ABSTRACT
It is widely recognized today that the safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants depends not only on technical excellence but also on individuals and the organization. Unfortunately, there are far fewer models and methods for assessing the influence of human and organizational systems on safety than there are for assessing the influence of technical systems. Safety management must build on a thorough understanding of the interactions between technical and organizational performance in order to be efficient. Investigations of incidents and accidents clearly demonstrate the importance of organizational factors as initiators of events and as factors that can make the consequences of events worse.
