Safety culture in nuclear installations

FOREWORD This guidance has been developed for use in the IAEA's Safety Culture Services, which provides support to Member States in their efforts to develop a sound safety culture of their organizations. It will be of particular use in seminars and training workshops that are part of these services. Much of the information in this publication reflects the approach the IAEA has adopted to assist nuclear organizations in Member States in improving their safety culture. This guidance covers topics such as: what is culture, and in particular what is safety culture; what are the stages of development of safety culture, and how you can assess its development using employee surveys; what practices can be used to develop safety culture, and what indicators will help monitor progress. The symptoms of a weakening safety culture are described, as well as the lessons learned from organizations who have experienced safety culture problems. This guide also contains information on how to undertake the process of transforming the existing safety culture, and develop a learning culture in an organization that is based on continuous improvement. The relationship between quality and safety is discussed. The safety culture services offered by the IAEA are also described. The IAEA's perspective of safety culture has expanded with time as its understanding of the complexities of the concept developed. The concept of safety culture was first introduced by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group formed by the IAEA. In their report (INSAG-4, 1991) they maintained that the establishment of a safety culture within an organization is one of the fundamental management principles necessary for the safe operation of a nuclear facility. The definition recognized that safety culture is both structural and attitudinal in nature and relates to the organization and its style, as well as to attitudes, approaches and the commitment of individuals at all levels in the organization. In the framework of the IAEA Assessment of the Safety Culture in Organizations Team (ASCOT) activities, significant work has been done with respect to indicators to determine the effectiveness of safety culture. IAEA-TECDOC-860, ASCOT Guidelines, issued in 1996, proposed key indicators for the different areas that need to be considered when assessing safety culture. A number of other INSAG reports and Safety Series reports have been published by the IAEA to provide information that will be helpful to organizations that are interested in developing or enhancing their safety culture. Recently the …