ML090700700

Sorting Out Safety

ML090700700
Person / Time
Site:	Fermi, Wolf Creek, Columbia, Fort Calhoun
Issue date:	04/01/2004
From:	- No Known Affiliation
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Download: ML090700700 (6)

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"Safety culture." self-assessment in response to recom- planning, and we had decided to do the It's been in the nuclear industry's mendation 2 of INPO Significant Oper- safety culture assessments in advance of vocabulary for more than a decade. But ating Experience Report 02-4, "Reactor theSOER" just what is safety culture? What kind of Pressure Vessel Head Degradation at The foundation for the USA approach safety culture does your plant have, and Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station," comes from SOER 02-4, which dis-how does it affect plant safety and issued in November 2002. cusses the pitfalls of justifying mini-performance? mum standards rather than ensuring The Utilities Service Alliance (USA), high standards. A number of things can a not-for-profit cooperative owned and

We hold up a mirror to contribute to such a reduction in stan-operated by its 13 nuclear utility mem- dards, including a lack of management bers, took on the issue with a series of each plant and show oversight, overly focusing on shon-safety culture assessments beginning in term production goals, solving the 2003. USA member plants receiving how it looks to the out- symptoms rather than the real causes safety culture assessments include Fort of problems, not being sensitive enough Calhoun Station, Donald C. Cook to nuclear safety, and not using operat-Nuclear Plant, Wolf Creek Generating side world." ing experience effectively.

Station, Cooper Nuclear Station, Fermi The USA approach involves an assess-2, Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, -Joe Muth ment at each member plant using a Columbia Generating Station. USA team of up to 13 experienced leaders also completed an assessment for "By the time the SOER came out, USA from the other USA stations, with one SalemIHope Creek Generating Station, was well-positioned to meet the require- team member from the host site. The and three such assessments for Ontario ment for safety culture self-assessments," week-long assessments are rigorous, Power Generation in Canada. Assess- says Bill O'Connor, vice preSident of comparing each plant to approximately ments are scheduled for USA member nuclear generation at Detroit Edison, 90 behavioral characteristics associated Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in chainnan of USA's board of directors with a conservative safety culture Arizona and for the University ofMissouri and executive sponsor for the assess- model. The purpose is to determine the research reactor. ment program. "We had already done degree to which each member plant has As with all U.s. nuclear power sta- round-robin peer assessments of the a healthy respect for nuclear safety and tions, the USA member plants were member plants in specific areas such as to ensure that nuclear safety is not .

expected to complete a safety culture operations, maintenance and emergency compromised by production priorities.

24 THE NUCLEAR PROFESSIONAL SECOND QUARTER 2004

~ ~

~afety Culture Assessments Root Out Problems, Lead to Excellence

>On both fronts, the overall results of assesses one or more of the 90 desired Safety culture ISIlSSIIIlnl spurs feUSA assessments have been positive, behavioral characteristics, with each 'grub bunllng'

~ptareas to improve have been found at "behavior given a 1-5 score to quantify Something is strikingly out of place

¢~~h of the stations assessed. strengths and weaknesses. A running tally in Ross Ridenoure's otherwise all-busi-

"To evaluate each member plant's is displayed on the team's meeting room ness office at Fort Calhoun Station in

$afety culture, USA developed a behav- walls at the host plant during the assess- Nebraska. As a prominent reminder of iPf~based assessment process. The pre- ment week. Any area receiving a score how not to solve station problems,

,cepts,of INPO's "Principles for Effective of 2 or lower raised flags and garnered Ridenoure keeps in his office an annoy-

'.* Operational Decision-Making" and additional investigation to get at the ing but memorable child's game called "Warning Flags from Plants in Extended root cause. Whac-a-Mole. The object of the game:

i'$h1.ltdowns," as well as other industry "We hold up a mirror to each plant reactively hammer back moles -

~n.d NRC documents, were used as and show how it looks to the outside symbolic of station problems - as they

• ~tanc41rds for the plan development. world," says Joe Muth, an operations emerge. And keep whacking the popup t't/'Each assessment is a combination of shift manager at the Columbia Generat- moles, which keep coming one after the Jnterviews and behavioral observations," ing Station who participated in all the other, because mole whacking does not e?'Plains Bob Zemenski, supervisor - safety culture assessments and served get to the root cause of problems.

.~~clear quaUty assurance oversight at as team leader on several. "As we did The real solution to nuisance moles

~~.rmi 2, who served as the USA assess- the assessments, we learned better ways - aka plant problems - is to find the Plrl1t program manager. "We interview of doing things at the next station, but true nature of the problems. That deep-alJout 10 percent of the station staff during we still kept the same structure exactly seated problem is not the mole popula-

ft(,

' tll~ first couple of days of each assess- as formatted for consistency and fair- tion, but the grubs that sustain the

~X(;ln~nt, then tum our attention to observ- ness. Wherever we went, we were moles.

,/~)i~gwork behaviors, attending meetings welcomed and viewed as compadres Fort Calhoun recently launched a "no

,>'" . arid briefs, and touring the plants." and peers, there to help." mole whacking" program to encourage Zemenski helped develop the overall Results of the safety culture assess- station employees to "hunt for grubs" plan, which includes sepa- ments help participating plants gain a - find the root causes - rather than interview question banks for senior better understanding of where improve- pound away at superficial problems.

management, middle management, ments might be beneficiaL Here's how "The 'grubs' are much harder to frnd engineering, operations, oversight and the three USA plants have used the and eliminate than the 'moles'," says crafts. Each interview and observation assessments. Ridenoure, vice president and chief 25

industrial safety, signs of complacency in some areas, a need for more intrusive and critical QA obsezvations, inconsistent use of operating experience, a too-high severity threshold for documenting prob-lems through the condition reporting system, and misunderstood or unclear management expectations.

Fort Calhoun collectively rolled up its sleeves and started hunting grubs. Over the past year, the station has retooled its performance indicators, ramped up communications with employees, added new QA staff members with the skills to be intrusive and ask the right questions, pumped up its operating experience program with comprehen-sive daily e-rnail event reports and pre-outage documentation, and clarified and reinforced management expectations on when to write a condition repon These and other efforts are paying off, as demonstrated by an improving trend in Fort Calhoun's new safety culture index. The staff created the voluntary index, one of but a few in the industry, as part of its effort to improve plant performance indicators. Based nuclear officer for Omaha Public employees did not routinely uphold the loosely on a concept borrowed from Power District. "But when you under- highest standards or exhibit a question- Millstone Nuclear Power Station, Fort stand and address the essential prob- ing attitude." Calhoun's station-tailored safety culture lem, then the station can truly fix the After reading the assessment team's index rolls up about 30 plant perfor-problem - best case, permanently." detailed written report, the Fort mance factors into three overall areas of Inspiration for Ridenoure's campaign Calhoun staff fully embraced and con- standards adherence, equipment reli-to replace mole whacking with grub curred with the findings. It was easy to ability and organizational effectiveness.

hunting came from a USA safety culture accept the strengths - operations suc- Over the past three quarters, the assessment conducted early in 2003. cession planning, radiation protection index has improved from 2.5 to 2.85, Ridenoure, who serves as vice chairman practices, plant eqUipment reliability, moving closer to the short-term goal to on USA's board of directors, says the employee dedication and OPPD corpo- be at or above 3 on the 0-4 scale (with 4 visiting assessment team looked for rate commitment to Fort Calhoun's being the elusive perfect).

grubs, not moles. long-term operation. But it was more Ridenoure says the safety culture assess-

"This was a very intrusive assess- difficult to address the weaknesses - ment that spurred these improvements was ment, unlike any we've ever had,"

Ridenoure says. "Our staff described it as 'in-your-face, eye-opening and jaw-

"This was a very intrusive assessment. ..

dropping.' Before the assessment, we were confident that we didn't have our staffdescribed it as 'in-your-face, eye- opening Significant problems and that our work-force was very motivated and engaged. and jaw-dropping. '"

So at first we just couldn't believe we were being told that in some areas our -Ross Ridenoure 26 THE NUCLEAR PROFESSIONAL SECOND QUARTER 2004

valuable. "It was painful but meaningful, with value added to the nth degree. It's like Columbia's assessment programs, peer-based safety program, manager-supervisor communication money in the bank, enabling us to continue and commitment to operator training operating at a high level" gave the station a clear quality. Recommendations included that Columbia do more with policies Questfor Excellence at Columbia view of its strengths and incentives to more effectively rein-Columbia Generating Station in force a strong safety culture, give more Washington has benefited both from its own safety culture assessment and also as well as areas for management attention to the corrective action program, elevate the value added from the experience joe Muth gained as from QA, and fully address equipment a team member on USA safety culture improvement. reliability problems that challenge the assessments at other plants. Each time operations staff.

Muth returned to Columbia from an them," says Rod Webring, vice presi- Columbia's Quest for Excellence assessment at another plam, he brought dent of nuclear generation at Energy campaign launch occurred shortly after with him new perspectives and anec- Northwest and a director on USA's board. the safety culture assessment visit ended.

dotes about how other stations face Columbia's assessment gave the The program addresses 83 actions in similar plant issues. station a clear view of its strengths as five overall areas - industrial safety, "We're somewhat geographically well as areas for improvement. The problem identification and resolution, isolated from the rest of the nuclear visiting team praised Columbia's all- outage and work management effective-fleet, and so we covet people coming in hands meeting to discuss SOER 02-4, ness, equipment reliability, and accuracy and giving us a chance to learn from training and operating experience and completeness of staff work - and 27

• Your input needed on INPO I

. safety culture document blankets the assessment results, as well as additional areas where the Columbia staff saw room for improvement.

Last November, INPO issued a pre- real-life situations demonstrating "We're moving forward and starting limihary version of Principles for a successes or shortfalls in applying to see some benefits from all the hard Strong Nuclear Safety Culture. The the principles work," says Webring. "Every other document is intended to clearly define A variety of methods are available to Friday, about 30 managers meet to what safety culture is and what it looks prOvide this input, including a discus- discuss our progress on our goals, any

'like and to help stations strengthen sion forum on the safety culture page of new resource needs or any course cor-their skills and tools to improve safety the INPO Web site (http:// rections we need to stay on track.

culture. Station personnel are encour- www.inpo.org/xdiscussionboardl "We are beginning to hear some aged to make in-depth comparisons Seasp). lNPO will incorporate indus- positive feedback from our staff as we between these principles and their day-to- try feedback into a final version of the implement improvements to our pro-day policies and practices and to use any document, which will be released later cesses, programs and performance.

differences as a basis for improvement this year. And, we're making sure to involve Principles for a Strong Nuclear Safety Principles for a StrorigN1Klear Safety employees in our Quest for Excellence Culture is a work in progress. INPO Culture is available on the INPO Web program to help us identify other improve-needs industry input to review and site, ~derRes9urce (http:// ment initiatives and efficiencies in the way refine the document hi particular: www.inpo.orglLibrarylDocumentsi we perfonn work. In addition to their

• Experiences in applying the safety INrO~Aca?emyDocumen~l:.'YCat~.. . regular performance improvement

. culture principles at work egorylPIiIlc~rl~).For lIlore information, workload, our departments' continuous

• Short case studies that contain pl~asecontac:t Charlie.Brooks, INPO improvement coordinators are working IndustryllIl~Ext~IR~eol1S' (770) with management and with their employ-644-8398, broo~cr@inpo.org ees to make sure we're all on the same Pri*ncipl*~~**.Jor.*.*~."* StrQn*9 page and that management is listening to ideas and suggestions for improvement."

Nuclear Safety Culture Webring says that five new initiatives have been added as a direct result of feedback from employees.

"Involving everyone that has a stake in Energy Northwest and Columbia Generating Station's success is a win-win for all of us. "

Doing what's right ItWall Creek Like their counterparts, many employ-ees at Wolf Creek Generating Station in Kansas were rather content with the plant'S improved performance in recent years. Then the visiting USA assessment (pr<lI"""""J team scored the plant's performance.

~~"(SI)")CirJ>>

"The feedback was that we're not as good as we think we are," says Kevin Moles, Wolf Creek's regulatory affairs manager and host peer for the team.

"One Significant strength was that no matter who was interviewed or observed, the plant staff showed that we do what's right from a safety perspective. Then there were other areas where we could be better - corrective actions, human 28 THE NUCLEAR PROFESSIONAL SECOND QUARTER 2004

perfonnance and looking at backlogs in the aggregate."

"One significant strength was that no matter who As a result, Wolf Creek has launched a series of initiatives. The first focuses was interviewed or observed, the plant staff showed on leadership and organizational effec-tiveness in order to refine the culture that we do whats right from a safety perspective."

from the top down. The leadership improvement initiative looks for ways -Kevin Moles to improve communication, increase trust and enhance the station leaders' own accountability. "We're beginning improvement and learning group at the Contacts: Kevin Moles, Wolf Creek, with quantitative actions, increasing the station, staffed by a team assembled (620) 364-4126, kemoles@Wcnoc.com; number and variety of ways we 'touch' from multiple plant disiplines. From Bill O'Connor, Fenni 2 (734) 586-employees," says Moles. "Next, we'll get the new group, a perfonnance advocate 5201, oconnorw@dteenergy.com; feedback to see how we're doing and is now assigned to each department Carl Parry, USA, (913) 451-5641, start tweaking the outreach." manager. These perfonnance advocates carl.parry@USainc.org; Ross Ridenoure, A second initiative is to improve the shed light on precursors to potential Fort Calhoun, (402) 636-3221, regognition and timeliness of condition problems. rridenoure@oppd.com; Rod Webring, report generation. Wolf Creek now "We are entrUsted to 'operate a Columbia Generating Station, emphasizes documentation of these nuclear power plant with the highest (509) 377-4279, rlwebring@energy-conditions immediately rather than levels of safety and to protect the health northwest.com waiting until more infonnation is gath- and safety of the public," says Moles.

ered. "We would sometimes wait to "That's what we're going to do. We're write the initial condition report until not happy standing still."

we felt we had a better understanding Maintaining the status quo isn't an of the situation," says Moles. "This option, anyway. USA members will could take a day or two. Our goal is to continue the safety culture peer assess-have all condition reports generated the ments, with another round of plant same day the condition is identified." visits planned for 2005.

• Wolf Creek's third new initiative centers on the new performance 29