Title: An examination of nuclear power plants event reporting in the context of knowledge management

Authors: Elena Ilina; Håkan Sundquist

Addresses: Division of Structural Design and Bridges, The Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 34, Stockholm, Sweden. ' Division of Structural Design and Bridges, The Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 34, Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract: Challenges to the safety of operating nuclear power plants due to ageing, power uprates, modernisations and a generational exchange in the workforce put a strong focus on knowledge. Both the nuclear regulators and the nuclear plant operators need to learn more about knowledge management in order to better manage knowledge. This paper aims to promote implementation of knowledge management by taking an example of a regulatory activity for event reporting and examining it in the context of knowledge management. The purpose of the examination is to improve the event reporting activity by studying credibility and usability of produced knowledge, means for its dissemination, specific objectives of consumers of knowledge and other important aspects that are formally emphasised by knowledge management. The most apparent insight that emerges from the examination is that the established event reporting practice is very strong in collection and communication of data about unsafe events but is weaker in creation and sharing of knowledge.

Keywords: nuclear power plants; NPP; nuclear knowledge management; operating experiences; event reporting; data; information theories; knowledge pyramid; knowledge creation; knowledge sharing; nuclear energy; nuclear power; nuclear safety.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNKM.2011.045713

International Journal of Nuclear Knowledge Management, 2011 Vol.5 No.4, pp.361 - 373

Published online: 18 Feb 2015 *

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