In October 2024 our Human Factors sub-specialism began sponsorship of two PhDs in partnership with the Applied Psychology and Human Factors group in the University of Aberdeen's School of Psychology.

Human Factors is part of our Human and Organisational Capability specialism, which analyses the important role played by people and processes at nuclear sites. The PhDs will address knowledge gaps in this area that have implications across our purposes. Their results will inform the development of guidance that we will review and share with our dutyholders in due course. Running the projects in this way will help us forge links with academia while providing an efficient and effective pathway to progress this important research.

Dr Amy Irwin, a senior lecturer at the University of Aberdeen and first academic supervisor on both projects, said: 'We are thrilled to be developing a collaborative partnership with ONR. These PhD projects will enable the students to build their theoretical and practical knowledge and will enable us to develop real world impact through our research."

Tom Eagleton, our Research and Innovation Lead, reflected: “Human factors play a vital role in the safe and secure operation of nuclear facilities and it is important that we regulate them based on the most up-to-date scientific and technical information. These research projects will help ensure our inspectors are making the right decisions based on the latest research, while also supporting us to develop new links within academia.”

The efficacy of peer checking in the nuclear industry

Peer checking is an important form of error capture and recovery measure widely used in the nuclear sector, including safety cases and security plans. Many types of peer check are used, from informal checks by a team member through to independent verification by someone outside the team who is separate in both time and place. However, research from the healthcare sector has recently brought into question its value for reducing human error and improving reliability.

We recognised the need to carry out research to address this knowledge gap and ensure our position on the use of peer checking in the nuclear industry is scientifically informed and evidence based. This will ensure we can regulate effectively and keep dutyholders up to date on good practice for robust checking.

We jointly applied for funding with the School of Psychology at the University of Aberdeen and were successful in receiving a research award from the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS). This is the first time ONR has gained SGSSS funding for a PhD project and recognises the importance of this research across high-risk sectors, including the nuclear industry.

The work will be undertaken by Beatrix Duff, who has a first class degree in psychology with counselling. Beatrix will build on the findings of a preliminary review we commissioned and will follow up on the avenues for future research identified in the review. Being funded by the SGSSS will allow Beatrix to access a wider cohort of fellow researchers, as well as training and support.

Operational decision-making approaches, tools and techniques within the nuclear industry

Another PhD project in the School of Psychology at the University of Aberdeen will investigate how critical decisions are made within the nuclear and other high-risk industries, focusing on factors that block or enable the use of decision-making approaches, tools and techniques.

We have funded this research in full to focus on operational decision-making (the operational processes applied to maintain nuclear plant within its safe operating envelope when challenges occur) and conservative decision-making (making decisions by ensuring a pessimistic view is taken of an unknown plant state, such that nuclear safety is the overriding priority).

The work will be undertaken by Ria (Apoorva) Amirapu, who has a first class degree in psychology. Ria will be seeking to understand nuclear dutyholder perceptions and deployment of these tools.

Ria's research will be supported by experimental work comparing how decision-making tools are applied across different scenarios, and the use of tactical decision games as a technique to better understand the importance of factors such as communication, interaction and situational assessment.

This work will inform the development of guidance and good practice in this key area of human factors research.