In a Concerted Action (CA), sponsored by the European Commission within its 5th Framework Program, arnconsortium of eleven partners from eight countries has reviewed and evaluated the application of Safety PerformancernIndicators (SPIs), which – in combination with other tools – can be used to monitor and improve the safety of nuclearrnpower plants. The project was aimed at identification of methods that can be used in a risk-informed regulatory systemrnand environment, and to exploit PSA techniques for the development and use of meaningful additional/alternative SPIs.rnThe CA included the review of existing indicator systems, and the collection of information on the experience fromrnindicator systems by means of a specific questionnaire.rnOne of the most important and challenging issues for nuclear plant owners and/or regulators is to recognize earlyrnsigns of deterioration in safety performance, caused by influences from management, organization and safety culturern(MOSC), before actual events and/or mishaps take place. Most of the existing SPIs as proposed by variousrnorganizations are considered as “lagging” indicators, that is, they are expected to show an impact only when arndownward trend has already started. Furthermore, most of the available indicators are at a relatively high level, suchrnthat they will not provide useful information on fundamental weaknesses causing the problem in the first place.rnRegulators’ and utilities’ views on the use of a Safety Performance Indicator System have also been a part of therndevelopment of the CA.
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