A Case Study of Excellence from Canada’s Nuclear Golden Age

In this special episode of Decouple, Chris Keefer speaks with Ken Petrunik, one of the few leaders in the Western nuclear industry who has taken large reactors from first concrete to operation under budget and ahead of schedule. Petrunik’s career spans Canada’s nuclear golden age and its export era, with senior roles in Romania, Argentina, and China, including leading the Qinshan Phase III CANDU reactors, delivered ahead of schedule and under budget under a fixed price engineering, procurement, and construction contract. The conversation traces how Canada once built nuclear plants at scale and how that environment shaped project managers capable of carrying real responsibility.

We deep dive how nuclear projects are actually delivered, including construction sequencing, labor productivity, schedule control, and on site authority. Petrunik recounts moments when projects nearly failed and explains how early decisions and transparent coordination allowed recovery before delays became irreversible. The episode also examines what was lost as Canada’s build capability faded and what today’s nuclear programs can still learn from the people who led projects when reactors were routinely built.

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