Report of the 14th Bureau Meeting of the
Steering Committee on Regulatory Capacity
Building and Knowledge Management
27-30 April 2015,
CSN, Madrid Spain
CONTENTS
1.
Introduction
2.
Objectives of the meeting
3.
Summary
4.
Bureau Work Program and dates for next Bureau meeting.
5.
Conclusions
Annex I
Agenda of the 14th Bureau meeting
Annex II
List of Participants
Annex III
Revised Work Programme
Annex IV
Draft agenda for the 7th SC plenary meeting
Page 2
1.
Introduction
In 2009 a Steering Committee on Competence of Human Resources for Regulatory Bodies
was established in order to share knowledge, experience and to advice the IAEA on Member
States’ needs and best ways to support their training programmes. In 2013, the Steering
Committee conducted an analysis of achievements and advised the IAEA to enlarge the scope
of work and membership by producing new terms of Reference and a revised work
programme. Building on the 5 years of fruitful experience and the results accomplished by the
Steering Committee, it was decided to rename it into Steering Committee on Regulatory
Capacity Building and Knowledge Management (henceforth SC) in order to better describe
the SC’s scope. The SC focuses on workforce and organizational development issues
regulators should consider ensuring they have the capacity to regulate the safety of Nuclear
Power Plants. The SC also brings together regulatory experts in the area of development of
competence and training. Since its establishment, the SC has been implementing its work
programme.
Amongst the achievements of the SC, the following work can be noted:




Development, revision and updating of the Guidelines on Systematic Assessment of
Competence Needs (SARCoN), and its associated questionnaires and software based
assessment tool 1
Research on best systems to ensure and manage regulatory competence. The results
are published in Safety Reports Series No. 79 entitled “Managing Regulatory Body
Competence”2. This Safety Report can be used by Member States on how to meet the
requirements of systematically assessing staff competence needs, in the near and long
term and, on the basis of this, delivering training and other elements of competence
development, as well as continually improving this part of the management system.
Sharing training courses and documentation amongst its members and creating a
compilation of websites and internet resources useful for training of regulatory bodies
available from the Member States (henceforth MS) and the IAEA.
Promoting and giving advice on the IAEA safety standards related to developing,
ensuring and managing regulatory competence.
The SC counts more than 20 MS and meets in plenary once a year. A limited group of SC
Members (called the Bureau) meets once or twice between plenary meetings with the IAEA
Secretariat. The objectives of these Bureau meetings are to revise and ensure the
implementation of the work programme, to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the
working methods and results and to prepare the agenda for the upcoming plenary meeting.
The Bureau usually meets once in Vienna and once in one of the Bureau Member States. This
was the 14th Bureau meeting and it was hosted by Spain, at the nuclear regulatory body
Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (CSN).
1
IAEA-TECDOC-1757: Methodology for the Systematic Assessment of the Regulatory Competence Needs
(SARCoN) for Regulatory Bodies of Nuclear Installations
2
IAEA Safety Reports Series 79: Managing Regulatory Body Competence
Page 3
2. Objectives of the meeting
The objectives of the meeting were:
1.
2.
3.
4.
To exchange information on competence building and new developments amongst
the Bureau Members and in the IAEA.
To revise the midyear implementation of the work programme of the SC and its
alignment with the strategic objectives of the SC’s Terms of Reference.
To discuss the ongoing work for a TECDOC knowledge management for
Regulators and experience using SARCoN (Systematic Assessment of Regulatory
Competence Needs).
To prepare the agenda for the 7th plenary meeting of the SC in Vienna, 7-11
December 2015.
3. Summary
The meeting was opened by Mr. A. Munuera, Technical Director for Nuclear Safety of the
CSN, who welcomed all the participants and gave a brief overview of the challenges faced by
the CSN, especially in the area of Knowledge Management, with a high amount of technical
staff retiring within the next decade.
Mr. Hudson, Chairman of the SC and representative of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) thanked the hosts and the rest of the Bureau Members for attending the meeting and
went briefly over the terms in the proposed agenda, after which it was adopted as final (see
Annex I).
The introduction by the IAEA was given by Mr. Mallick, who expressed the importance the
SC has supporting the work of the Agency in the area of Capacity Building (the complete list
of the meeting participants can be found at the Annex II).
3.1 Exchanging Information on new developments
First item on the agenda was the presentation by the members of the Bureau of the main
national developments. What follows is a summary of main highlights:
France
Mr. Louvat focussed on the European perspective. He gave an overview of a feasibility study
they are implementing in nuclear safety assessment by regulators and TSOs of the European
Union. The study covers 16 EU countries with nuclear power. The study tries to establish the
potential of establishing a level playing field of skills and competence for safety assessment
carried out by safety authorities/regulators and TSOs in the EU member states. The current
status is the start of the first pilot courses during 2015.
Finland
Ms. Koskinen from Säteilyturvakeskus (STUK) explained the challenges arising from a
government budget cutting (basically in the radiation protection research). She gave also an
update on the new NPP buildings (Fennovoima, Teollisuuden Voima and Olkiluoto). Another
big challenge has been the preparation of the IRRS follow-up mission (closing some open
issues from the last mission). In the areas of CB there have been some new developments
such a new mapping of competences and the introduction of the use of the SARCoN tool.
There is also a simplified flowchart of competence management that was presented to the
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participants, as well as a draft qualification process for new STUK inspectors (as a result of
IRRS recommendations).
Belgium
Mr. Mignot from Bel-V gave an update on the different issues at the operating Belgian NPPs.
There are two units (Doel3 and Tihange2) still stopped since April last year due to a very high
number of indications in the RPV shell and their future is still uncertain. In Doel 4, the turbine
damaged by sabotage last year has been repaired and the unit is working again since
December 2014. There have been also changes in the future prospects of the NPPs, with a
possible extension of life of the 2 oldest units of Doel (Doel1 & 2) beyond 40 years (still
under decision).
Spain
Mr. Gil explained the actions by the Spanish regulator CSN to face, specifically: the
decommissioning of two NPPs, the licensing and oversight of the new dry spent fuel facility
life extension and long shutdown period of the Garoña NPP and, most related to CSNs work,
the way to preserve the knowledge capital that could be lost in the next few years, when
around 20% of the technical staff will retire. There is a big project to tackle this by
implementing a comprehensive knowledge transfer plan. The CSN is collaborating with
international partners (such as France’s Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire,
IRSN) the Spanish nuclear industry and other organisations such as the Spanish nuclear
energy knowledge platform Plataforma Tecnológica de Energía Nuclear de Fisión (CEIDEN)
to explore ways to overcome this challenge.
Germany
Ms. Jelinski from the Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) mentioned the
establishment of a new federal agency for nuclear disposal. This federal agency will deal with
all the questions and issues relevant for making a decision for the location of a final
repository. This year the ninth German nuclear power plant will shut down. The last nuclear
power plants in Germany will shut down at the end of 2022 according to the schedule in the
German Atomic Energy Act. According to this the concrete tasks of the regulatory staff and
the issues to be dealt with will slowly change in the coming years. Keeping the necessary
competence and building corresponding competences will be challenging.
United States of America
Mr. Hudson presented on the current issues in the HR area faced by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission: The NRC is downsizing following the review on the expected NPPs operating
in the short and medium term. This represents a challenge on how to manage the changes in
staff, but also needs the organisation to become more agile and less rigid to respond to
increasing demand on specific issues such as decommissioning. The NRC has started a small
team of Organisational Development workers from the field of Industrial Psychology to work
on managing change, strengthening safety culture and employee engagement, other workforce
issues. Mr Hudson explained how all U.S federal agencies undergo an annual employee
survey to assess organizational culture and employee engagement, and that NRC consistently
scores at or near the top.
IAEA
Page 5
Mr. Mallick gave an update on the current most significant issues from the IAEA, starting
with the publication of the proceedings of the International Conference on Human Resource
Development for Nuclear Power Programmes in 2014. There was also information on the
advancement on the actions established by the Nuclear Safety Action Plan, in particular action
9, devoted to Capacity Building. There is also an effort to work on lessons learned from
different review services (ETReS, EduTA, IRRS, OSaRT3, etc.). Finally, Mr. Mallick
presented the progress on the collaboration IAEA/European Commission: both organisations
are working on mapping their education and training, trying to obtain an overview on the
resources available and on the specific activities done nationally. There was also reference to
the work being done in the e-learning area, as well as on the training programs for Safety,
Security and Safeguards. Mr. Mallick developed briefly on the document on knowledge
management for regulators that is being developed, with the next CS meeting planned to be
held in Moscow. There is also work going on to produce a document on experiences using
SARCoN, building on the knowledge acquired through the application of the tool on several
Member States. The Bureau agreed to include in this year’s SC agenda a specific session on
the work being done on safety culture, as one of the integral parts of the whole Capacity
Building concept.
Ms. Moracho and Mr. Gil Martin from the IAEA spoke about the latest developments on the
following activities: the update of the Regulatory Control of Nuclear Power Plants (currently
IAEA Training Course Series 154) the new version of the Basic Professional Training Course,
the analysis on the implementation of the Strategic Approach to Education and Training in
Nuclear Safety 2013-2020 and finally the latest Education and Training Review Service
(ETReS) missions.
3.2 Discussion on the document on KM for regulators
Mr. Mallick offered a deeper look on the work underway on the document IAEA Report on
Knowledge Management for Regulators, which is now under development of a second draft.
The IAEA and the drafters would like to count on the experience and support from the SC
members to improve the existing draft, especially on the regulatory perspective. The objective
of the publication is to provide guidance to Member States on how to plan, establish and
maintain an effective safety knowledge management (KM) system for regulators.
3.3 Discussion of the developments on SARCoN
Mr. Mignot presented on latest developments in the area of the Systematic Assessment of
Regulatory Competence Needs for Regulatory Bodies of Nuclear Facilities (hereinafter
SARCoN) including a brief recapitulation on the SARCoN tool and its application and the
publication of its guidelines (TECDOC-1757). The newest development is the start of the
works by the IAEA and external experts to produce a document trying to compile experiences
in the use of SARCoN, after its application in several countries and the lessons learned. The
presentation included discussion of some of the aspects of the tool and its application
(subjectivity levels, action plans, definitions, etc.)
3
ETReS: Education and training review service. EduTA: Education and Training Appraisal. IRRS: Integrated
Regulatory Review Service. OSaRT: Operational Safety Review Team.
4
IAEA Training Course Series 15: Regulatory Control of Nuclear Power Plants
Page 6
There was also information on the implementation of SARCoN at Bel V. The Belgian TSO is
committed to the use of SARCoN tool and methodology in accordance with an updated HRM
process. There is now a new model with a revised list of KSAs 5 tailored to the real needs of
Bel V and the intention to extend the use of SARCoN for the whole staff.
3.4 Update on the USNRC Knowledge Management Policy
Mr. Hudson introduced the NRC KM program introduced in 2006 to cope with the sharp
increase on recruits anticipating the “nuclear renaissance” and the high number of retiring
employees.
The model included a distributed model for governance and roles & responsibilities. It defines
6 specific roles from Senior-level KM executive Champion to KM Communities of Practice.
Mr. Hudson explained their responsibilities within the overall KM model. There was also an
insight on KM methodologies or practices, such as knowledge capture practices, knowledge
sharing practices, etc. He explained also about the project Ask SME, where senior staff give
seminars open to NRC workers to be able to share their knowledge and experience.
3.5 Technical visit
The programme included a technical visit to the premises of TECNATOM, Spanish company
operating in the field of engineering, most especially at nuclear power plants. During the visit,
the TECNATOM staff presented the Bureau with an overview on the CEIDEN, the Spanish
nuclear energy knowledge platform6, created in 2007 with the aim to coordinate the different
R+D national plans and to participate in international initiatives related to nuclear energy.
The visit also included showing the work done in the education and training area by
TECNATOM, by means of a 1:1 NPP control room replica, virtual reality programs and
several high technology virtual simulators.
3.6 Work Programme
The Bureau did a major update of the SC Work Programme. The goal was to review one by
one all actions from the old working programme and restructure them in line with the 7
activities outlined in the revision of the SC Terms of Reference approved last year, as well as
to add new actions. (see Annex III in a separate attachement).
3.7 Agenda for the next plenary meeting
There was a discussion on the agenda for the 7th SC Plenary meeting, which will take place in
Vienna at the VIC on the 7-11 December 2015. Apart from the usual presentations on updates
from IAEA E&T programmes and resources, it was agreed to devote the second day to
5
KSA: Knowledges, Skills and Attitudes.
6
http://www.ceiden.com/
Page 7
national presentations of those countries who want to introduce specific projects in the area of
E&T, Knowledge, Management, Capacity Building, etc.
Three main priority subjects were selected for the 7th plenary meeting of the SC:
1. Regulatory competence for leadership and safety culture.
2. Lessons learnt on Member States’ use of SARCoN.
3. Knowledge Management for Regulators.
The draft agenda includes the following sessions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Opening, Member States & IAEA Updates
Experiences on SARCoN
Regulatory Knowledge Management
Competences for Safety Culture and Leadership in Regulators
Conclusions, Recommendations and Future Actions
It was also agreed to organise a side event on the use of the SARCoN tool. A more detailed
draft agenda can be found in Annex IV.
4. Actions and next meetings dates for the Bureau
The Bureau decided to have a half-day preparatory meeting on Monday 7th of December if
needed. An additional Bureau meeting is foreseen in the spring of 2016.
The Bureau Members agreed to give preliminary comments and ideas on the available draft of
the document IAEA Report on Knowledge Management for Regulators. Deadline of July
10th.
IAEA Secretariat shall:
1. Inform the Bureau Members and the rest of the SC of the availability of the new
website and improvement of the contents.
2. Include in the SC shared space:
a. The project on knowledge management for regulators
b. The BPTC and Regulatory Control book updates.
c. The ongoing work on safety culture self assessment in regulatory bodies.
d. ETReS and SARCoN project pages.
5. Conclusions
The Bureau completed its agenda and achieved its objectives. The Bureau effectively
contributes, advises and assists the IAEA in its work to address current needs and challenges
of regulators with a view to implementing the IAEA Safety Standards, in particular in the area
of managing knowledge and ensuring sustainable and competent human resources.
The three main outputs of the meeting are:
1. A revised work programme in line with the strategic objectives of the SC as set in its
ToR.
2. A draft agenda for the 7th plenary meeting of the SC to be held in Vienna, December
7-11.
Page 8
3. A meeting report including national experiences, approaches and challenges related to
regulatory capacity building.
The new SC’s Terms of Reference approved in 2014 and the updated work programme
support the implementation of the Strategic Approach. They are now aligned to recent
developments such as the Capacity Building concept of the Nuclear Safety Work program and
the work of the IAEA Nuclear Safety and Security Network (GNSSN).
Page 9
List of Annexes:
Annex I
Agenda
Annex II
List of Participants
Annex III
Revised Work Programme
Annex IV
Draft Agenda for the 7th SC Plenary Meeting
Page 10
ANNEX I: AGENDA
Monday 27th (14:30- 17:00)
(14:30) Welcome - Opening remarks
CSN
(15:00) Introduction: Presentations on recent developments in the national
regulators
All
Tuesday 28th (9:30- 17:00)
(09:30) Recent IAEA activities
1. NS Capacity Building developments
2. Strategic Approach to Education and Training in Nuclear Safety 2013–
2020: Implementation Status
3. Revision of the Regulatory Control Book
4. Discussion on the ongoing work on Knowledge Management for
Regulators
IAEA
(13:00) Lunch Break
All
(14:30) Technical Visit to Tecnatom facilities
All
All
Wednesday 29th (9:30- 17:00)
(09:30) Discussion on IAEA activities, revision of the SC Work Program and
All
Preparation of the agenda for the 7th SC Meeting (7–11 December 2015)
(13:00) Lunch Break
All
(14:30) Discussion (cont.)
All
(18:00) Cultural event and dinner
All
Thursday 30th (9:30- 13:00)
(09:30) Visit to the CSN Information Centre
All
(10:30) Conclusions and future actions
All
(13:00) Closure of the meeting
All
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ANNEX II: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
COUNTRY
ORGANIZATION & ADDRESS
PARTICIPANT
Belgium
Mr
Finland
Ms
France
Mr
Louvat
Didier,
didier.louvat@enstti.eu
Germany
Ms
Jelinski
Marianne,
Marianne.Jelinski@grs.d
e
United States Mr
of America
Mignot
Pierre,
pierre.mignot@belv.be
piapim@skynet.be
Koskinen
Annakaisa,
Kaisa.Koskinen@stuk.fi
Hudson
Jody,
Jody.Hudson@nrc.gov
BELV Rue Walcourt 148
1070 BRUXELLES
Tel: 0032 2 7628084
Mobile: 0032 476 726083
Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority
(STUK)
P.O. Box 14
Laippatie 4
00881 HELSINKI
Finland
Tel: +358 9 75988322
Fax: + 358 9 75988382
European Nuclear Safety Training and Tutoring
Institute (ENSTTI) 12, rue de la Redoute
12, rue de la Redoute 92260 Fontenay-aux-Roses
France
Tel: +33 (0) 7 86 10 53 23; +33 1 58 35 9229; +33 (0)
7 86 10 53 23; +33 (0) 7 86 10 53 23; +33 (0) 7 8
Gesellschaft für Anlagen und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS)
gGmbH
Schwertnergasse 1
D-50667 Cologne
Germany
Tel: +49 221 2068 616
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Office of Human Resources, 02C64M
WASHINGTON DC 20555
Tel: 301-287-0562
CSN Hosts:
Eugenio Gil Lopez, Senior Advisor
Nieves Sánchez Guitián, Technical Advisor
IAEA Staff:
Mr. S. Mallick, NS, Programme and Policy Unit Head
Ms. M. Moracho, NSNI-RAS, Scientific Secretary
Mr. J. Gil Martin, NSNI-RAS, Consultant
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ANNEX III: WORK PROGRAM
Please find the agreed work Programme in the attachment
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ANNEX IV: DRAFT AGENDA FOR THE 7TH SC PLENARY MEETING
DAY
MORNING
AFTERNOON
Monday
15th Bureau Meeting (if needed)
1 Opening, MS & IAEA
Updates
Welcome
Country introduction (brief remark
on national situation)
IAEA updates
Tuesday
IAEA updates (cont)
Member States optional
presentation
Wednesday
2 Experiences on SARCoN:
Ongoing work on TECDOC on
Experiences using SARCoN
3 Regulatory Knowledge
Management:
Member States optional
presentation
Training Organisation, Networks
3 Regulatory Knowledge
Management (cont.)
Side Event: SARCoN software
tool (16:30-17:30)
Update on TECDOC.
Country example (NRC?)
Thursday
4 Competences for Safety Culture Breakout session:
and Leadership in Regulators:
o Introduction
Update on the IAEA work on
o Breakout session
Safety Culture and Leadership in
o Presentations
the Regulators
o Discussion
Safety Culture and Leadership in
the Regulators by Chairman and
Vice-Chair
Joint Discussion on Safety Culture
and Leadership for Regulators
Friday
5 Conclusions, Recommendations
and Future Actions
Revision and update of the SC
Work Programme
Conclusions & Recommendations
for Future Work
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