[en] There is a growing awareness of the significant contribution which human and organisational factors (HOF) make to nuclear safety. Within the HOF area, attention is increasingly focused on addressing management and organisational issues. This reflects an evolving recognition that the members of a nuclear licensee form part of a socio-technological system, and that their performance is influenced by the organisation and the culture within that organisation. A series of events across the nuclear industry and other sectors has reinforced the appreciation of the importance of robust safety management. Also, the management and organisation of nuclear installations is impacted by a number of current challenges such as deregulation, change in institutional ownership of the industry, contractorization and an ageing plant and workforce. It is in this context that the CSNI (Committee on Safety of Nuclear Installations) Special Experts' Group on Human and Organisational Factors (SEGHOF) was requested by the CNRA (Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Actions) to examine the role and influence of safety management in nuclear plant operations in 2000. A workshop on 'systematic approaches to safety management' was held in spring 2002 and this was followed by a survey in 2003-4 of relevant practices and developments across licensees and regulators. This report provides a brief explanation of the relationship between safety management and safety culture. It reinforces the need for nuclear licensees and regulators to take positive steps to ensure that licensees develop and sustain a robust safety management system as a part of their management systems as a whole. The report draws out the main findings of the workshop and presents the results of the survey in more detail. It seeks to identify current issues and areas warranting further consideration. The workshop explored the development of current organisational theories and their application to nuclear plant safety management. It identified areas where future work should be considered. One of the identified key needs was to gather and share information about current practices and approaches used by different countries. The findings of the workshop are reported separately in NEA/CSNI/R(2003)14. A questionnaire-based survey was subsequently prepared to investigate licensee methods and tools and regulatory expectations in SEGHOF member countries. Respondents were also asked to highlight research developments as well as current practices. The principal findings of the survey are summarised as follows: - There is a clear trend for regulatory bodies to develop regulatory requirements and guidelines on safety management. - There is a move towards developing integrated management systems in which safety, quality and business management are not perceived as separate activities to be managed in different ways. - A number of areas warranting further research and development in the area of safety management have been identified. SEGHOF concludes that the CSNI and CNRA should consider the following future activities to further refine the nuclear community's understanding of the key aspects of effective management and organisation of nuclear plants. This should enable good practices to be drawn out and shared internationally: - To update the CSNI/SEGHOF survey about systematic approaches to safety management at suitable intervals to provide a useful reference for workers in this area. - To produce a short publication comparing regulatory approaches to assessment of licensee approaches to safety management (including other industries than nuclear). - To exchange experience about regulatory oversight and licensee approaches in the area of safety culture. - To clarify competencies (including human and organizational factors) needed in the development, implementation and operation of Safety Management Systems as a part of Management Systems in general. - To identify successful practices for dealing with identified organisational deficiencies