A high quality operational and maintenance programme depends on effective management, sound policies, exemplary procedures and practices, adequate resources and the capabilities of operation and maintenance personnel.

To help Member States optimize the availability, reliability and the application of human and financial resources throughout a research reactor’s operational life cycle, the IAEA has developed the OMARR peer review service.

OMARR reviews are available to operating organizations in all Member States with research reactors under construction, commissioning or in operation. The reviews are based on IAEA and international standards and related technical reports. They also take into account detailed requirements prescribed by national or international good practices as well as special aspects on a case by case basis.

The missions are performance-oriented, accepting different approaches to operation and maintenance management that represent good practices and may contribute to ensuring sustainable operational availability and reliability on the part of the operating organization. This is particularly vital considering the broad diversity of facility missions, designs, power levels, ages and available resources within the international research reactor community.

Recommendations and potential solutions are made on items of direct relevance to operation and maintenance, with a principal aim of improving performance. While suggestions made could also enhance plant safety, these are considered a secondary, although positive, outcome more directly related to the objective of the Integrated Safety Assessments of Research Reactors (INSARR) missions.