Member States intending to introduce a nuclear power programme will need to pass through several phases during the implementation. Experience shows that careful planning of the objectives, roles, responsibilities, interfaces and tasks to be carried out in different phases of a nuclear project is important for success. This publication presents a harmonized approach that may be used to structure the owner/operator management system and establish and manage nuclear projects and their development activities irrespective of the adopted approach. It has been developed from shared management practices and consolidated experiences provided by nuclear project management specialists through a series of workshops and working groups organized by the IAEA. The resultant publication presents a useful framework for the management of nuclear projects from initiation to closeout and captures international best practices.

• 1. Introduction
  • 1.1. Background
  • 1.2. Objective
  • 1.3. Scope
  • 1.4. Users
  • 1.5. Structure
• 2. Nuclear projects and Factors that influence them
  • 2.1. What is a project?
  • 2.2. Project phases and life cycle
  • 2.3. External environment and organizational factors that influence projects
    • 2.3.1. External environment factors
    • 2.3.2. Organizational factors
• 3. Project management guidance
  • 3.1. IAEA standards and publications
    • 3.1.1. Safety standards
    • 3.1.2. Nuclear energy series
    • 3.1.3. Other IAEA references
  • 3.2. International project and construction management guidance
  • 3.3. Small project guidance
  • 3.4. Megaproject guidance
  • 3.5. Front end planning
  • 3.6. Value engineering
  • 3.7. Design to cost
• 4. Areas to be managed in nuclear projects
  • 4.1. Integration
    • 4.1.1. Project charters
    • 4.1.2. Life cycle management strategies
    • 4.1.3. Project management or execution plans
    • 4.1.4. Managing and monitoring ongoing work
    • 4.1.5. Project change control
    • 4.1.6. Project closure
    • 4.1.7. Alignment and team building
    • 4.1.8. Knowledge management
  • 4.2. Scope
    • 4.2.1. Initiation and project charter
    • 4.2.2. Detailed scoping
    • 4.2.3. PBS/WBS preparation
    • 4.2.4. Owner’s scope
    • 4.2.5. Scope verification
    • 4.2.6. Scope change control
  • 4.3. Time
    • 4.3.1. Baseline schedule
    • 4.3.2. Project milestone and schedule management
    • 4.3.3. Impact of late deliverables
    • 4.3.4. Schedule metrics and schedule risk analysis (SRA)
  • 4.4. Cost
    • 4.4.1. Cost breakdown structure
    • 4.4.2. Cost estimating
    • 4.4.3. Budgeting and contingency
    • 4.4.4. Financing
    • 4.4.5. Controlling costs
    • 4.4.6. Cost metrics
  • 4.5. Quality
    • 4.5.1. Quality assurance
    • 4.5.2. Quality control
    • 4.5.3. Quality metrics
  • 4.6. Human resources
    • 4.6.1. Human resource planning
    • 4.6.2. The owner’s role
    • 4.6.3. Organizational structure
    • 4.6.4. Organizational breakdown structure (OBS)
    • 4.6.5. Establishing the project board
    • 4.6.6. Appointing the project manager
    • 4.6.7. Appointing the project core team
    • 4.6.8. Acquire and develop staff
  • 4.7. Communications
    • 4.7.1. Communications audience
    • 4.7.2. Communication methods
    • 4.7.3. Communications planning
  • 4.8. Stakeholders and interested parties
  • 4.9. Risk
    • 4.9.1. Risk management framework
    • 4.9.2. Evaluating and documenting risks
    • 4.9.3. Design maturity risk
    • 4.9.4. Risk allocation
    • 4.9.5. Portfolio and programme risk
    • 4.9.6. Internal controls
    • 4.9.7. Other risk references
  • 4.10. Procurement
  • 4.11. Health, safety and environment
    • 4.11.1. Industrial safety and health
    • 4.11.2. Environmental protection
  • 4.12. Lessons learned and operating experience
  • 4.13. Radiation dose and radioactive waste management
  • 4.14. Licensing (nuclear, environmental and other)
    • 4.14.1. Nuclear licensing
    • 4.14.2. Environmental and other non-nuclear licences or regulations
  • 4.15. Emergency planning and response (EPR)
  • 4.16. Security and safeguards
• 5. Developing and implementing a management system for a project and implementing best practices
  • 5.1. Establishing a process based project management system
    • 5.1.1. Background
    • 5.1.2. Establishing a process hierarchy
    • 5.1.3. Developing project processes
    • 5.1.4. Project manuals
  • 5.2. Developing and encouraging best practices
    • 5.2.1. PMI best practices
    • 5.2.2. CII best practices
    • 5.2.3. AACE value management or value improving practices
    • 5.2.4. UK best management practice portfolio
    • 5.2.5. Project management offices or centres of excellence
• 6. Project management activities for a new NPP in each project phase
  • 6.1. Introduction
  • 6.2. Phase 1 (pre-project activities)
  • 6.3. Phase 2 (project development activities)
    • 6.3.1. Project planning
    • 6.3.2. Approval to proceed to development stage
    • 6.3.3. Siting and evaluation
    • 6.3.4. Infrastructure and industrial involvement planning
    • 6.3.5. Grid integration planning
    • 6.3.6. Licensing
    • 6.3.7. Procurement
    • 6.3.8. Radiation dose and radioactive waste management
    • 6.3.9. EPR
    • 6.3.10. Security and safeguards
  • 6.4. Phase 3 (contracting and construction)
    • 6.4.1. Project management activities
    • 6.4.2. Contracting
    • 6.4.3. Construction (contract management)
    • 6.4.4. Lessons learned
  • 6.5. Commissioning, operations and decommissioning
    • 6.5.1. Commissioning phase activities
    • 6.5.2. Contract closeout
    • 6.5.3. Operations and decommissioning
• 7. Summary and conclusion
• Appendix I NPP OWNERSHIP STRUCTURES AND INDUSTRIAL INVOLVEMENT SCHEMES
• Appendix II PROJECT PROCESSES AND THE DEMING CYCLE
• Appendix III INTERNATIONAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKS
• Appendix IV POTENTIAL COMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUPS
• Appendix V PROJECT MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES IN PHASE 2 OF AN NPP PROJECT
• Appendix VI PROJECT MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES IN PHASE 3 OF AN NPP PROJECT
• Appendix VII KEY ITEMS NEEDED AT CRITICAL PROJECT STAGES
• REFERENCES
• ABBREVIATIONS
• CONTRIBUTORS TO DRAFTING AND REVIEW