Executive summary
Date(s) of inspection
- May 2026
Aim of inspection
This inspection aimed to review the adequacy of the implementation of arrangements at site for operating instructions. This included a focus on the following LC24 clauses:
- 24(1) The licensee shall ensure that all operations which may affect safety are carried out in accordance with written instructions hereinafter referred to as operating instructions.
- 24(2) The licensee shall ensure that such operating instructions include any instructions necessary in the interests of safety and any instructions necessary to ensure that any operating rules are implemented.
- 24(4) The licensee shall make and implement adequate arrangements for the preparation, review and amendment of such operating instructions.
Subject(s) of inspection
- LC24 - Operating instructions - Rating: Green
Key findings, inspector's opinions and reasons for judgement made
The aim of this procedural use and adherence themed inspection at Heysham 1 power station (HYA) was to confirm that HYA compliance arrangements for Licence Condition (LC) 24 – Operating Instructions, are effectively implemented. This included reviewing the management and deployment of operating instructions, and confirming that operational staff could demonstrate an appropriate understanding of and implementation of the station’s procedural use and adherence (PU&A) requirements.
The inspection covered interviews with representative operational staff and observations of tasks being completed on plant. The inspection found:
- HYA’s HU programme covers training on PU&A expectations and uses intelligence from the site to develop targeted interventions.
- HYA staff observed during the inspection understood the task step requirements and demonstrated a clear understanding of the actions required to complete the tasks.
- HYA staff demonstrated a strong desire to comply with PU&A expectations; however, wider equipment and task design issues affect staff’s ability to consistently meet those expectations.
- Compliance shortfalls were noted during the site observations, including:
- differences in expectations for PU&A (e.g. circle/slash expectations and point-touch-verbalise expectations);
- uncertainty regarding LC24 ownership and accountability;
- examples of unclear and ambiguous operating instructions; and examples of usability issues with procedures, incomplete instructions, and work cards.
- HYA’s internal regulator has reviewed PU&A as part of surveillance activities during the recent early outage safety review (EOSR), and is developing action plans to address the shortfalls identified.
ONR judged HYA’s implementation of LC24 arrangements to be adequate overall in the areas sampled. Staff demonstrated understanding of task step requirements and use of written instructions, and the station’s HU and internal assurance arrangements provide an appropriate framework for training, monitoring and improvement. While shortfalls were identified in the consistency of PU&A expectations, instruction clarity and usability, and aspects of ownership and accountability, these were judged not to be significant. A Green rating was therefore assigned, with a Level 4 regulatory issue raised to ensure timely resolution of the identified gaps.
Conclusion
ONR judged that an overall rating of Green (No formal action) is appropriate against LC24.
This judgement reflects the fact that staff sampled during the inspection demonstrated an appropriate understanding of task requirements and use of written instructions, and the station has arrangements in place for training, monitoring and improvement. While shortfalls were identified in the consistency of PU&A expectations, instruction quality and usability, and aspects of ownership and oversight, these were judged to be minor shortfalls / improvement needs rather than significant failings in the control of operations which may affect safety.