Table of Contents
Key references:
O’Connor, P., O’Dea, A., & Flin, R. (2008). Identifying the team skills required by nuclear operations personnel. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 38, 1028-1037.
Primary use / Purpose:
Nuclear team skills taxonomy (O’Connor et al, 2008)
| Category | Elements | Definition | Example |
|
Building situation awareness | Develop understanding | Analyzing and sharing the information in order to develop an accurate model of the problem or task. | The CCR team had to think back to what was being done just prior to the power loss in order to identify what might have caused the power loss. |
|
Anticipation | Forward planning to identify and discuss contingency strategies and/or possible future problems. | A consideration that they kept in mind at this time was: if they had come off, then the whole side of the country might have lost electrical supply. | |
| Maintain overview | Retaining a broad picture of a task or situation without becoming involved in the details. | The SCE took the bigger picture while the other CCR personnel dealt with the problem. | |
| Performance monitoring | Observing the activities and performance of other team members. | CCR Supervisor took account of the inexperience of the desk engineer and kept a watchful eye on what he was doing. | |
|
Team focused decision making | Analytical decision making | Gathering and integrating information from team members, selecting the best solution, and evaluating the consequences. | The CCR team had to decide whether to trip the reactor or stay on load. |
| Procedure following | Following written procedures. | Operations Technicians work to the job instructions. | |
| Intuitive decision making | Associating cues in the environment to appropriate corrective actions and making a decision. | The CCR team was responding to alarms, and reacting to the system. | |
| Initiative | Using judgment to make decisions and carry out tasks without needing to be told what to do. | The Team Leader heard about this on the radio and thought it sounded strange, and went over to investigate the problem. | |
| Category | Elements | Definition | Example |
|
Communication | Assertiveness | Communicating ideas and observations in a manner which is persuasive to other team members. | The Operation Technicians had to tell the control room personnel to wait. |
| Information exchange | Exchanging information clearly and accurately between team members. | The Plant Engineer was kept informed of how things were progressing. | |
|
Co-ordination | Adaptability | Reacting flexibly to changing requirements of a task or situation. | UDEs from another shift were in the control room at this time working as a single team. |
| Supporting behaviour | Giving help to other team members in situations in which it was thought they need assistance. | If someone is struggling, and the operation technician is not busy, he will come and help. | |
| Team workload management | Prioritizing and coordinating tasks and resources. | There was a need to prioritize activities. |
| Category | Elements | Definition | Example |
|
Collaboration |
Leadership | Directing and coordinating the activities of, and motivating other team members, assessing team performance, and establishing a positive atmosphere. | The CCR Supervisor directed the activities on the desk. |
| Co-operation | Two or more team members working together on a task which requires meaningful task interdependence without any leadership. | At times like that the generation team ‘muck-in’ together to get jobs done. | |
| Followership | Co-operating in the accomplishment of a task as directed by a more senior team member. | The operation technicians needed to work to the directions of the control room personnel as required. |
Cite this article
Mohammed looti (2026). Nuclear Team skills Taxonomy. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Retrieved from https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/nuclear-team-skills-taxonomy/
Mohammed looti. "Nuclear Team skills Taxonomy." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2 Apr. 2026, https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/nuclear-team-skills-taxonomy/.
Mohammed looti. "Nuclear Team skills Taxonomy." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2026. https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/nuclear-team-skills-taxonomy/.
Mohammed looti (2026) 'Nuclear Team skills Taxonomy', PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Available at: https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/nuclear-team-skills-taxonomy/.
[1] Mohammed looti, "Nuclear Team skills Taxonomy," PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, April, 2026.
Mohammed looti. Nuclear Team skills Taxonomy. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. 2026;vol(issue):pages.