A three-day School of Managing Nuclear Knowledge was held recently in Gelendzhik, Russia, with a focus on knowledge loss risk management to support an innovative development in the nuclear industry.
Organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM, it was the third School to be held in Russia. It was attended by around 25 nuclear specialists from Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine and the USA. The specialists received comprehensive practical guidance for conducting risk assessments and implementing a strategic approach to improving the skills and competence of new and existing workers, also through discussing relevant experience in different nuclear industry organizations.
Last year's accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) demonstrated, dramatically, the importance of safety and of effective decision-making throughout all phases of nuclear power plant life-cycle: in design, construction, operation, maintenance, emergency response and decommissioning.
It is clear that effective and consistently reliable decision-making in complex nuclear technology environments can be achieved only when workers have the right training, experience, work methods, technology support, work culture and organizational support. These conditions can be established and sustained over time only with strategic organizational knowledge management. At the same time, challenges such as competing in open energy markets under increasing economic pressure and maintaining high safety standards have made new demands on nuclear industry managers at all levels. Such circumstances emphasize the need to ensure that managers can access necessary training in nuclear knowledge management (NKM) in order to succeed in such a demanding environment.
The School is organized annually in Russia to assist industry managers to increase the capability of nuclear organizations to proactively manage the risks, mitigate the impact of critical knowledge loss and enable nuclear organizations to retain, transfer and use critical knowledge to maintain and develop the competences of workforce personnel.
This is the first event organized by IAEA after signing the Practical Arrangements with ROSATOM. ROSATOM organized this School through its Specialized Scientific Research Institute for Instrumentation Engineering and with methodological support of the IAEA NKM Section.
Background
The State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM incorporates more than 250 enterprises and scientific institutions, including all civil nuclear companies of Russia, nuclear-weapon facilities, research organizations and the world's only nuclear-propelled fleet. ROSATOM - the largest utility in Russia - produces more than 40% of the electricity in the country's European region. ROSATOM holds a leading position in the global market of nuclear technologies, being the first in the world for simultaneous nuclear build abroad; second in uranium reserves; fifth in uranium mining; and fourth in nuclear electricity generation. Moreover, it provides 40% of the world's uranium enrichment services and covers 17% of the world's nuclear fuel market.
The Specialized Scientific Research Institute for Instrumentation Engineering is one of the leading scientific organizations in Russia for developing nuclear instrumentation that performs the strategic task of increasing nuclear and radiation safety of nuclear installations and radioactively-dangerous objects by providing systems and equipment for radiation monitoring, control and diagnosis for nuclear facilities and environment ecology.