The NEA Working Group on Safety Culture (WGSC) held its biannual meeting via video conference on 27-29 October 2020 to continue its work on issues related to safety culture, leadership and capacity building in the nuclear sector.
The WGSC aims to facilitate an open exchange among regulators on safety culture, to address influences and factors affecting licensees’ safety culture and the wider interconnected system, and to consider the related implications on regulatory effectiveness.
In addition to discussions on ongoing WGSC work, several potential future activities were identified as priority issues: the impact of the regulatory bodies’ safety culture on that of the organisations they oversee (and vice versa) and leadership.
Another key highlight of the meeting was the exchanges on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on regulatory bodies. Members shared their reflections on the regulatory approach, oversight practices and methods established during the pandemic.
The WGSC has a forthcoming report on methods for assessing and strengthening the safety culture of the regulatory body, which compiles member country experiences and lessons learnt associated with the implementation of policies and strategies to support a healthy safety culture. The report will soon be available on the NEA website.