On April 24-26, the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) and the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) in Bengaluru, India, co-organized a discussion meeting on human reliability programs (HRP) with technical support from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The meeting, titled “Human Reliability Program in Industries of National Importance,” brought participants from the Indian Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, multiple units of the Indian Department of Atomic Energy, various public and private universities, and research centers together with subject matter experts from Texas A&M University and ORNL to discuss elements of HRP.
Dr. Sunil Chirayath, NSSPI director and associate professor of nuclear engineering, co-coordinated the meeting along with Dr. M. Sai Baba of the NIAS. Chirayath also gave a presentation titled, “Roadmap to a Sustainable Human Reliability Program and Implementation Plan.” Dr. Craig Marianno, NSSPI deputy director and assistant professor of nuclear engineering, spoke about insider threat mitigation strategies, an element of HRP.
The presentations were balanced between U.S. and Indian experts in an attempt to identify good practices in safety and security with respect to HRP, as well as identify HRP implementation challenges. The meeting was multi-disciplinary in nature and provided an excellent learning forum for the participants. U.S. and Indian subject matter experts from academia, the nuclear industry, nuclear research centers and think tank organizations that advise industries of national importance, such as aviation and defense, all spoke about HRP from their own perspectives. As a result of the meeting, NSSPI and the NIAS resolved to work together to form a core working group to study and discuss HRP in the context of Indian industry.