Characterising nuclear decommissioning projects: An investigation of the project characteristics that affect the project performance

Invernizzi, D C; Locatelli, G and Brookes, N J (2020) Characterising nuclear decommissioning projects: An investigation of the project characteristics that affect the project performance. Construction Management and Economics, 38(10), pp. 947-963. ISSN 01446193

Abstract

Historically, project management research on infrastructure has mostly focused on its planning, design and construction. However, globally, more and more infrastructure, such as nuclear power plants, bridges, dams or oil rigs, are reaching their end-of-life and will soon need to be decommissioned. Decommissioning projects are long, complex and range from small projects to multi-billion megaprojects. Their costs keep increasing, while there is a limited understanding of why this happens. Nuclear Decommissioning Projects and Programmes (NDPs) are the unit of analysis of this article, due to the relevance of this sector and the number of public information available. The aim is to identify the NDP characteristics that mostly affect the NDP performance in terms of cost and time. Findings from the application of content analysis on the information collected through 35 interviews with senior practitioners highlight the importance of several NDP characteristics, including the need to have detailed knowledge of the site conditions, a good relationship with the regulatory authorities, the availability of storage facilities and stable funding.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: decommissioning; engineering and management; infrastructure; megaproject; project characteristics
Index terms: megaproject, funding, practitioner, decommissioning, nuclear power, investigation, interview, small project, programme, project performance, project management, design and construction, content analysis
Subjects: data analysis and analytics, strategic project management, project controls, renovation and retrofit, production management, project management theory and practice, energy systems, economic analysis, practitioner, contractual arrangements, data collection methods
Topics: Research Practice, Business Strategy, Project Management, Procurement, Time Control, Engineering Principles, Roles and Professions
Descriptive scope: 4 PCEA

N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here