NUREG-2165, Safety Culture Common Language
Safety Culture Common Language
text
Safety Culture
Common Language
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
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Safety Culture
Common Language
Manuscript Completed: February 2014
Date Published: March 2014
Prepared by:
Molly Keefe1
, Ronald Frahm1
,
Kamishan Martin1
, Rebecca Sigmon1
,
Undine Shoop1
, Stephanie Morrow2
Diane Sieracki2
, Ray Powell3
,
Scott Shaeffer4
, Jack Rutkowski5
,
and Eric Ruesch6
1
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
2
Office of Enforcement
3
Region I
4
Region II
5
Region III
6
Region IV
Molly Keefe, NRC Project Manager
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
iii
ABSTRACT
The importance of a healthy nuclear safety culture has been demonstrated by a number of
significant events in the United States and throughout the world. Use of consistent definitions
and terms to describe a model safety culture is a first step in ensuring consistent development,
implementation, and monitoring of safety culture. This report documents the outcomes of public
workshops to develop a common language to describe safety culture in the nuclear industry.
These workshops, held in December 2011, April 2012, November 2012, and January 2013,
included panelists from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the nuclear power
industry, and the public. This report presents a suggested common language, agreed upon by
NRC staff and the nuclear industry for classifying and grouping traits and attributes of a healthy
nuclear safety culture.
v
FOREWORD
The information in this report has been developed solely for informational purposes. It is not a
statement of policy. It describes the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff’s
implementation of the Commission’s Safety Culture Policy Statement (76 FR 34773). The NRC
staff intends to use the agreed-upon common language in this document to implement elements
of its programs that provide oversight of regulated activities. Parts of the common language are
being incorporated into the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) for operating nuclear reactors.
Any changes to oversight programs, including the ROP, will be documented in their associated
Inspection Manual Chapters and Inspection Procedures.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT...............................................................................................................................iii
FORWARD ................................................................................................................................ v
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ..............................................................................................................ix
ACRONYMS..............................................................................................................................xi
1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................ 1
2 SAFETY CULTURE COMMON LANGUAGE INITIATIVE.............................................. 3
3 EXPLANATION OF TERMS .......................................................................................... 5
3.1 Terms............................................................................................................................. 5
3.2 Relationships among Roles ............................................................................................ 6
4 TRAITS, ATTRIBUTES, AND EXAMPLES.................................................................... 7
4.1 Leadership Safety Values and Actions (LA).................................................................... 7
4.2 Problem Identification and Resolution (PI).....................................................................11
4.3 Personal Accountability (PA) .........................................................................................13
4.4 Work Processes (WP) ...................................................................................................15
4.5 Continuous Learning (CL)..............................................................................................17
4.6 Environment for Raising Concerns (RC)........................................................................19
4.7 Effective Safety Communication (CO) ...........................................................................21
4.8 Respectful Work Environment (WE) ..............................................................................23
4.9 Questioning Attitude (QA)..............................................................................................25
4.10 Decision making (DM) ...................................................................................................27
5 REFERENCES..............................................................................................................29
ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors of this report thank the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff members,
industry representatives, and members of the public who participated in the four public
workshops to develop this Safety Culture Common Language. We appreciate the willingness
shown by all parties to work collaboratively to build consensus around a common language.
xi
ADAMS Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency
INPO Institute for Nuclear Power Operations
FR Federal Register
NEI Nuclear Energy Institute
NRC U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
NRR Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
ROP Reactor Oversight Process
SCPS Safety Culture Policy Statement
SCWE safety-conscious work environment
1 INTRODUCTION
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has long recognized the importance of a
healthy nuclear safety culture. In 1989, in response to an incident at the Peach Bottom Nuclear
Power Plant, the NRC issued a “Policy Statement on the Conduct of Nuclear Power Plant
Operations” [1], which described the NRC’s expectation that licensees place appropriate
emphasis on safety in the operation of nuclear power plants. That policy statement placed an
emphasis on the personal dedication and accountability of all individuals engaged in any activity
that has a bearing on the safety of nuclear power plants. Additionally, the policy statement
underscored management’s responsibility for fostering the development of a healthy safety
culture at each facility and for providing a professional working environment in the control
room—and throughout the facility—to ensure safe operations.
In 1996, following an incident at the Millstone Nuclear Power Station in which workers were
retaliated against for whistleblowing, the Commission issued another policy statement,
“Freedom of Employees in the Nuclear Industry to Raise Safety Concerns without Fear of
Retaliation” [2]. This policy statement described the NRC’s expectation that all NRC licensees
establish a safety-conscious work environment. A safety-conscious work environment (SCWE)
is described as an environment in which workers feel free to raise safety concerns without fear
of harassment, intimidation, retaliation, or discrimination. Such a safety-conscious work
environment continues to be an important attribute of a healthy nuclear safety culture.
In 2002, investigations into the discovery of degradation of the reactor pressure vessel head at
Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station revealed that safety culture weaknesses were a root cause
of the event. The NRC took significant steps within the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) to
strengthen the agency’s ability to detect potential safety culture weaknesses during inspections
and performance assessments. Regulatory Issue Summary 2006-13, “Information on the
Changes Made to the Reactor Oversight Process To More Fully Address Safety Culture” [3],
was issued on July 31, 2006, to provide information to nuclear power reactor licensees on the
revised ROP. Most notably, the NRC revised the existing cross-cutting areas of human
performance, problem identification and resolution, and safety-conscious work environment to
incorporate aspects that are important to safety culture. The intent of the revisions to the ROP
was threefold:
(1) To provide better opportunities for the NRC staff to consider safety culture weaknesses
and to encourage licensees to take appropriate actions before significant performance
degradation occurs.
(2) To provide the NRC staff with a process to determine the need to specifically evaluate a
licensee’s safety culture after performance problems have resulted in the placement of a
licensee in the degraded cornerstone column of the action matrix.
(3) To provide the NRC staff with a structured process to evaluate the licensee’s safety
culture assessment and to independently conduct a safety culture assessment for a
licensee in the multiple/repetitive degraded cornerstone column of the action matrix.
In 2004, also in response to events at Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, the Institute for
Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) published a document titled, “Principles for a Strong Nuclear
Safety Culture” [4], which described principles and attributes of a healthy nuclear safety culture
as developed by an industry advisory group. In 2009, in partnership with the Nuclear Energy
2
Institute (NEI) and INPO, the nuclear power industry began a voluntary initiative to enhance
safety culture. The process for monitoring and improving safety culture used INPO’s principles
and attributes of a healthy nuclear safety culture as a framework and was described in the
document NEI 09-07, “Fostering a Strong Nuclear Safety Culture” [5].
In 2008, at the direction of the Commission, the NRC staff began an effort to expand the
Commission’s safety culture policy to address the unique aspects of security and ensure
applicability to all licensees and certificate holders. The NRC engaged in a unique collaborative
effort with stakeholders, including Agreement States, to develop a definition of nuclear safety
culture and a list of traits that describe that safety culture. The goal of this effort was to develop
a model that could be applied to any of the diverse stakeholders responsible for the safe and
secure use of nuclear materials. The final NRC Safety Culture Policy Statement (SCPS) was
published on June 14, 2011 [6]. This SCPS provides the NRC’s expectation that individuals and
organizations performing regulated activities establish and maintain a healthy safety culture that
recognizes the safety and security significance of their activities and the nature and complexity
of their organizations and functions. Because safety and security are the primary pillars of the
NRC’s regulatory mission, consideration of both safety and security issues, commensurate with
their significance, is an underlying principle of the SCPS.
The SCPS applies to all licensees, certificate holders, permit holders, authorization holders,
holders of quality assurance program approvals, vendors and suppliers of safety-related
components, and applicants for a license, certificate, permit, authorization, or quality assurance
program approval subject to NRC authority. In addition, the Commission encourages the
Agreement States (i.e., States that have signed formal agreements with the NRC to assume
regulatory responsibility over certain nuclear materials within their borders), their licensees, and
other organizations interested in nuclear safety to support the development and maintenance of
a healthy safety culture within their regulated communities.
The SCPS defines nuclear safety culture as the core values and behaviors resulting from a
collective commitment by leaders and individuals to emphasize safety over competing goals to
ensure protection of people and the environment. The SCPS also includes a list of traits further
defining a healthy safety culture. The SCPS notes that these traits describe patterns of thinking,
feeling, and behaving that emphasize safety, particularly in goal conflict situations (e.g., safety
considerations given precedence over concerns about production, schedule, and the cost of the
effort). The SCPS notes that these traits are not all-inclusive. Some organizations may find that
one or more of the traits are particularly relevant to their activities. There may also be traits not
included in the SCPS that are important in a healthy safety culture.
3
2 SAFETY CULTURE COMMON LANGUAGE INITIATIVE
The safety culture common language described in this report builds on the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) and the nuclear industry’s ongoing focus on safety culture. It
is the result of an attempt to harmonize differences in terms that different groups have used to
describe a healthy nuclear safety culture. In particular, this refers to the Institute for Nuclear
Power Operations’ (INPO’s) principles and attributes of safety culture, the NRC’s safety culture
components and aspects described in the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) [7], the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safety culture characteristics [8], and the safety
culture traits in the NRC’s Safety Culture Policy Statement. This initiative is within the
Commission-directed framework for enhancing the ROP treatment of cross-cutting areas to
more fully address safety culture.
Before work began on the 2011 Safety Culture Policy Statement (SCPS), the nuclear power
industry approached the NRC about starting an effort to develop a shared set of terms to
describe safety culture. This effort was deferred while the SCPS was being developed. With
insights gained during the development of the SCPS, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
(NRR) hosted a public workshop in December 2011 to begin to discuss the idea of a safety
culture common language. The public workshop included a panel of representatives from
INPO, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), all four NRC regional offices, and several offices
within NRC headquarters. It was open to public participation. The intent of this initiative, as
requested by the industry, was to align terminology between the NRC’s inspection and
assessment processes within the ROP and the industry’s assessment process as documented
in NEI 09-07, “Fostering a Strong Nuclear Safety Culture.”
During the December 2011 workshop, panelists used affinity diagraming methods to group
various safety culture terms and examples under common themes. The panel used the nine
traits of a positive safety culture described in the SCPS as the primary themes. The panelists
also identified an additional theme, “Decision making,” as being equally important as the nine
SCPS traits in describing a healthy safety culture in nuclear organizations. During a subsequent
workshop in April 2012, the panelists created and defined subcategories under each of the
10 traits. These subcategories became the 40 attributes of a healthy nuclear safety culture
described in this report.
To assist individuals and organizations in understanding and applying the common language
traits and attributes, the panelists reconvened in November 2012 and January 2013 to develop
examples of each attribute and a glossary of terms to define levels of an organization. The
examples more fully describe the values and behaviors that a nuclear organization and its
members should demonstrate in maintaining a healthy nuclear safety culture. The common
language was finalized during the January 2013 meeting. This report documents the agreed
upon common language describing the traits, attributes, and examples. INPO has also
published this common language in INPO 12-012, “Traits of a Healthy Nuclear Safety
Culture” [9].
The NRC and the nuclear industry recognize continuous learning as an important trait of a
healthy nuclear safety culture. As the NRC’s and the nuclear industry’s knowledge and
experience continues to develop, and as research on safety culture continues, this common
language may require revision to better describe model behaviors observable in a healthy
nuclear safety culture.
3 EXPLANATION OF TERMS
3.1 Terms
Organizations have different structures and terms for organizational roles and positions. This
listing defines terms used in this document and was developed as part of the common language
initiative. Each organization can determine how these terms apply to its unique organizational
structure.
Nuclear Safety Culture
The set of core values and behaviors resulting from a collective commitment by leaders and
individuals to emphasize safety over competing goals to ensure protection of people and the
environment
The Organization
The collective group of all individuals, the reporting structure, and the procedures, policies, and
practices that individuals use to set goals and make decisions, to accomplish tasks, and to
implement and maintain a healthy nuclear safety culture.
Individuals
All people at all levels of the organization; individuals include all leaders, individual contributors,
and supplemental personnel.
Leaders
Individuals who influence, coach, or lead others within the organization and determine the
vision, goals, or objectives of their teams; leaders include executives, managers, supervisors,
and others who influence individuals in the organization.
Executives
Corporate decision makers who are responsible for setting the long-term strategic goals for the
organization; executives develop and implement corporate policies.
Senior Managers
Those managers who are responsible for the execution of business activities, including setting
priorities for and monitoring the performance of the organization.
Managers
Individuals assigned to managerial positions who control, direct, guide, and advise; managers
include senior managers, and may include some supervisors.
Supervisors
Individuals who provide direction of the day-to-day activities of individual contributors;
supervisors may include superintendents, foremen, or work group leads.
Work Groups
Groups of individuals who work collaboratively to accomplish tasks; work groups may exist at
any level of the organization.
6
Individual Contributors
Individuals who operate individually or as members of work groups to accomplish tasks;
individual contributors may include leaders when leaders are acting in a nonsupervisory
capacity or are accomplishing tasks as members of a work group.
Supplemental Personnel
Individuals who accomplish work for but are not employees of the organization; supplemental
personnel include short- and long-term contractors and individuals who are not employed by the
organization but occasionally perform work related to nuclear safety.
Independent Oversight Organizations
Groups that independently review the performance and direction of the organization.
3.2 Relationships among Roles
Figure 3.2-1 is a graphical representation of the interrelationships among the terms defined in
Section 3.1, as visualized by members of the common language initiative.
Figure 3.2-1 Relationships among Roles in a Hypothetical Nuclear Industry Organization
7
4 TRAITS, ATTRIBUTES, AND EXAMPLES
4.1 Leadership Safety Values and Actions (LA)
Leaders demonstrate a commitment to safety in their decisions and behaviors.
LA.1 Resources: Leaders ensure that personnel, equipment, procedures, and other
resources are available and adequate to support nuclear safety.
Examples:
(1) Managers ensure staffing levels are consistent with the demands related to maintaining
safety and reliability.
(2) Managers ensure there are sufficient qualified personnel to maintain work hours within
working hour guidelines during all modes of operation.
(3) Managers ensure facilities are available and regularly maintained, including physical
improvements, simulator fidelity, and emergency facilities.
(4) Leaders ensure tools, equipment, procedures, and other resource materials are
available to support successful work performance, including risk management tools and
emergency equipment.
(5) Executives and senior managers ensure sufficient corporate resources are allocated to
the nuclear organization for short- and long-term safe and reliable operation.
(6) Executives and senior managers ensure a rigorous evaluation of the nuclear safety
implications of deferred work.
LA.2 Field Presence: Leaders are commonly seen in working areas of the plant
observing, coaching, and reinforcing standards and expectations. Deviations from
standards and expectations are corrected promptly.
Examples:
(1) Senior managers ensure supervisory and management oversight of work activities,
including contractors and supplemental personnel, such that nuclear safety is supported.
(2) Leaders from all levels in the organization are involved in oversight of work activities.
(3) Managers and supervisors practice visible leadership in the field and during safety
significant evolutions by placing “eyes on the problem,” coaching, mentoring, reinforcing
standards and reinforcing positive decision making practices and behaviors.
(4) Managers and supervisors discuss their observations in detail with the group they
observed and provide useful feedback about how to improve individual performance.
(5) Managers encourage informal leaders to model safe behaviors and high standards of
accountability.
8
LA.3 Incentives, Sanctions and Rewards: Leaders ensure incentives, sanctions, and
rewards are aligned with nuclear safety policies and reinforce behaviors and outcomes
that reflect safety as the overriding priority.
Examples:
(1) Managers ensure disciplinary actions are appropriate, consistent, and support both
nuclear safety and a safety conscious work environment.
(2) Managers reward individuals who identify and raise issues affecting nuclear safety.
(3) Leaders foster an environment that promotes accountability and hold individuals
accountable for their actions.
(4) Managers consider the potential chilling effects of disciplinary actions and other
potentially adverse personnel actions and take compensatory actions when appropriate.
(5) Leaders publicly praise behaviors that reflect a positive safety culture.
LA.4 Strategic Commitment to Safety: Leaders ensure plant priorities are aligned to
reflect nuclear safety as the overriding priority.
Examples:
(1) Executives and senior managers reinforce nuclear safety as the overriding priority.
(2) Managers develop and implement cost and schedule goals in a manner that reinforces
the importance of nuclear safety.
(3) Managers ensure production requirements are established, communicated, and put into
practice in a manner that reinforces nuclear safety.
(4) Executives and senior managers use information from independent oversight
organizations to establish priorities that align with nuclear safety.
(5) Executives and senior managers establish strategic and business plans that reflect the
importance of nuclear safety over production.
(6) Executives and senior managers ensure corporate priorities are aligned with nuclear
safety.
LA.5 Change Management: Leaders use a systematic process for evaluating and
implementing change so that nuclear safety remains the overriding priority.
Examples:
(1) When making decisions related to major changes, managers use a systematic process
for planning, coordinating, and evaluating the safety impacts and potential negative
effects on the willingness of individuals to raise safety concerns. This includes decisions
concerning changes to organizational structure and functions, leadership, policies,
programs, procedures, and resources.
9
(2) Executives and senior managers ensure nuclear safety is maintained when planning,
communicating, and executing major changes.
(3) Managers maintain a clear focus on nuclear safety when implementing the change
management process to ensure that significant unintended consequences are avoided.
(4) Managers ensure that individuals understand the importance of, and their role in, the
change management process.
(5) Managers anticipate, manage, and communicate the effects of impending changes.
(6) Managers and supervisors actively monitor and address potential distractions from
nuclear safety during periods of change.
LA.6 Roles, Responsibilities, and Authorities: Leaders clearly define roles,
responsibilities, and authorities to ensure nuclear safety.
Examples:
(1) Leaders ensure roles, responsibilities, and authorities are clearly defined, understood,
and documented.
(2) Managers appropriately delegate responsibility and authority to promote ownership and
accountability.
(3) Executives and senior managers ensure corporate managers who support the nuclear
organization and managers at the station understand their respective roles and
responsibilities.
(4) Recommendations and feedback from corporate governance, review boards, and
independent oversight organizations do not override senior managers’ ultimate
responsibility for decisions affecting nuclear safety.
LA.7 Constant Examination: Leaders ensure that nuclear safety is constantly
scrutinized through a variety of monitoring techniques, including assessments of
nuclear safety culture.
Examples:
(1) Executives and senior managers ensure that board members and members of
independent oversight organizations meet with leaders and individual contributors in
their work environments to develop an understanding of the status of the organization’s
safety culture.
(2) Executives and senior managers obtain outside perspectives of nuclear safety through
selection of qualified and critical independent safety review board members with diverse
backgrounds and perspectives.
(3) Executives and senior managers use a variety of monitoring tools including employee
surveys, self- and independent assessments, external safety review board member
10
feedback, and employee concern investigations to regularly monitor station nuclear
safety culture.
(4) Leaders support and participate in candid assessments of workplace attitudes and
nuclear safety culture, and act on issues that affect trust in management or detract from
a healthy nuclear safety culture.
LA.8 Leader Behaviors: Leaders exhibit behaviors that set the standard for safety.
Examples
(1) Leaders “walk the talk,” modeling correct behaviors, especially when resolving apparent
conflicts between nuclear safety and production.
(2) Leaders act promptly when a nuclear safety issue is raised to ensure it is understood
and appropriately addressed.
(3) Leaders maintain high standards of personal conduct that promote all aspects of a
positive nuclear safety culture.
(4) Leaders demonstrate interest in plant operations and actively seek out the opinions and
concerns of workers at all levels.
(5) Leaders encourage personnel to challenge unsafe behavior and unsafe conditions, and
support personnel when they stop plant activities for safety reasons.
(6) Leaders motivate others to practice positive safety culture behaviors.
11
4.2 Problem Identification and Resolution (PI)
Issues potentially impacting safety are promptly identified, fully evaluated, and promptly
addressed and corrected commensurate with their significance.
PI.1 Identification: The organization implements a corrective action program with a
low threshold for identifying issues. Individuals identify issues completely, accurately,
and in a timely manner in accordance with the program.
Examples:
(1) Individuals recognize deviations from standards.
(2) Individuals understand how to enter issues into the corrective action program.
(3) Individuals ensure that issues, problems, degraded conditions, and near misses are
promptly reported and documented in the corrective action program at a low threshold.
(4) Individuals describe the issues entered in the corrective action program in sufficient
detail to ensure they can be appropriately prioritized, trended, and assigned for
resolution.
PI.2 Evaluation: The organization thoroughly evaluates problems to ensure that
resolutions address causes and extent of conditions, commensurate with their safety
significance.
Examples:
(1) Issues are properly classified, prioritized, and evaluated according to their safety
significance.
(2) Operability and reportability determinations are developed, when appropriate.
(3) Apparent and root cause investigations identify primary and contributing causal factors
as required.
(4) Extent of condition and extent of cause evaluations are completed in a timely manner,
commensurate with the safety significance of the issue.
(5) Issues are thoroughly investigated according to their safety significance.
(6) Root cause analysis is rigorously applied to identify and correct the fundamental cause
of significant issues.
(7) The underlying organizational and safety culture contributors to issues are thoroughly
evaluated and are given the necessary time and resources to be clearly understood.
(8) Cause analyses identify and understand the basis for decisions that contributed to
issues.
(9) Managers conduct effectiveness reviews of significant corrective actions to ensure that
the resolution effectively addressed the causes.
12
PI.3 Resolution: The organization takes effective corrective actions to address issues
in a timely manner, commensurate with their safety significance.
Examples:
(1) Corrective actions are completed in a timely manner.
(2) Deferrals of corrective actions are minimized; when required, due dates are extended
using an established process that appropriately considers safety significance.
(3) Appropriate interim corrective actions are taken to mitigate issues while more
fundamental causes are being assessed.
(4) Corrective actions resolve and correct the identified issues, including causes and extent
of condition.
(5) Corrective actions prevent the recurrence of significant conditions adverse to quality.
(6) Trends in safety performance indicators are acted upon to resolve problems early.
PI.4 Trending: The organization periodically analyzes information from the corrective
action program and other assessments in the aggregate to identify programmatic and
common cause issues.
Examples:
(1) The organization develops indicators that monitor both equipment and organizational
performance, including safety culture.
(2) Managers use indicators that provide an accurate representation of performance and
provide early indications of declining trends.
(3) Managers routinely challenge the organization’s understanding of declining trends.
(4) Organizational and departmental trend reviews are completed in a timely manner in
accordance with program expectations.
13
4.3 Personal Accountability (PA)
All individuals take personal responsibility for safety
PA.1 Standards: Individuals understand the importance of adherence to nuclear
standards. All levels of the organization exercise accountability for shortfalls in meeting
standards.
Examples:
(1) Individuals encourage each other to adhere to high standards.
(2) Individuals demonstrate a proper focus on nuclear safety and reinforce this focus
through peer coaching and discussions.
(3) Individuals hold themselves personally accountable for modeling nuclear safety
behaviors.
(4) Individuals across the organization apply nuclear safety standards consistently.
(5) Individuals actively solicit and are open to feedback.
(6) Individuals help supplemental personnel understand and practice expected behaviors
and actions.
PA.2 Job Ownership: Individuals understand and demonstrate personal responsibility
for the behaviors and work practices that support nuclear safety.
Examples:
(1) Individuals understand their personal responsibility to foster a professional environment,
encourage teamwork, and identify challenges to nuclear safety.
(2) Individuals understand their personal responsibility to raise nuclear safety issues,
including those identified by others.
(3) Individuals take ownership for the preparation and execution of assigned work activities.
(4) Individuals actively participate in pre-job briefings, understanding their responsibility to
raise nuclear safety concerns before work begins.
(5) Individuals ensure that they are trained and qualified to perform assigned work.
(6) Individuals understand the objective of the work activity, their role in the activity, and
their personal responsibility for safely accomplishing the overall objective.
14
PA.3 Teamwork: Individuals and workgroups communicate and coordinate their
activities within and across organizational boundaries to ensure nuclear safety is
maintained.
Examples:
(1) Individuals demonstrate a strong sense of collaboration and cooperation in connection
with projects and operational activities.
(2) Individuals work as a team to provide peer-checks, verify certifications and training,
ensure detailed safety practices, actively peer coach new personnel, and share tools
and publications.
(3) Individuals strive to meet commitments.
15
4.4 Work Processes (WP)
The process of planning and controlling work activities is implemented so that safety is
maintained.
WP.1 Work Management: The organization implements a process of planning,
controlling, and executing work activities such that nuclear safety is the overriding
priority. The work process includes the identification and management of risk
commensurate to the work.
Examples:
(1) Work is effectively planned and executed by incorporating risk insights, job site
conditions, and the need for coordination with different groups or job activities.
(2) The work process appropriately prioritizes work and incorporates contingency plans,
compensatory actions, and abort criteria, as needed.
(3) Leaders consider the impact of changes to the work scope and the need to keep
personnel apprised of work status.
(4) The work process ensures individuals are aware of plant status, the nuclear safety risks
associated with work in the field, and other parallel station activities.
(5) Insights from probabilistic risk assessments are considered in daily work activities and
change processes.
(6) Work activities are coordinated to address conflicting or changing priorities across the
whole spectrum of activities contributing to nuclear safety.
(7) The work process limits temporary modifications.
WP.2 Design Margins: The organization operates and maintains equipment within
design margins. Margins are carefully guarded and changed only through a systematic
and rigorous process. Special attention is placed on maintaining fission product
barriers, defense-in-depth, and safety-related equipment.
Examples:
(1) The work process supports nuclear safety and maintenance of design margins by
minimizing long-standing equipment issues, preventative maintenance deferrals, and
maintenance and engineering backlogs.
(2) The work process ensures focus on maintaining fission product barriers,
defense-in-depth, and safety-related equipment.
(3) Design and operating margins are carefully guarded and changed only with great
thought and care.
(4) Safety-related equipment is operated and maintained well within design requirements.
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WP.3 Documentation: The organization creates and maintains complete, accurate and
up-to-date documentation.
Examples:
(1) Plant activities are governed by comprehensive, high-quality, programs, processes and
procedures.
(2) Design documentation, procedures, and work packages are complete, thorough,
accurate, and current.
(3) Components are labeled clearly, consistently, and accurately.
(4) The backlog of document changes is understood, prioritized, and actively managed to
ensure quality.
WP.4 Procedure Adherence: Individuals follow processes, procedures, and work
instructions.
Examples:
(1) Individuals follow procedures.
(2) Individuals understand and use human error reduction techniques.
(3) Individuals review procedures and instructions before work to validate that they are
appropriate for the scope of work and that required changes are completed before
implementation.
(4) Individuals manipulate plant equipment only when appropriately authorized and directed
by approved plant procedures or work instructions.
(5) Individuals ensure the status of work activities is properly documented.
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4.5 Continuous Learning (CL)
Opportunities to learn about ways to ensure safety are sought out and implemented.
CL.1 Operating Experience: The organization systematically and effectively collects,
evaluates, and implements relevant internal and external operating experience in a timely
manner.
Examples:
(1) There is a process to ensure a thorough review of operating experience provided by
internal and external sources.
(2) Operating experience is effectively implemented and institutionalized through changes to
station processes, procedures, equipment, and training programs.
(3) Operating experience is used to understand equipment, operational, and industry
challenges and adopt new ideas to improve performance.
(4) Operating experience is used to support daily work functions with emphasis on the
possibility that it “could happen here.”
(5) Station operating experience is shared in a timely manner.
CL.2 Self-Assessment: The organization routinely conducts self-critical and objective
assessments of its programs and practices.
Examples:
(1) Self- and independent assessments, including nuclear safety culture assessments, are
thorough and effective and used as a basis for improvements.
(2) The organization values the insights and perspectives provided through assessments.
(3) Self-assessments are performed on a variety of topics, including the self-assessment
process itself.
(4) Self-assessments are performed at a regular frequency and provide objective,
comprehensive, and self-critical information that drive corrective actions.
(5) Targeted self-assessments are performed when a more thorough understanding of an
issue is required.
(6) A balanced approach of self-assessments and independent oversight is used and
periodically adjusted based on changing needs.
(7) Self-assessment teams include individual contributors and leaders from within the
organization, as well as from external organizations, when appropriate.
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CL.3 Benchmarking: The organization learns from other organizations to continuously
improve knowledge, skills, and safety performance.
Examples
(1) The organization uses benchmarking as an avenue for acquiring innovative ideas to
improve nuclear safety.
(2) The organization participates in benchmarking activities with other nuclear and
non-nuclear facilities.
(3) The organization seeks out better practices by using benchmarking to understand how
others perform the same functions.
(4) The organization uses benchmarking to compare station standards to the industry and
make adjustments to improve performance.
(5) Individual contributors are actively involved in benchmarking.
CL.4 Training: The organization provides training and ensures knowledge transfer to
maintain a knowledgeable, technically competent workforce and instill nuclear safety
values.
Examples:
(1) The organization fosters an environment in which individuals value and seek continuous
learning opportunities.
(2) Individuals, including supplemental workers, are adequately trained to ensure technical
competency and an understanding of standards and work requirements.
(3) Individuals master reactor and power plant fundamentals to establish a solid foundation
for sound decisions and behaviors.
(4) The organization develops and effectively implements knowledge transfer and
knowledge retention strategies.
(5) Knowledge transfer and knowledge retention strategies are applied to capture the
knowledge and skill of experienced individuals to advance the knowledge and skill of
less experienced individuals.
(6) Leadership and management skills are systematically developed.
(7) Training is developed and continuously improved using input and feedback from
individual contributors and subject matter experts.
(8) Executives obtain the training necessary to understand basic plant operation and the
relationships between major functions and organizations.
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4.6 Environment for Raising Concerns (RC)
A safety-conscious work environment (SCWE) is maintained where personnel feel free to raise
safety concerns without fear of retaliation, intimidation, harassment, or discrimination.
RC.1 Safety-Conscious Work Environment Policy: The organization effectively
implements a policy that supports individuals’ rights and responsibilities to raise safety
concerns, and does not tolerate harassment, intimidation, retaliation, or discrimination
for doing so.
Examples:
(1) Individuals feel free to raise nuclear safety concerns without fear of retribution, with
confidence that their concerns will be addressed.
(2) Executives and senior managers set and reinforce expectations for establishing and
maintaining a safety-conscious work environment.
(3) Policies and procedures reinforce that individuals have the right and responsibility to
raise nuclear safety concerns.
(4) Policies and procedures define the responsibilities of leaders to create an environment in
which individuals feel free to raise safety concerns.
(5) Policies and procedures establish the expectation that leaders will respond in a
respectful manner and provide timely feedback to the individuals raising concerns.
(6) Leaders are trained to take ownership when receiving and responding to concerns,
recognizing confidentiality if appropriate and ensuring the concerns are adequately
addressed in a timely manner.
(7) Individuals are trained that behaviors or actions that could prevent concerns from being
raised, including harassment, intimidation, retaliation, or discrimination, will not be
tolerated, and are violations of law and policy.
(8) All claims of retaliation are investigated and any necessary corrective actions are taken
in a timely manner, including actions to mitigate any potential chilling effect.
RC.2 Alternate Process for Raising Concerns: The organization effectively implements
a process for raising and resolving concerns that is independent of line-management
influence. Safety issues may be raised in confidence and are resolved in a timely and
effective manner.
Examples:
(1) Executives establish, support, and promote the use of alternative processes for raising
concerns, and ensure corrective actions are taken.
(2) Leaders understand their role in supporting alternate processes for raising concerns.
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(3) Processes for raising concerns or resolving differing professional opinions that are
alternatives to the corrective action program and operate outside the influence of the
management chain are communicated and accessible to individuals.
(4) Alternate processes are independent, include an option to raise concerns confidentially,
and ensure these concerns are appropriately resolved in a timely manner.
(5) Individuals receive feedback in a timely manner.
(6) Individuals have confidence that issues raised will be appropriately resolved.
(7) Individuals assigned to respond to concerns have the appropriate competencies.
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4.7 Effective Safety Communication (CO)
Communications maintain a focus on safety.
CO.1 Work Process Communications: Individuals incorporate safety communications
in work activities.
Examples:
(1) Communications within workgroups are timely, frequent, and accurate.
(2) Work groups and supervisors communicate work status with other work groups and
supervisors during the performance of their work activities.
(3) Individuals communicate with each other such that everyone has the information
necessary to accomplish work activities safely and effectively.
(4) Communications during shift turnovers and pre-job briefs provide information necessary
to support nuclear safety.
(5) Work groups integrate nuclear safety messages into daily activities and meetings.
CO.2 Basis for Decisions: Leaders ensure that the basis for operational and
organizational decisions is communicated in a timely manner.
Examples:
(1) Leaders promptly communicate expected outcomes, potential problems, planned
contingencies, and abort criteria for important operational decisions.
(2) Leaders share information on a wide range of issues with individuals and periodically
verify their understanding of the information.
(3) Leaders take steps to avoid unintended or conflicting messages that may be conveyed
by operational decisions.
(4) Leaders encourage individuals to ask questions if they do not understand the basis of
operational and management decisions.
(5) Executives and senior managers communicate the reasons for resource allocation
decisions, including the nuclear safety implications of those decisions.
CO.3 Free Flow of Information: Individuals communicate openly and candidly, both up,
down, and across the organization, and with oversight, audit, and regulatory
organizations.
Examples:
(1) Leaders encourage free flow of information.
(2) Individuals share information openly and candidly.
22
(3) Leaders respond to individuals in an open, honest, and nondefensive manner.
(4) Individuals provide complete, accurate, and forthright information to oversight, audit, and
regulatory organizations.
(5) Leaders actively solicit feedback, listen to concerns, and communicate openly with all
individuals.
(6) Leaders candidly communicate the results of monitoring and assessment throughout the
organization and with independent oversight organizations.
CO.4 Expectations: Leaders frequently communicate and reinforce the expectation that
nuclear safety is the organization’s overriding priority.
Examples:
(1) Executives and senior managers communicate expectations regarding nuclear safety so
that individuals understand that safety is of the highest priority.
(2) Executives and senior managers implement a strategy of frequent communication using
a variety of tools to reinforce that nuclear safety is the overriding priority.
(3) Executives and senior managers reinforce the importance of nuclear safety by clearly
communicating its relationship to strategic issues including budget, workforce planning,
equipment reliability, and business plans.
(4) Leaders communicate desired nuclear safety behaviors to individuals, including
providing examples of how behaviors can positively or negatively affect nuclear safety.
(5) Leaders routinely verify that communications on the importance of nuclear safety have
been heard and understood.
(6) Leaders ensure supplemental personnel understand expected behaviors and actions
necessary to maintain nuclear safety.
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4.8 Respectful Work Environment (WE)
Trust and respect permeate the organization.
WE.1 Respect is Evident: Everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
Examples:
(1) The organization regards individuals and their professional capabilities and experiences
as its most valuable asset.
(2) Individuals at all levels of the organization treat each other with dignity and respect.
(3) Individuals treat each other with respect within and between work groups.
(4) Individuals do not demonstrate or tolerate bullying or humiliating behaviors.
(5) Leaders monitor for behaviors that can have a negative impact on the work environment
and address them promptly.
(6) Leaders ensure policies and expectations are enforced fairly and consistently for
individuals at all levels of the organization.
(7) Individuals treat decisionmakers with respect, even when they disagree with a decision.
(8) Leaders ensure facilities are conducive to a productive work environment and
housekeeping is maintained.
WE.2 Opinions are Valued: Individuals are encouraged to voice concerns, provide
suggestions, and offer questions. Differing opinions are respected.
Examples:
(1) The organization encourages individuals to offer ideas, concerns, suggestions, differing
opinions, and questions to help identify and solve problems.
(2) Leaders are receptive to ideas, concerns, suggestions, differing opinions, and questions.
(3) The organization promotes robust discussions, recognizing that differing opinions are a
natural result of differences in expertise and experience.
(4) Individuals value the insights and perspectives provided by quality assurance, the
employee concerns program, and independent oversight organizations.
WE.3 High Level of Trust: Trust is fostered among individuals and workgroups
throughout the organization.
Examples:
(1) Leaders promote collaboration among work groups.
(2) Leaders respond to questions and concerns in an open and honest manner.
24
(3) Leaders, sensitive to the negative impact of a lack of information, share important
information in an open, honest, and timely manner such that trust is maintained.
(4) Leaders ensure that plant status and important work milestones are communicated
throughout the organization.
(5) Leaders acknowledge positive performance and address negative performance promptly
and directly with the individual involved; confidentiality is maintained as appropriate.
(6) Leaders welcome performance feedback from throughout the organization and modify
their behavior when appropriate.
WE.4 Conflict Resolution: Fair and objective methods are used to resolve conflict.
Examples:
(1) The organization implements processes to ensure fair and objective resolution of
conflicts and differing views.
(2) Leaders ensure conflicts are resolved in a balanced, equitable, and consistent manner,
even when outside of defined processes.
(3) Individuals have confidence that conflicts will be resolved respectfully and professionally.
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4.9 Questioning Attitude (QA)
Individuals avoid complacency and continuously challenge existing conditions and activities in
order to identify discrepancies that might result in error or inappropriate action.
QA.1 Nuclear Is Recognized as Special and Unique: Individuals understand that
complex technologies can fail in unpredictable ways.
Examples:
(1) The organization ensures that activities that could affect reactivity are conducted with
particular care, caution, and oversight.
(2) Individuals recognize the special characteristics and unique hazards of nuclear
technology including radioactive byproducts, concentration of energy in the core, and
decay heat.
(3) Individuals recognize the particular importance of features designed to maintain critical
safety functions, such as core and spent fuel cooling.
(4) Executives and senior managers ask probing questions to understand the implications
and consequences of anomalies in plant conditions.
(5) Executives and senior managers challenge managers to ensure degraded conditions are
fully understood and appropriately resolved, especially those involving equipment
important to nuclear safety.
QA.2 Challenge the Unknown: Individuals stop when faced with uncertain conditions.
Risks are evaluated and managed before proceeding.
Examples:
(1) Leaders reinforce expectations that individuals take the time to do the job right the first
time, seek guidance when unsure, and stop if an unexpected condition or equipment
response is encountered.
(2) Individuals maintain a questioning attitude during pre-job briefs and job-site reviews to
identify and resolve unexpected conditions.
(3) Individuals challenge unanticipated test results rather than rationalize them. For
example, abnormal indications are not automatically attributed to indication problems,
but are thoroughly investigated before activities are allowed to continue.
(4) Individuals communicate unexpected plant responses and conditions to the control
room.
(5) Individuals stop work activities when confronted with an unexpected condition,
communicate with supervisors, and resolve the condition prior to continuing work
activities. When appropriate, individuals consult system and equipment experts.
(6) If a procedure or work document is unclear or cannot be performed as written,
individuals stop work until the issue is resolved.
26
QA.3 Challenge Assumptions: Individuals challenge assumptions and offer opposing
views when they think something is not correct.
Examples:
(1) Leaders solicit challenges to assumptions when evaluating nuclear safety issues.
(2) Individual contributors ask questions to fully understand the bases of operational and
management decisions that appear to be contrary to nuclear safety.
(3) Managers question assumptions, decisions, and justifications that do not appear to
sufficiently consider impacts to nuclear safety.
QA.4 Avoid Complacency: Individuals recognize and plan for the possibility of
mistakes, latent problems, or inherent risk, even while expecting successful outcomes.
Examples:
(1) The organization is aware that latent conditions can exist, addresses them as they are
discovered, and considers the extent of the conditions and their causes.
(2) Before authorizing work, individuals verify procedure prerequisites are met rather than
assume they are met based on general plant conditions.
(3) Individual contributors perform a thorough review of the work site and planned activity
every time work is performed rather than relying on past successes and assumed
conditions.
(4) Leaders ensure specific contingency actions are discussed and understood during job
planning and pre-job briefs.
(5) Individuals consider potential undesired consequences of their actions before performing
work and implement appropriate error-reduction tools.
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4.10 Decision making (DM)
Decisions that support or affect nuclear safety are systematic, rigorous, and thorough.
DM.1 Consistent Process: Individuals use a consistent, systematic approach to make
decisions. Risk insights are incorporated as appropriate.
Examples:
(1) The organization establishes a well-defined decision making process, with variations
allowed for the complexity of the issue being decided.
(2) Individuals demonstrate an understanding of the decision making process and use it
consistently.
(3) Leaders seek inputs from different work groups or organizations as appropriate when
making safety- or risk-significant decisions.
(4) When previous operational decisions are called into question by new facts, leaders
re-evaluate these decisions to ensure they remain appropriate.
(5) The organization uses the results of effectiveness reviews to improve future decisions.
DM.2 Conservative Bias: Individuals use decision making practices that emphasize
prudent choices over those that are simply allowable. A proposed action is determined
to be safe to proceed, rather than unsafe in order to stop.
Examples:
(1) Managers ensure that conservative assumptions are used when determining whether
emergent or unscheduled work can be conducted safely.
(2) Leaders take a conservative approach to decision making, particularly when information
is incomplete or conditions are unusual.
(3) Leaders consider long-term consequences when determining how to resolve emergent
concerns.
(4) Managers take timely action to address degraded conditions commensurate with their
safety significance.
(5) Executives and senior managers reinforce the expectation that the reactor will be shut
down when procedurally required, when the margin for safe operation has degraded
unacceptably, or when the condition of the reactor is uncertain. Managers implement
this expectation.
(6) Individuals do not rationalize assumptions for the sake of completing a task.
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DM.3 Accountability for Decisions: Single-point accountability is maintained for
nuclear safety decisions.
Examples:
(1) The on-shift licensed operators have the authority and responsibility to place the plant in
a safe condition when faced with unexpected or uncertain conditions.
(2) A designated, on-shift licensed senior reactor operator has the authority and
responsibility to determine equipment operability.
(3) Managers maintain single-point accountability for important safety decisions.
(4) The organization ensures that important nuclear safety decisions are made by the
correct person at the lowest appropriate level.
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5 REFERENCES
[1] Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (1989). Policy Statement on the Conduct of Nuclear
Power Plant Operations. Federal Register Notice 54 FR 3424.
[2] Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (1996). Freedom of Employees in the Nuclear
Industry to Raise Safety Concerns Without Fear of Retaliation. Federal Register notice
[3] Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (2006). Regulatory Issue Summary 2006-13.
Information on the Changes Made to the Reactor Oversight Process to More Fully
Address Safety Culture. Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS) Accession No. ML061880341.
[4] Institute for Nuclear Power Operations. (2004). Principles for a Strong Nuclear Safety
Culture. ADAMS Accession No. ML091940546.
[5] Nuclear Energy Institute. (2009). NEI 09-07. Fostering a Strong Nuclear Safety
Culture. ADAMS Accession No. ML091590728.
[6] Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (2011). Final Safety Culture Policy Statement.
Federal Register notice 76 FR 34773. ADAMS Accession No. ML111650336.
[7] Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (2011). Components within the Cross-Cutting Areas.
NRC Inspection Manual, Chapter 0310. Version Issued October 28, 2011. ADAMS
Accession No. ML091480473.
[8] International Atomic Energy Agency. (2006). Application of the Management System
for Facilities and Activities: Safety Guide. IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GS-G-3.1.
Available at http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1253_web.pdf
[9] Institute for Nuclear Power Operations. (2012). INPO 12-012. Traits of a Healthy
Nuclear Safety Culture. ADAMS Accession No. ML13031A707.
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20555-0001
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
NUREG-2165 Safety Culture Common Language March 2014