Developing the Nuclear Leaders of Tomorrow – A Perspective

By

Mike Weightman

1

Some Questions to Answer

• Why Nuclear Leadership? • Why now? • Where do you need Nuclear Leadership? • What is Nuclear Leadership? • Why is Nuclear Leadership different? • What is the essential role of a Nuclear Leader? • What are the ethical principles, culture and values

that nuclear leaders should possess and embed? • How do we develop nuclear leaders for tomorrow

better?

2

Fukushima – A Failure and Success in Nuclear Leadership

• Essential cause: Lack of Institutional Defence in Depth and Cultural

• Leaders responsible for the institutional arrangements and culture of an organisation

• Personal leadership of the Director of Fukushima Dai-ichi in extreme circumstances was exceptional

3

Fukushima – A lack of defence in depth of the Nuclear Safety Institutional System

• Inadequate design basis for external events

• Inadequate internal challenge within TEPCO

• Inadequate peer group challenge from Japanese nuclear industry or from international peers

• Inadequate challenge from Japanese regulator

• Inadequate outcome from peer review of the regulator

• Inadequate challenge from stakeholders

• Underlying cultural and institutional failings

4

Institutional Defence in Depth

Real basic lesson of Fukushima is that Technical DiD can be subject to common mode failure through Nuclear

Safety Institutional System Failure:

Inadequate Defence in Depth of the Nuclear Safety Institutional System

– Failure of Leadership

5

Nuclear Safety Institutional System Defence in

Depth: 3 main barriers

• Level A – Strong competent Industry

• Level B – Strong competent Regulator

• Level C – Strong competent Stakeholders Principle: Independence between Levels and underpinned by a

strong vibrant safety culture with welcoming challenge, passion to improve, openness and transparency, and accountability as a way of life

6

Nuclear System Defence in Depth – Strong Institutional Nuclear Industry Barrier

Components of the Nuclear Industry Barrier in a State or Region

I.1 I.2 I.3 I.4

Licensee State/Region Industry Peer Pressure

International Industry Peer Pressure/Review

International Institutional Review

SQEP Technical/Design/operational capability

Safety Directors Forum, INPO, etc.

WANO Missions and Requirements

IAEA OSART Missions

Independent Nuclear Safety Assessment

Nuclear Industry Association, Nuclear Energy Institute, ANS

Bilateral/Multilateral Organisations e.g. CANDU Owners Group

Nuclear Safety Committee

Nuclear Leadership/Culture/Values 7

Nuclear System Defence in Depth – Strong Institutional Nuclear Regulator Barrier

Components of a Strong Institution Regulatory Barrier

R.1 R.2 R.3 R.4

Regulatory Authority Special Outside Technical Advice

International Peer Pressure

International Peer Reviews

World Class Technical/Regulatory Capability

E.g. Standing Panel of experts nominated by stakeholders – CNI Advisory Panel/ Groupe Permanent d’ Experts

NEA CNRA & CSNI committees and working groups

IAEA IRRS missions

Organisational Structure with internal standards, assurance, OEF, policy, strategy, etc.

Special Expert Topic Groups - Fukushima - Aircraft Crash

WENRA – reference levels, reviews, groups

ENSREG Reviews

INRA – top regulators

Accountability to Governing Body – Board, Commission, etc.

IAEA Safety Standard meetings, etc.

Nuclear Leadership/Culture/Values 8

Nuclear System Defence in Depth – Strong Institutional Stakeholder Barrier

Components of the Strong Stakeholder Institutional Barrier

S.1 S.2 S.3 S.4 S.5 S.6 S.7

Workers Public Parliament National & Local

Gov.

Neighbours Media NGOs

Industry and Regulatory Routine Supply of Information

Routine Reports on Activities and Decisions

Special Reports on Matters of Interest

Responsiveness to Requests for Information

Routine and Special Meetings

Openness & Transparency, Accountability, Assurance – Industry/Regulator Culture and Capability

9

What do I mean by strong?

Inner strength not brute strength:

• Strong enough to listen and absorb others’ ideas

• Strong enough to not be afraid of challenge

• Strong enough to welcome new ideas and learn from others

• Strong enough to tell it as it is

• Strong enough to recognise when you got it wrong and show that you are learning from it David and Goliath

Skills, Strategy & Inner Strength for Success 10

Other Lessons from Fukushima

• Nuclear is different: – Little or no direct radiation health impact but

massive economic, social and political impact

– Global impact

– Costs of getting it wrong

– Response based on fear, lack of trust in institutions

• Leadership is key to developing nuclear institutions, culture and values

11

Lessons from other Major Accidents

• Leadership a key failing in many high hazard accidents, e.g.:

TEXAS City: Major explosion/fire in 2005 killed 15 people

and injured 180

“Simply targeting the mistakes of BP’s operators and supervisors misses the underlying and significant cultural and organisational causes of the disaster that have a greater preventative impact” US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) March 2007

“For a new and robust safety culture to take root, industry must not only follow rules, it must assume a meaningful leadership role” US Department of Interior Continental Shelf Safety Oversight Board (Sept 2010)

• Ramsgate Structural collapse, UK • Hatfield Rail Accident, UK • Columbia Space Shuttle, USA • Deepwater Horizon, USA

12

A Cusp of Opportunity and Challenge

• A new generation of people and nuclear plants is emerging

• The experience and knowledge of the last 50 years of the civil nuclear industry could be lost

• Society has and is changing and so are the challenges

• Darwinian time

• Duty to pass and embed on the hard won experience, knowledge, culture and values

Darwinian Time – a time of great change when those who adapt prosper while those who do not wither and die out

13

Nuclear Leadership

Setting the vision, culture and values to enable society to benefit from the peaceful use of nuclear energy

while ensuring the protection of people, society and the environment:

– Leadership with humility

– Based on a strong set of ethics and values

14

Nuclear Leadership – Ethical Principles?

• Nuclear leaders work to ensure the welfare, health and safety of all while safeguarding the environment and sustainability of resources

• Nuclear Leaders are committed to advancing the wellbeing of society

• Nuclear leaders hold a privileged and trusted position in society and should demonstrate that they are seeking to serve wider society and are sensitive to stakeholder concerns

• Nuclear Leaders hold dear justice and integrity and continuous improvement

• Nuclear Leaders see safety as paramount and exhibit this by their actions and decisions, while working to secure other attributes

15

Nuclear Leadership – Some Values?

• Inner strength

• Resilience around a clear vision and strategy

• Responsiveness

• Humility

• Welcoming Challenge

• Objective, rational, factual, knowledge based decision making

• Listening, learning to continuously improve

• Being Open and Transparent

• Seeking to Earn Universal Respect

• Integrity

16

Welcoming Challenge and seeking to

listen, learn and improve Loss of Swedish Vasa Warship in 1628 in first 2km of maiden voyage –

fear of telling the King that top heavy and need to delay

17

Developing the Nuclear Leaders of Tomorrow (1)

• Embed the responsibilities of nuclear leadership early - especially the ethical principles, cultural norms and values

• Establish a Strong Technical Basis – understand the industry and the technology, and particular concepts such as: – Nuclear Safety and Risk – Operational excellence – Independence of regulation

• Broaden to include understanding of the institutional, political, social, economic, legal and international environments

• Provide wide experience • Develop a questioning and inquiring attitude • Ensure they understand the primacy of nuclear safety

18

Developing the Nuclear Leaders of Tomorrow (2)

Several training courses of different types, e.g.: • Nuclear industry led, either individual firm or national organisation

(e.g. EDF, INPO) • Government sponsored, national or regional (e.g. UK National Skills

Academy for Nuclear, DOE) • International organisations (e.g. IAEA, WNU) • Consultancy led (e.g. IBEX Nuclear Operators Leadership

Programme) • Nuclear engineering based in academic institutions (e.g. Cambridge

University)

But no global approach especially around common ethics, values and culture.

19

Developing the Nuclear Leaders of Tomorrow (3)

• Requires an international non-political approach • Nuclear Leaders required in all three institutional barriers:

– Nuclear Industry – Nuclear Regulators – Nuclear Stakeholders

• Requires co-operation of range of international and national organisations: – IAEA, NEA, WANO – Nuclear Industry Companies – Nuclear Regulator Groups (e.g. INRA, ENSREG) – Stakeholder groupings – Universities – Nuclear training institutes and consultancies

• Need for focused action

20

Summary

• High standards of Nuclear leadership is vital to the continued safe use of nuclear energy to benefit society

• It is needed in all three institutional nuclear safety barriers: – Industry – Regulators – Stakeholders

• Developing nuclear leaders for tomorrow is an essential prerequisite and needs to be better driven and co-ordinated

• It involves instilling a common vision for the safe use of nuclear energy to benefit society, together with the associated nuclear ethical principles and values

• It needs the combined effort of international and national organisations in a increasingly global nuclear system to ensure a timely cadre of future nuclear leaders

21