Offshore Safety Assessment and Safety-Based Decision-Making—The Current Status and Future Aspects

1999 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Wang ◽  
O. Kieran

The offshore installations (safety case) regulations were developed in the UK in 1992 and came into force in 1993 in response to the accepted findings of the Piper Alpha enquiry. Recently, “the offshore installations and wells (design and construction, etc.) regulations” (DCR 1996) were introduced to offshore safety analysis. From the earliest stages of the installation’s life cycle, operators must ensure that all safety-critical elements in both the software and system domains be assessed. Hazards can be identified and the risks associated with them can be assessed and evaluated using a number of techniques and decision-making strategies, all aimed at producing an installation with lifetime safety integrity. In this paper, following a brief review of the current status of offshore safety regulation in the UK, several offshore safety assessment frameworks are presented. These include top-down, bottom-up, probabilistic, and subjective approaches. The conditions under which each approach may be applied effectively and efficiently are discussed. Probabilistic safety-based decision-making and subjective safety-based decision-making are then studied. Two examples are used to demonstrate the decision-making approaches. Recommendations on further development in offshore safety analysis are suggested. [S0892-7219(00)00901-8]

Author(s):  
John V. Sharp ◽  
Edmund G. Terry ◽  
John Wintle

Many offshore installations in the North Sea have now exceeded their original design life and are in a life extension phase. A Framework of six processes has been developed for the management of ageing of Safety Critical Elements (SCEs) in offshore installations. The processes include an analysis of the effect of ageing modes on SCE performance. Examples of performance indicators for typical SCEs are proposed based on how their condition and performance as may be affected by physical deterioration and other effects of ageing. Indicators for calibrating the maturity and effectiveness of the management processes are also suggested.


Author(s):  
A. Stacey ◽  
J. V. Sharp

This paper presents a primary integrity management (PIM) framework for mobile installations (semi-submersibles and self elevating installations) and permanently moored floating installations (FPSOs, FSUs, etc.). The primary integrity of self-elevating and floating installations depends on both the primary structure and additional systems. The framework is based upon the UK regulatory requirements for offshore installations, including the need for a thorough review of the safety case accounting for any changes in condition and future plans and verification of the primary integrity management (PIM) process. Requirements and guidance are provided for all aspects of the integrity management process covering: • primary integrity hazard identification and risk control; • resources, organisation and management, including competency assurance; • information management and documentation; • primary integrity management policy, objectives and strategy; • inspection, examination and testing; • evaluation of structure and other primary systems; • maintenance, repair and upkeep; • audit, review and continual improvement. The framework also contains guidance based on the application of existing standards and industry published documents. Finally, guidance is given on the implementation of the framework.


Author(s):  
Kazumi Kitayama

The programme for disposal of radioactive waste in Japan is now moving ahead on a number of fronts. On the regulatory side, responsibility for TRU waste disposal has been assigned to NUMO and guidelines for the safety goals for disposal of LLW have been published. NUMO, as the implementer for the deep geological disposal programme, has been developing the special tools for project management that are needed as a result of the decision to adopt a volunteering approach to siting. NUMO is also building up the technical infrastructure for flexible tailoring of site characterisation, repository design and the associated safety assessment to the conditions found in any volunteer site. This work requires openness and transparency in decision-making but, as several sites may need to be investigated in parallel, particular emphasis is placed on operational practicality.


2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (04) ◽  
pp. 1250023 ◽  
Author(s):  
WOLFGANG WENDE ◽  
FRANK SCHOLLES ◽  
JOACHIM HARTLIK

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been formally applied in Germany since 1990, and has over time developed a methodological and technical routine in environmental planning practice. It can now be considered an established instrument; nonetheless, substantial challenges to the further development of the EIA, and to even stronger implementation of environmental requirements in planning and decision-making practice in Germany, still exist. This paper reports briefly on the application and the main achievements of the EIA in Germany, and, in the second section, primarily provides a perspective for addressing remaining and new challenges involving this instrument. The paper also includes specific proposals for the further optimization of the EIA at the EU level, as well as for Germany. The current status and future challenges facing the EIA, which are described herein, range from screening and scoping through public participation and monitoring to the area of application.


2012 ◽  
Vol 76 (8) ◽  
pp. 3483-3489 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Galson ◽  
L. E. F. Bailey

AbstractA three-year European Commission project entitled performance assessment methodologies in application to guide the development of the safety case (PAMINA) was conducted in the period 2006–2009 and brought together 27 organizations from ten European countries, including the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Galson Sciences Ltd from the UK. The PAMINA project had the aim of improving and developing a common understanding of performance assessment (PA) methodologies for disposal concepts for spent fuel and other long-lived radioactive wastes in a range of geological environments.Work undertaken within PAMINA focussed on four areas: (1) review of PA methodologies in participating organizations; (2) treatment of uncertainty in PA and the safety case; (3) other methodological advancements in PA; and (4) relevance of advanced PA approaches to practical cases.The state of development of a radioactive waste disposal programme has a strong influence on the type of safety case and supporting PA that is produced. A range of PA methodologies has been developed by different waste management organizations. This paper presents a selection of conclusions from the PAMINA project, in the context of general understanding developed on what would constitute an acceptable safety case for a geological disposal facility, and outlines areas for further development.


1986 ◽  
Vol 84 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Read ◽  
A.A. Krol ◽  
B.G.J. Thompson

AbstractThe UK Department of the Environment (DOE) is developing an independent capability to assess proposals made by the nuclear industry for the underground disposal of low and intermediate level radioactive waste. Modelling chemical processes forms an integral part of the underlying DOE research programme which includes the development of probabilistic risk assessment codes, more detailed deterministic models and supporting field and laboratory studies, in a co-ordinated, hierarchical approach. This paper summarises the results of a survey on the current status of this and related research, with emphasis on the assessment of a safety case for shallow land disposal of low level waste in about two years time. Shortcomings in existing work are identified, and a structured programme for future research described.


Author(s):  
Jean Joubert ◽  
Norbert Kohtz ◽  
Ian Coe

It is planned to construct a first of a kind Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) in South Africa. A need has been recognized to accompany the licensing process for the PBMR with independent safety assessments to ensure that the safety case submitted by the applicant complies with the licensing requirements of the NNR. At the HTR 2006 Conference, the framework and major challenges on safety assessment that the South African National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) faces in developing and applying appropriate strategies and tools were presented. This paper discusses the current status of the various NNR assessment activities and describes how this will be considered in the NNR Final Report on the PBMR Safety Case. The traditional safety assessment process has been adapted to take into account the developmental nature of the project. By performing safety assessments, the designer and applicant must ensure that the design as proposed for construction and as-built meets the safety requirements defined by the regulatory framework. The regulator performs independent safety assessments, including independent analyses in areas deemed safety significant and potentially safety significant. The developmental nature of the project also led to the identification of a series of regulatory assessment activities preceding the formal assessment of the safety case. Besides an assessment of the resolution of Key Licensing Issues which have been defined in an early stage of the project and are discussed in /1/, these activities comprise the participation in an SAR Early Intervention Process, the execution of a regulatory HAZOP and the development of a regulatory assessment specification for the formal assessment of the safety case. This paper briefly describes these activities and their current status. During the last two years, significant progress was made with the development or adjustment of tools for the independent analysis by the regulator of the steady state core design, of the transient neutronic/thermal hydraulic behaviour of the reactor, of fission product release from the fuel elements, and of activation of fuel matrix and graphite impurities.


Author(s):  
Naoki Hirokawa ◽  
Yuki Ishiwatari ◽  
Daisuke Taniguchi ◽  
Kohei Hisamochi

A Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) was provided as an integral part of the safety case for the United Kingdom Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (UK ABWR) Generic Design Assessment (GDA). The main objectives of PSA for GDA is to provide a demonstration of the compliance, for a single unit UK ABWR, with numerical risk targets defined in the UK Safety Assessment Principles (SAP) and to support the “As Low As Reasonably Practicable” (ALARP) assessment. This content of this paper includes: • An overview of the UK ABWR PSA • Identification of the PSA scope • PSA model development to compare with numerical risk targets and inform design and operational features • Illustration of PSA results, e.g., Core Damage Frequency (CDF), Large Release Frequency (LRF) and Large Early Release Frequency (LERF) • Peer reviews • Use of PSA in ALARP assessment


Author(s):  
Elizabeth Grindon ◽  
Neil Harman ◽  
Carmen Niculae ◽  
Ming Leang Ang ◽  
Hironobu Iwanami ◽  
...  

A full scope Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) was provided as an integral part of the safety case for the UK ABWR Generic Design Assessment (GDA) and this included a Level 3 PSA. The main objectives of the Level 3 PSA for GDA are to provide a demonstration of the compliance, for a single unit UK ABWR, with numerical risk targets defined in the UK Safety Assessment Principles and to support the ALARP assessment. This paper includes: • An overview of the methodology, PSA model development and illustration of some results. • A summary of the key assumptions made during the model development for the GDA phase of the project. Compliance with the numerical risk targets has been investigated through assessments against the individual off site risk from the facility (Target 7), facility dose bands (Target 8) and off site societal risk (Target 9). • Some conclusions of a peer review against the draft ASME/ANS standard for trial use (ASME/ANS RA-S-1.3, Feb 2016 for Level 3 Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA)), which was a key aspect of this study.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tayana Soukup ◽  
Ged Murtagh ◽  
Ben W Lamb ◽  
James Green ◽  
Nick Sevdalis

Background Multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) are a standard cancer care policy in many countries worldwide. Despite an increase in research in a recent decade on MDTs and their care planning meetings, the implementation of MDT-driven decision-making (fidelity) remains unstudied. We report a feasibility evaluation of a novel method for assessing cancer MDT decision-making fidelity. We used an observational protocol to assess (1) the degree to which MDTs adhere to the stages of group decision-making as per the ‘Orientation-Discussion-Decision-Implementation’ framework, and (2) the degree of multidisciplinarity underpinning individual case reviews in the meetings. MethodsThis is a prospective observational study. Breast, colorectal and gynaecological cancer MDTs in the Greater London and Derbyshire (United Kingdom) areas were video recorded over 12-weekly meetings encompassing 822 case reviews. Data were coded and analysed using frequency counts.Results Eight interaction formats during case reviews were identified. case reviews were not always multi-disciplinary: only 8% of overall reviews involved all five clinical disciplines present, and 38% included four of five. The majority of case reviews (i.e. 54%) took place between two (25%) or three (29%) disciplines only. Surgeons (83%) and oncologists (8%) most consistently engaged in all stages of decision-making. While all patients put forward for MDT review were actually reviewed, a small percentage of them (4%) either bypassed the orientation (case presentation) and went straight into discussing the patient, or they did not articulate the final decision to the entire team (8%). Conclusions Assessing fidelity of MDT decision-making at the point of their weekly meetings is feasible. We found that despite being a set policy, case reviews are not entirely MDT-driven. We discuss implications in relation to the current eco-political climate, and the quality and safety of care. Our findings are in line with the current national initiatives in the UK on streamlining MDT meetings, and could help decide how to re-organise them to be most efficient.


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