US-based Westinghouse Electric Company and industrial technology company Guardhat will deliver a connected worker solution to the nuclear energy industry.

The WEConnect system can help utilities initiate or accelerate their digitalisation strategies, Westinghouse said. It leverages both Westinghouse's nuclear industry expertise and Guardhat's technology.

Westinghouse will globally offer the WEConnect system – a mobile connected worker solution – that can be used across an entire site or plant population.

The system gives utility customers the ability to limit the amount of required personnel onsite, while providing those who are on-location real-time access to remote experts and resources for optimising the performance of the onsite crews.

"Flexible packages can either build or leverage an existing digital ecosystem to offer enhanced features that help to improve workforce safety and optimise asset management strategies," Westinghouse said.

The system can also connect to other digital devices, enterprise applications and platforms, enabling efficient workforce and job management.

"Westinghouse and Guardhat are an impressive combination of industry expertise and technology," said David Howell, president, Westinghouse Americas operating plant services business unit. "Together we are capable of providing groundbreaking human-centric digital solutions for our customers when they need it most, throughout the entire life cycle of nuclear assets."

Indranil RoyChoudhury, Guardhat's executive vice president of growth said: "We are pleased to join forces with Westinghouse to deliver 'smart' technology to the nuclear industry."

Westinghouse has already piloted Guardhat's connected worker technology at several utilities during their scheduled refuelling outages.