WANO helps its members address operator fundamentals and ageing management
Did You Know?
Vol 31 No 2 2021
26 July 2021
Operator Fundamentals
By supporting each other, WANO members can learn from best practice to improve performance in the field of operator fundamentals. In recent years, Atlanta Centre members have achieved a significant improvement in reducing the number of operator fundamentals events. Other members globally have the chance to benchmark against this work, and use best practices also from each other to address any gaps in this area.
SOER 2013-1, Operator Fundamentals Weaknesses provides members with recommendations to address any weaknesses at their plants. By implementing them along with the best practices outlined in IER L1 17-5, Line of Sight to The Reactor Core, members will improve their operations and reduce the number of events. Both publications are available on the member website.
To further support its members, last year WANO set up a special Operator Fundamentals Task Force, which contains experts from all regional centres. The Task Force has already developed a comprehensive analysis to understand the underlying causes and contributors to these types of events. In the next few months, it will work with Paris, Moscow and Tokyo Centres to publish region-specific improvement plans to help their members.
The industry needs to prevent these events rather than act reactively to them. The Task Force’s important work will help members in this area. For more information, WANO members should contact their regional centre.
Ageing management
In response to a growing challenge for many members, WANO established a special Ageing Management group to addresses the issue of how to manage the continued safe operation of ageing plant and equipment. This group was made up of representatives from member organisations and stations, along with subject matter experts from WANO and the IAEA.
A shared concern has been how to ensure the effects of ageing will not prevent structures, systems, and components (SSCs) to accomplish their required safety functions. This is equally relevant as for operating plants, so as for those plants in many nations that are under long term operation, and that are planning to enter lifetime extension.
The group’s achievements have included contribution to revision of the PO&Cs, the development of a new guideline GP 2020-31 - Excellence in Ageing Management, and the production of related training materials for WANO members. The group’s excellent work has been the result of strong collaboration across all WANO's programmes and regions and has been performed with due attention to corresponding IAEA Safety Standards.