| dc.description | Safety approach currently adopted by nuclear installations is built almost exclusively upon analytical
methodologies based, mainly, on the belief that the properties of a system, such as its safety, are given by its
constituent parts. This approach, however, doesn???t properly address the complex dynamic interactions between
technical, human and organizational factors occurring within and outside the organization. After the accident at
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011, experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) recommended a systemic approach as a complementary perspective to nuclear safety. The aim of this
paper is to present an overview of the systems thinking approach and its potential use for structuring
sociotechnical problems involved in the safety of nuclear installations, highlighting the methodologies related to
the soft systems thinking, in particular the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). The implementation of a systemic
approach may thus result in a more holistic picture of the system by the complex dynamic interactions between
technical, human and organizational factors. | |
