AN EVOLVING AND DYNAMIC IAEA TRANSPORT SAFETY UNIT AND TRANSSC TRANSPORT WORK PLAN

In 2011, the IAEA Transport Safety Unit (TSU) and the Transport Safety Standards Committee (TRANSSC) developed a work plan to capture and provide a prioritized list of ongoing and planned activities. The objective of the work plan is to provide focus, direction, and predictability to ongoing and planned activities. There were a number of initial considerations in the development of the work plan. First a new three-year term of TRANSSC began in 2011, and the IAEA Terms of Reference for the TRANSSC were significantly expanded to include a request that TRANSSC recommend activities and areas for improvement to enhance the overall IAEA transport program, to advise on the program for the application of the transport safety standards, and to advise on program priorities. In addition, there are many requests for the IAEA TSU to provide transport-related support to Member States in areas such as development and review of regulatory programs and provision of training, and to interface with other UN organizations and international organizations on transport. In addition, at TRANSSC meetings there are often TRANSSC member requests for new work and activities. The development of the work plan was envisioned as a means to help track and manage these expectations of the TSU and TRANSSC, and to do so in a clear, transparent manner. The work plan includes eight functional/topical areas such as review/revision of transport Safety Requirements and Safety Guides, studies and research to enhance/improve the transport program, and Member State feedback on use of IAEA safety standards. A simple four-level priority scheme was devised to classify the tasks ranging from those that “must” be done to those that “could” be done. The Transport Work Plan has evolved into a dynamic management tool for use by the TSU and TRANSSC. The review and updating of the Transport Work Plan is a standing agenda item for each TRANSSC meeting. This paper will review the development of the Transport Work Plan and highlight some of the key tasks currently on the plan.