Driving Efficiency and Agility in Nuclear Manufacturing

How digital planning and collaboration are transforming complex nuclear projects

In the nuclear sector, every decision carries weight. Timelines stretch over years, regulatory requirements are exacting, and any delay can have a ripple effect on cost, safety, and delivery. Few companies know this reality better than Framatome, a global leader in nuclear energy solutions and one of the most trusted suppliers of components, fuel, and control systems for nuclear power plants worldwide.

To meet these high-stakes challenges, Framatome has embraced the power of digitalization through a long-standing collaboration with Dassault Systèmes. Leveraging the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and solutions such as DELMIA Ortems and Apriso, the company is transforming how it plans, manages, and delivers some of the most complex manufacturing programs in the industry.

The challenge: Managing complexity across the nuclear value chain

Framatome’s projects involve multiple facilities, international supply chains, and long lead times, often nine to twelve months for a single production cycle. Planning under these conditions means balancing finite capacity, evolving customer requirements, and a multitude of constraints across engineering, manufacturing, and operations.

Traditional tools were not enough to give decision makers the real time visibility they needed. Without accurate simulations and integrated data, the risk of bottlenecks, misalignment, and delays.

The turning point: Embracing DELMIA for agile planning

Framatome adopted DELMIA Ortems to bring simulation based capacity planning into the heart of its operations. This allowed teams to visualize, simulate, and evaluate multiple scenarios quickly, based on real world constraints.
The benefits were immediate.

• Faster, more agile decision making with the ability to respond quickly to changing demands
• Clear and dynamic Gantt visualizations that made complex plans understandable for both operational teams and executives
• Reliable long term projections that enabled management to commit to deliver schedules with confidence

“The tool is very flexible, and we can quickly input new data or new customer requests. We can easily produce simulations for both the long term and short term. Visually, the results are also very satisfying, and we can quickly present different scenarios to our management committees in a way that is immediately understandable for everyone.” Yann Perrodin, Scheduling Project Manager at Framatome

Expanding the digital footprint with Apriso MES

Beyond planning, Framatome also wanted to harmonize its manufacturing operations across plants. The company implemented DELMIA Apriso as a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to optimize processes, standardize workflows, and ensure full compliance with French nuclear regulations.

The impact has been significant

• Production acceleration, increasing output from one product every three years to 1.5 products per year
• A Center of Excellence for MES to standardize best practices across all manufacturing sites
• Consolidation of IT systems, reducing reliance on multiple software providers and lowering integration complexity

Innovation at the core of nuclear excellence

Framatome’s work is not only about maintaining current standards but also about advancing the state of the art in nuclear safety and efficiency. One example is the Tricon system, which facilitates migration to modern digital controls, addresses obsolescence issues, and minimizes licensing risks. Supported by robust digital tools, innovations like these strengthen both operational safety and long-term reliability for nuclear operators.

A partnership built for the future of energy

\The collaboration between Framatome and Dassault Systèmes reflects a shared vision, using advanced digital capabilities to make nuclear energy safer, more efficient, and more sustainable. From scenario-based planning to enterprise-wide manufacturing standardization, the integration of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform is enabling Framatome to deliver with confidence in an industry where there is no margin for error.
As the world looks to triple nuclear capacity by 2050 to meet climate and energy goals, partnerships like this one will be critical. Digital continuity, predictive planning, and collaborative innovation are no longer optional. They are the foundation for delivering the next generation of nuclear energy.

Read more about the work of Dassault Systèmes in the nuclear sector