Nuclear Regulator Knowledge Management in a Dynamic Nuclear Industry Environment

Full text: The paper outlines the experiences to date in developing mature knowledge management within the UK's nuclear regulatory body The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR). In 2010 concerns over the loss of knowledge due to the age profile within the organization instigated a review of knowledge management and the development of a knowledge management initiative. Initially activities focused on knowledge capture but in order to move to through life knowledge transfer, knowledge management was then aligned with organizational resilience initiatives. A review of progress highlighted the need to better engage the whole organization to achieve the desired level of maturity for knowledge management. Knowledge management activities now cover organizational culture and environment and all aspects of organizational resilience. Benefits to date include clear understanding of core knowledge requirements, better specifications for recruitment and training and the ability to deploy new regulatory approaches. During the period of implementing the knowledge management programme ONR undertook several organizational changes in moving to become a separate statutory body. The UK nuclear industry was in a period of increased activity including the planning of new nuclear reactors. This dynamic environment caused challenges for embedding knowledge management within ONR which are discussed in the paper. (author