December 2, 2021 – Framatome recently delivered its first machining simulators to the Louis Armand high school in Jeumont. This delivery follows the purchase by the Hauts-de-France Region for six machining simulators at the Framatome site in Jeumont.
This investment aims to boost the industrial sector of the Sambre-Avesnois basin, and offer a modern training solution that is more accessible and scalable for student learning. This training solution is designed by Framatome and consists of virtual machining simulators that mirror plant operations present in the factories. It provides students with hands-on experiential learning like the flight simulator concept of the aviation industry.
"The teams at the Framatome site in Jeumont have been working on this project for more than a year. Seeing the first simulators go into service for such an important development in our sector is a real badge of honor,” said Bertrand Golfier, director of the Framatome site in Jeumont. “We look forward to developing future nuclear professionals and allow new generations of industrial employees to train on these advanced tools."
All six simulators will be installed at Louis Armand high school in Jeumont the first quarter of 2022. High school students will be trained on these simulators in addition to their main scope of studies. Framatome employees in Jeumont will also have access to the school to train on these simulators as part of an action plan to maintain and develop skills promoted by the nuclear industry.
This installation supports the Hauts-de-France Region’s focus to offer better training in the fields of industry, and therefore, to create a center for improvement in machining. This center will allow job seekers, apprentices, high school students, even employees from different companies, train through virtual reality, on machines identical to models from supporting companies.
"The place of industry in the regional economy is prevalent and several flagship opportunities shine at the national and even global level. This sector of excellence must be supported and accompanied through the training of all audiences," said Laurent Rigaud, vice-president of the Hauts-de-France Region in charge of employment, training and CREFOP. "This is why the Hauts-de-France Region is committed to innovation in training and supports augmented reality, virtual reality, digital twin and robotics projects. The region has therefore chosen to acquire these six machining simulators designed by Framatome and installed in an open and shared space.”
The 600 employees of the Framatome plant specialize in the design, manufacturing and maintenance of mobile components for the nuclear and defense industry.
The Jeumont plant is in the Hauts-de-France region and covers an area of 11,600m². Two key components manufactured on site include the cluster control mechanisms and the primary motor pump units. More than 6,000 cluster control mechanisms and 310 pumps have been supplied to customers around the world since the plant was commissioned in 1970. The plant also supplies international customers with spare parts and components for operating nuclear reactors and for new reactor construction projects.
Bertrand Golfier, director of Framatome Jeumont, Valérie Cabuil, rector of Hauts-de-France Academy and Laurent Rigaud, vice president Région Hauts-de-France, in charge of employment, training and CREFOP at the Louis Armand Professionnal High School, cut ceremonial ribbon for new simulators