Executive summary
Date(s) of inspection:
January 2026
Aim of inspection
This is a planned intervention to evaluate the adequacy of implementation of AWE Ltd's arrangements for:
Licence Condition 7 (Incidents on the site) and the regulatory expectations within ONR’s NS-INSP-GD-007
Learning from incidents and other events, as required by the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and statutory HSE guidance Managing for Health & Safety (HSG65).
The inspection will sample investigations of incidents or events to seek assurance of their completeness and to understand how actions are identified, completed and how learning is cascaded. The inspection will also look at how continuous learning is embedded within facilities where the incidents sampled occurred.
Subject(s) of inspection
- LC7 - Incidents on the site - Rating: Green
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations - Rating: Green
Key findings, inspector's opinions and reasons for judgement made
ONR conducted an inspection on 21st and 22nd January 2026 to determine the adequacy of, and the implementation of, AWE Plc arrangements for Licence Condition 7 (Incidents on the site) and learning from incidents and other events, as required by the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and HSE guidance Managing for Health & Safety (HSG65).
A sample of investigation reports of events that occurred during the period July 2024 - July 2025 were reviewed in advance of the inspection. During the inspection, representatives of the AWE Accident and Investigation Team, the Learning From Experience team and staff from five operational business areas were asked to provide details about their event management process. Details of the end-to-end process were examined including reporting, classifying, and investigating events, involvement of relevant experts, oversight, close out of actions, analysis of trends and the identification and sharing of learning.
Of the evidence reviewed and the people spoken to during the inspection, I observed that there are good processes in place to report, investigate and learn from incidents on site. I observed a range of good practices in the way events are managed and investigated with good oversight. I also identified some opportunities that AWE may wish to consider to promote consistency in the application of processes. On this basis I have assigned an inspection rating of GREEN.
Conclusion
In accordance with ONR inspection guidance, and based on the evidence sampled, I judge that AWE has adequately implemented the requirements of Licence Condition 7 - Incidents on the Site, and learning from incidents and other events, as required by the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 in the areas inspected, and have given the inspection rating of GREEN - No Formal Action Required.