MANAGING NUCLEAR KNOWLEDGE IN THE HUNGARIAN ATOMIC ENERGY

MANAGING LESS THAN FULL TIME (LTFT) TRAINING WITHIN
10 MANAGING SEVERE ACUTE MALNUTRITION STUDY SESSION 10 MANAGING
10 PPPA 6032 MANAGING FUNDRAISING AND PHILANTHROPY SPRING 2017

17 MANAGING TOO LITTLE OR TOO MUCH WATER IRRIGATION
2002] THE ROLE OF FOOD INSPECTORS IN MANAGING QUALITY…
22 MANAGING THE RISKS OF EXTREME EVENTS AND DISASTERS

Managing Nuclear Knowledge in

MANAGING NUCLEAR KNOWLEDGE IN

THE HUNGARIAN ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY



A. SÁNDOR Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority

Budapest, Hungary



Abstract

The paper describes the background and status of the Knowledge Management System (KMS) of the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA). The missions of the HAEA are the supervision of the peaceful application of the nuclear energy for purposes of a safe environment and protect the people. Tasks are: licensing, inspection and assessment of nuclear facilities in Hungary. There are many definitions of the knowledge management (KM). The definition in the HAEA is: Knowledge management includes all methods, instruments, tools and activities that contribute to identify, attain, develop, transfer, and preserve knowledge. A KMS is an essential tool for maintain the state of the art knowledge in our authority. The medium-term objective of the strategic plan of the HAEA is to keep human resources and knowledge base at a high level. To optimize the internal efficiency of the HAEA it is essential to improve the organizational culture, organizational knowledge. A KMS provides a relevant accessible tool for these. During the last years, several knowledge management elements have been established and used in the HAEA, but it was recognized that a higher level of maturity for knowledge management is needed because of the dynamic nuclear industry environment. A fully functioning KMS makes it easier individual and organizational knowledge transfer, preservation aimed efficiency of official work.

A KM program was launched in 2015 in the HAEA with management commitment. The reason to start this program was that the HAEA faced new challenges caused by the life time extension of Paks NPP, building a new NPP, the extension of the official tasks, doubling the number of the regulatory body, generational changing, and retirements in the HAEA.


The KMS of the HAEA is continuously developing. Elements were developed, plans and project is ready to organize them to a well operated system. KM is not only the responsibility of an organization information technology, human resources, or training department. To be effective, a KMS should be organization-wide. The long term goal is to develop an intranet portal that provides further tool to develop and expand the knowledge management in the HAEA.


This paper presents what tasks were done in relation to the establishment of the KMS, what tasks await us in the future, what are the positive and negative experiences with the program. This summary is based on the results achieved by us.












  1. INTRODUCTION


The medium-term objective of the strategic plan of the HAEA related to knowledge management in the period 2015-2017 is to keep human resources and knowledge base of the nuclear authority at high level with:



During the last years, several knowledge management elements have been established and used in the HAEA, but it was recognized that a higher level of maturity for knowledge management is needed because of the dynamic nuclear industry environment.

In order to achieve the above mentioned goals, the following elements of the KM have been done and the following improvements are needed in order to meet the others.


  1. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM


    1. Knowledge identification


The purpose of the identification of the knowledge is to get an accurate picture about the available and the missing individual knowledge of the HAEA. Several years ago a Knowledge Profile Database was developed which shows knowledge elements and its holders. The aim was to create a kind of catalogue, which shows where the knowledge is reachable. The Knowledge Profile Database is filled in with personal data (name, degree and education data) and the measure of specialization knowledge. The Knowledge Profile Database currently shows the individuals, the measure of their knowledge in areas of expertise and the importance of the knowledge. Knowledge is divided into the above main areas of expertise:



The levels of knowledge and the importance of it displayed in the knowledge profile database can be 1-5. Each employee of the staff can be characterised in all areas by these metric. The metrics have the following content:


1- Basic knowledge in the area;

2- Knowledge easy to learn, replacement of the knowledge holder is easy from the internal resources of the area;

3- Knowledge is systematic, documented in the area;

4- Essential knowledge, some employee have, it needs several years learning, the necessary internal resources limited;

5- Expert-level knowledge, critical, essential, unique, special knowledge.


The Knowledge Profile Database is filled by all employees. After analyzing data the lack of knowledge and the area to improve can be determined. The missing knowledge can be determined by compare of existing and importance of knowledge.


    1. Knowledge attainment


      1. Internal knowledge attainment-Human Resource


The HAEA should ensure that all of its personnel have the competencies needed to perform their assigned tasks. Recruiting and selecting suitable candidates are the first important steps for ensuring competence and attain knowledge. [1] HAEA is facing human resource and capacity building challenges regarding the new construction plans at Paks NPP site, the extension of the official tasks, generational changing, and retirements. The preparation for new units licensing is one of the most significant task at the HAEA. According to Government Decree 1850/2014. (XII. 30.) the Hungarian Government agreed to increase the number of employees at HAEA in two steps. From the 1st of January 2015 HAEA was entitled to hire 76 new employees, then from the 1 st of July 2015 additional 10 newcomers joined. Original number of experienced staff was 80, now with newly applied employees it is 160 and HAEA hopes to grow its employee base further. This process will cause significant changes in the organization. The job interviews are still continuous and the professional training program is in progress for the selected newcomers. The recruitment procedure has been transformed in recent years, the inclusion is more complex than previous years: screening resumes, written and oral interviews in Hungarian and in English language recruitment instead of only one Hungarian language interview. Most of the newcomers are engineers or physicists, about half of them have some work experience, and also half of them have nuclear education or experience. 2



      1. External knowledge attainment-Technical support activities


The international agreements on nuclear safety specify requirements for the technical background. The Act on Atomic Energy also orders that the safe use of atomic energy and the solution of the corresponding technical support tasks shall be facilitated by scientific and technical development, coordinated organization of research activities and practical use of the results of international and domestic scientific research. The coordination and financing of technical background activities in relation to safety and security of the peaceful use of atomic energy in Hungary meant to support the regulatory oversight is the task of the HAEA. Various background programs support the regulatory oversight activity regarding the peaceful use of atomic energy. Since 1996 the programs have been being developed in multi-annual task plans. The implementation of the tasks takes place according to annual support contracts according to a negotiation process including a tendering system. In the field of regulatory activities related to nuclear safety it is a requirement to incorporate the Technical Support Organizations (TSOs) in order to support of the regulatory work. During the technical support programs of recent years a network of technical support organizations assisting the regulatory activity of the HAEA has been formed. It provides the necessary independent background for the HAEA with qualified professionals. The independence of expertise support is guaranteed by high level quality management systems introduced at the TSOs. The HAEA organizes regular seminars for its TSOs to feed back their results of the different regulatory technical issues and R&D activities. These seminars offer good opportunity for HAEA to meet the experts of the TSOs face to face and for the TSOs to get direct contact with the experts of the authority. 3


    1. Knowledge development - SAT training program


Training programs can be divided into three groups in the HAEA: training for new entries, training, advanced training. In any case, the HAEA training programs follow the principles of the Systematic Approach to Training (SAT).


The following basic principles are kept in mind in the training system of the HAEA:



In order to achieve the principles the HAEA:



The annual training plan of the HAEA is prepared in each January. The HAEA provides a wide variety of training programs for the staff. The annual training plan takes into account the comments and proposals obtained in the self assessment of the HAEA training system. Classroom training, on-line training and practical exercises are distinguished in the plan. Online training is used mainly to refresh how to apply software tools. The advantages of the online training are that it can be performed when the participant can find suitable time for it, and also the mentor can check how the participant has solved the given task. Classroom training is a traditional training form where the audience is in contact with the lecturer. Lecturer can be a staff member of the HAEA or an external expert. The training plan includes various exercises: alerts, methodical, table top and full scope exercises for the Emergency Response Organization of HAEA.


    1. Knowledge transfer


      1. Mentor program


The goal of the mentor program is to ensure the effectiveness of the new entries, transfer the accumulated professional knowledge and experience to the new generation. A mentor is a person who provides guidance to a less-experienced employee, the mentee. The mentor program is an innovative special form of the internal training system of the HAEA in which the more experienced inspectors transfer their knowledge to the mentees, so it is a very important tool of the Knowledge Management System of the HAEA. The scope of the professional mentor program is determined by the education of new entries, professional background, and the current tasks of the HAEA.


      1. Identification of risk of knowledge loss


The process of identification of risk of knowledge loss is currently in implementing phase. The process is governed in an internal regulation which has been completed, but has not yet entered into force. HAEA has internal regulation to identify persons with critical knowledge and areas where critical knowledge transfer is necessary.

According to the internal regulation at the beginning of each year persons who are expected to be 3 years out of the HAEA are determine and assess those fields where knowledge transfer is necessary.

An action plan will be done to transfer knowledge. The basis of the identification of the critical knowledge is the further developed Knowledge Profile Database described above. The identification of the critical knowledge of the HAEA is based on the method of IAEA Risk Management of Knowledge Loss in Nuclear Industry Organizations [5]. After the identification of the possibility of loss of the knowledge the task recipient employees and personalized knowledge transfer technique may be selected. Knowledge transfer techniques can be: descriptions, professional summary, practical knowledge transfer, mentoring, interviews.





    1. Knowledge preservation


The goal of maintain the HNKB is to preserve and maintain the common knowledge gained during the years of the utilization of nuclear energy. The HAEA has prepared a national level knowledge management strategy for the further and future nuclear power generation, and for the related regulatory activities. The first phase was the establishment of a knowledge basis related to the regulatory activities, based on a computer aided experience feedback system. The second phase was the establishment of the HNKB with the wide participation of the interested utilities, engineering companies, research institutes, institutions and authorities. In 2012 the Hungarian Government invited the International Regulatory Review Service mission to compare the country’s regulatory system and practices with relevant IAEA Safety Standards. The full scope review was executed from 11 to 22 May 2015. The IRRS team identified 6 good practices including: HAEA has developed an effective database for knowledge and experience gained during the use of nuclear energy in Hungary.


      1. Computer aided experience feedback system


In addition to the official task related information knowledge can come from numerous other sources, on a regular basis in the work of the HAEA. For example from reports of international organizations and regulations, experiences of some countries, information on events of foreign nuclear power plants, results of research and development activities, results of HAEA staff activities. In the experience feedback process, the goal is managing all information, experience in a single system. The computer aided experience feedback database facilitates this information retention process. This mechanism was regulated in an internal procedure record categorized information received from different sources.


The process of experience feedback is:



      1. Hungarian Nuclear Knowledge Basis (HNKB)


The information sources of the HNKB consist of four groups. The first group is the personal experience of the HAEA senior staff, which is to be collected by preparation of personal memories about reactor events, assessment activities, inspection reports, evaluated documents, and the personal annotations and comments. The personal memories will be transformed into common knowledge by systematic organization and structuring the individually gathered information pieces and by introducing it into a computerized database application. The second group consists of the international level event reporting systems, such as the Incident Reporting System (IRS, IAEA-NEA), the Incident Reporting System for Research Reactors (IRSRR), International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) and the domestic system of event investigations, such as the database of the Hungarian events. The third group of information sources includes the policy making documents, standards and recommendations coming from the IAEA, NEA, organizations of EU, or VVER Forum, etc. The fourth group is the knowledge gained from the reports of the research and development projects supporting the sustainability of nuclear operations or assisting the regulatory activities. Computerized database applications empower the human intelligence with the data organizing, seeking, searching and visualizing functions. The results of the above listed information and knowledge collecting efforts are promoting the effectiveness of the regulatory activities, and the well grounded decision making. [4]


  1. OUTLOOK ON THE FUTURE USE OF THE KMS


The KMS of the HAEA is in its development phase. During the last years, several knowledge management elements have been established and used in the HAEA, but it was recognized that a higher level of maturity for knowledge management is needed because of the dynamic nuclear industry environment. KM is not only the responsibility of an organizations information technology, human resources, or training departments. To be effective, a KMS should be organization-wide. The IT and KM strategies of the HAEA is not aligned. The KMS operated by the HAEA requires advanced computer-based tools. The long term goal can be to develop the KMS further and develop an intranet portal that provides further tool to develop and expand the knowledge management in the HAEA.


  1. REFERENCES


[1] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Managing Human Resources in the Field of Nuclear Energy, No. NG-G-2.1, IAEA, Vienna (2009)


[2] HUNGARIAN ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY, Bulletin, Budapest, (2015)


[3] HUNGARIAN ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY, Bulletin, Budapest, (2013)


[4] HUNGARIAN ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY, Bulletin, Budapest, (2009)


[5] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Risk Management of Knowledge Loss in Nuclear Industry Organizations, ISBN 92–0–105406–8, IAEA, Vienna (2006)





2ND WORKSHOP ON VISUALISING MEASURING AND MANAGING INTANGIBLES AND
A FRESH START FOR THE STRATEGIC ROAD NETWORK MANAGING
A GUIDE TO MANAGING STRESS IN CRISIS RESPONSE PROFESSIONS


Tags: atomic energy, international atomic, managing, knowledge, energy, nuclear, hungarian, atomic