A collaborative approach to human performance in support of maintenance activities - a vendor perspective

Vendor presence in both inage and outage activities continues to be the norm in CANDU®nuclear plants. Vendor contracts and management systems therefore need to be flexible, to respond to multiple client environments,while providing assurance that the client-specific processes and behavioral expectations are met. Alternately, this can be expressed as 'It is essential that vendors learn to Think like an Operator™' This paper will explore one vendor's perspective to foster this learning through 1) Human Performance tools within its management systems, 2) 21st century technologies to aid human performance, 3) innovative multi-vendor and utility collaborations and 4) fostering 'zipper conversations' to promote active listening at various levels of client and vendor organizations in order to ensure that to Thinking like an Operator™ becomes the daily mindset of everyone involved in the journey of mutual success. (author)