Learning from successful operations in nuclear power plants - a guideline

Abstract

This report contains a guideline for learning from successful operational experiences in nuclear power plants. The suggested approach is systems-oriented in nature. The initial part of the guideline introduces the definition of success used in the report, discusses the benefits of learning from successes and outlines how learning from successes requires a different analysis approach than learning from failures. This is followed by a description of the seven principles for learning from successes on which the methodology in the guideline was developed: • Learning from successes should be supported by the organizational culture. • Successes may be perceived differently from one person to the next. • Successes may be embedded in a chain of events that has no successful outcome. • Successes may have different learning potentials. • Success is sometimes a result of non-permanent factors. • Pseudo-success may lead to complacency and drift. • Implementation of lessons learned should be guided by a systemic approach. The main part of the guideline contains step-by-step guidance on how to capture and analyze successes. It is structured in five parts: (1) Capturing potential successes (2) Screen for learning potential (3) Analyze - local stakeholder perspective. The section refers to analyses carried out within the local organizational unit, who experienced the success. (4) Analyze - joint stakeholder group perspective. This section refers to analyses carried out jointly by all organizational units, who may be directly or indirectly impacted by the success and/or by how the success was achieved. (5) Implement the lessons learned from the actual success.