A discussion of Conservative Decision making, Operational decision making, and

Operating Experience (OE) at a Nuclear power plant (M J Rhoades)

What is the difference between Conservative and Operational decision making at a Nuclear
power plant. In order to discuss this difference, I feel it would be prudent to define both of these
decision making tools before explaining the major differences.

Conservative Decision Making is a mind set or culture of operating control room staff (At a
Nuclear Power Plant) that invokes a cautious and prudent approach to the operating conditions
existing in the plant. And as such, permits appropriate variability for intelligent human control
yet maintains performance within a desired safety envelope.

Operational Decision Making, is a set of principles and attributes that, when properly applied,
will help build a culture in which managers systematically and rigorously make operational
decisions that support safe, reliable, and efficient plant operation.

By the definition given above, Conservative Decision Making is a function of the on shift
operating personnel actions or responses taken during normal and off normal plant operating
conditions. It is the thought process, by which the operating staff interprets the plant conditions
and acts on these conditions in a cautious, self evaluating, and questioning manner. It is a "what
if" attitude that is applied to operations with defined plant safety margins in mind. Some
examples of the attributes of Conservative Decision Making are as follows:

- Caution when approaching plant problems, either in the secondary where the plant may be
Challenged or all reactor safety systems.

- Dont act if the outcome of your actions is uncertain. It's better to let automatic systems
function if you do not understand the action you should take.

- Jumpers and bypasses should be minimized and strictly controlled. A safety review should
be performed prior to installation of any jumpers or bypasses.

- Degradation of plant equipment should be promptly reported and repaired. The faster
it is reported; the more time it gives management to take actions.

- Dont be afraid of the reactor trip button if you see things getting out of hand. Always think
about decay heat removal, to stay within design margins.

- Do not accept degrading plant conditions as the status quo. Use team work with plant
operating staff, and management to solve the problem.
 Operational Decision Making on the other hand is the support concept provided by plant staff
and corporate management in regards to plant safety, reliability, and efficiency. Operators on
Shift, supervisors, and Managers must also have the same conservative approach outside of the
control room and at times make the hard decisions necessary for reactor plant safety or continued
plant operations. Operators and support departments make the immediate conservative response
to off normal plant conditions. Station management must be involved in making conservative
decisions regarding degrading plant conditions such as RCS leakage (Davis-besse), Leaking /
faulty valves (TMI) as just two examples. Utility Management needs to create a consistent
approach for insuring that operational decision making standards are set and that company goals
do not override any of these standards.

Operating experience

The use of Operating Experience (OE) is one of the key factors for improving nuclear plant
safety and reducing the number of events at nuclear power plants. Two of the many elements
contributing to reactor safety and increased plant performance are the Emergency Notification
System (ENS) and the Licensee Event Report (LER). These requirements are found in 10CFR
50.72 and 73, and NUREG-1022. These reports are assessed and disseminated through the NRC
and shared with Nuclear Plants either through Generic communications or directly by
inspections. The operating experience gained by the reports help other plants to attenuate the
problems reported in the events. Applicability of the reports are analyzed at the plant site. Action
is then taken as required to prevent the same problem from occurring at the applicable sites. The
action taken could be accomplished by operator training, procedural changes, new procedures, or
Plant modifications as just some examples. A system, with appropriate procedures and plant
management support should be in place to make any required changes.

The reasons for using Operating Experience are varied and many. It would just be incredible
not to use this valuable information for improvement of your plant. In fact, industry wide data
compiled by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operation (INPO) show evidence that Operating
Experience programs are responsible for worldwide improvements in reduction of major plant
safety challenges as well as increased production rates. In 2008 for example, the mean capacity
factor of the 104 U.S. nuclear plants was 91.1%, in 1979 it was 56%. Also the industrial accident
rate dropped to only 0.13 per 200,000 workers. All plant departments can benefit from using
Operating Experience including corporate management as they can find ways to become better
utility managers through the use of OE