IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA Outline Initiating the IRRS Building capacity to host IRRS Resources: Funding; People; Material. The host

IAEAInternational Atomic Energy Agency

BASIC IRRS TRAININGInformation Lecture 2.

Host Country Preparation for IRRS(a mountain to climb!)

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Outline

• Initiating the IRRS• Building capacity to host

IRRS• Resources:

• Funding; People; Material.

• The host IRRS Team• Leadership; Roles;• Organisation; Teamwork

• Self-assessment• Training; Implementing;• Gathering documentary

evidence; • Analysis and Action plan.

• Preparatory Meeting• Building the ARM• Developing the schedule• Logistics:

• Facilities;• Visits and transport;• Security;• Media and press;• Administration.

Basic IRRS Training - Host Country Preparation

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Learning objectives

After finishing this lecture the trainee will:

• Understand the extent and complexity of the host’s preparation for IRRS.

• Understand the discipline of the mission schedule.• Appreciate the importance of prior review of the

ARM.• Recognise the peer relationship between host and

review teams.


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Initiating the Mission

• An IRRS is initiated through a formal governmental request to the IAEA (DDG NS). In some cases, the IAEA may suggest to a Member State that an IRRS be considered, but it remains the State’s decision.

• Discussions, initially internally, also engaging government and other stakeholders, on the aims, objectives and consequently, the scope of the proposed mission.

• Discussions with IAEA on the scope of the mission.

• Identification of Host Country Liaison Officer.

• Dates and pre-mission action plan.


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Building capacity to host the IRRS

• Government, RB partner organisations including TSOs and first responders, licensees and RB staff in particular, all have an interest and some will have a role in the IRRS.

• The host must positively engage all such organisations at an early stage. This demands clearly understood host country aims and objectives for the outcome of the mission.

• The host must also agree with the IAEA, which of such organisations will have a direct role during the mission itself.

• Throughout the preparatory period the host will be in regular dialogue with the IAEA (notably the Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator for the mission) to agree the details, advance reference material, logistics, composition of the IRRS Review Team etc.

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Building capacity to host the IRRS

• Board and senior management commitment to the mission.

• Gaining Regulatory Body staff commitment to the mission through ensuring their understanding of its nature, scope, aims, objectives and benefits.

• Identifying key personnel, skills and competences needed to implement and sustain host preparation for the mission.

• Incorporating IRRS preparation into the regulatory body programme in the period until completion of the mission.

• Ensuring understanding of all IAEA requirements and guidance pertinent to the scope of the mission.

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Resources


• Funding:• The majority of host countries will bear the full financial costs of an

IRRS mission, including for example: IAEA and reviewer costs such as travel, hotels and subsistence Consultancy and other service organisation costs as part of preparation for

the mission RB staff additional hours costs Preparatory mission costs Additional hotel, office and administrative facilities required prior to and

during the mission

• In some cases, a considerable component of the early preparation will be negotiating funding support from IAEA (such as TC) and/or third parties (such as government, EC., etc.).

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Resources


• People:• Early recognition needed that preparation and conduct of the IRRS will

consume many man-hours of: RB regulatory and other staff Potentially, consultants and TSO staff Partner organisations and other stakeholders

• Early and realistic planning is essential to ensure the necessary man-hours are made available.

• Preparation for IRRS should be completed without unduly disrupting the daily functions and activities of the regulatory body and its partners.

• Considerable effort may be required to obtain the full commitment of those who will have additional workloads in this period.

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Resources


• Material Resources:

• The host cannot underestimate the material resources potentially required including, for example:

Physical office and conference space IT technologies, especially reliable Internet and local mobile phones Vehicles Printed documents, in many cases, also available in English

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The Host IRRS Team

• Preparation for IRRS demands strong leadership and a clear focus on the aims and objectives of the mission from the host’s perspective.

• The host team (not formally defined in the IRRS Guidelines) will comprise at least the following:

A senior manager (ideally a member of the Board) The defined Host Liaison Officer Counterparts for every IRRS Module Experts in each topic area, working with the named counterparts Representatives of other organisations having a direct role in the

IRRS mission Logistical and administrative support officers


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The Host IRRS Team

• All members of the host team will require familiarisation and training, in order to be able to prepare for IRRS. Typically topics will include:

• The scope, modular structure and peer review approach of the IRRS

• Its aims, objectives and benefits• The roles and responsibilities of the host team members (e.g. self-

assessment roles• The mission preparation action plan and timescales• A reporting mechanism may be required to ensure that all

preparation tasks have been satisfactorily completed on time


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Self-Assessment

• The extent and complexity of pre-IRRS self-assessment using the IAEA Methodology and tools is commonly underestimated.

• Self-assessment typically requires at least nine months of continuous and occasionally intense activity.

• The great majority of regulatory staff and where appropriate, some staff of other organisations, will participate in the self-assessment.


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Self-Assessment

• Once the mission scope has been agreed, the next action is to arrange at the earliest opportunity, a self-assessment training event for all regulatory (and other relevant) personnel.

• The training requires typically three or four days, during which time, much of the RB’s routine work may be postponed.

• Senior management should participate in the training. They will have an important role in ensuring its effective completion.

Continued:Basic IRRS Training - Host Country Preparation

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Self-Assessment

• The host counterparts for each IRRS Module take responsibility for leading self-assessment ‘respondent’ teams comprising the appropriate expert staff (regulatory and support as appropriate).

• As the respondent phase is completed for each module, senior staff not previously involved in the response phase, assume the role of ‘analysts’. Their role is initially to ‘quality check’ the responses and appended evidence and, working with the respondent team(s), bring the responses to consensus completion.

Continued:


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Self-Assessment

• Analysts now review the responses, relative to IAEA and other applicable requirements, in terms of the implications for the regulatory infrastructure of the country.

• Once the analysis phase is complete it is shared with senior management and the counterparts for each module.

• This small senior team now have the task of turning the responses (factual evidence) and the analysis (considered opinions) into an initial (pre-IRRS) action plan for improvement.

• This action-planning process is crucial and may be complex and contentious.


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Regulatory Policy Issues

• Generally emerge from the analysis of the self-assessment and initial action-planning.

• Further developed in discussion with IAEA.

• Refined at the preparatory meeting.


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Preparatory Meeting

• No later than six months before the mission, occasionally earlier.• Held in the host country, this meeting provides the opportunity to review

progress with the self-assessment and preparation generally. The mission programme and logistics are refined and issues for policy discussions etc. can be reviewed or finalised.

• The scope of the mission is confirmed and the host is able to finalise its team and in the weeks that follow, agree the IRRS Review Team also.

• The host must prepare well for this meeting, bringing to it, the status of the self-assessment (which by this date, should be well advanced) and highlighting areas which may require emphasis during the review.

• A detailed draft programme for the mission would be expected to follow the preparatory meeting.


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Building the ARM

• The Advance Reference Material (ARM) largely emerges from a thoroughly completed self-assessment using the IAEA methodology and SARIS software.

• Self-assessment generates a body of evidence in the form of appended documentation and analysis, structured according to the IAEA Modules with respect to IAEA requirements and guidance. An action plan indicates the host’s understanding of potential gaps or other issues relative to the applicable international requirements

• However, this material (and other relevant documents not otherwise cited as ‘evidence’ during the self-assessment) must now be compiled and an executive summary provided module by module. Drafting the executive summary may require several weeks, including high level discussions in the country.


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ARM Summary Report Template

• Objectives• To assist the host countries in

preparing the summary report of the Advance Reference Material (with emphasis on the results of Self-Assessment)

• To assist the reviewers in obtaining focused relevant information on the SA and on the regulatory regime

• To assist the team in the compilation of the mission report with the necessary contents



• The objectives are expressed by the Basic Guidelines:• It should follow the structure of the

Standardized IRRS Mission Report Template

• It should summarize the results of the self-assessment

• It should describe the conclusions drawn and the actions foreseen from the self-assessment

• It should refer with explicit links to all documents that are needed for full understanding of the report



• Contents• General Guidance -

Basic Guidelines• Guidance on the contents

of the Summary Report –

see below• Guidance on Action Plan –

brief description of the purpose, contents and form of the Action Plan

The Summary Report should be brief, clear and comprehensive



Guidance on the Contents of the ARM Summary • Background

• General host country information• Nuclear programme• Regulatory Body• Mission Organization

• For each Chapter and Section• Follows the structure of the Mission Report • Refers to the IAEA safety requirements to be covered • Lists those issues, topics, questions that need to be

discussed in brief• Follows the logics of SARIS question sets, yet suggests to

deduce the main messages• Asks to describe what is planned if a Requirement is not met



Example:

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Developing the Mission Schedule

• Logistically, this is a difficult task that falls primarily upon the Host Liaison Officer (HLO).

• Working with the IRRS Coordinators, the HLO develops a comprehensive daily programme based on the IAEA template.

• Finalising the programme involves reaching agreement with host counterparts and other RB staff, stakeholders, facilities to be visited, the IAEA and others.


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Mission Logistics

• Hotels and other similar facilities• Transport• Local communications (e.g. mobile phones)• Internet• Security (e.g. for site visits)• Facilities to be visited• Radiation safety requirements• General administration• Social programme.



THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Photo: V. FriedrichPhoto: 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

Documents

IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA Outline Initiating the IRRS Building capacity to host IRRS Resources: Funding; People; Material. The host