Work practices, fatigue, and nuclear power plant safety performance

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health and Safety
• Industrial-Organizational Psychology
• Nuclear Engineering

Background:

• Fatigue-induced performance decrements are a concern in high-risk industries.
• Work practices like overtime and shift schedules can impact employee performance and safety.
• The commercial nuclear power industry has specific operational demands and safety protocols.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between specific work practices and performance decrements in the commercial nuclear power industry.
• To analyze the impact of operations, technical, and maintenance personnel overtime on plant safety.
• To examine the effects of the 12-hour operator shift schedule on operator error and other safety indicators.

Main Methods:

• Statistical analysis of overtime hours for operations, technical, and maintenance personnel.
• Correlation analysis between overtime and plant safety performance metrics.
• Assessment of the 12-hour operator shift schedule's impact on operator error and safety indicators.

Main Results:

• A clear statistical relationship was found between operations overtime and plant safety performance.
• Overtime for technical and maintenance personnel did not show a statistically significant relationship with plant safety performance.
• The 12-hour operator shift schedule was correlated with operator error but not other safety indicators, yielding ambiguous results.

Conclusions:

• The amount of operator overtime worked at some commercial nuclear power plants represents a potential safety concern.
• Further research is needed to definitively conclude the impact of the 12-hour operator shift schedule on overall plant safety.
• Work practice modifications, particularly concerning operator overtime, may be necessary to enhance safety in the nuclear power industry.