IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA USNRC IRRS Training - Guidance to prospective Team Leaders and their Deputies Learning objectives After

IAEAInternational Atomic Energy Agency

Guidance to prospective Team Leaders and their Deputies

USNRC IRRS TRAININGLecture 8

IAEA USNRC IRRS Training - Guidance to prospective Team Leaders and their Deputies

Learning objectives

After finishing this lecture the trainee will:• Understand what is the main objective of the

IRRS Team Leader• Know how the Team Leader should

help building the IRRS Team• Understand importance of sticking to

timing• Understand how effective team

meetings are conducted• Understand how the quality of the

final report is assured

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Introduction

• This training lecture was prepared in 2015 for the IRRS training at the US NRC

• It is in more details explaining what and how the IRRS Team Leader and his/her Deputy should do during the mission

• The content is partly based on IRRS Guidance, but mostly on experiences


Team Leader & Deputy Team Leader


Team Leader

• The Team Leader should be a senior regulator from a Member State, experienced in the regulatory aspects of nuclear and / or radiation safety. He/she should have:• known leadership qualities;• a clear mission vision;• known ability to build effective teams;• recent knowledge of global and local regulatory issues;• a clear understanding of the peer review process and

what needs to be done;• effective communication skills with good spoken and

written English.


Main objective

General objective of the management:

To achieve objectiveswith the minimum use of resources!

IRRS Team Leader objective:

To produce the Mission Reportwith available team and in the allowable time.


IRRS – Why do we have it?

To help improve nuclear safety regulatory system of the host country

To let others know about good practices in the host country

In other words: to facilitate continuous improvements

Any regulatory body has to be a learning organisation, willing to seek and take advice on improvements


The mirror for the host country


The IRRS Team

• Each IRRS mission is one time project with a bunch of people that have never worked together before!

• The personalities in the team are (as always) of different characters

• Some kind of team building activity before the mission is beneficial


Cultural differences

• Team members from at least dozen countries• Host country at another continent• Different political systems, religions, educational

systems, food habits etc.• A lot of wisdom and open mind is needed to

recognize and understand the differences

• The IAEA standards can be implemented in different ways!


The Team challenges

• Almost always one or two team members are not able to produce results!

• Team Leader and Team Coordinator should early recognize such problem

• The contingency plan should be in place


The Team – before the mission

• It is expected that Team Members prepare intensively before the mission

• In reality:• first time members do study a lot before the mission, but

often with wrong emphasis• experienced members minimize preparation and rely on

quick on-the-site learning and adjustment


Team Building

• Team Leader should start communicating with team members well before the mission

• Words of encouragement to the first time members are very helpful

• Communication should be informal, so that already at the first meeting members are relaxed


Team Building

• Just before the Initial Team Meeting it is advisable to have at least informal lunch or dinner together

• With one rule: “Talk about yourself, not about the mission!”


Team Leader’s Focus

IRRS Team objective:

To produce the Mission Reportwith available team and in the allowable time.

Team Leader should direct team work towards that goal from the very beginning! .


Preparing the Report

• Team members must understand:• They have to write their

chapters• How to describe

recognized issues in the descriptive part of their chapter

• How to identify issues and elaborate recommendation, suggestions and good practices

From the Mission Report Template:

general instructions to write the chapter

interrelation with other modules

particular emphases

the Recommendation!


Main Milestones

• The mission timing should be strictly followed

MILESTONE 1:Preliminary Draft Report


Main Milestones

MILESTONE 2:Draft Report to the Host

MILESTONE 3:Final Draft Report to the Host

• Second week:


During the mission

• The Team Leader leads the IRRS mission. During the mission he/she is responsible for: • assigning tasks and responsibilities to the team

members;• ensuring that the team works in a consistent and

cohesive manner;• developing an overall picture of the effectiveness of

the regulatory system of the host country;• ensuring that the objectives of the IRRS are met;• leading the team meetings during the mission;• serving as IRRS liaison with the government/regulatory

body and external stakeholders.


Daily Team Meetings

• Usually at 18:00, should be shorter then 2 hours

• Team Leader should keep it as short as possible!

• On following slides are some basic rules how to do that.


Meetings: Short reporting

• Each review group should have only 5 minutes to report!

• Tell not what you have been doing, tell what you believe is an issue!

• Not OK: “I spoke with Mr. XY for 25 minutes, after that Ms. ZY joined and explained about their cafeteria. We went for lunch together and after lunch I went to Mr. ZX …” – who cares, this is no news for the IRRS report!

• OK: “During the training it seems they do not address lessons learned from operating events!” – this is an issue, that may develop into the recommendation!


Meetings: No writing together!

• The team should look at the draft report on screen and discuss it

• Never allow improving text on the screen as this can become endless!

• Instead note concerns and ask author or smaller group to improve it and bring it later again to the team.


Meeting: Cross-cutting issues

• Meetings are important for recognizing cross-cutting issues

• Reviewer A reports about poor maintenance because of bad training

• Next day reviewer B should check how that training was done


Quality control

• Once each member submits his/her part of the report, cross reading should start

• Team Leader, his/her deputy and Team Coordinators should read everything

• Team Leader should organize cross reading so that each chapter is read at least twice

http://msfielding.global2.vic.edu.au/2014/02/07/cross-checking/


Liaison with the host

• Team Leader should openly communicate with the host’s Liaison Officer and with the management of the host organization

• There should be meetings whenever needed• Hosts could be shown also the draft text of

the report, but it should be made clear to them detailed comments are feasible only to the formally delivered versions.


Finalizing R&S

• Team Leader leads the final discussions with the Host about the wording of R&S&GP

• This might be difficult, sensibility is needed to understand cultural differences, different understandings of the matter and even political implications

• The final wording should be properly balanced


Exit presentation

• Team Leader presents the results at the exit meeting

• Presentation can be drafted by IAEA supporting staff

• Exit presentation should be strong and to the point message to the host country representatives!


After the mission

• After the mission mainly the language of the draft report needs to be improved and some factual mistakes corrected.

• The Team Leader has just a minor role in final approval.


Deputy Team Leader?

• He/she helps the Team Leader• Jumps in whenever Team Leader

is overloaded or not available• Helps organizing cross readings• Can jump in place of the member who can

not produce the report• Can help preparing exit presentation• …


Summary

• The IRRS Team Leader should• Build Team• Motivate Team• Organize the work• Recognize issues• Lead towards writing the Report• Liaise with the host• Present the results

• Deputy helps the leader

IAEA

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

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Photo: V. Friedrich

This activity is conducted by the IAEA, with funding by the European Union. The views expressed in this presentation do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission

USNRC IRRS Training - Reviewing Authorization, Inspection and Enforcement Functions of the Regulatory Body

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IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA USNRC IRRS Training - Guidance to prospective Team Leaders and their Deputies Learning objectives After