Nuclear safety culture: a unitary or home-grown concept?

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Insert image here Insert image here Insert image here Insert image here Nuclear safety culture: a unitary or home-grown concept? 10 April 2014 Workshop on Global Safety Culture - National Factors Relevant to Safety Culture, IAEA

Transcript of Nuclear safety culture: a unitary or home-grown concept?

Page 1: Nuclear safety culture: a unitary or home-grown concept?

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Nuclear safety culture: a unitary or home-grown concept?

10 April 2014

Workshop on Global Safety Culture - National

Factors Relevant to Safety Culture, IAEA

Page 2: Nuclear safety culture: a unitary or home-grown concept?

Discussion threads…

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Changes in the world of work

Safety challenges to nuclear safety

International nuclear safety culture frameworks

Assumptions of safety culture

Intercultural research: Hofstede & GLOBE

Group discussion

Summary & Closing

Page 3: Nuclear safety culture: a unitary or home-grown concept?

Changes in the in the world of work

• New entrants to the industry

• Changing workforce demographics

• Complexity of work environments

• Limitations of technology on safety

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Safety challenges to nuclear safety

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Human factors

Organisational factors

Technology

• Slips, trips, & mistakes

• Errors

• Faults

• Rigidities in perceptions &

beliefs

• Organisational exclusivity

• Information

• Variable disjunction of

information

• Failure to comply with

procedures

• Trivialising emergent issues

• Nature of nuclear technology

• Complexity

• Tight coupling

• Redundancy

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The response: uniform international nuclear safety culture frameworks

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Management commitment to

safety

Training quality

Prioritising safety

Personal responsibility

for safety

Safety communication

Questioning attitude

Supervisor responsibility

for safety

Decision-making

Willingness to raise concerns

Safety is a clearly

recognised value

Safety is learning driven

Safety is integrated into

all activities

Leadership for safety is clear

Accountability of safety is clear

IAEA

INPO

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Assumptions of safety culture in the nuclear industry

• Strong emphasis on individual accountability

• Open & reporting

• Low power differential between leader and follower

• Degree of assertiveness (courage of safety convictions)

• High trust in institution and individual

• Learning driven, rather than blame / punishment driven

• Performance and results orientated (high standards and low tolerances)

• Uncertainty avoidant (conservative decision-making)

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Intercultural research: Hofstede’s work

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High Power Distance (centralised, top-down control)

Low Power Distance (equality & empowerment)

Power

Distance

Individualism

(individual rights)

Collectivism

(loyalty) Self

Femininity

(non-traditional gender roles)

Masculinity

(traditional gender roles) Gender

Rule avoidant

(Avoid rules & structures)

Values predictability

(strong traditions & rituals) Predictability

Short term orientation

(present focused; quick results)

Long term orientation

(invests in future, patient) Time

Panama & Malaysia United States

United States UK & Australia

Austria Japan United States

Portugal Greece United States

Hong Kong & Taiwan China United States

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Cross cultural dimensions & findings: Project GLOBE

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Dimension & Description Illustrative Countries

Uncertainty avoidance: Seek certainty

by relying on established norms, rituals

and practices

High – Singapore & Switzerland

Low: Russia & Greece

Power Distance: Expectations about

distribution of power in society

High: India, Brazil, South Korea, Russia

Low: Denmark, Netherlands

Assertiveness: Confrontational/

aggressive; favours direct

communication; “can-do” attitude

High: US, Austria, Germany, Nigeria

Low: Sweden, Japan, New Zealand

Performance orientation: Encourages

and rewards performance improvement

and excellence

High: US, Singapore, China,

Switzerland

Low: Greece, Russia; Argentina,

Venezuela

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Cross cultural dimensions & findings: Project GLOBE (cont.)

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Dimension & Description Illustrative Countries

Future orientation: Future orientated

planning and investing

High: Singapore, Switzerland, Malaysia

Low: Italy, Russia, Poland, Argentina

Humane Orientation: Society rewards

fairness, kindness to others, generosity

High: Egypt, Ireland, Zambia

Low: Germany, Spain, Poland

Institutional collectivism: Rewards

collective action and distribution of

resources

High: Sweden, Japan, Singapore

Low: Greece, Brazil

In-group collectivism: Pride, loyalty

closeness to family and organisations

High: India, China, Egypt

Low: US, UK, Canada, Finland

Gender egalitarianism: Gender

differences and gender equality

High: Sweden, France, Canada

Low: India, Egypt, South Korea

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Participant discussion session

• Should there be a single international safety culture or different safety cultures that take local customs, norms and values into account?

• Are existing nuclear safety frameworks culturally neutral, or do they portray a Western bias?

• What are the implications for nuclear safety?

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Summary & Closing

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Thank You

Johann Kritzinger

Corporate Specialist:

Organisational & Human Performance

Nuclear Operating Unit

Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.

Republic of South Africa