6 Lessons Learned Documentation

Effective lessons learned programmes within nuclear organizations facilitate continuous improvement of processes and procedures. They play a vital role in knowledge management. For procurement and contracting, lessons should be captured at each process stage and fed back to the responsible parties so that mistakes are not repeated and so that improvements can be made for the next project. Typically for large capital projects such as NPPs, a formal strategic/high-level post-implementation review (PIR) is conducted approximately 6-18 months after completion of the contract. The PIR is to ensure that business case objectives and project benefits have been achieved, and that lessons learned have been captured for the organization.

Lessons are not learned until something changes in the way an organization operates. The challenge is that the individuals observing the lessons are often not the individuals needing to make the change. High performing organizations embrace the concept of continual improvement, and are in a constant state of lesson feedback and process improvement. Lessons learned are widely made known within the organization and externally, and a “no-blame” culture exists that encourages reporting of issues, lessons, and recommended corrective actions. Corrective action programmes play a key role in documenting and facilitating lesson feedback and improvement in nuclear organizations. To be successful top management should give lessons learned programmes visibility, support, and encouragement.

Some guidance on lessons learned programmes and sources of lessons applicable to nuclear contracts are included in the Tools section below.