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T H E M A G A Z I N E O F T H E W O R L D A S S O C I AT I O N O F N U C L E A R O P E R AT O R S
Volume 21
Hal Hess: The Unsung Hero Among Us
Number 3
2013
4
WANO & the Nuclear Society of Russia
8
inside
Inside WANO is published
by the World Association
of Nuclear Operators
for all its members
contents
EDITOR
Katie Bailey - WANO London
Email: [email protected]
EDITORIAL BOARD
Ken Ellis - Managing Director
Dave Farr - Director AC
Mikhail Chudakov - Director MC
Ignacio Araluce - Director PC
Harunobu Shirayanagi - Director TC
WANO OFFICES
WANO London
Level 35, 25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London E14 5LQ
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7478 9200
Fax: +44 (0)20 7513 2937
Atlanta Centre
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Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30339-5943
USA
Tel: +1 770 644 8602
Fax: +1 770 644 8505
Moscow Centre
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Moscow 109507
Russia
Tel: +7 495 376 1587
Fax: +7 495 376 0897
Paris Centre
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92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine
France
Tel: +33 1 46 40 35 55
Fax: +33 1 46 40 35 53
Managing Director’s editorial 3
A year of change
People story 4
Hal Hess: the unsung hero among us
Feature 7
WANO revised Performance Objectives & Criteria (PO&Cs)
Member story 8
Mutually beneficial cooperation between WANO and Nuclear Society of Russia
From the top 11
Sound safety culture at Indian nuclear power plants
Feature 12
A spotlight on WANO programmes
Did you know?
Inside WANO is changing! From March 2014, Inside
WANO will be delivered via email directly to your
inbox. For more information about receiving your
Inside WANO e-newsletter, see page 15.
Tokyo Centre
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Komae-shi
Tokyo 201-8511
Japan
Tel: +81 (0)3 3480 4809
Fax: +81 (0)3 3480 5379
WANO Hong Kong
Level 19,
Two International Finance Centre,
8 Finance Street, Central
Hong Kong
China
Tel: +852 3101 7023
COVER
Rajasthan Atomic Power Plants
2
INSIDE WANO: V21–NO3–2013
Copyright © 2013 World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO). All rights reserved. Not for sale or for commercial use.
MD’s editorial
WANO Managing
Director, Ken Ellis,
looks back on 2013
and to the exciting
year ahead
A year of
change
A
“With the
appointment of a
new WANO
managing director,
chairman and
president, 2013 has
certainly been a year
of change”
Ken Ellis,
Managing Director, WANO
s this is my first Inside WANO editorial,
please allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Ken Ellis and I stepped
into the position of Managing Director of the
World Association of Nuclear Operators in
April of this year, replacing George Felgate.
I am originally from Ontario, Canada, and
my career in nuclear has included 31 years at
Bruce Power where I held several senior
positions including Bruce B Chief Nuclear
Officer, Station Vice President, Chief Engineer
& Vice President Engineering and Vice
President Maintenance. Prior to this, I spent
two years in France as the Ontario Hydro
Liaison Engineer to Électricité de France and
four years as an Aerospace Engineer with the
Canadian Armed Forces. I hold a degree in
Mechanical Engineering from the Royal Military
College of Canada and am a registered
Professional Engineer of Ontario.
With the appointment of a new WANO
chairman, president and managing director,
2013 has certainly been a year of change.
Jacques Regaldo succeeded Laurent Stricker as
WANO Chairman in March 2013 and Duncan
Hawthorne, President and CEO of Bruce
Power, was voted to succeed Vladimir Asmolov
as WANO President, at the Extraordinary
General Meeting, held at the BGM in Moscow,
Russia, at which I had the great pleasure of
meeting some of you.
Within the London Office, there have been
significant changes in the past six months,
including a structural reorganisation and
successful hiring campaign which has almost
doubled our staff. We have welcomed two
programme directors, David Crabtree and
Wade Green for Peer Review and Professional
& Technical Development, respectively. I am
also delighted to announce the promotion of
Claire Newell from Communications Manager
to Communications Director.
Ken Ellis, Managing Director, WANO
Looking ahead to 2014, there are many
new exciting developments underway. We are
preparing for the implementation of the new
Performance Objectives and Criteria (PO&Cs),
which come into force from 1 January; we
will celebrate WANO’s 25 year anniversary
of global leadership in nuclear safety in May;
and I look forward to participating in next
year’s Site Vice President and Plant Manager’s
Conference which is planned for September
2014 in Dusseldorf.
Further information on the new PO&Cs and
the exciting developments of the Inside WANO
redesign, due to be launched in March 2014,
can be found in this issue, as well as a tribute
to Hal Hess who retired from the WANO
Atlanta Centre earlier this year; a story of the
Nuclear Society of Russia’s relationship with
WANO; an article from NPCIL about the safety
culture of Indian power plants; and a feature
focussing on three of WANO’s programmes
and the directors of those programmes.
INSIDE WANO: V21–NO3–2013
3
people story
Hal Hess:
the unsung hero among us
S
“Hal remains held in
high esteem within the
industry for his wealth
of knowledge in work
management. He was
considered an expert
on the topic.”
Tom Polito,
Manager of WANO Atlanta Centre
Programmes
ome describe Hal Hess as an unsung
hero when it comes to his contributions
to work management. That is just one
of many accomplishments noted by his
colleagues upon his retirement in April 2013.
Overall, Hess has more than 46 years of
experience in the nuclear industry, including
30 years with the Institute of Nuclear Power
Operations (INPO) and the World Association
of Nuclear Operators (WANO).
Hess started working in the maintenance
department of INPO in January 1983. During
his tenure he worked in the areas of work
management and improving equipment
reliability, achieving a professional engineers
license and also attaining a senior reactor
operator certification through Westinghouse.
“Upon completing certification, I went
to Fort Calhoun in Nebraska on my first
secondment,” said Hess. “While there,
I worked on putting their outage together
and developed an outage infrastructure which,
until that time, hadn’t existed.” This served as
the beginning of his passion toward adding
structure and improving work processes.
“He was a big part of the
performance improvement
implemented at the Ontario
Power Generation stations.”
Hess also completed secondments at two
other U.S. plants, Oyster Creek and Cooper,
as well as a two-year assignment with Ontario
Power Generation as director of work
management for corporate.
“Hal’s passion was work control, work
management and improving the way people
accomplished their work,” said Tom Polito,
Manager of WANO Atlanta Centre Programmes.
“He remains held in high esteem within the
industry for his wealth of knowledge in work
management. He was considered an expert
on the topic.”
4
INSIDE WANO: V21–NO3–2013
Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant
Hess began that journey when he led
INPO in its effort to standardise work
management processes in the mid-1990s.
He was instrumental in the development of
the Work Management Process Description,
known in INPO as AP-928 and in WANO as
GP ATL-11-006. Designed to facilitate safe and
reliable equipment operation, these guidelines
were the first of a kind and are considered
the definitive source of work management
throughout the nuclear industry, both
nationally and internationally.
“Prior to AP-928, work management was
essentially conducted on an ad hoc basis,”
said Hess. “Developing AP-928 has proved
very useful in helping to raise awareness of the
importance of a good disciplined process for
getting work done and, most importantly, in
providing the framework for managing risk.”
“He really loved his work.
He especially liked helping
people and it showed.”
Hess’s personal dedication and commitment
toward pursuing work management
improvement also carried over to the
international community. In 2005, Hess joined
the WANO Atlanta Centre as a technical
manager in the performance improvement
After his retirement in
April 2013, following
30 years at INPO and
the WANO Atlanta
Centre, we look back at
what makes Hal Hess
an “unsung hero”
Hess has more than 46 years of experience in the nuclear industry
department. Most recently, he served as the
WANO station representative for the Chalk
River National Research Universal Reactor and
Point Lepreau Generating Station – both
located in Canada.
One of the things Hess said he personally
found rewarding through his work at WANO
was the opportunity to adopt a much more
hands-on approach with the plants. “I really
enjoyed taking on an advisor role and assisting
the plants in solving issues”, said Hess.
“I worked with the managers who owned the
issue and also with the next level down where
staff worked to help develop solutions and
implement them.”
“He made a personal
commitment to learn about
human performance and the
tools people need to improve
the work they do.”
Pierre Tremblay, Deputy Chief Nuclear Officer
at Ontario Power Generation, spoke highly of
Hess’s assistance. “He was a big part of the
performance improvement implemented at
the Ontario Power Generation stations,” said
Tremblay. “Much of what he had a hand in
while here on secondment ultimately led the
Darlington plant to its recent performance
of excellence. He was every bit a part of that
achievement and should have a lot of pride
in our improvement.”
“A strength Hess brought to the table was
his uncanny ability to take a very complex
programme, process or issue and communicate
it in a very understandable fashion,” said Polito.
“He truly understood the nuts and bolts of how
to physically maintain equipment and could
convey it to all levels of an organisation.”
Roger Spinnato, INPO Director of
International Division agreed, “Hal had a good
way of talking with workers and getting them
to discuss problems; always getting to the
issues very succinctly. He really loved his work.
He especially liked helping people and it
showed.”
Spinnato shared that Hess conducted a
technical review mission several years ago at
the Kaiga station in India, which focused on
single-point vulnerabilities. “To this day, that
chief nuclear officer gives high praise to the
work Hal did and characterises it as one of
the most impactful reviews they ever had.
The learning from the review was also shared
with all of the nuclear units in India.”
Spinnato notes the commitment and dedication
Hess had toward nuclear safety. “He made a
personal commitment to learn about human
performance and the tools people need to
improve the work they do. It impacts how he
is able to communicate to plant workers and
how he was able to offer them tools to make
their jobs easier and more efficient.”
“As is so typical of Hal, he took a very
hands-on approach in the area of human
INSIDE WANO: V21–NO3–2013
5
people story
Hal Hess retired in April 2013
performance as well,” added Greg Kassner,
Manager of WANO Atlanta Centre Plant
Performance. “For example, he took the
initiative to help several of our members in
Canada set up dynamic learning simulators,
write scenarios and lead initial training sessions
to strengthen their use of human performance.”
“Nuclear Safety influences
everything we do. That’s why
it’s important… every day,
every time, all the time!”
His colleagues also noted that Hess has a
great sense of humour, but also praised him
for his candidness in identifying and resolving
issues. “What we do for a living is serious
business, but Hal found a way to balance
that,” added Tremblay. “You don’t always
have to be sombre.”
Noting the importance of balancing work
and home, Hal made it a point to have fun
outside of work as well. Though he may not
look the part, he is an avid guitar player,
putting his musical talents to use as a member
of the INPO Glad to Have a Day Job band.
When he wanted a change of scene, he took
to his Harley motorcycle and shared rides
with plant personnel in the wilds of New
Brunswick, Canada.
6
INSIDE WANO: V21–NO3–2013
Over the course of his career, Hess
participated in more than 80 INPO plant
evaluations and WANO peer reviews. However,
he points to one defining moment in his career
that changed him and his view of nuclear
power forever… Chernobyl.
“It wasn’t until that event that I truly
understood the importance of nuclear safety,”
said Hess. “I didn’t really understand how
important it was to focus on the details of
what we do. I thought we come to work, try
to do our job well, go home, and it would be
okay. That’s what the workers at Chernobyl
tried to do, but it wasn’t okay. Lives were
lost and the impact was lasting.
Nuclear safety influences everything we
do. That’s why it’s important… every day,
every time, all the time!”
And that is why Hal Hess is an unsung hero.
feature
The new WANO
PO&Cs will come into
force in January 2014.
Here we cover some
of the frequently
asked questions
WANO Revised Performance
Objectives and Criteria
(PO&Cs)
T
he revised WANO Performance Objectives
and Criteria (PO&Cs) will come into force
in January 2014. Here, we cover some
frequently asked questions (FAQs). For the full list,
visit the member website where you can also find
the new PO&Cs document, the cover letter and a
revision bases summary document which describes
the changes made between the 2005 and 2013
revisions.
“The design of
the new PO&C
gives WANO the
opportunity to
improve the
quality of peer
reviews and to
improve the
messages provided
to the stations
during the peer
review process.”
■
Why is there a new section for
Foundations? The Foundations section is a
new addition to the PO&Cs and consists of
two performance objectives intended to reflect
a set of fundamental behaviours of all nuclear
workers, regardless of their positions in the
organisation. These objectives cover the
necessary attributes of a nuclear professional
and describe leadership behaviours.
■
How does the new PO&Cs document
align with the new industry Nuclear Safety
Culture Traits document? A new WANO
Principle, PL 2013-1, Traits of a Healthy
Nuclear Safety Culture, has been developed
in conjunction with the revised PO&Cs to allow
for the ten traits from the new safety culture
document to be included in the performance
objective SC.1. The effective date of
implementation of the traits document
is 1 January 2014.
■
Why has the PO&Cs document been
revised? To keep the document updated with
changes in our industry and to incorporate
lessons learned from operating experience,
such as those documented in SOERs relating
to the Fukushima event. In this case, it has
been nearly eight years since the last version.
■
When does the new PO&Cs document
become effective? The new PO&Cs will be
effective beginning with peer reviews with the
team on-site period occurring after 1 January
2014.
■
What is expected of industry members
regarding the new PO&Cs? All members
should aim to meet the performance objectives
articulated in the PO&Cs. Since the PO&Cs are
reviewed during the peer review process, no
specific written response is required of members,
although stations and members may find value
in performing a gap analysis to the new PO&C or
using them in planned self-assessment activities.
Will the peer review process change
because of the new PO&Cs? No substantial
changes are anticipated to the current
elements of the evaluation process and the
principles that underpin the process. Team
composition may be altered slightly to align
with the new PO&C structure, and new
How-To documents for reviewing each
performance objective are under development.
■
Why were the Corporate Peer Review
PO&Cs incorporated into the new PO&Cs?
The two sets of PO&Cs were combined to
simplify the documents used to review the
performance of nuclear power stations and
their corporations.
■
David Crabtree,
WANO Peer Review Programme
Director
■
How were the revisions determined
and agreed upon? The process involved
comprehensive review of materials issued
since 2005, including WANO and industry
documents, operating experience reports and
areas for improvement from past peer reviews.
Additionally, preliminary lessons from the
accident at Fukushima Daiichi were addressed.
Each regional centre participated in the
development process and had the opportunity
to provide comments and recommendations.
The director of each WANO regional centre
approved the final draft and the Managing
Director then approved the document.
For a copy of the PO&Cs and the full FAQ list
please visit the member website.
INSIDE WANO: V21–NO3–2013
7
member story
Mutually beneficial
cooperation between
WANO and Nuclear Society
of Russia
T
“I trust that our
cooperation has great
potential, which can be
guaranteed by the
higher involvement of
our young talented
successors.”
Sergey Kushnarev,
Executive Vice-President of the
Nuclear Society of Russia
8
INSIDE WANO: V21–NO3–2013
he Nuclear Society of Russia (NS of
Russia) was founded in April 1989
and the World Association of Nuclear
Operators (WANO) in May of the same year.
Although it would seem that these two
non-government professional organisations,
pursuing a common objective of developing
safe nuclear industry, were destined to
cooperate closely and actively, the first official
document on cooperation was signed just this
year, on 30 April 2013, during the preparation
for the WANO Biennial General Meeting
(BGM) in Moscow.
The letter of intent was signed by Mr.
Vladimir Asmolov and Mr. Nikolay Sorokin,
who served at that time as WANO President
and President of the NS of Russia, respectively,
and states that these organisations, carrying
out their authorised purposes and tasks, will
aim in every possible way to develop
cooperation and promote the strengthening of
nuclear safety on an international level. It also
states that these organisations will undertake
joint efforts to involve young professionals in
the activities dedicated to the development
of nuclear power. The NS of Russia primarily
has individuals as its members; for example,
scientists, specialists in production, operation
and management, and teachers and students
either working or studying in the nuclear
energy field. The NS of Russia is an
organisation that can hold a professional
dialogue with any level of authority and
“non-specialist” public sector, as well as
discuss, within its professional environment,
topical issues concerning the use of nuclear
energy; for example, nuclear power, nuclear
non-proliferation and education.
As a professional who has addressed issues
relating to nuclear energy and its public
acceptability for about 25 years, I can share
my assessment of this event and view on the
prospects for our cooperation with WANO.
I have been at the headquarters of the NS
of Russia since its foundation. In late 1988,
Young Generation Round Table at the WANO BGM
I was appointed executive secretary of the
organising committee working group for
the establishment of the NS of Russia.
I am well acquainted with the nuclear
industry of Russia. I graduated from the
Moscow Engineering and Physics Institute,
renowned among nuclear experts; was lucky
to become a young specialist and work on
my diploma at the famous Kurchatov Institute
when it was led by Anatoly Alexandrov,
President of the USSR Academy of Sciences;
was entrusted with the position of executive
officer in the headquarters of the RF Ministry
of Atomic Energy; and was a member of the
Board of the Ministry of Atomic Energy of
Russia from 2000 to 2001.
I am also conversant with non-governmental
activity in our country. I was elected a member
of the RF Civic Chamber Council of the first
2005-2007 convocation; chairman of the
Committee of the RF Civic Chamber for
innovations, high-tech scientific and
engineering projects; and a member of the
public councils under a number of ministries
and agencies. I am pleased to have personally
met members of the NS of Russia, distinguished
Russian atomic scientists including the
founders of the Russian nuclear industry
(Anatoly Alexandrov and his colleagues from
the Kurchatov Institute, Evgeniy Ignatenko,
Boris Antonov, Armen Abagyan); directors of
Sergey Kushnarev,
Executive Vice-President
of the Nuclear Society
of Russia, assesses the
prospects for the
mutually beneficial
cooperation between
WANO and NSR
George Felgate at a conference of the NS of Russia
The Fukushima accident that happened in
the awoken nuclear renaissance called for the
rethinking and reforming of these professional
organisations, and reinforced the need for
cooperation based on common interests
and objectives. Over the last few years, the
WANO London Office and Moscow Centre
representatives have been participating in
a series of events under the auspices of
the NS of Russia.
Round Table at the WANO BGM, Moscow, Russia
Russian nuclear power plants, such as Anatoly
Yeperin, Vladimir Fuks, Vladimir Bronnikov,
Vladimir Shkolnik, Oleg Saraev, Stanislav
Antipov, Alexander Lokshin, Pavel Ipatov; and
managers of many national and international
non-governmental and public nuclear
organisations, whose experience is beneficial
to me.
I think the Chernobyl accident gave impetus
in the late 1980s and early 1990s to establish
a lot of new non-governmental professional
nuclear organisations. On 27 June 2004, while
speaking at the IAEA conference dedicated to
the 50th anniversary of the nuclear industry (in
1954, Obninsk became the first nuclear power
plant to start generating power), Oleg Saraev,
former WANO President and Director General
of Rosenergoatom, noted: “Now the time has
come to extend the cooperation between
WANO and other “nuclear” organisations –
IAEA, national nuclear societies, etc.”.
Young generation initiatives
This year, the initiative launched by JSC
Concern Rosenergatom and WANO to involve
the young generation in the BGM has been
welcomed. Fifty-nine high-potential young
generation representatives of a wide range of
the youth nuclear communities, including the
International Youth Nuclear Congress which
was founded in late 1999 on the initiative of
the youth department of the NS of Russia and
with the active support of the NS of Russia
and European Nuclear Society, participated
in the WANO BGM in Moscow. This provided
a unique opportunity to involve the young
generation practically in WANO activities.
The WANO Moscow Centre youth delegation,
composed of representatives from all 10
operating Russian NPPs, actively participated.
On 20 May, in parallel with the closed CEO
session, there was a young generation round
table arranged by WANO and NS of Russia,
Programme for Nuclear Power Development:
how to increase the involvement of young
specialists.
Round table discussions
The round table has become a first joint step
in the implementation of the letter of intent
between the WANO and NS of Russia. Open
discussion at the round table demonstrated
that it would be reasonable to establish,
under the WANO flag, a professional youth
organisation for nuclear operators to actively
involve them into the accomplishment of the
WANO objectives and formulation of new
ones. For many years, the NS of Russia has
been concentrating its efforts on young
INSIDE WANO: V21–NO3–2013
9
member story
Young generation visit to Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant
nuclear experts and is ready to continue these
efforts together with WANO. Immediately after
the BGM, on 22 to 24 May 2013, a tour was
arranged by WANO and NS of Russia, jointly
with the Nuclear Society of Finland and with
the support of Rosenergoatom and FORTUM
Corporation, to bring together the young
professionals of Russian and Finnish NPPs.
Looking to the future
With the sharing of experience among the
young nuclear specialists of various countries
having an exclusively positive effect on the
safety of nuclear power worldwide, this
technical tour aroused great interest among
the participants.
The following year will witness the 25th
anniversary of the founding of NS of Russia
and WANO, and the 60th anniversary of the
nuclear industry; and I hope that we will be
able to take the next step towards our
cooperation. Yaroslav Shtrombah (Kurchatov
Institute), President of the NS of Russia from
2013 through 2015, and Andrey Salnikov
(Rostov NPP), Vice-president of the NS of
Russia for nuclear power, believe that it is
important that joint activities should be
arranged in a consistent manner, which will be
in the purview of the task force of the NS of
Russia for international scientific and technical
10
INSIDE WANO: V21–NO3–2013
cooperation, and the relevant authority
of WANO and its Moscow Centre.
I trust that our cooperation has great
potential, which can be guaranteed by the
higher involvement of our young talented
successors. I often refer the youth of the NS
of Russia to what Igor Kurchatov, academician
and founder of our nuclear power, said:
“Pursue only the most vital goals in your career
and life, otherwise the undertakings of less
importance, no matter how needed they are,
will take all of your time, all of your efforts,
and prevent you from reaching these goals”.
from the top
K. C. Purohit
describes the rising
trends of nuclear
power generation in
India
Sound safety culture
at Indian nuclear
power plants
T
“The
cooperation
with WANO has
been beneficial in
learning from
international best
practices and
programmes.”
K. C. Purohit, Chairman and
Managing Director, NPCIL
he Nuclear Power Corporation of India
Limited (NPCIL) is a Public Sector Enterprise
under the Department of Atomic Energy
(DAE), Government of India. The company was
incorporated as a Public Limited Company in
September 1987 with the objective of operating
atomic power stations and implementing the
atomic power projects for generation of electricity
in pursuance of the schemes and programmes of
the Government of India.
NPCIL is responsible for the design, construction,
commissioning and operation of nuclear power
reactors, and is currently operating 20 nuclear
power reactors with an installed capacity of
4,780MW. The reactor fleet comprises of two
boiling water reactors (BWRs) and eighteen
pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs),
including one 100MW PHWR at Rajasthan which
is owned by DAE, Government of India. NPCIL has
six reactors under various stages of construction
totalling 4,800MW capacity out of which one
reactor of 1000MW capacity, at Kudankulam,
attained criticality on 13 July 2013. New launches
for PHWRs and LWRs are also being taken up.
To sustain the growth of nuclear power, public
acceptance is a factor of extreme importance. In
order to work towards public acceptance, we have
to outreach extensively and widely publicise the
benefits of nuclear power at all levels of society.
Operating Units and Units Under Construction
The operating nuclear power units are:
■ Tarapur Atomic Power Station units 1 & 2
(2x160 MW BWRs)
■ Tarapur Atomic Power Station units 3 & 4
(2x540 MW PHWRs)
■ Rajasthan Atomic Power Station units 1 to 6
(100 MW, 200 MW and 4x220 MW PHWRs)
■ Madras Atomic Power Station units 1 & 2
(2x220 MW PHWRs)
■ Narora Atomic Power Station units 1 & 2
(2x220 MW PHWRs)
■ Kakrapar Atomic Station units 1 & 2
(2x220 MW PHWRs)
■ Kaiga Generating Station units 1 to 4
(4x220 MW PHWRs)
The units under construction are:
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project units 1 & 2
(2x1000 MW VVERs)*
■ Kakrapar Atomic Power Project units 3 & 4
(2x700 MW PHWRs)
■ Rajasthan Atomic Power Project units 7 & 8
(2x700 MW PHWRs)
* Unit 1 of KKNPP attained criticality on 13 July 2013
■
In addition, NPCIL has a 10MW wind farm operating
at the Kudankulam site.
NPCIL and WANO
In our experience, WANO peer reviews have
proven very useful in improving the safety and
reliability of our nuclear power plants. The
participants bring together knowledge and
experience of operating plants across the globe,
and make an objective assessment of the
operation of the reviewed plant against the
best international practices.
Similarly, we have found that the WANO good
practice reports, developed as part of the WANO
Technical Support and Exchange programme, are
very effective in enhancing the performance of
the nuclear power plant by learning from the
best practices of others.
The WANO Operating Experience programme
also enables learning from global experience.
NPCIL units engage in sharing of operating
experience not only among each other,
but also globally under this programme.
In order to fulfil our mission, “To develop
nuclear power technology and to produce nuclear
power as a safe, environmentally benign and an
economically viable source of electrical energy
to meet the increasing electricity needs of the
country”, NPCIL takes advantage of WANO
programmes which provide valuable resources
and support to its members.
INSIDE WANO: V21–NO3–2013
11
feature
A spotlight on WANO
programmes
W
ANO offers its members a series of
high-quality products and services
through four main programmes:
Operating Experience, Peer Reviews, Technical
Support & Exchange and Professional &
Technical Development.
The last issue of Inside WANO looked
at the Operating Experience programme.
Here, we look at the remaining three
programmes and meet each of their directors.
For more information on WANO and its
programmes, please go to www.wano.info
and download our This is WANO factsheets.
Professional & Technical Development (P&TD) Programme Overview
Wade Green, Professional & Technical
Development Programme Director
T
he P&TD programme provides a forum
for WANO members to enhance their
professional knowledge and skills. Specific
activities include workshops, conferences,
seminars, expert meetings and training
courses, which enable members from all
regions to compare their operations and
emulate best practices.
Each activity focuses on improving plant
performance in areas such as operations,
maintenance and engineering.
Meet the Programme Director
Wade joined the WANO London Office
in September 2013, from Eagle Harbor
Consulting in Washington, USA. Wade spent
24 years at INPO and held various positions,
including team leader on numerous peer
reviews for the WANO regional centres in
Atlanta, Paris and Tokyo. He was the training
manager at Trojan NPP and ran the INPO
Senior Nuclear Plant Managers course. He
also performed startup testing for General
Electric at five new plants in three countries.
Wade has a Master’s Degree in Nuclear
Engineering and a boiling water reactor (BWR)
senior reactor operator (SRO) certification.
12
INSIDE WANO: V21–NO3–2013
What inspired you to apply for this
position at the WANO London Office?
I had worked with WANO previously, including
two years in the Paris Centre. I found it to be
very rewarding due to the diversity of the staff
and the openness of our members. You could
actually see the positive effects of our efforts
at the sites. In the wake of recent events, the
role of WANO seems more vital than ever.
What do you see as your main challenges
in this role?
P&TD has not had a full-time programme
director until now, so I need to work with the
regional centres to develop an overall strategy
going forward. Training needs additional
emphasis since there were training aspects to
not only the Fukushima event, but also Three
Mile Island and Chernobyl. We need to drive
this change. Training varies considerably
between countries and utilities; I would like to
help identify solutions to those problems and
share them with our members. We also need
to improve training for WANO personnel so
we can carry out our mission more effectively.
What are your aims and objectives over
the coming years?
To establish an overall strategy for P&TD
and to work with the regional centres in
implementing that strategy. We have to get
all the centres to work together as a team.
Inside WANO takes a
closer look at three of
WANO’s programmes
and the directors
leading them
Technical Support & Exchange (TS&E) Programme Overview
Jukka Paivarinta, Technical Support & Exchange
Programme Director
T
his programme consists of four distinct
activities:
1. Technical Support Missions
(TSMs)
Provide a means for WANO members to assist
each other in addressing identified issues or
problems. A team of peers is selected on the
basis of their expertise, to review issues
identified during peer reviews and find
potential solutions.
2. Performance Indicators
Provide a method for members to assess
the performance of their plants against an
international benchmark. Worldwide reference
targets have been established to promote long
term improvement.
3. Principles, Guidelines and
Good Practices
Help members achieve excellent performance
in specific functional and important crossfunctional areas. They can be used to review
existing programmes; develop new
programmes and corrective actions to tackle
identified weaknesses; and to monitor the
adequacy of corporate policies and plant
practices.
4. Operator Exchanges
Refers to any information exchanged directly
between operators with the purpose of
increasing the safety and reliability of nuclear
power plants. These include operator exchange
visits, communication through the WANO
website, exchange of documentation,
personnel and any other exchange and/or
co-operation between operating organisations.
Meet the Programme Director
Prior to joining the WANO London Office in
December 2012, Jukka worked for Finnish
company, Fortum, leading the development
of the operations and maintenance area of
the company’s governance model for partially
owned nuclear assets.
He also worked as the corporate electrical
safety manager and was a member of the
operations and maintenance process board.
Prior to this, Jukka was the Electrical and
Information & Control Maintenance Manager
at Loviisa NPP.
What inspired you to apply for a
secondment to the WANO London Office?
Prior to joining WANO, I worked on the
governance model of partially owned nuclear
assets and our goal was to develop methods
to support our fleet and their governors in
achieving their goals. When I was asked if I
was interested in the position of TS&E Director
at WANO, it seemed a natural continuation
to extend the scope of my work.
What do you see as your challenges
in this role?
Being able to consolidate all of the knowledge
and potential available within WANO and its
members, in order to produce products in the
TSE programme; such as TSMs, good practices
and guidelines. We need to communicate
clearly and seek out all opportunities available
to work together.
What are your aims and objectives
over the coming years?
To ensure that all members are able to access
the support provided by WANO to improve
their performance. We need to continue
building the infrastructure to enable WANO
London and all RCs to support each other.
INSIDE WANO: V21–NO3–2013
13
feature
Peer Review (PR) Programme Overview
David Crabtree, Peer Review Programme
Director
M
embers emulate the best international
standards in operational performance
through peer reviews. Peer reviews help
members compare their operational
performance against standards of excellence
through an in-depth, objective review of their
operations by an independent team from
outside their organisation. The result is a frank
report that highlights strengths and areas for
improvement in nuclear safety and plant
reliability.
The Peer Review programme provides an
opportunity for members to learn and share
worldwide insights on safe and reliable plant
operation and thereby improve their own
performance. The same principles extend to
companies as well as stations, in the form
of the corporate peer review.
Post-Fukushima, WANO is moving towards
a four year frequency for peer reviews, with
a follow-up at the two year point. WANO is
also working with other organisations such
as INPO, IAEA and JANSI to determine what
other reviews can be judged as equivalent
to WANO Peer Reviews.
Since 1992, WANO has conducted over
500 operating station peer reviews in 31
countries/areas, including at least one at
every WANO member station.
Meet the Programme Director
David has spent eight years with the Institute
of Nuclear Power Operators (INPO) in a variety
of roles, including team leader on WANO
peer review evaluations both in the USA
and internationally, and senior evaluator for
equipment reliability. He spent two years in
South Korea as the project lead for introducing
system engineering techniques, and before
that filled several roles in a 20-year career
at Palisades NPP.
14
INSIDE WANO: V21–NO3–2013
Dave has a senior reactor operator (SRO)
certification and a Bachelor Degree in
Mechanical Engineering.
What inspired you to apply for a
secondment to the WANO London Office?
Having had the opportunity to work outside
the US before, I was really excited to be able to
coordinate activities in the area of peer review
across the globe.
What do you see as your main challenges
in this role?
The largest challenges for the PR programme
have been pretty well articulated by the WANO
assessments performed in 2012. Namely, that
we need to do a much better job in developing
the consistency and quality of the programme
in all its forms: peer reviews, corporate peer
reviews and pre-startup reviews. Given the
differences in staffing and governance models
in each region, this is a very large undertaking.
What are your aims over the next two
years and what would you like to take
back with you when you return to INPO?
We need to develop a common set of
principles or standards for each version of
the PR programme, and those standards need
to represent the highest levels of excellence.
I recognise that, in some cases, regional
centres may have gaps in performance levels,
but we can develop action plans to close
those gaps. Doing this will improve both
the standardisation and quality of our
performance. I intend to bring back to INPO
the good practices that are going on outside
the US and help the utilities engage more
effectively in the global nuclear community.
Inside WANO is changing
A
s of 2014, Inside WANO is adopting a new format.
You will now receive the newsletter via email direct
to your inbox, quarterly.
Catch up with the latest news from WANO via email on
your computer and mobile phone.
Read articles from our members, up-to-date information
about WANO events and programmes, and top stories
from plants and individuals within the nuclear industry.
It’s the same high-quality content – only delivered
more quickly!
So what do you need to do?
Nothing for now. This change is set to start from
March 2014 so just keep an eye on the WANO website,
www.wano.info where further details will be added
shortly on how to subscribe.
The WANO Member World Map
The WANO Member World Map lists the location and status of all WANO member nuclear
power plants, worldwide. Download your copy at www.wano.info/membership/members
Dates for your diary:
■
■
■
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WANO London News Issue 3 (member-only e-newsletter) – January 2014
WANO’s 25-Year Anniversary – 15 May 2014
Site VP/Plant Managers’ Conference – 22-24 September 2014, Dusseldorf, Germany
WANO Biennial General Meeting – 4-6 October 2015, Toronto, Canada