Terms of Reference for the NE-ICT Network

Transcription

1 Network of Excellence for Supporting the Use of Instrumentation and Control (I&C) Technologies in the Safe and Effective Operation of Nuclear Power Plants (NE-ICT) Terms of Reference Document 1. Mission statement To improve communication and co-operation between international experts in I&C area and thus further support existing activities and the initiation of new activities in the area of NPP (Nuclear Power Plant) I&C 2. Objectives of the network There are four high-level objectives of the NE-ICT. These are: To facilitate communication within the network and provide a more effective method to exchange research, knowledge and ideas, by: o Acting as an intermediary between the IAEA and interested experts from nuclear facility utilities, technical support organizations, regulators, universities, research institutes, and other organisations o Providing a means by which members are able to exchange their expertise on the lessons learned in the design, installation, operation and maintenance of I&C systems in NPPs o Highlighting the outstanding open I&C issues related to NPPs o Providing a list of experts related to specific areas including measurement instrumentation, digital I&C systems, operation facilities, plant modernization, license renewal, etc. taking part in the development of, and providing feedback on, IAEA publications o Providing a repository of relevant material To support ongoing I&C activities related to NE-ICT members by: o Serving as a pool of expertise for the IAEA or personnel from the network s member organisations o Providing a means by which members are able to review, comment and resolve issues related to the production of materials, such as technical documents and training course material o Sharing best practices among members To identify potential areas for further exploration, by: o Informing the network of state-of-the-art developments in I&C o Providing a timely means of discussing emerging issues To raise awareness of I&C issues to the wider community, by: Page 1 of 8

2 o Encouraging members to disseminate network outcomes within their parent organisations o Providing online content related to activities of the network The objectives of the network are however flexible, they will be reviewed to meet the needs of its members and may evolve with time. 3. Scope The Network will address several topics, categorized in four main Groups: Digital I&C Systems Operating NPPs New Designs NPPs and Power Grids Each Group will include Technical Topic Areas, which can be modified and updated based on new activities, requirements and interests of the members. Examples of Technical Topic Areas include: Implementing and licensing digital I&C equipment in safety systems Reliability assessment of the digital I&C systems - hardware and software I&C systems failures parameters Risk informed decision making and on-line maintenance in correlation to new I&C systems The network aims at building on a large pool of international subject matter experts, including the IAEA Technical Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation and Control (TWG-NPPIC). The TWG-NPPIC has a different scope and structure from the NE-ICT network (e.g. the TWG members meet every two years and they are identified by the Member States), it is expected that they will complement each other and in some activities may overlap. In particular, the recommendations that will originate from the TWG will be an input to network s discussion topics and forum. Similarly, the network may identify new topics that can be of interest to the TWG. The nature of networks is flexible and such that its objectives, content and structure may change with time. A review of its progress and effectiveness on a regular basis is strongly advised. 4. Method of Work 4.1. Overview The network will be accessible via Internet, to ensure that anybody interested can access it from anywhere in the world. In order to sign up to the network, the individuals will have to register online, provide basic information on their experience and express their interest in certain Technical Topic Areas. This could be used by co-ordinators of activities to support the identification of suitable participants for a specific activity. Page 2 of 8

3 Every member of the network will be treated equally in terms of access to information within the network and ability to participate in network activities. Within the network there will be individuals identified as having particular roles and responsibilities to support key functions of the network. The NE-ICT will have a formal code of conduct, which should support the activities of the network and be available to all members prior to joining the network. A formal registration process will be provided through an on-line link Roles and Responsibilities Within the network there will be individuals identified as having particular roles and responsibilities to support key functions of the network NE-ICT Chairperson There will be a single member who will act as the chairperson of the NE-ICT. This member should be an IAEA staff member, e.g. the Scientific Secretary of the TWG-NPPIC, and his/her selection will be made by the IAEA. The responsibilities of the NE-ICT chairperson are: To maintain the list of membership of the NE-ICT o To grant permission to a new member to join the network o To officially warn members who violate the code of conduct of the network o To expel members from the NE-ICT if they violate the Code of Conduct To manage and enforce user guidelines To approve of any changes made to the overall structure of the NE-ICT in consultation with the network members, For example, the creation of a new Group or Technical Topic Area To manage the publicly accessible information related to the NE-ICT, including maintenance of the content To identify hot topics that the network members may be interested in To identify experts who could add value to the network and invite them to join it, in order to provide the critical mass of members required to encourage the success of the network To resolve user issues (e.g. complaints about the site, dealing with member identified problems with postings, issues with other members) To recognize the need to create/ update Technical Topical Areas or to sunset the network if and when this is no longer needed Group Focal Point A way to encourage users to participate in the network is providing access to answers quickly and efficiently from knowledgeable and credible individuals. For this reason, each of the four network groups will have a focal point who will ensure that valuable and active dialogue is carried forward. The responsibilities of each group focal point are: Page 3 of 8

4 To proactively encourage participation in the network To support the chairperson s role in managing the publicly accessible information related to the network group, including maintenance of the content o Moderate network discussion groups o Update the network with relevant news items or monitor the industry for hot topics o Assist in answering other members questions and help identify and retain experts to assist in moderating certain discussion topics o If they are expert in a field, post content in their area of expertise To be responsible for the structure of the content available only to those within the NE-ICT related to the network group NE-ICT Coordinator The NE-ICT Coordinator will collaborate with the NE-ICT Chairperson and oversee the development of the network, in addition to liaising with other networks within the IAEA. This role should be filled by an IAEA staff member and his/her responsibilities will include: Coordinating the implementation and progress of the NE-ICT network in line with other IAEA networks and external benchmarks Analysing trends and network usage measurements and providing regular reports on the progress of the network Promoting the role of networks in the context of communication best practices and tools Supporting the NE-ICT Chairperson in managing memberships (e.g. granting permission to a new member to join the network) Maintaining interface with other established networks NE-ICT IT Support Staff The NE-ICT IT Support Staff will work for the IAEA and be responsible for the activities of setup and maintenance of the IT tool that will be selected for the network Members The expectation for each member of the NE-ICT is that they will: Participate in the activities of the NE-ICT Promote the activities of the NE-ICT Recommend suitable members to join the network Adhere to the recommended code of conduct of the NE-ICT Distribute information within their national networks, as appropriate The network membership is intended for the international pool of experts who work and share common interests identified in the Technical Topic Areas. The members of the network should express interest and initiative to actively participate in the network activities. The members of the network are expected to be associated with one or more of the following: Page 4 of 8

5 Appropriate sections in IAEA International organisations in the NPP I&C field, e.g. IEC, NEA, JRC Nuclear utilities Regulatory bodies Academic institutes Research organisations Vendors Independent consultants Members from other institutions and organizations may be included in the network, if these members are identified as experts in specific Technical Topic Areas or their membership will be beneficial to the network Use of the Network The use of the network will fulfill the mission statement and objectives of the NE-ICT. The network activities will service a number of different needs from the various members, including: Sharing experience and problems / solutions to real application problems Discussions in an informal and international setting Access to expertise and associated material (e.g. NPP data, lessons learned) Formation and promotion of new ideas and identification of potential areas for further exploration Broadening understanding of needs, roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders Identification/recruitment of experts for specific functions, e.g. for solving specific I&C technical problems, engagement as lecturers in IAEA workshops Identification of participants or partners in joint activities with the IAEA or among the network members Announcement of I&C-related activities such as courses and conferences Access to a wider network for peer review In addition to these general uses, the IAEA has specific activities that the NE-ICT could support. These are related to the management and execution of the different types of IAEA meetings (e.g. Technical and Consultants Meetings, Workshops, Training Courses and Scientific Visits under TC Projects, Technical Review Missions, Coordinated Research Projects) and the network will be considered a platform to help: Defining meetings scope and searching for potential host organization Announcing meetings and soliciting for contributions Distributing proceedings, meeting reports, follow-ups Distributing results (draft document) for review and comment to all or a limited number of NE-ICT members Page 5 of 8

6 Distributing course material Recruiting for mission experts Soliciting for ideas to formulate initial CRP scope Communicating with approved CRP members (limited sub-group in NE- ICT membership) 4.4. Network Code of Conduct The NE-ICT will have a formal code of conduct, which should support the activities of the network and be available to all members prior to joining the network. It will inform users what is and what is not an acceptable conduct for a member of the network (members shall agree to the Code before their registration can be completed). The contents of the acceptable use policy should include a provision stating, among other points, that: Members must respect other members at all times ideas, not people, may be challenged Obscene comments or postings will not be tolerated Members cannot engage in any intellectual property infringement or copyright law violation while utilizing the network Members cannot engage in any defamatory conduct Members cannot use the network tools to conduct direct sales advertisement or promotion of their organizations activities / products / services Users upon subscription to the network may provide contact details, in order to create a roster of experts/members accessible to the network members only, but that can allow direct contact between the individual members. The network will then be responsible to manage the contact information and store it in a secure fashion, according to privacy rules that will be developed before the launch of the network. The Network shall also have a common disclaimer that information on the network may not be accurate and should not be relied upon by the members, in order not to risk any legal liability Measurement of the Network effectiveness In order to measure the actual progress of the network, three areas of metrics have been identified and will be used: Usage measurements Process measurements Quality measurements These metrics should be analyzed on a regular basis Usage Measurements Usage measurements track various user activities, and, depending on the IT tool selected for the network platform, may include: Page 6 of 8

7 How many users access the network? How many new users joined the network? How many users access the network more than once? How many users contribute to the network? What do the users contribute to? Where are users spending most of their time? Process Measurements Process measurements track the efficiency of the network process and may include: What percentage of questions posted on the discussion boards are responded to? What is the average response time? What is the average number of page download failures? How long does it take for a user to go through the process of submitting a contribution to the website? What percentage of time is the network site available? Quality Measurements Quality measurements track the quality of the network experience and may include: How valuable is the network to the users? Are the users satisfied with their online experience? How often do users request help? How many member complaints are received? How much time do the Chairperson, the Group Focal Points and Network Coordinator spend running the network? Other types of measurements may be developed and utilized, if needed. 5. Supporting technologies and outputs The NE-ICT shall facilitate the intended uses by employing a range of IT support tools that shall be intuitive for the user, easy to use and that do not require any software installation. The supporting IT technologies should realise the activities discussed previously, including: The ability to share information between a restricted number of, or all - the members of the network 1 A searchable list of members available only to members of the network A means of finding experts in a particular field A list of links to other networks, institutions, websites, etc. 1 This shall be encouraged, without duplicating effort elsewhere within the IAEA (i.e. by utilising existing IAEA publication database and not duplicating the storage of documents again). Page 7 of 8

8 Desirable, but not essential requirements of the supporting technologies will include: Version control of document production It is anticipated that one or more of the following technologies could support the operation of the network: Website: a website dedicated to the activities and information exchange within the network, and between the network and the outside world Bulletin board or forum: the bulletin board could be part of the website, but will be restricted to members of the NE-ICT only Search: could help members quickly find keywords in the website, within the repository of content, the forum and/or the list of members and their experience Newsletter: an electronic letter sent periodically or individually as needed, informing (all or a subset of) the members about activities and important events distribution list: The distribution list should preferably link to a centrally managed list of members (perhaps in conjunction with the bulletin board) It is recommended that the application selected for this network be consistent with the other networks in the process of being developed within the Nuclear Energy Department. Page 8 of 8