TY - BOOK
T1 - Improving design processes in the nuclear domain. Insights on organisational challenges from safety culture and resilience engineering perspectives
AU - Macchi, L.
AU - Gotcheva, Nadezhda
AU - Alm, H.
AU - Osvalder, A-L.
AU - Pietikäinen, Elina
AU - Oedewald, Pia
AU - Wahlström, Mikael
AU - Liinasuo, Marja
AU - Savioja, Paula
N1 - Project code: 85478
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Design flaws have been contributing to major industrial
accidents. However, design activities are understudied in
human and organisational factors studies. In the nuclear
power domain, both pre-operational design and design of
modifications depend on a network of organizations, and
aim at developing solutions which meet different
criteria. Nuclear power companies often outsource the
design work to organisations, which might not be hitherto
familiar with the safety requirements of nuclear
industry. The final phase of SADE project focused on
testing and evaluating the results of the first two
phases through in depth analysis of case studies
conducted in Finland and Sweden. The study aimed at
providing insights on the inter-organizational challenges
related to design activities, which could potentially
affect safety of the Nordic nuclear power plants. In 2013
we carried out 14 semi-structured interviews with
representatives of power plant organisations, design
organisations and regulators. Interviews of the Finnish
case studies were complemented by one group interview
each. The study indicated that design-related challenges
in the nuclear domain are mainly inter-organizational.
This implies that safety management and safety culture
approaches should take better into account the
inter-organisational nature of work processes. For some
of the challenges (e.g. coordination) many coping
practices exist throughout the network, whereas for
others (e.g. shared understanding) just a few were
mentioned. This signifies that design organisations have
learned the consequences of insufficient coordination in
previous projects, while reaching a shared understanding
proves to be challenging. The design process involves
both rational and creative approaches to deal with
real-life problems. In nuclear industry, designers face
the need to balance between fulfilling requirements and
doing an extensive amount of paperwork, and creating new,
safe and functional solutions. To better manage safety
culture in design activities in a networked context,
nuclear power companies and design supply chains need to
reach a shared understanding on achieving this balance.
Finally, the study provides a set of recommendations to
support and improve the design process and to help
anticipate emerging risks in the nuclear industry.
AB - Design flaws have been contributing to major industrial
accidents. However, design activities are understudied in
human and organisational factors studies. In the nuclear
power domain, both pre-operational design and design of
modifications depend on a network of organizations, and
aim at developing solutions which meet different
criteria. Nuclear power companies often outsource the
design work to organisations, which might not be hitherto
familiar with the safety requirements of nuclear
industry. The final phase of SADE project focused on
testing and evaluating the results of the first two
phases through in depth analysis of case studies
conducted in Finland and Sweden. The study aimed at
providing insights on the inter-organizational challenges
related to design activities, which could potentially
affect safety of the Nordic nuclear power plants. In 2013
we carried out 14 semi-structured interviews with
representatives of power plant organisations, design
organisations and regulators. Interviews of the Finnish
case studies were complemented by one group interview
each. The study indicated that design-related challenges
in the nuclear domain are mainly inter-organizational.
This implies that safety management and safety culture
approaches should take better into account the
inter-organisational nature of work processes. For some
of the challenges (e.g. coordination) many coping
practices exist throughout the network, whereas for
others (e.g. shared understanding) just a few were
mentioned. This signifies that design organisations have
learned the consequences of insufficient coordination in
previous projects, while reaching a shared understanding
proves to be challenging. The design process involves
both rational and creative approaches to deal with
real-life problems. In nuclear industry, designers face
the need to balance between fulfilling requirements and
doing an extensive amount of paperwork, and creating new,
safe and functional solutions. To better manage safety
culture in design activities in a networked context,
nuclear power companies and design supply chains need to
reach a shared understanding on achieving this balance.
Finally, the study provides a set of recommendations to
support and improve the design process and to help
anticipate emerging risks in the nuclear industry.
KW - safety culture
KW - design
KW - nuclear power industry
KW - organizational challenges
KW - networks
M3 - Report
SN - 978-87-7893-377-5
T3 - NKS Reports
BT - Improving design processes in the nuclear domain. Insights on organisational challenges from safety culture and resilience engineering perspectives
PB - Nordic Nuclear Safety Research NKS
ER -