ABSTRACT

H.P. Berg Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz (BfS), Salzgitter, Germany

ABSTRACT: Experience with accidents in different branches of industry, also in railways companies and the nuclear industry, has shown the importance of safe operation management. Recent events in German nuclear power plants such as a transformer fire underlined the necessity of an appropriate and regularly reviewed safety management system. Such a system has two major aims, firstly to improve the safety performance through planning, control and supervision of safety related activities through all operational phases and secondly to foster and support a strong safety culture through the development and reinforcement of good safety attitudes and behaviour in individuals and teams. Methods of evaluating safety culture can be divided into two main groups: the approach mainly based on interviews with plant management and staff to get direct information about the plant safety culture and an approach that uses information derived from plant operation, incidents and accidents. The current status of the still ongoing discussion in Germany is presented.