Laguna Verde, Mexico, is the first Nuclear Power Plant in Latin America implementing the IAEA Safety Culture Continuous Improvement Process (SCCIP); in the framework of the project RLA9080 "Enhancing Nuclear Power Plant Life Management and Safety Culture Practices in Latin America"
With safety performance at the top of IAEA's and NPPs priorities, assessing and understanding the Safety Culture at a given NPP is key to identify and prevent vulnerabilities which can lead to a decline in performance and be a cause of failure.
IAEA's Safety Culture Continuous Improvement Process (SCCIP) implemented in Mexico contributed to strengthening and improving its NPP's organizational safety culture. This comprehensive process comprises four core steps. Three of them have already been implemented as follows:
A three-day Senior Management Workshop on Safety Culture was held in January 2015, combining culture and leadership theory with practical exercises to convey how safety culture influences safe performance. A learning-by-doing approach was applied to provide senior managers with the necessary tools to improve safety culture. Participants' feedback was very positive: "It's incredible how easy it is to identify the areas for improvement by using the tools this course provides us. I learned that working with assumptions is basic to impact and modify culture."
The goal of this first core step in the SCCIP process was to make Senior Managers understand that cultural change involves a great effort from both: themselves and their organization: "It became clear to me that a commitment from all levels of the organization is necessary. I must start by changing myself and then seek to influence others."
Through the Workshop, the Senior Managers were also supported in the selection of a team of Safety Culture Ambassadors who, in March and April 2015, received a two-week training on how to perform safety culture self-assessments (SCSA), which is the second core step of the process. Again, a practical approach was applied, as the participants performed a mini-self-assessment through a case study using simulated materials to learn how the tools within the IAEA SCSA methodology work in practice.
David Ortega Molina, engineer within the Corrective Action Program stated: "The training changed the way I look into culture, and the new tools empowered me to influence a cultural change. I'm eager to start implementing them in the organization."
As the third step of the SCCIP process, Laguna Verde NPP is now preparing to conduct a safety culture self-assessment based on the tools and methodology provided in the training. The IAEA will continue to support the process remotely and through follow-up expert missions.
The Safety Culture Continuous Improvement Process (SCCIP) activities were fully funded by the European Commission and implemented within the framework of TCLA's project RLA/9/080,which aims to support efforts by Latin American NPPs and regulators to enhance plant life management for safe and reliable long term operations, as well as to establish a strong culture of safety.
| Project RLA/9/080 is carried out with funding by the European Union and the IAEA. |
