Development of criticality safety awareness training for front line workers at AWE - 14422

This paper provides an overview of the current criticality safety training given to front line workers at the UK Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE). This 'Criticality Awareness' training has been developed to provide front line workers with adequate instruction to ensure that they are aware of the hazards and risks associated with the plant and its operations. Additionally, this training details the actions to be taken in the event of an accident or emergency. When the current Criticality Awareness training course was initially created in 2008, it was considered beneficial to use both criticality safety specialists and criticality trainers to deliver the course. The format chosen was a classroom style of teaching, to help facilitate open questions/answers between the training staff and course participants. Experience gained through previous methods of delivering the course found that it was more effective to include both the criticality and training specialists in the development and delivery of the course, as each supplements the other with respect to their fields of expertise. This paper provides an overview of the course content and structure and discusses the development of the course over time. This development has arisen based on feedback from the participants and accredited professional training staff. The benefits to the participants from the style of delivery of the course is discussed, together with the wider benefits to criticality safety across site from direct interaction between the criticality safety specialists and the operators who have the practical experience and knowledge of actual work with fissile material. Future developments to the course are also discussed, and potential improvements highlighted. (authors)