Citation:
M. Sai Baba, S.S. Chirayath, “Summary of the Meetings on Human Reliability Program in Industries of National Importance Jointly Organized by NIAS, India and Texas A&M University, USA”, Report NIAS/NSE/U/MR/02/2021
Abstract:
Human Reliability (to describe human performance) is widely used in fields requiring high standards of safety, such as aviation, petroleum and chemical processes, and nuclear industries. Human behavior always poses an inherent risk through our actions or inactions. Introducing errors into thernoperation of a system or process. Human factors can either positively or negatively affect the performance in workplace. Although human errors can be minimized through education and training/retraining programs, there are some human actions (insider actions) that could be intentional, which compromise the safety and security at the workplace due to ideological, economic, political, or personal motivations. A Human Reliability Program (HRP) could ensure that individuals who occupy positions with access to critical assets/operations/sites meet the highest standards so that they adhere to safety and security rules and regulations (reliability), ensure confidence in individuals based on their character (trustworthiness) and their physical and mental stability. There are myriad ways of HRP being implemented, in some fashion or other, in industries. A collaborative research program has been initiated between National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) and Texas A&M University Center for Nuclear Security and Policy Initiatives (TAMU-NSSPI). As part of the collaboration, a discussion meeting was organized at NIAS in April 2019 by bringingrntogether national and international experts from diverse industries of national importance to deliberate on HRP subject matter. The discussions aimed to include safety and security case studies and lessons learned. Methodologies used for human reliability analysis were also part of thernmeeting discussions. The meeting had the format of panel member presentations followed by question-and-answer sessions, which facilitated further discussions. The meeting was intended to identify good practices in safety and security with respect to HRP and to continue industry informed potential future academic collaborations between NIAS and Texas A&MrnUniversity (TAMU). TAMU and NIAS will work together to form a core working group to study and discuss the HRP in the context of industries of national importance in India. The first meeting had larger participation. At the end of the first meeting, organised during April 2019, the participants believed a core group should be formed with the aim of elaborating further and meet within four to six months at NIAS to continue the momentum obtained at this meeting in April 2019. Accordingly, TAMU and NIAS jointly conducted a core-group discussion meeting on œHuman Reliability Program (HRP) in Industries of National Importance during October 15-17, 2019. Thernmain objective of the meeting was to discuss among Indian experts the various elements of HRP and specific implementation needs in India given the Indian cultural and societal aspects. The meeting also aimed at identifying good practices in safety and security with respect to HRP and itsrnimplementation challenges. A panel discussion was conducted on October 17, 2019. At the end of the meeting, it was recommended to continue the deliberations further with a smaller core HRP group.