Assessment of the personnel reliability indicators during long-term operation of a nuclear power plant unit

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to form and discuss the key components of the methodology to obtain the quantitative indicators of the personnel reliability based on the actual long-term operation experience data for a particular power unit. The timeliness of this work and similar studies is based on a simple judgment that the personnel reliability performance at similar units, in the best case, and in associated industries, in the worst case, that is, the reliability of personnel at other industrial facilities, is used to justify the design when designing power plant units. Accordingly, the obtained safety assessments with respect to personnel have nothing to do with the facility the safety of which is justified. This requires respective methods and procedures to update the safety criteria with regard for the actual operation experience, as a minimum, based on the actual reliability of the NPP unit personnel. The key components are presented for shaping the methodology to obtain the quantitative indicators of the personnel reliability based on data of the unit’s long-term actual operation experience. Recommendations and explanations are provided for each of the methodology’s key components, namely: an information model of the methodology, the key indicators and other components are provided. The timeliness of the methodology development is explained making it possible to obtain quantitative indicators based on the nuclear plant unit’s operation experience. An additional methodology is presented to assess the safety of nuclear power plants. A unique notional definition of the nuclear plant personnel reliability, and the procedures to justify the power unit safeguards with regard for the human factor aspects have been proposed. An information model of the methodology is provided and the prospects of its application to improve the safety justification procedure for various components of the nuclear plant units are described. To conclude with, ways are presented for the further evolution of the proposed methodology, and the scope of the methodology and the expected positive effect from its application are described.