Nuclear Team Skills Taxonomy [NTST-5]

Description

The Nuclear Team Skills Taxonomy (NTST-5) is a specialized framework developed to identify and assess the non-technical skills required for safe and effective teamwork in nuclear power plant operations.

The taxonomy was developed by O’Connor, O’Dea, Flin, and Belton (2008) to identify the behaviors and teamwork competencies that support operational safety and performance among nuclear power plant personnel.

Its development was based on workplace observations, simulator observations, job-related interviews, and the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). The analysis resulted in five main categories and 16 supporting elements of teamwork behavior.

Main Dimensions

The NTST-5 organizes nuclear teamwork skills into five core areas:

Shared Situation Awareness: Refers to the ability of team members to acquire, exchange, and maintain a common and accurate understanding of the operational situation.

Team-Focused Decision Making: Concerns the effective use of available information, expertise, and team input during decision-making processes.

Communication: Includes the clear, timely, and accurate exchange of information, as well as confirmation that messages have been correctly understood.

Coordination: Refers to the effective organization and allocation of activities, responsibilities, tasks, and resources among team members.

Teamworking and Influence: Includes behaviors that promote cooperation, appropriate interpersonal influence, mutual support, and effective interaction within the team.

Objective

The main objective of the NTST-5 is to systematically identify the non-technical skills that contribute to safe and effective team performance in high-risk nuclear environments.

The framework can be used to identify training needs, support team-based training programs, structure performance assessment, and provide feedback following simulator exercises or operational activities.

It may also contribute to incident analysis by helping organizations identify teamwork-related and human-factor issues that may affect operational safety.

Assessment

The NTST-5 is primarily a behavioral taxonomy rather than a conventional self-report psychometric scale with a single total score.

Its categories can be used to develop behavioral markers through which instructors, supervisors, or trained observers assess specific teamwork behaviors during real or simulated operational scenarios.

Assessment may focus on the quality of communication, information sharing, participation in decision making, coordination of actions, situational awareness, and overall teamwork effectiveness.

Results can be used to provide targeted feedback, identify areas for improvement, and guide the development of non-technical skills training.

Applications

The NTST-5 is particularly relevant to nuclear power plants and other high-reliability organizations in which teamwork and human factors have a direct impact on operational safety.

It may be applied in simulator-based training, control-room team assessment, incident investigation, personnel development, and the design of structured non-technical skills training programs.

The underlying approach may also be relevant to other safety-critical sectors, including aviation, healthcare, emergency services, offshore industries, and other high-risk operational environments.

Conclusion

The NTST-5 provides a structured framework for understanding the teamwork competencies that support safe and effective nuclear operations. Its main contribution is the systematic assessment of non-technical skills alongside technical expertise.

By focusing on shared situation awareness, team-focused decision making, communication, coordination, and teamwork-related influence, the taxonomy supports a broader approach to safety that recognizes the critical role of human and team performance.

References

O’Connor, P., O’Dea, A., Flin, R., & Belton, S. (2008). Identifying the team skills required by nuclear power plant operations personnel. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 38(11–12), 1028–1037. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2008.01.014

Flin, R., O’Connor, P., & Crichton, M. (2008). Safety at the Sharp End: A Guide to Non-Technical Skills. Ashgate.

Salas, E., Sims, D. E., & Burke, C. S. (2005). Is there a “Big Five” in teamwork? Small Group Research, 36(5), 555–599.