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was rectified. A third goal of OEF is to act on working
organisations and processes, on working practices (both
individual and collective) and on the performance of
the technical system.
Operating experience feedback encompasses events,
incidents and accidents occurring both in France and
abroad, whenever their assessment is relevant to enhancing
nuclear safety or radiation protection.
1.2.6 Social, organisational and human factors
The importance of SOHF for nuclear safety,
radiation protection and environmental protection
The contribution of humans and organisations to safety,
radiation protection and environmental protection is
decisive in the design, commissioning, operation and
decommissioning of facilities, as well as in the transport
of radioactive substances. Similarly, the way in which
people and organisations manage deviations from the
regulations, from the baseline requirements and from the
state of the art, plus the corresponding lessons learned,
is also decisive. Therefore, all those involved, regardless
of their position in the hierarchy and their functions,
make a contribution to safety, radiation protection and
environmental protection, owing to their ability to adapt,
detect and correct errors, rectify degraded situations and
counter certain difficulties involved in the application
of procedures.
ASN defines Social, Organisational and Human Factors
(SOHF) as being all the aspects of working situations
and of the organisation which have an influence on the
work done by the operators. The elements considered
concern the individual (training received, fatigue or stress,
etc.) and the organisation within which he or she works
(functional and hierarchical links, joint contractor work,
etc.), the technical arrangements (tools, software, etc.)
and, more broadly, the working environment withwhich
the individual interacts. The working environment for
instance concerns the heat, sound or light environment of
theworkstation, as well as the accessibility of the premises.
The variability in worker characteristics (vigilance
varies with the time of day, the level of expertise varies
according to the seniority in the position) and in the
situations encountered (unexpected failure, social tension)
explains that workers constantly need to adapt how they
work so as to optimise effectiveness and efficiency. This
performance must be achieved at an acceptable cost to
the persons concerned (in terms of fatigue or stress)
and they must also benefit from it (the feeling of a job
well done, recognition by both peers and the hierarchy,
development of new skills). Thus, an operating situation
or a task achieved at very high cost to the operators is a
potential source of risks: a small variation in the working
context, human environment or working organisation
can prevent the persons concerned from performing
their tasks as expected.
Integration of SOHF
ASNconsiders that SOHFmust be taken into account in a
manner commensuratewith the safety implications of the
facilities and the radiation protection of workers during:
•
thedesignof anewfacility, equipment, software, transport
package, or themodification of an existing one. ASN in
particular wants to see design focusing on the human
operator, through an iterative process comprising an
analysis phase, a designphase and an evaluationphase.
Therefore, the ASN resolution of 13th February 2014
concerning physical modifications to BNIs requires
that
“the design of the physical modification envisaged shall,
when it is applied and put into operation, take account of the
interactionsbetweenthemodifiedornewlyinstalledequipment
on the one hand and the users and their needs on the other”
.
•
operations or activities performedby theworkers during
the commissioning, operation anddecommissioning of
nuclear facilities, as well as during the transportation of
radioactive substances.
ASN also considers that the licensees must analyse the
root causes (often organisational) of the significant events
and identify, implement and assess the effectiveness of the
corresponding correctivemeasures, on a long-termbasis.
ASN’s SOHF requirements
The Order of 7th February 2012 setting the general rules
for BNIs, requires that the licenseedefine and implement an
IntegratedManagement System(IMS) designed to ensure
that the safety, radiation protection and environmental
protection requirements are systematically taken into
account in all decisions concerning the facility. The IMS
specifies the steps taken with regard to organisation and
resources of all types, inparticular those adopted tomanage
the important activities. ASN thus asks the licensee to set
up an IMS able to maintain and continuously improve
safety, notably through the development of a safety culture.
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CHAPTER 02:
PRINCIPLES AND STAKEHOLDERS IN THE REGULATION OF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION
ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015