Pioneering virtual training to enhance safety at Sellafield 

A virtual training platform is transforming how operators at Sellafield’s Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS) prepare to use a bespoke £1 million robot, reducing the risk of damage and increasing training capacity.  

Operators working in the MSSS building face a highly complex challenge, navigating a hazardous environment with limited visibility while using a sophisticated control system to handle and package debris from ageing silos.  

Training on the real system is constrained, requiring hundreds of hours to master, and gaps between operations can make it difficult to maintain skills. With plans to scale up the team in the coming years, Sellafield Ltd needed an innovative solution to accelerate training while ensuring the highest safety standards. 

Demonstration: The simulator is showcased during a recent visit to RAICo1

Partnership working delivers results 

To meet this challenge, the RAICo Digital Infrastructure team collaborated with supply chain partner Toia to develop a state-of-the-art digital training simulator.  

This advanced system replicates the real robot’s environment and controls, enabling operators to train in a safe, risk-free virtual setting.  

Using a PC, joysticks, and monitors, the simulator provides a highly realistic experience, allowing users to develop proficiency before handling the actual equipment. 

Unlike physical training rigs, the digital platform enables multiple operators to train simultaneously and practice high-risk or rare scenarios, such as equipment failure or complex operations, without endangering live processes. 

Simulator introduces efficiency and heightened safety 

Idris Hussain, Robotics Equipment Programme Lead at Sellafield Ltd, highlighted the benefits of the technology, stating, “The simulator enables us to eliminate risk with a 12-month lead time when training new starters.  

“It also provides a sandbox environment where we can simulate off-normal conditions as they can be replicated within a short turnaround time, providing a solution to plant and reducing overall downtime.  

“The simulator can be used to test new tooling for operations more safely and efficiently. This project would not be possible without RAICo and its partners, fostering collaboration between Sellafield Ltd and UKAEA, enabling faster clean-up of the Sellafield site.” 

Image – Left to right: David Cottrell (UKAEA), Ronan Kelly (UKAEA), James Reed (NRS), Ania Hill (NRS) 

End users already seeing benefits of system 

Initially developed at RAICo’s main facility in Whitehaven, the training platform is now being deployed at the Engineering Centre of Excellence, Sellafield’s off-site facility in Cleator Moor.  

While the system is already in use for foundational training, continuous refinements are being made based on operator feedback to enhance realism and ensure it mirrors the actual robot as closely as possible.  

Early responses have been overwhelmingly positive, with operators valuing the opportunity to train in a controlled environment, free from operational pressures. 

Looking ahead, the ambition is to extend the simulator’s use. 

The technology has multiple applications which could deliver benefits across further facilities at Sellafield and other former nuclear sites across the NDA group, accelerating pace of deployment to enable the NDA group to deliver its nationally important decommissioning mission. 

This collaboration between RAICo and Toia for a Sellafield application showcases the power of digital innovation in solving real-world challenges, making nuclear operations safer, more efficient, and more sustainable.