OE Management at Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant, Slovakia

Full text: Brief description of nuclear facility. Slovenske elektrarne - ENEL utility operates two nuclear power plants in southern Slovakia - Bohunice and Mochovce nuclear power plants. Both plants are of the same design (WWER 440/V213). The Mochovce plant operates two units; Unit 1 has supplied electricity to the network since 1998, and Unit 2 since 2000. The Mochovce units rank among the newest WWER 440/V 213 nuclear blocks and benefit from all the improvements already made at the plant. Overview of OE arrangements. The basic management expectations concerning the OE programme are defined by the utility's policy. Assessment of the effectiveness of the OE programme is performed locally at the plant and independently at the utility level. This utility assessment serves as input to overall improvement process of OE programme at the plant. Management arrangements. The IAEA performed a pre-OSART mission in 1994 before the Mochovce plant began operation. Based on the recommendations of the mission, the Mochovce plant established an OE programme and an organizational structure to support it. The plant operation started with a fully functioning OE system. The plant director is responsible for implementation of an effective OE programme, in accordance with the national regulatory body requirements, WANO and IAEA expectations and the utility's policy. The OE programme owner is head of the safety division, who ensures that reported events and near misses are screened and analysed, and that corrective actions are taken with regard to the safety significance of the problem. Implementation of daily activities connected with the OE programme, screening, investigation of events, assessment of effective implementation of the corrective actions taken, assessment of OE programme effectiveness through performance indicators, and updating information in the OE database are the responsibility of head of the OE section. The section is located in the Safety Division and consists of three engineers and one technician. Results of event investigations and relevant corrective actions are approved by the Corrective Actions Review Board (CARB), a group consisting of a cross-section of managers. CARB meetings are organized at least once a month and are led by the head of the safety division. Since the beginning of the plant operation, a key focus of the Mochovce plant management in the OE area has been improving human performance using lessons learned from internal as well as external OE. With regard to this effort, management support of the OE programme is also demonstrated by the plant's policy on reporting, assessment and use of near misses. Management recognizes errors as an inherent part of human behavior and as opportunities to learn. It encourages timely and open reporting of near misses, presenting this attitude in daily practice using all possible methods (coaching, meetings with staff, input into training, bulletins, newspapers, posters, plant tours, observations, etc.). With regard to improving the reporting culture of all staff, the Mochovce plant with the support of the United Kingdom, Department of Trade and Industry, performed a special one-year project focused on improving the near misses programme. The outcomes of the project have significantly improved personnel reporting of human performance problems. This allows management to take proactive measures. Screening is performed at a daily production meeting and independently by appointed engineers within the Safety Division, including OE staff. The basic categories of events at the Mochovce plant are as follows: (1) Significant events and events that meet criteria for reporting to the national regulatory body; (2) Low level events; (3) Near misses; (4) Conditions adverse to quality. All these categories are evaluated using a risk assessment tool. Low level events and near misses evaluated as potentially significant, 'high risk', are treated in the same way as significant events (i.e. prompt evaluation for compensatory measures, root cause analysis performed or coordinated by the OE section, corrective actions approved by CARB). Low level events and near misses with medium and low risk as well as conditions adverse to quality are resolved within the relevant departments. In accordance with the plant management's policy for the OE programme, root cause analyses are performed by personnel trained in RCA techniques. Currently, approximately twenty engineers have been trained externally (WANO, IAEA, TapRoot, Conger and Elsea) and about fifty employees have been trained internally. The preferred methodologies for RCA are HPES and TapRoot. The plant management ensures that an international review of the OE programme is performed at least every three years. Good practice to share. The result of investigations of significant events are independently reviewed by colleagues (in a managerial position) from the Bohunice plant. This practice improves the overall completeness of the investigation process and ensures that the Bohunice plant experiences are also incorporated into recommendations developed concerning a particular event