Wholeheartedly : Inheriting safety spirits of Kansai Electric Power
Aiming at the world's highest level of safety keeping my mission
Appointment to the first Nuclear Safety Assistant General Manager and expectations from the General Manager of the nuclear power plant
At that time, Mr. Sato was working hard as the Section Manager of Tokyo Branch Office involving with a lot of difficulties facing the nuclear power industry after the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident. Under such circumstances, he received an unexpected appointment. The plant General Manager told Mr. Sato assuming the new position, "I expect for your contribution to enhancing plant safety through your own value and way of doing business. In particular, I hope you will make an engineer pursuing nuclear safety who is respected and admired by the plant personnel".
"Receiving the letter of appointment, I was happy to go back to the site of power generation although I thought about various things. However, I knew that I had to learn a great volume of regulatory standards from the scratch, which had been revised in the 3 years during which I was away from the site. In addition, recognizing great responsibilities I assume to contribute to enhancing the nuclear power plant safety taking the advantage of my abilities built on through overseas experience, I braced myself to those challenges.
Immediately after arrival at the office, I conveyed my massage to the plant managers with an aim to organize the entire Ohi nuclear power station as a group of experts who recognize oneself as the professional nuclear engineer and make an untiring effort to fulfill one's own tasks with a sense of responsibility. The 5 expectations included in my message were;
- 1. Put nuclear safety first anything else.
- 2. Consistently pursue the 3 principles, "on-site", "actual material" and "reality".
- 3. Take the initiatives and give a good example with a "never say never" attitude.
- 4. Look for comments and information that are inconvenient to you.
- 5. Take risk management assuming that the worst thing occurs at the worst timing.
These are practical and concrete guides that represent what I actually want the plant personnel to do. I believe if the plant managers, who are the driving engine of the plant, change by themselves, the entire plant will change.
Sato's style as Nuclear Safety Assistant General Manager
Mr. Sato is eager to establish the culture that consistently pursue the world's highest level (excellence) beyond just meeting the regulatory requirements. He is making every effort to thoroughly implement the 3 principles, "on-site, actual material and reality". He thinks it is essential to make a decision on-site from the comprehensive viewpoint after confirming the reality and practical status. Having discussion not only with plant employees but also with the employees of partner companies is also important, he says.
"At Ohi nuclear power station, total 2,000 people are working, consisting of 500 KEPCO's employees and 1,500 employees of partner companies. Even if only one person among these workers makes an error, it causes impacts on the entire plant. Under such circumstances, working in the nuclear industry, that is, at Ohi Nuclear Power Station requires a sense of tension and responsibility. I treat each one worker as a teammate whatever company he or she belongs to, KEPCO or a partner company because I think all the staff members working at Ohi form a single team. For KEPCO's employees, I hope they do the best job with a mindset and pride as a professional nuclear engineer working on-site. "
Taking the initiatives and giving a good example with a "never say never" attitude
Mr. Sato has attended more than 230 times of morning meetings at partner companies since June 2014 to convey his own thoughts in person. According to his colleagues, he is popular among employees of partner companies as well because of close relationship and familiar attitude. He is trying to find a free hour to go around within the premises of the plant to check for if there are any dangers threating nuclear safety and look at how 2,000 employees are working. Whenever he gives instructions and advices, he intends to share the concept of thinking by asking the person in question why he has come to think in such a way so that the workers will tackle their own job according to the policy, "never say never" and "how to manage the situation".
"The meaning of enhancement of nuclear safety embraces a wide range covering a variety of equipment and facilities. In case of an emergency, I'm in charge of supporting the engineering judgment made by the General Manager. Therefore, I'm required to be familiar with various kinds of knowledge. The fundamentals of safety culture include the important concepts, that is, learning organization and questioning attitude. According to these concepts, I always ask myself a question repeatedly about "Is my understanding truly correct?" In addition, I'm trying to take the initiatives and give a good example through my behavior including the collection of overseas information with a spirit of "never say never". "
Yoshida, General Manager of Ohi Nuclear Power Station
Mr. Sato being interviewed
Ohi Nuclear Power Station managers meeting
Mr. Sato being in contact with plant personnel treating KEPCO's workers and those from partner companies equally
Mr. Sato is thoroughly implementing the policy of 3 realities.
He takes notes of the points which drew his attention through the safety patrol to make use of it in daily coaching activities.
