On 11th October 2002, the 42nd Safety Caravan visit was held at the Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc., Head Office, located in Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima Prefecture.

Safety Presentation

After the address, Mr. Tanaka, General Manager of NSnet introduced NSnet activities, followed by a lecture entitled "Changes in environmental conditions and safety activities" delivered by Mr. Narita, former Director of Health & Safety Division, O-arai Engineering Center, Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC).
In the presentation, he introduced how the former Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation was reorganized and shifted into a new organization (JNC) after the FBR-Monju sodium leak accident and Fire accident at asphalt solidification facility in Tokai reprocessing plant, together with various activities undertaken in that process. He also mentioned the kind of problems that impede continuous implementation of safety activities and the establishment of systems that endure environmental changes.

Safety Presentation

Safety information exchange session

Safety information exchange session

(1) Introduction of Good practices and opinions exchanged

At the safety information exchange session, we asked Mr. Hirase and Mr. Okamoto, Maintenance Planning Section, Ohi Nuclear Power Station, Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. to give an in-depth explanation about the good practices cited by the peer review of Ohi Nuclear Power Station regarding "Planning and schedule control of annual inspections."

The main information and opinions exchanged were:
- In terms of schedule control, how do you shorten inspection periods? (Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc.)
- In principle, we do not accelerate key dates and organizational changes before startup tests, prioritizing safe and steady implementation as planned. Acceleration takes place after startup tests, depending on the progress.
Even prior to startup tests, however, we accelerate the schedule as much as possible so as to be able to make allowances afterwards, which is decided at daily or weekly meetings.
Such information can be viewed by our company and cooperating companies through the annual inspection schedule control system. (Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.)
- Is there any work that does not involve shift work among critical undertakings? (Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc.)
- Yes, the inspection of valves and pumps of the primary system.
Currently, valve inspections are carried out by groups on a daily overtime basis. No shift work is undertaken due to the organization of cooperating companies. (11 groups with 3 to 5 members at the maximum).
As to pumps, shift work is undertaken as the need arises.
During this period, however, special work RCP ISI may be undertaken, in which case, it would be shift and critical work. (Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.)
- How do you cope with schedule changes caused by government inspections, for example? (NSnet)
- We use the annual inspection schedule control system (Artemis Sugar) for scheduling. If you input various conditions into each activity at initial scheduling and input the dates changed afterwards, the schedule is automatically updated. Currently, however, we do this work manually. (Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.)

(2) Information presented and opinions exchanged regarding corporate ethics.

NSnet then introduced some points that may contribute to thorough dissemination of the sense of ethics with regard to corporate ethics and engineers' ethics based on actual overseas and domestic instances, on which NSnet has been working since its establishment.

With regard to these ethics issues,
- Isn't the bottom-up method primarily essential for ethics programs? (Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc.)
- It requires the leadership of the top management for ethics programs to function properly. (NSnet)
- It is necessary to promote such programs in concert with onsite personnel so that the code of ethics would not become a mere slogan.(NSnet)