Operational Safety Services
The following Services provide advice on selected operational aspects and on safety management and safety culture of nuclear power plants:
- Operational Safety Review Team (OSART)
- Peer Review of Operational Safety Performance Experience (PROSPER)
- Safety Culture Assessment Review Team - SCART
- Incident Reporting System (IRS)
For further information please contact Miroslav Lipar.
OSART - Operational Safety Review Team
In 1982, the IAEA created the Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) programme. Under this programme, international teams of experts conduct in-depth reviews of operational safety performance at a nuclear power plant. They review the factors affecting the management of safety and the performance of personnel. As a result, the OSART programme has provided advice and assistance to Member States to enhance the operational safety of nuclear power plants. In addition, the OSART programme provides an opportunity to disseminate information on “Good Practices” which are recognised during OSART missions.
OSART missions in general review performance in the following areas:
- Management, organization and administration
- Training and qualification
- Operations
- Maintenance
- Technical support
- Operational experience feedback
- Radiation protection
- Chemistry
- Emergency planning and preparedness
- Construction, commissioning, etc.
Related information:
- OSART Brochure: English, French, Russian, Spanish
- OSART Guidelines
- OSART Good Practices
- OSART Mission results (OSMIR)
- OSART Highlights 2003 - 2006
- OSART Mission list
PROSPER
Peer Review of Operational Safety Performance Experience - PROSPER
To promote at individual NPPs the process and practice of learning from operating experience (either individual NPP experience, that of other NPPs or that of the industry at large) in order to enhance their safety performance. To encourage NPPs worldwide to perform self-assessments of the effectiveness of their operating safety performance experience review process. To benchmark/confirm, through an international Peer Review of NPPs' operational safety performance, that lessons are learned and acted upon and that these are disseminated nationally and internationally. To provide the necessary tools, methods and training to carry out these self-assessments.
Operational performance information comprises the following: external operating experience; internal event reports including internal low-level and near miss event reports; and other relevant operating performance information, such as performance indicators and non-compliance reports on quality assurance.
Related information:
Safety Culture Assessment Review Team - SCART
To conduct an in-depth independent review of safety culture at a Member State nuclear facility.
Safety Culture Assessment Review Team (SCART) missions are independent and conducted by a team of safety culture experts from several countries, excluding only the host country. SCART missions may be requested by various kinds of nuclear facilities in any stage of development - during commissioning, operation and decommissioning.
The SCART review process follows the IAEA safety standards. It also responds to the need to consider more specific or detailed requirements, in accordance with national cultures, and national or international good practices. Specific aspects particularly in the area of safety culture need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis in an atmosphere of constructive impartiality. The overall aim is to provide advice and assistance to Member States to enhance the safety culture of the nuclear facility. SCART missions are not an audit; rather they are a joint search by SCART team members and designated nuclear facility personnel (counterparts) to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement of safety culture.
SCART missions are centred on human performance--including the performance of the nuclear facility management and staff--rather than the adequacy of the design of a nuclear facility. Factors affecting nuclear facility management and the performance of personnel, such as organizational structure, management goals, and personnel qualification are reviewed.
SCART Guidelines have been developed and are used by team experts when reviewing safety culture in a nuclear facility. The key objectives of a SCART mission are to:
- Provide the host nuclear facility with recommendations in areas where safety culture should be improved to meet IAEA safety standards and international good practices
- Provide the host nuclear facility with suggestions where safety culture could be enhanced by use of proven good programmes and practices
- Provide key staff at the host nuclear facility with informal assistance and/or advice on how improvements might be achieved
- Identify good safety culture practices at the host nuclear facility to be brought to the attention of other facilities around the world
- Provide Member States with information regarding good safety culture practices identified in the course of SCART reviews
- Provide experts and observers in SCART missions with the opportunity to learn safety culture review methodology, to enhance their skills, and broaden experience and knowledge.
Approximately twelve to eighteen months after the initial SCART mission, a follow-up visit could be appropriate, during which a group of IAEA-led experts evaluate progress made toward resolving issues raised during the initial SCART review. Special attention is given to reviewing of the following topical areas:
- Did the nuclear facility become more pro-active in its handling of the relationship between safety and production targets?
- Were recommendations, suggestions and conclusions of the SCART review followed within a safety culture enhancement programme?
- Was a more “blame-tolerant” culture in relationship to human error either introduced or further developed in the nuclear facility?
Feedback of SCART review experience is of immense importance for the continuous improvement of the quality of the missions.
Related information:
- SCART Guidelines
- SCART Brochure
- IAEA Bulletin 50-1 September 2008, “The Mindset of Nuclear Safety”
IRS - Incident Reporting System
The Incident Reporting System (IRS) is an international system jointly operated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD/NEA), through which thirty-one participating countries exchange experience to improve the safety of nuclear power plants by submitting event reports on unusual events considered important for safety.
The aim of the IRS is to increase the effectiveness in analysing and communicating operational safety experience.
Timely feedback of operational experience provides information on events useful in preventing similar occurrences at other plants. Shared experience is valuable in determining actions to be taken to mitigate the potential consequences of discovered design or operating weaknesses should an event occur. The lessons learned may also be incorporated into new designs for future generations of nuclear power plants.
As of 2006, the reports are accessible through the Web Based Incident Reporting System (WB IRS).
Related information:
