Nuclear Decommissioning Authority creates UK centre of excellence for managing knowledge, information and heritage
Discover how the UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority establishes a centre of excellence for preserving knowledge, managing information, and safeguarding heritage for future generations.
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Records management excellence
Throughout its history, the UK civil nuclear industry has created vast quantities of knowledge, information and data. Going back to the 1940s, many assets are classed as sensitive with some attracting the highest government protective markings.
They continue to be generated by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and four operating companies which form the 17,000 employee-strong NDA group. Given the longevity of radioactive waste, many records must be kept for hundreds or even thousands of years. However, their preservation in various media (paper, digital and microform) – and the need for future generations to be able to easily access and understand them – poses significant challenges.
In response, a new facility, called Nucleus, the nuclear and Caithness Archives, was built in Wick in Scotland and opened its doors in 2017. It supports a variety of critical NDA group activities including the Geological Disposal Facility, Final Site Clearance programmes and the Civil Nuclear Compensation Scheme.
“The original vision behind Nucleus was to create a centre of excellence,” said Simon Tucker, MD for NDA Archives Limited (NDAAL). “A one-stop shop that could answer questions about the civil nuclear industry and information assets held across the UK. Driving that vision is a multi-year information governance strategy.”
The next stage in the journey was all about taking care of our people, the dedicated and highly skilled team who are the true driving force behind NDA Archives Ltd. Iron Mountain recognised that straightaway and it shone through in their proposal.
People-first
Collaboration with external specialists has been key to success as NDAAL set about building an unrivalled reputation for information governance and records management.
Establishing service with its first commercial partner agreement enabled NDAAL to rapidly learn and refine requirements. Not just for long-term records management but also for digital preservation and heritage conservation. Invaluable experience and knowledge that was swept into the tender and subsequent evaluation process for the new contract.
“The next stage in the journey was all about taking care of our people, the dedicated and highly skilled team who are the true driving force behind NDA Archives Ltd,” added Simon Tucker. “Iron Mountain recognised that straightaway and it shone through in their proposal.”
Getting everything in place
In taking over from the previous provider, Iron Mountain® will enhance services and the development of the Wick facility on multiple fronts – the planning and mobilisation
for which started six months ahead of the full services commencing.
Under the enlarged programme the NDA group will realise business benefits sooner through optimised and more productive ‘sift and lift’ activity. These efficiency gains will help free up resources and funding, which in turn can be redeployed into accelerated delivery knowledge-based accessioning, delivery of the heritage strategy, digital transformation, and the accessing and preservation of ‘born digital’ records.As part of the new agreement around 120 Nucleus employees will transfer across to Iron Mountain under TUPE regulations, augmented with job enrichment and additional roles. Iron Mountain is also investing in an annual social value fund working jointly with NDAAL to identify opportunities.
Best-of-breed collaboration
Bringing unique strengths and value are two Iron Mountain partners. The first, CBRE, a global leader in commercial real estate services, is focused on optimising facility management. Among many benefits NDAAL can expect are improvements in preventative maintenance, safety and security through state-of-the-art technology solutions that enhance the overall work environment and experience at the Nucleus facility.
“The award-winning Nucleus site is a great addition to our Scotland Total FM property portfolio,” said Alex Noyce Business Unit Director, CBRE. “Moving forward we hope to develop socio-economic advantages by bringing financial growth, skills development, community engagement and increased sustainability.”
High Life Highland, the second Iron Mountain partner, will continue to provide the award-winning Caithness County Archive. One of eight repositories at Nucleus, it holds an array of precious files, charters, minutes, correspondence, maps and photographs dating back to 1589. The archive was once again recognised, this time as Record Keeping Service of the Year at the Archive and Records Association Excellence 2024 Awards.
“We are delighted to continue delivering the public-facing archive service at Nucleus,” said Steve Walsh, Chief Executive, High Life Highland. “Our dedicated team remains committed to providing access to the diverse collections, both in-person and remotely, ensuring the rich history of our communities is preserved and accessible to all.”
In addition to supporting the Nucleus facility, and delivering associated records management projects, the new contract will encompass existing Iron Mountain services previously provided directly to Sellafield, one of the operating companies in the NDA group, as part of a long-standing relationship spanning almost 20 years. This will secure the existing circa 66 employees and support the hub-and-spoke model whilst allowing opportunities to drive efficiency and best practices across the NDA group.
Our heritage strategy will deliver many benefits – from learning past lessons so we can support decommissioning and future nuclear developments, to realising significant social value by connecting with local communities and stakeholders.
Preserving nuclear history
Iron Mountain will continue the development of a hub-and-spoke delivery model. Key components include centralised inventory and management, along with records retention scheduling, dispersed off-site storage and secure destruction where appropriate.
“Nucleus has around 53 kilometres of shelving and, when the project started, there were about 172 kilometres of paper records at Sellafield, which is just one of 17 UK sites,” added Simon Tucker.
Another huge focus of the programme is helping the NDA group identify, safeguard and celebrate the cultural history of the nuclear industry – the tangible and intangible assets, objects, and memories, the people who worked in it, and the communities that supported it.
“Our heritage strategy will deliver many benefits – from learning past lessons so we can support decommissioning and future nuclear developments, to realising significant social value by connecting with local communities and stakeholders,” said Michelle Donoghue, Information Governance Manager, NDA.
Nucleus has also achieved Archive Services Accreditation from The National Archive and the National Records of Scotland.
Exciting commercial model
Developing its Nucleus centre of excellence positions the NDA group at the forefront of decommissioning efforts globally and will continue to support the UK government at the highest levels.
“Along with engaging with similar archives in the UK and abroad, we plan to explore opportunities to help other sectors optimise their records management as part of a potential shared services offer”, concluded Simon Tucker.
Along with engaging with similar archives in the UK and abroad, we plan to explore opportunities to help other sectors optimise their records management as part of a potential shared services offer
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