Operators’ conceptions of Procedure Guidance in NPP Process Control

Introduction: Resilience in NPP process control depends on balance between operators’ autonomy for decisions and pre-defined guidance. Finding balance is a strategic decision by the organisation, but finally it takes place at the sharp-end, by the operating personnel. Balancing was studied by analysing the role and usage of procedures. Method: Conceptions of 62 control room operators at two Finnish nuclear power plants (NPPs) were queried under three themes relevant to the autonomy-guidance balancing. Answers were classified into theory-based categories, i.e., interpretative, confirmative or reactive, which are epistemic attitudes, portraying more or less potential for resilience in process control activity. Results and discussion: In both NPPs, the confirmative orientation, emphasising the importance of acting according to rules prevails. Orientations reflect operator roles and their demands. Interpretative orientation that values operators’ competence but does contrast autonomy and procedures should be actively supported to facilitate resilience in NPP activity.