Nuclear digital transformation is no longer a future discussion for facility teams—it is a present operational need. Experienced workers are nearing retirement, complex work must remain safe and compliant, and teams need better ways to manage information without losing the human judgment that protects the mission.
In this IsoTopics episode, host Brian B. Brown talks with Amy Gore of DBD International about using automation, data tools, and AI with purpose. Gore explains how technology can reduce repeatable work, capture hard-won operational knowledge, and help people make better decisions. The goal is not to automate everything. The goal is to strengthen safety, resilience, and workforce capability.
This conversation builds on the workforce and mission discussions in our previous IsoTopics episode. Watch the full episode below, then use the practical lessons to guide your next improvement effort.
Amy Gore shared an example from work supporting Savannah River Mission Completion. Her team reviewed the planning process for tank transfers involving radioactive material. This work requires detailed procedures, equipment checks, documentation, coordination, and physical walkdowns.
Gore compared the challenge to using Google Maps. A driver needs a route from one point to another. But when a team moves radioactive material, it needs much more than a preferred route. The team must identify relevant equipment, restrictions, hazards, and alternate paths before work begins.
The existing process required workers to gather information from multiple systems and build detailed plans manually. When conditions changed, such as new construction or a blocked path, teams could lose time and restart parts of the planning effort.
The improvement did not remove qualified people from the process. Instead, it helped teams gather information faster and create a more complete plan that allowed engineers, operators, and radiation safety professionals to focus on verification and decision-making.
Before beginning a nuclear process automation project, ask:
- What outcome must this process achieve?
- Which steps require expert judgment?
- Which repeatable tasks take time but do not require a decision?
- What data must remain accurate, controlled, and available?
- How will the organization define success?
A strong project begins with a real problem. This keeps innovation tied to safety, quality, and mission value.
Nuclear Digital Transformation Keeps People in Control
Human-in-the-loop AI is essential because nuclear work includes high-stakes decisions. Automation can organize information, identify gaps, prepare drafts, and complete clear rules-based tasks. It should not quietly take ownership of decisions that require qualified human review.
For the tank-transfer planning project, Gore’s team chose deterministic automation instead of AI. Deterministic automation follows defined rules. If the answer is clear, the tool can process it. When the situation becomes unclear or requires critical thinking, the task returns to the user.
Not every challenge requires AI. This is one of the most important lessons in responsible nuclear digital transformation.
AI may help summarize large amounts of data, identify missing information, and develop recommendations. Yet operators, engineers, and leaders should remain accountable for decisions and actions. The tool can support the work, but qualified personnel must own the final call.
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy has highlighted responsible technology development as part of advancing nuclear energy and innovation. AI and automation can improve efficiency, but they must operate within clear governance, verification, and human-review practices.
Use this simple guide when selecting a tool:
| Task type | Best approach |
|---|---|
| Repeatable steps with clear rules | Rules-based automation |
| Large data sets or document reviews | AI-assisted analysis |
| Safety, operational, or risk decisions | Qualified human decision-maker |
| Complex process improvement | Cross-functional team review |
Technology should make experienced people more effective. It should provide better information, reduce administrative burden, and create more time for critical thinking.
Nuclear Digital Transformation Preserves Workforce Knowledge
Nuclear workforce knowledge transfer is one of the strongest reasons to improve processes now. Many facilities rely on experienced workers who understand not only written procedures, but also the reasons behind them. Some of that knowledge exists in daily habits, informal checklists, and years of direct operational experience.
Gore encouraged newer professionals not to dismiss the phrase, “This is how we have always done it.” There may be a valid reason behind the practice. That reason may simply be so familiar to an experienced worker that it is difficult to explain quickly.
A better response is to ask why—more than once.
Use the “five whys” approach to find the root reason for a task:
- Why does this step exist?
- Why did the earlier method create errors or delays?
- Why is this verification needed?
- Why must this information be available before work begins?
- Why has the team kept the process in place?
This method respects operational experience while creating space for improvement. It also helps teams document the real process before they automate or digitize it.
Mentorship should work in both directions. Senior workers can share context, hazards, operational lessons, and historical knowledge. Newer workers can bring digital fluency, fresh questions, and new ways to organize or visualize information.
This partnership protects institutional knowledge and creates stronger tools. It also supports the culture of continuous learning required for reliable nuclear operations.
Nuclear Digital Transformation Builds Future-Ready Operations
Future-ready nuclear operations are not defined by one platform, one AI tool, or one automation project. They are defined by resilience. A resilient organization can respond to workforce change, shifting priorities, new technology, and unexpected events without losing control of its mission.
Gore noted that faster is not always the goal. In the tank-transfer example, faster planning offered clear value. However, the larger goal was to make the process reliable when key subject-matter experts retire.
The potential benefit was substantial. Creating one transfer procedure previously required about 300 active labor hours spread across six months. The project was expected to save roughly 19,000 hours during the remaining mission. Those hours can return to higher-value work such as analysis, verification, training, and continuous improvement.
To make nuclear digital transformation successful, leaders can follow these steps:
- Choose a process with a clear operational pain point.
- Map current work with the people who perform it.
- Separate repeatable tasks from judgment-based decisions.
- Define what success looks like before rollout.
- Test, learn, and refine before expanding the solution.
- Treat early friction as information, not automatic failure.
- Document lessons from both successful and unsuccessful pilots.
Technology is only as good as the data and process understanding behind it. When teams capture how work truly happens today, they create more confidence in tomorrow’s decisions.
For more insights from people and organizations shaping the national security mission, visit the IsoTopics podcast hub. You can also learn more about Omega Technical Services’ nuclear operations support.
Key Takeaways
- Nuclear digital transformation should begin with mission needs, not technology trends.
- Use rules-based automation for repeatable tasks with clear decision logic.
- Keep qualified personnel accountable for safety-critical decisions.
- Use AI to organize, summarize, and recommend—not to replace expert judgment.
- Map the real process before digitizing it.
- Ask “why” until the team understands the reason behind each key task.
- Treat workforce knowledge transfer as a reliability and resilience priority.
- Define success before launching a technology pilot.
- Do not let an imperfect first rollout stop continued improvement.
- Build systems that help people act on better information faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is nuclear digital transformation?
Nuclear digital transformation is the use of digital tools, automation, data, and AI to improve how nuclear organizations plan, execute, verify, and learn from work. It must remain aligned with safety, security, quality, and regulatory requirements.
What is nuclear process automation?
Nuclear process automation uses software or digital workflows to complete repeatable and defined tasks. It can reduce manual data gathering, routing, document preparation, and other administrative steps while preserving required controls.
Why is human-in-the-loop AI important in nuclear operations?
Human-in-the-loop AI ensures qualified personnel review recommendations, make accountable decisions, and approve actions. This model supports efficiency without shifting safety-critical responsibility to a technology tool.
How does technology support nuclear workforce knowledge transfer?
Technology can document procedures, capture decision points, organize data, and make expert knowledge easier for new workers to access. It works best when paired with active mentorship and cross-functional review.
What does future-ready nuclear operations mean?
Future-ready nuclear operations means building resilient processes and teams that can adapt to workforce turnover, evolving technology, changing priorities, and unexpected conditions while protecting mission performance.