A safety culture maturity matrix for nuclear regulatory bodies

Abstract

The concept of safety culture has attracted a great deal of attention. Since the rise of the concept, progress has been made regarding the definition of safety culture and the development of tools dedicated to safety culture oversight and self-assessment. In addition, these recent advances have been made across different high-hazard industries, and obviously in the nuclear world. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to tailored methods allowing a regulatory body to assess its own safety culture. The aim of this paper is to present a framework adapted to nuclear regulatory bodies or TSOs (Technical Safety Organisations) in order to guide them in understanding their own safety culture through a "Safety Culture Maturity Matrix".