Fit for Purpose Safety Cases in the Nuclear Industry

Michelle Hoy: Head of EDF Nuclear Generation Design Authority, EDF Energy

Michelle Hoy is the Head of EDF Nuclear Generation Design Authority. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, she is responsible for maintaining the design integrity of the nuclear power stations that supply low carbon electricity within the UK today. She joined the industry 20 years ago as a Mechanical Engineering graduate, spending the earlier part of her career supporting the nuclear fuel routes of the Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors. She developed significant experience in the production and management of nuclear safety cases, with particular specialisms in structural integrity and pressure systems. In her current role, Michelle leads a department of over 160 highly skilled engineers at a time of significant business transformation with the older nuclear power stations moving towards the end of their operating lives. She views managing the Station safety cases with a level of rigour appropriate to this changing context as absolutely key to ensuring safe transition to the decommissioning phase.

Huw Kinsman: Radiological Safety Assessor, Sellafield Ltd.

Huw is a nuclear safety case specialist with Sellafield Ltd. He has over six years’ experience of writing nuclear safety cases, with a focus on alpha facilities. He has worked on several major Sellafield projects including a retreatment plant for special nuclear materials (SRP) and an effluent abatement facility (SCP).

His areas of interest cover presentational aspects of safety cases, including the use of ‘Claims Arguments Evidence’ methodology to enhance the clarity and understanding of safety cases, and the importance of maintaining a ‘golden thread’ throughout all levels of the safety case.

Huw has a science background, with a degree in Physics from the University of Sheffield, and an MSc in the Physics and Technology of Nuclear Reactors from the University of Birmingham.

Recently he has taken on the role of leading and developing the Generic Safety Case for Alpha Resilience and Capability (ARC).

Ian Innes: Lead Human Factors Specialist, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd.

A chartered Human Factors (HF) specialist with nearly 20 years’ experience of applying the discipline within the nuclear industry. After graduating with an engineering degree and a masters in ergonomics Ian spent 5 years fulfilling both systems engineering and HF roles in the design of military aircraft systems. Since moving to Dounreay in 2002, he has been responsible for the production and oversight of many HF programmes of work into projects and safety cases. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors.

Chris Quick: Head of Design Authority, HPC, EDF-Energy

Starting out as a Mechanical Engineer after graduating from Cardiff University with an MEng, Chris initially joined the MoD where he worked in several roles across naval procurement and support.  During this time he completed his second Masters in Nuclear Technology and Safety Management at HMS Sultan, then moving into submarine Nuclear Propulsion. 

He then moved to British Energy (now EDF UK) just over 10 years ago.  In that time Chris worked across Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors (AGRs), SZB, UK EPR and UK HPR1000. He has worked in technical, engineering, project and safety case roles and has been a people leader for the past 7 years at different levels. Chris has worked on HPC project for 2.5 years.

Bruce Cletheroe: AWE, Group Leader, Design Engineering, Sites and Assets

Bruce Cletheroe began his career with BNFL at Sellafield in 1987. There, he held numerous engineering roles including: design; installation of Magnox reprocessing's south dissolver, commissioning and operation of Magnox Encapsulation plant and Facility engineer at Fuel Handling Plant. In 1994, Bruce transferred to BNFL Risley, undertaking : front end design; project management and design integration of waste retrieval and treatment plants. In 2007, Bruce moved to AWE Aldermaston, joining the Facility Design team, rising to the role of Group Leader, Design, Facilities.

Clark MacFarlane: CEO NE&ME and UK Managing Director, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Ltd

Clark MacFarlane is both the Managing Director of the company’s UK business, a position he has held since 2014, and the CEO of the Onshore Business across Northern Europe and the Middle East, as of 2020. Clark joined the then Siemens Wind Power business as Managing Director, Offshore in 2012. Since joining Siemens in 1997, Clark has been the CEO or MD of 5 Siemens UK Businesses covering Power Generation and Services, Defence, Building Technologies and IT Solutions & Services.

Clark has been a board member of Renewable UK since 2017 and is also a member of the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC), working with his Industry Colleagues and BEIS to achieve a cost- effective long-term future for sustainable renewable energy in the UK and develop the UK Supply Chain. Leading the way, the company opened its unique facility in Hull in 2016 creating over 1000 jobs. Clark has also been on the Board of G+ and SafetyOn and is committed to improving safety and wellbeing throughout the Wind Industry.

Clark’s background is in Mechanical Engineering, along with an MBA, and prior to joining Siemens, spent 15 years working in the Energy Sector for Parsons and Rolls-Royce. Clark is married with three adult children and is a keen sports enthusiast managing to support both Newcastle United and Hibernian.

Pete Stewart: Chief Engineer and Discipline Lead, Atkins

Pete Stewart has over 30 years’ experience in the nuclear and high hazard Industries as both an Engineering Officer in the Submarine Service of the Royal Navy and as an Engineering Consultant. He has acquired extensive experience in programme, project and financial management for nuclear and oil & gas projects. Pete is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with a Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Heriot Watt University and a Master’s degree in Nuclear Science and Technology from the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and a Board member of the Safety and Reliability Group within the Institution.

Gilles Perrier: Head of Safety and Quality, ITER

Gilles PERRIER has a 25 year-experience in the nuclear industry in France and abroad. Graduated from Centrale Paris Master of Engineering in 1992, he started his career in the research domain with a PhD in Fluid Mechanics in 1996. Then, he joined AREVA La Hague reprocessing plant, where he had several positions in project and operations before taking the lead of the Cadarache MOX Decommissioning project in 2011. In 2014, he moved to Sellafield, UK as Waste & Decommissioning Director. In 2016, he joined FRAMATOME as Quality Safety VP within the Installed Base BU, then Operations Director at Romans Fuel Manufacturing Site.

Simon Bennett: Senior Safety Advisor, National Nuclear Laboratory

Simon began his safety assessment career at Sellafield Ltd before moving to NNL. As a safety assessor he has supported operational plants across the Sellafield site and R&D safety cases in support of NNLs customer missions. Simon now leads a team of safety assessment, human factors and security professionals in NNL aiming to provide the best fit safety case to support the wide range of customers and projects NNL support across its own facilities, the UK and Internationally.

Leah Etheridge: Radiological Safety Assessor, National Nuclear Laboratory

Leah Etheridge is a trainee Radiological & Chemotoxic Assessor within the Safety Engineering and Assessment Team at NNL. Having joined the industry almost 3 years ago with a background in Chemical Engineering she has spent the majority of that time supporting the HIP project from preliminary to detail design. Alongside her technical role Leah is a proactive STEM and ED&I ambassador, recently contributing to NNL’s ED&I strategy published in 2020.

Carl Pearson: Senior Safety Engineer, Atkins Global

David Jones: Senior Technical Adviser to Executive Director Operations, AWE

David is Senior Technical Adviser to the Executive Director of Operations at AWE leading strategic initiatives and improvement projects and is a chemical engineer by profession. In his 35 year career at AWE David has held a variety of senior leadership and technical roles in high hazard nuclear and explosives operations including production, project and plant management. More recently he held the roles of Deputy Director of Production and Science, Capital Projects Chief Engineer and Head of Periodic Review of Safety. In this latter role he has been instrumental in developing a completely revised approach to delivering LC15 Periodic Review at AWE known as The Nuclear Risk Management project.

Andrew Steer: Lead Safety Case Project Correspondent, General Nuclear Systems Ltd

Jonathan Pyke: Inspector, Nuclear Safety, Operational Facilities Division, Office for Nuclear Regulation

Jonathan has worked as a Human Factors specialist in the nuclear sector for the last 12 years. Just over a year ago, he made the move to the ONR to become a nuclear safety inspector. His role prior to that was as the Human Factors discipline lead for a large nuclear licensee. He has delivered and overseen the Human Factors contribution to a large number of projects including design and safety case deliverables. He has also developed and implemented human factors methods for use in nuclear design and safety case applications.