Culture, leaders, and operator team training

Every nuclear utility has a culture which either drives or becomes a barrier to the vision of high performance and accountability of its personnel. This paper discusses two very powerful cultures at work in the nuclear power industry that may have very different values or ways of doing things. Employees from fossil plants have moved over to the nuclear plants where they meet with personnel who have been raised in the US Navy Nuclear Power Program. If these two cultures collide, as many plants have experienced, no one wins. Left alone, the two cultures may merge naturally, but if not, no amount of technical or procedural training will bridge the gulf. A second powerful influence within nuclear utilities is leadership. While culture explains how we do things around here, leadership has to do with the example people follow. This example may be set by a top executive in the corporate office or by a supervisor in the control room. The influence of leaders, whether positive or negative, can be seen at all levels of the utility. Team training, at any level, begins with a thorough understanding of the parent utility's culture, followed closely by an efficient method of implanting a culture suited to the company's strategy