Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS) has joined two performance-oriented industry organizations as part of its objective to improve plant operations with a focus on safety and regulatory compliance.

The company said in a press release that its goal is "to become the standard of operational excellence" among nuclear facilities of its kind by the year 2011.

"Our initiative to improve operations at NFS began in 2006, and we are beginning to see positive results," said NFS Executive Vice President and General Manager Tim Lindstrom.

"However, I want to accelerate our progress. One way to do that is to learn more about how the best in our business have achieved operational excellence."

NFS is now a member of two organizations that share best practices in nuclear operations.

The Energy Facilities Contractor Group (EFCOG) is an organization of companies which either manage and operate U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facilities or are key suppliers to the DOE.

The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) sets performance objectives and operational guidelines for commercial nuclear power plants and their suppliers.

INPO conducts plant evaluations that are intended to share best practices and identify operational weaknesses. They also develop lessons learned from plant events and share program concepts among participants.

"We are sending our employees to other nuclear facilities to see, first hand, how the best in our business assure procedural compliance and safety," said Lindstrom.

"We will bring the best ideas back to our Erwin plant and implement them into our plant operations."

A team of senior managers, first line supervisors and union members has been organized and is addressing improving operational performance by instituting error reduction tools.

Additionally, NFS will implement programs for affecting positive change and make investments in necessary equipment and infrastructure to enhance performance.

Lindstrom is leading the NFS effort to make NFS the standard in operational excellence. A former U.S. Navy submarine commander, Lindstrom was promoted to general manager in charge of all Erwin plant operations in 2007.