Human and Organizational Factors in Nuclear Installations

The nuclear industry faces new challenges: market liberalisation, deregulation, changes in institutional ownership, ageing of plants and workforce. In the current competitive context the nuclear utilities aim at the long-term operation (LTO) of their plants. In this perspective, to guarantee safety is paramount. Human and organizational factors (HOF) have plaid a major role since the beginning of the nuclear power industry, because they concern every phase of the plant lifecycle. In the last 15-20 years their contribution to events has received increasing attention from operators, regulators, and from the scientific community. The progress achieved in the area has shifted the focus from the individual operator performance towards the performance of the organizational system which is the context to the individuals actions. This study provides an overview of the HOF challenges in the Nuclear Industry. Some cases from operating and regulatory experience are reported and suggestions for future work are given.