Teachin g Notes

Operationa l Reacto r Safet y Course

Lecture : 2 2 – Safet y Culture

Objective :

The role of safety culture is an im portant dete rmining f acto r in saf e operations. It is not direc tly reg u lated due to the dif f i culty in esta blishing m etric s. The objective of this lecture is to gain an appreciation of what a good and bad safety culture is and how it can be obtained and as im portantly m aintained.

Ke y Point s t o Brin g Out:

Slid e num be r Point s

3 This slid e is a com p ilatio n of what experienced n u clear engin eers and m a nage rs believe are the top sa fety factors listed in rank order of priority. Point out that re gulations are last on this list.

4-6 Focus on the definition of safety culture from the general to plant specific.

7-13 Go over the attributes of a good sa fety culture on each slide and conclude with som e typical exam ples. Focus on personal accountability and m a na gem e nt response to good and bad news.

14-17 Discuss some recen t plan t specific ex am ples - focus on common factors such as com p lacency and failure to inv estigate em ployee concerns. Point out the cost fo r non-com p liance is m u ch larger than fixing a problem when found.

18 Re m i nd students that nuclear plants are businesses and that they need to m a ke a profit which is the tension that is caused by production vs. safety.

19-22 The key points in how to get a good safety culture are related to m a nage m e nt and its ability to le ad an d create an environm ent for the im portance of everyone' s job in keeping the plant safe. O p en and honest comm unications and m ot i vating people to do the right thing are vital. Recognition of that f act that people are an

im portant part of the safety system and that training of m a nage rs and supervisors in leadersh ip skills is essential.

23 Nuclear plants are com p lex m ach ines - NRC regulations do not ensure safety but the utility a nd how it operates the plant does.

MIT OpenCourseWare http://ocw.mit.edu

22.091 / 22.903 Nuclear Reactor Safety

Spring 200 8

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