Institution news
For further details about the seminar and to book your place, please visit the event website.
Please briefly explain your role, involvement, and experience with regards to Safety Cases in the Nuclear Industry
Keith Murphy (KM): Head of Nuclear Safety at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, this includes accountability for providing capability and capacity for the production and implementation of safety assessments and safety cases for high hazard non-nuclear and nuclear facilities.
What is the number one challenge for those designing and carrying out safety cases, in your opinion?
KM: Wherever you look, the nuclear industry is rapidly expanding. In a new build context, ensuring that safety case and design engineering teams remain in lock step is crucial. History shows us that allowing divergence can result in plant that cannot be operated, or safety cases that become bogged down attempting to justify issues that should have been eliminated during design.
What is the most important development in this field at the moment, either within your organisation or in the industry in general?
KM: Its not rocket science and may seem trite to some, but taking time to develop a clear understanding of the case you are seeking to make is key. In our eagerness to make progress it can be tempting to get stuck in, but often this leads to later delays or nugatory effort.
What will you be presenting at the Fit For Purpose Safety Cases in the Nuclear Industry 2023 seminar and how will this benefit participants?
KM: Over the past 4 years AWE has been on a journey to improve the reliability of it’s safety case process. We would welcome the opportunity to share our experience from this journey and pass on what we found to be the key learning points.
What is your advice to those establishing or evaluating a safety case for the first time?
KM: It boils down to co-location of safety case and engineering teams, taking time to establish the end point and gaining approval of that end point before you embark on the production/design phase.
What other topics are you looking forward to hearing about and discussing at the upcoming seminar?
KM: Having been involved on the on the periphery of fusion reactor design assessment, I am very interested to hear more about “An Approach to a Fit For Purpose Safety Case for a Fusion Power Plant” from David Perry at UKAEA.
Why is it important for engineers and safety practitioners to come together and share best practice?
KM: As the founding and current sponsor of the Safety Director’s Forum Safety Case Group, AWE recognise the great value in learning from experience, both good and bad. Only in this way can we help safety practitioners and engineers avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. This is particularly important against a backdrop of ever-increasing demand and limited resources.
Fit For Purpose Safety Cases in the Nuclear Industry will take place on 23 May 2023 in Manchester
The only event of its kind, this popular event brings together experts from various fields, including nuclear safety, engineering, and regulatory affairs, to share their insights and experiences. It provides a unique and essential opportunity for nuclear safety professionals to address and overcome the key challenges for safety case design and implementation.
For further details about the seminar and to book your place, please visit the event website.