INPO’s approach to human performance in the United States commercial nuclear power industry

Strategically, INPO’s approach to human performance in commercial nuclear power stations encompasses two elements: 1) reduce the frequency of events triggered by human error, and 2) minimize the severity of human performance events that still occur. The frequency of events is primarily reduced by anticipating, preventing, and catching active errors at the job site during work execution, which involves three phases: 1) work preparation, 2) work performance, and 3) work feedback. During work execution, the human performance objective is to anticipate, prevent, or catch active errors, especially at critical steps, where error- free performance is absolutely necessary. The severity of events is minimized by verifying the integrity and robustness of defenses. Lines of defense are scrutinized aggressively through ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and correction. Defenses against human error and its consequences involve four primary lines of defense to improve station resilience: 1) engineered controls, 2) administrative controls, 3) cultural controls, and 4) oversight controls. This paper describes INPO’s risk-based approach to human performance- reducing error during work execution and managing defense-in-depth.