As I thought about it last night, I think I would be a hard drive changer as well.
The SAM-11 has less than 10 paramaters to change that could cause confusion whereas the SAM-12 has ~137. There is greater complexity. We know from SAM-11 operation, that it is highly unlikely that the detectors, pm tube, and counting circuitry are really the issue. If I had to come to your site, I'd probably have ~5hrs on the ground before I had to start driving back to the airport. I can verify bkg and source count rates in the first two hrs. If I don't have a solution there, then the problem is most likely on the hard drive. It could be a customer error in one of the many settings, bad software settings affecting HV or discriminators, a random file corruption, or a systematic software issue. With 2^137 binary tests to perform, I'll never get done in hrs 3-5. While I don't know exactly what happened, I am >97% sure replacing the drive will fix the problem as everything is software driven. If I replace the hard drive, I can take it back and trouble shoot it, have others remote in and check it out. I can run file comparisons against known good files to look for differences. If I get another customer drive with similar symptoms, I'm more likely to figure out the true cause than two diff reps in the field at two diff locations. I can do this high quality troubleshooting on my time, not your time. With the simple variables of the SAM-11, there was nothing you could not solve in the field in a short period of time. With the new SAM-12 and all of the features and complexity, there is a good chance that the solution may not be found in the first couple hrs of the 5hr visit and put you into replacement and cal in hrs 3-5. I'd probably swap in a clean set up file first, but the hard drive would be next. It is likely the SAM-11 will still be the apex of reliability for the near future. You can tell they added a lot of features to make customers all around the world happy, but that increased the complexity of the system increased the overall likelihood of having a problem. I think drive changes are a key part of troubleshooting for near-term learning and long-term ability to resolve issues quickly. If I had to come to your site during a refueling outage, you'd need the issue fixed quickly, not extended troubleshooting... Glen From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Vickers, Glen:(GenCo-Nuc) Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2013 8:19 PM To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Subject: RE: Powernet: RE: Quick benchmarking question: Tool Monitors Thermo sent out a notification several months back that errors appearing to be hard drive failures were due to a software issue where the Bkg file was not purging properly and filling up the hard drive and choking the monitor. The message appears to be hard drive related because you can't write to the hard drive any more. We also had multiple hard drive changes. There have been other issues where they weren't sure of the cause and replaced the hard drive anyway. In this example, the Thermo tech got a message they didn't understand and replaced the hard drive as a conservative measure. The counting circuitry is fine, so just swap out Frankenstein's brain with another one until you get what you like. We recently had a PM-12 where a detector replacement caused some form of reset and the message wasn't understood, so the hard drive was replaced. They seem to be pretty good guys, but you can tell they're still catching up to the new architecture. I really like the user interface with the PM-12 and SAM-12. Historically you had to diagnose monitor issues from behavioral symptoms and now these monitors will give you data files to support the diagnosis. Currently working with them to incorporate any of their learnings into our procedures as necessary for troubleshooting or enhanced settings. Work in progress... Glen Vickers Exelon Corp RP Technical Lead, CHP 815-216-2723 (work/cell) From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Monday, December 23, 2013 12:13 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Cc: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: Powernet: RE: Quick benchmarking question: Tool Monitors DC Cook employs two, SAM-12 monitors at each of our two, Restricted Area Exits. We also use SAM-11s for equipment releases in outlying areas such as our Rad Waste Handling Building (outside the Protected Area). We have had multiple hard drive failures on our SAM-12s. A recent upgrade to solid state hard drives have proven only slightly more reliable. We have also had about one door handle and/or door latching mechanism failure per year, over the years as well. We do constantly coach workers to close SAM doors with care. Dave Raye RP Operations General Supervisor Cook Nuclear Plant Bridgman, MI 49106 269-466-2803 Be careful how you practice, as you shall surely perfect it. From: "Barber, Jerry" <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> To: "[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>" <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>, Date: 12/11/2013 08:21 AM Subject: Powernet: RE: Quick benchmarking question: Tool Monitors Sent by: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ________________________________ This is an EXTERNAL email. STOP. THINK before you CLICK links or OPEN attachments. ________________________________ Robinson uses Canberra Cronos monitors. They work great and we have had no issues with them. From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Johns, Alex M. Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2013 6:58 AM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Powernet: RE: Quick benchmarking question: Tool Monitors *** This is an EXTERNAL email. Exercise caution. DO NOT open attachments or click links from unknown senders or unexpected email. *** Salem still using SAM-9(s) and SAM-11(s). Replaced hinges on the 9(s). No other significant issues. Alex Johns RPS Salem Station 856-339-3909 [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Holmes, Stephen J:(GINNA) Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2013 6:48 AM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Powernet: RE: Quick benchmarking question: Tool Monitors Ginna uses SAM-12; we've had them for a couple years now and haven't had any significant problems with them Stephen J Holmes, CHP, PE Sr. Plant Health Physicist, RE Ginna NPP [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> 585-771-3577 From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kinmark, Michael L. Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 2:01 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Powernet: Quick benchmarking question: Tool Monitors Question from Columbia: What tool monitor do you currently use? SAM-12, Canberra Cronos, or something other? Any issues? Thank you in advance. 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