannkk •• TThhee SSeennttiinneell BBuussiinneessss AAwwaarrddss

www.capulanuclear.co.ukwww.capula.co.uk

positivenergyT H E Q U A R T E R LY N E W S L E T T E R F R O M C A P U L A N U C L E A R An Imtech Company

We)bid)a)fond)farewell)to)long-serving)Health)&)Safety)Manager

AAllll ssiiggnneedd uupp ffoorrSSkkiillllss PPaassssppoorrttCapula is pushing ahead with its commitment to the

training and development of our workforce to the

standards required by the nuclear industry in the UK.

After joining the National Skills Academy for

Nuclear in January, we are currently in the process

of integrating new methods into our existing

training and development programme.

Nuclear Services Director Alex Moore, pictured

below with National Skills Academy’s Julie Maykels,

said: “It is crucial to Capula’s continued success in this

industry that we demonstrate both capability and

experience in key areas. The training standards of

the Skills Academy help us achieve that.”

Capula has been commended by Sellafield Limited following the successful

completion of a contract to upgrade a number of PLCs within the Magnox East

River project area of the client’s Cumbria site. We replaced a total of 13

Modicon 684 PLCs which had reached their end of life with Rockwell

ControlLogix PLCs.

The contract was delivered in two phases – firstly to document what already

existed for each system and secondly to take those results and produce the

replacement code and finally build the cubicles. This involved creating a

simulation model at our secure facility in Stone and replicating how the real plant

behaves and then running the old and new systems together in parallel to

demonstrate the new system’s capabilities.

The level of confidence the client took from this was considerable, to the

extent that Sellafield plans to disseminate the learning from the project through

their PES Centre as good practice.

Paul Shallcross, MER CE&I Responsible Engineer for Sellafield Limited, said:

“The first PLC was successfully installed on time without any issues, which has

been recognised with the company as a major achievement.”

PPrraaiissee ffoorr SSeellllaaffiieelldd PPLLCC rreeppllaacceemmeenntt

nneeww ffuueell wwaassttee pprroocceessssiinngg ssaaffeettyy ssyysstteemmss hheeaalltthh mmoonniittoorriinngg rraaddiioollooggiiccaall ssuurrvveeiillllaannccee mmaatteerriiaallss ttrraacckkiinng life extension power generation defence EC&I design and manufacture IT solutions support services

Capula is celebrating after being recognised in this year’s

Sentinel Business Awards, which gathered influential

leaders from a range of industries at the King’s Hall in

Stoke-on-Trent to reward excellence among the region's

workforce. It was the biggest in its history with around

130 submissions from a broad range of entrants.

Capula was named as a runner-up in the SScciieennccee iinn

BBuussiinneessss category alongside The Green Electrician Group

and eventual winners Wells Plastics.

“We’re thrilled to have been recognised in this year’s

Awards and offer our congratulations to the fellow

nominees and winners for their success,” said Marketing

Manager Steve Braund, “We are proud of our local

Staffordshire heritage at Capula and it was pleasing to

see so many companies we enjoy good links with also

winning or being nominated for awards – together we

are working hard to make a real difference to the

region’s economy.”

Sentinel Editor-in-Chief Mike Sassi said: “The Awards,

now in its 18th year, goes from strength to strength and

the quality of this year’s entries was exceptional. The

judges really had their work cut-out and all of the

companies who made the shortlist deserve huge credit

for being outstanding examples of innovation,

endeavour and skill in their respective fields.”

Picture courtesy of StaffordshireSentinel News & Media

The Nuclear Institute North West branch’s series of

lectures for 2013 - sponsored by Capula Nuclear - got

off to an excellent start with three highly

informative events at The Centre, Birchwood Park,

Warrington.

The first, delivered by Francis Livens (Research

Director of the Dalton Nuclear Institute) in January

talked about The Committee on Radioactive Waste

Management (CoRWM) and its Role in Managing

Radioactive Waste Safely.

The second was given by David Watson (Project

Director GDA for the Office of Nuclear Regulation)

in February on the Regulation of Nuclear New Build.

March saw David Riley of URENCO ChemPlants

Ltd talk about the Tails Management Facility at

Capenhurst.

The next lecture in the series has been confirmed:

99tthh AApprriill -- RRVV MMoooorree lleeccttuurree -- JJooiinntt eevveenntt wwiitthh

IIMMeecchhEE -- TThhee CChhaalllleennggeess ooff pprrooccuurreemmeenntt aanndd

CCoonnssttrruuccttiioonn pprreesseenntteedd bbyy tthhee nneexxtt ggeenneerraattiioonn ooff

NNuucclleeaarr PPoowweerr PPllaannttss.. Chris Squires (EDF Energy) and

Tom Lambkin (Atkins). Manchester University.

As the leading gold sponsor of these events,

Capula Nuclear is proud to support these valuable

sessions.

CCoommppeelllliinngg ttaallkkssaatt NNII lleeccttuurreess

CCaappuullaa hhoonnoouurreedd aatt BBuussiinneessss AAwwaarrddss

SSuuppppoorrttiinngg llooccaall ffooooddbbaannkk iinniittiiaattiivveeCapula staff have raided their kitchen cupboards for

non-perishable food items to donate to the Stoke-on-

Trent foodbank, part of The Trussell Trust’s foodbank

network.

Foodbanks provide a minimum of three days

emergency food and support to people experiencing

crisis in the UK.

Capula staff at our Stone headquarters donated a

variety of items, including sugar, soup, pasta sauces,

tomatoes, cereals, tea bags and tinned meat, fish and

vegetables to create a number of food boxes collected

by St Dominic’s Priory School in Stone.

“Supporting our local community is very important

to us at Capula,” said Chief Executive Roger Turner, “and

in these difficult economic times, the foodbank network

provides a valuable service to those who need it the

most – we are pleased to support this initiative.”

Judy Dunk of St Dominic’s Priory School said: “Myself

and the students at St Dominic’s Priory School in Stone

have been working with the Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank

from its inception at the beginning of 2012. We have

found the whole experience inspirational and it has

given the students an appreciation of the issues that

have arisen from our current economic climate.”

new fuel waste processing safety systems health monitoring radiological surveillance materials trackinngg lliiffee eexxtteennssiioonn ppoowweerr ggeenneerraattiioonn ddeeffeennccee EECC&&II ddeessiiggnn aanndd mmaannuuffaaccttuurree IITT ssoolluuttiioonnss ssuuppppoorrtt sseerrvviicceess

UUKK SSEEIIZZEESS TTHHEE DDAAYY WWIITTHH NNEEWW NNUUCCLLEEAARR SSTTRRAATTEEGGYY

A new strategy published by the UK government sets

out plans to maximise opportunities for economic

growth in the nuclear energy sector home and abroad.

A joint statement by the UK's business secretary

Vince Cable and energy secretary Ed Davey, the

industrial strategy document entitled TThhee UUKK''ss NNuucclleeaarr

FFuuttuurree is the latest stage in plans to publish strategies

for eleven key sectors. It sets out the government's

"clear expectation that nuclear will play a significant

role in the UK energy mix in the future" and outlines

the government's plans to align the UK as a leading civil

nuclear energy nation.

A key commitment is £15 million to establish a new

National Nuclear Users Facility for universities and

companies doing nuclear technology research, with

centres at the National Nuclear Laboratory at Sellafield,

the Culham Centre for Fusion Technology and the

University of Manchester's Dalton Cumbrian facility. £18

million of support is to be awarded to 35 nuclear

research and development projects, while £12.5 million

is committed to the UK's decision to join the Jules

Horowitz Test Reactor Program. Future reactor designs

and their fuel cycles will be kept under review.

LLIIFFEE--SSAAVVIINNGG CCAASSEE FFOORR NNUUCCLLEEAARR

A landmark study has put the figure of 1.84 million on

the number of lives saved by the worldwide use of

nuclear power instead of fossil fuels. The report co-

authored by former NASA scientist James Hansen

presents a dramatic new case for nuclear energy.

It takes historic generation data from the nuclear

sector and estimating emissions from fossil fuels that

would likely have met the equivalent generation if

nuclear had not been used. Nuclear plants with poorer

performance below 65% capacity factor were swapped

for gas generation while higher performers were

swapped for coal, which worked out as a mix of 95%

coal and 5% gas replacing nuclear.

The results projected total emissions that would

have probably led to the deaths of 1.84 million people

between 1971 and 2009 based on average mortality

estimates from fossil combustion pollution. This is

probably an underestimate, said Hansen and co-author

Pushker Kharecha, noting that the life-cycle mortality

estimates are the biggest source of uncertainty in the

report.

UUKK SSTTAARRTTSS AABBWWRR DDEESSIIGGNN AASSSSEESSSSMMEENNTT

The generic design assessment for Hitachi-GE's

Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) has begun

with the signing of agreements by the company and UK

nuclear regulators.

The agreements follow a January 2013 request by

then-UK energy minister John Hayes for the Office for

Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Environment Agency

to conduct the GDA process for the ABWR, which

Horizon Nuclear Power is proposing to build at two UK

sites. The signature of a formal charging agreement

and regulatory nuclear interface protocol by the

regulators and the reactor vendor mean that the

process can now begin in earnest.

NNeewwss ffrroomm aarroouunndd tthhee NNuucclleeaarr iinndduussttrryy source: www.world-nuclear-news.org

CCAAPPUULLAA PPRRAAIISSEEDD FFOORR SSAAFFEETTYY PPEERRFFOORRMMAANNCCEE

Capula has been singled out for “outstanding safety

performance” at Liverpool Bulk Terminal by our client,

Hargreaves Industrial Services Engineering Solutions.

We were engaged by Hargreaves Industrial Services

earlier this year to implement a new control system at

Liverpool Port for E.ON’s new biomass bulk fuel terminal,

with our scope of work covering control system designs,

cable designs, cubicle manufacture, software

configuration, works testing, partial site installation and

commissioning of the new control system.

In March, the site reached a milestone achievement

of 150,000 hours accident free, described by Hargreaves

Industrial Services’ Managing Director Julie Haynes as

“truly remarkable”. She went on to say that “Achieving

such standards is the result of Capula’s commitment,

dedication and the effort by everyone involved.”

Capula’s Chief Executive, Roger Turner, said: “This is

a great accolade from Hargreaves Industrial Services

which speaks highly of the standards Capula continues

to strive for in project delivery. We look forward

to continuing our involvement and sustaining this level

of performance.”

BBAABBCCOOCCKK EEXXTTEENNDDSS CCAAPPUULLAA SSUUPPPPOORRTT AAGGRREEEEMMEENNTT

Babcock Communications has agreed a four year

extension of Capula’s support contract for the Broadcast

Control System Woofferton in Ludlow.

Woofferton transmitting station is a shortwave

broadcasting site, originally built by the BBC during

World War II to house additional shortwave (HF)

broadcasting transmitters. Following privatisation of the

BBC’s transmitting facilities in the 1990s, the site was sold

to Merlin Communications which was later acquired by

VT Communications who commissioned Capula to

replace the broadcast control system in 2008.

Babcock Communications then acquired VT

Communications in 2010 and now own and operate

global broadcast infrastructure that transmits over 1,000

hours of short- and medium-wave broadcasts every day,

linking broadcasters to their audiences worldwide.

Capula’s support contract allows for a faster response

to non-forecasted issues that could affect the operation

of the control system, increasing the overall

performance and uptime of the system as a result.

CCAAPPUULLAA AASSSSIISSTTSS AALLSSTTOOMM IINN BBUUIILLDDIINNGG TTHHEEIIRR OONN--SSIITTEE

CCUUBBIICCLLEE TTEESSTT FFAACCIILLIITTYY

Capula are providing control cubicles for Alstom’s new

on-site test facility. This project is the latest project

Capula have worked on with Alstom as part of our on-

going relationship with the leading global provider of

power transmission and smart grid technology.

Completion of this project means Alstom will have a

world leading facility in their Grid sector in Stafford from

which to test and support their HVDC and FACTS

Systems. This is particularly advantageous to Alstom with

their work on projects overseas, for which Capula has

provided cubicles over the past four years.

“The installation of this facility allows Capula to

improve upon the already high level of support we

provide to Alstom Grid on some high profile cubicle

build projects,” said Chris Conn, Transmission &

Distribution Manager for Capula, “Alstom will be able

to conduct system tests from Stafford prior to shipping

and installing overseas, resulting in time and cost

savings.”

TTHHIIRRDD PPHHAASSEE OOFF UUKK PPOOWWEERR NNEETTWWOORRKKSS’’ LLCCNNFF PPRROOJJEECCTT

Capula has successfully completed and delivered the

stand-alone phase of UK Power Networks’ Distribution

Network Visibility project (covering the London area)

and won a contract for the third and final phase.

The purpose of the £2.9m project, funded by the Low

Carbon Networks Fund (a £500m fund set up by Ofgem),

is to develop a smart central repository for data from

existing operational and business systems which can

then be combined, transformed and visualised to

provide greater understanding and insight into

interactions across the network.

Capula has developed a software tool to interface

with the central data repository based on the OSIsoft PI

System and implemented a series of models, analytical

approaches and visualisation solutions which allow raw

data to be turned into meaningful operational

information.

The third phase – integration – will see Capula

deliver improvements including new functionalities and

visualisations that will help UK Power Networks better

understand the condition of its distribution network.

“The Distribution Network Visibility project is a

significant one,” said Capula’s Business Development

Director Simon Coombs, “We are moving ever closer to

the implementation of smart grids in the UK and the

experience we have gained in this field has enabled us to

play a pivotal role in this landmark programme of work.”

WWhhaatt eellssee iiss hhaappppeenniinngg aatt CCaappuullaa??

WWhhaatt wwaass tthhee llaasstt ffiillmm yyoouu ssaaww??

Django Unchained – textbook Tarantino!

WWhhaatt aarree yyoouurr ppeettss ccaalllleedd??

I used to have a lodger who was barely

house-trained, but no pets otherwise.

WWhhaatt wwaass tthhee llaasstt bbaanndd yyoouu ssaaww lliivvee??

An Australian band called Karnivool –

they were outstanding.

WWhheerree ddoo yyoouu ggoo ttoo rreellaaxx??

I’m at my happiest when I’m at a gig

being deafened by loud guitars.

WWhhaatt rreeaaddiinngg mmaatteerriiaall ddoo yyoouu ggoo ffoorr

wwhheenn yyoouu ggeett aa ffeeww mmiinnuutteess??

Marketing Week or The Marketer. That

or the pizza delivery menu!

WWhhaatt’’ss tthhee ffiirrsstt tthhiinngg yyoouu wwoouulldd ddoo iiff

yyoouu wweerree PPrriimmee MMiinniisstteerr??

Lower fuel prices and increase the

amount of spending in arts & culture.

WWhhaatt’’ss yyoouurr bbiiggggeesstt ccllaaiimm ttoo ffaammee??

I used to be in a band called VERT – we

got signed and have a record (‘Accepting

Denial’) still available in the shops (hint

hint!). I’ve also worked as stage crew for

several high profile bands around the UK.

WWhhaatt hhaass bbeeeenn tthhee ssccaarriieesstt tthhiinngg ttoo

hhaappppeenn ttoo yyoouu iinn yyoouurr lliiffee??

I was on a very turbulent flight from

Atlanta to Florida a few years ago that

was far from comfortable, and haven’t

been the best flyer ever since.

AArree yyoouu aa ggoooodd ddaanncceerr??

I’d like to say I’m bang average, but even

that would be an overstatement.

WWhhaatt ddoo yyoouu mmiissss mmoosstt aabboouutt bbeeiinngg aa

kkiidd??

Playing Treasure Island Dizzy on my ZX

Spectrum +2.

WWhhaatt wwaass yyoouurr ffaavvoouurriittee TTVV sshhooww aass aa

cchhiilldd??

Either Knightmare, The Mysterious Cities

of Gold or Transformers.

WWhhoo wwaass yyoouurr cceelleebbrriittyy ccrruusshh wwhheenn

yyoouu wweerree yyoouunnggeerr??

Pamela Anderson was hard to ignore

while growing up in the mid-nineties.

BBeesstt aaddvviiccee yyoouu’’vvee eevveerr bbeeeenn ggiivveenn??

“It isn’t a sin to take off your skin and

dance in your bones”. In other words, it’s

ok to be yourself.

WWhhaatt aarree yyoouu lliikkee aatt tthhee ddeennttiissttss??

Put it this way – if I could grit my teeth

throughout then I

would!

NNeexxtt iissssuuee

JJooaannnnee LLiitttt

GGeettttiinngg ttoo kknnooww yyoouu......This issue: SStteevvee BBrraauunndd, Marketing Manager based in Stone

ppoossiittiivveenneerrggyy iiss ppuubblliisshheedd bbyyCCaappuullaa NNuucclleeaarr..

IIff yyoouu hhaavvee aannyy ssttoorriieess oorr iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn yyoouu ffeeeell sshhoouulldd bbeeiinncclluuddeedd iinn aa ffuuttuurree iissssuuee ooffppoossiittiivveenneerrggyy,, oorr hhaavvee aannyyccoommmmeennttss ttoo mmaakkee aabboouutt tthhee nneewwsslleetttteerr,, tthheenn ccoonnttaacctt::

SStteevvee BBrraauunndd ((0011778855)) 882277110066sstteevvee..bbrraauunndd@@ccaappuullaa..ccoo..uukk

Capula Nuclear • Beacon House • Stone Business Park • Stone • Staffordshire • ST15 0NN • T: 01785 827000 • W: www.capulanuclear.co.uk

NNEEWW AAPPPPOOIINNTTMMEENNTTSS Capula remains

committed to recruiting suitably

qualified and experienced (SQEP)

staff - particularly for our work in the

nuclear industry. We are therefore

pleased to welcome a number of new

faces to the company:

Scott Phillips joins the company as a

Lead Engineer based in our dedicated

secure facility at Beacon House, while

Matthew Rowland also takes up a

position as an Engineer on Nuclear

projects and Ryan Scott joins our

Westlakes office in Cumbria as a

Trainee Engineer after completing A

Levels in Electronics, IT & Psychology.

CCOONNGGRRAATTUULLAATTIIOONNSS to Capula

colleagues and partners Leo Wheeler

(Graduate Engineer) and Rebecca

Heron (Project Administrator) - both

of Stone office - on the birth of their

first child, George, who was born on

Sunday 3 February weighing in at 7lb

7oz.

FFIIRRSSTT AAIIDD TTRRAAIINNIINNGG The following

individuals recently completed first

aid training at Capula’s head office:

Lee Hancock, Jim Taylor, Ben White,

Iain Cameron, Krzysztof Kozlowski,

Tracey Francis, Rachael Francis, Mark

Wingate-Marsh, Lee Carter, and

Richard Berwick.

IINN BBRRIIEEFF CCAAPPTTIIOONN

The winning suggestion for last issue’s competition came from Miles Kitchener, Capula’s Human Resources Manager at our head

office in Stone: ““IItt wwaass JJaaddee,, iinn ppaarrttiiccuullaarr,, wwhhoo aallwwaayyss ttooookk hheerr ccaakkee--gguuaarrddiinngg dduuttiieess vveerryy sseerriioouussllyy..””

Steve Braund

All )im

ages)&) content)©

)Capula)Li m

ited)2013)unless )otherwise)s tated.))N

ot)t o)be) rep roduced)without)w

r itten)consen t.

Can you come up with a caption

for the adjacent photo, featuring

Phil Winstanley of Capula’s Pur-

c h a s i n g

department?

E-mail your suggestions to

ppoossiittiivveenneerrggyy@@ccaappuullaa..ccoo..uukk and

the winning entrant will have

their caption printed in the next

issue.

CClloossiinngg ddaattee ffoorr eennttrriieess::

FFrriiddaayy 2211 JJuunnee 22001133

ccoommppeettiittiioonn!!

Phil Winstanley

VERT