Lifespans of nuclear power plants significantly exceed the working life of a single generation of plant staff. This presents the challenge of retaining knowledge and operating experience as the workforce ages and new gen­erations of personnel are hired. This area, termed ‘knowledge management’, is particularly important in establishing both information databases and the transfer of knowledge and experience to new personnel.

Key considerations related to knowledge management are:

• Selection, copying, and reclassification of documents from one step applicable to the next, such as licensing documents, construction details, operating experience and design modifications

• Retention of personnel with knowledge of especially important aspects applicable to the next step. Technicians involved in commissioning for the operation and maintenance of the plant, or operators or key main­tenance technicians for decommissioning

• Programme for the transfer of know-how to other workers, through on-the-job training, mentoring and other techniques to complement the formal training.

The subject of knowledge management is treated in more detail in IAEA (2004).