MODELLING THE COMPLEXITY OF THE UAE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT OPERATIONAL READINESS PROGRAMME

Abstract

Network analysis was used to model the complexity of the UAE nuclear power plant operational readiness programme. The success of the Nuclear Power Plant Operational Readiness depends on how information travels throughout the programme via a network of complex interactions at different levels. In most cases, complex interactions that occur within nuclear power plant operational readiness programmes are poorly understood and unmanaged. This study aimed to demystify the complexity of nuclear operational project processes and stakeholders of the UAE nuclear sector. Secondary data obtained for this research and was followed by in-depth interviews and multiple iterations of data quality check and results validation. These data were configured in the form of adjacencies matrices, transformed into Nodes and Edges, and were analyzed using Gephi Network Analysis software. This produced 13 networks that are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive of all interactions in the UAE Nuclear Power Plant Operational Readiness Program. Also, statistical reports on interdependencies, information flow structures, and the nature of influence have been produced. Findings revealed issues with network density; interactions turned out to be low, indicating a limited number of information sharing channels established among different actors. Findings also highlighted a structural configuration of the Hub and Spoke model, distinctive clusters, and Influential nodes in each interaction, which to great extent affect the information flow and the structural integrity of interactions explored in this study. This study has demonstrated the utility of network analysis for Nuclear Power Plants Operational Readiness programs. The methodology achieved the purpose of modeling the complexity of nuclear operational project processes and stakeholders of the UAE nuclear sector and evaluating interdependencies within detailed interactions and identifying key influential components that affect the Operating License achievement. Additional research is needed to test network analysis methods on different nuclear organizational context and ecosystem setup.