1,720,985 research outputs found
Assessing the goodness of the concept of institutional strength-in-depth
No full textAssessing the goodness of the concept of institutional strength-in-depth (ISiD), the objective of the chapter is to examine the new concept of ISiD, launched by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) International Expert Group in 2017. The ISiD refers to a network of institutions, such as governments, industry, and regulatory body, that is, core organizations in the nuclear field, each of which forms an independent safety layer that is further strengthened by multiple internal barriers. The goal of the ISiD is a robust national nuclear safety system. Each organization and interfaces between them assure that the safety standards are efficiently applied. The ISiD borrows ideas from the philosophy of defense-in-depth. The power of ISiD concept derives from the fact that the IAEA will develop formal ISiD guidelines. Therefore it needs to be taken seriously by the actors in the nuclear field. However, the concept itself is criticized for not being scientific. Therefore the objective of the chapter is to evaluate the goodness of the concept of ISiD itself by looking at the attributes it includes and their consistency and its utility. The conceptual strength of the ISiD is analyzed based on eight criteria: (1) familiarity, (2) resonance, (3) parsimony, (4) coherence, (5) differentiation, (6) depth, (7) theoretical utility, and (8) field of utility.</p
Multitasking and interruption handling in control room operator work
No full textOur work life is full of interruptions and other perturbations, and we think we are experts in handling them. One solution is to get the upper hand on the interruptions and start to multitask, that is, to do several things concurrently or sequentially. However, if the amount of interruptions is increasing, we may fail to manage them and become distressed, frustrated and make errors. Efficient handling of interruptions is thus needed at the managerial and operational level in many work domains such as in health care, aviation, car driving, and office work. This chapter focuses on control room operator work in nuclear power plants, but since there is very little research on multitasking and the impact of interruptions in the nuclear domain, we also review other relevant literature, especially from other safety-critical domains. This chapter presents findings from simulator- and survey-based research and outlines recommendations both at individual and organizational levels.</p
Systems thinking applied to safety culture approach in Finland
No full textThis chapter describes how systems thinking is applied to safety culture approach by the Finnish nuclear safety research and in regulatory practice. Systemic approach to safety implies considering the system as a whole, as well as the interactions and interconnections between its various elements-human, technology, organization, and context-rather than considering single elements in isolation. Previous research indicated that systems thinking is important for ensuring nuclear safety. We specify the approach to safety culture assessment and development, as developed by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland over the last decades, shown in the methodology for Contextual Assessment of Organizational Culture and Design for Integrated Safety Culture framework. The chapter also describes basic premises of the safety culture oversight conducted by the Finnish regulatory body. We conclude by discussing some future research directions regarding a systemic approach to safety in complex safety-critical systems.</p
Learning from emergency exercises through systematic debriefing
No full textIn Finnish nuclear power plants, annual emergency exercises are organized with other organizations. After the exercise the participants of the plant personnel are provided with a brief feedback and various stakeholders evaluate the exercise. Nuclear power plant also provides an evaluation about the exercise from the perspective of the plant’s development needs and the related activities to the Finnish nuclear regulator (Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority). This way the preparedness of the plant is improved but a lot of potential also remains unused. Especially, the learning of the plant personnel having participated in the exercise is not supported as well as possible. The chapter describes how systematic debriefing, designed for emergency exercises, utilizing the experiences, conceptions, and ideas of the exercise participants, can be done. This way all development ideas can be gathered, development needs can be identified and the best choices for handling the emergency exercise scenario in question will be defined.</p
An institutional perspective on systemic approach to safety in a project context
No full textIn this chapter, we provide an institutional perspective on a systemic approach to safety in a project context. Major safety-critical projects are implemented in an operating environment of diverse and sometimes conflicting institutional pressures and demands from multiple participating project actors. Linkages between institutional environment and nuclear safety have been established following the Fukushima accident. We clarify the concepts of institutional logics and complexity, elaborate on the links between institutions and disaster development, elucidate on the nature of major projects as interinstitutional systems, and bring in the conversation between cultural studies and institutional approach. We believe that the institutional viewpoint has potential to enrich the systemic approach to safety since it opens new perspectives for researchers and nuclear industry practitioners alike to understand how institutional influences operate, combine, and manifest to affect safety and thus enables the development of more comprehensive safety management and leadership approaches
Human performance tools as a part of programmatic human performance improvement
No full textHuman performance (HU) tools are good working practices that are used primarily by control room and maintenance personnel at nuclear facilities. They aim to improve nuclear safety by anticipating, preventing, and catching active human errors and by identifying and mitigating latent errors. HU tools may also have a role in affecting organizational culture and increasing the preconditions for resilience. This chapter reviews the most commonly used HU tools from the perspective of maintenance personnel, based on nuclear industry-standard guidelines and recent research findings. In addition, the chapter discusses the impact and best practices of implementing HU tools in a programmatic manner.</p
Design thinking perspective for developing safety management practices in nuclear industry
No full textIn this chapter, we evaluate the process of implementing human factors (HF) in nuclear power industry from the design thinking point of view. We reflect how the HF implementation manifested design thinking perspective and furthermore, if the design thinking approach would be valuable for the improvement of safety management practices in nuclear industry in more general. Design thinking has been regarded as a way to handle problematic situations, in which new ways have to be applied in order to innovate new strategies and products. This was the case in Finnish nuclear power, while applying competence and methods for the mastery of HF in nuclear safety management was required, but the findings from nuclear power plants indicated insufficient knowledge and implementation of HF. We found that series of eight cooperative, industry-wide workshops that targeted for application of an HF Tool for nuclear power industry purposes reflected design thinking principals. We conclude that similar kind of cocreation with design thinking approach offers potential for developing safety practices in the nuclear power industry overall
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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