Field Operators’ Visual Inspection Practices in the Operating Finnish Nuclear Power Plants

In nuclear power plants (NPPs), the integrity of the plant is assured, among other safety measures, by regularly conducted field operator (FO) visual inspection rounds. No previous research has focused on the NPP FOs’ visual inspection practices. The objective of this study is to systematically document how visual inspection is conducted and how expertise is developed, as well as to compare the practices of the different NPPs. Five FOs representing all operating NPPs in Finland participated in semi-structured interviews. All FOs reported visual inspection as their most important work task. During the inspection rounds, the FOs examine the integrity of equipment and appropriateness of the facilities using all senses except taste. For the most part, all FOs perform the visual inspection rounds similarly. However, some differences were found, which, at large, seem to be explained by the tools used during the round and the composition of the premises.