Case Study: Nuclear Power Plant saves $1.5M and reduces radiation exposure 25% with Stryker

Nuclear Power Plant Reduces Labor Costs and Collective Radiation Exposure During Refuel Outage

A two-unit nuclear power plant in the U.S. Midwest that supplies electricity to more than 2 million homes faces heavily regulated, resource‑intensive refueling outages every two years. Outages last just under three weeks, swell the workforce by ~50%, and require instant, highly synchronized communication for safety and to meet tight schedules; existing solutions (landlines, pagers, handheld radios, and cell phones) proved impractical or unsafe in restrictive radiological spaces.

The plant deployed wearable, hands‑free Vocera Communication Badges during its 2014 outage, enabling immediate push‑to‑talk communication and rapid coordination. The result: the outage finished in 18 days (one day faster), about 6,000 person‑hours were saved, collective radiation exposure dropped ~25% (≈20 rem) and personal contamination events fell ~70%, yielding roughly $600K labor savings + $300K radiation savings + $600K in earlier revenue — about $1.5M in total savings and a 4× return on investment, with the system now used across operations beyond outages.