Greek Atomic Energy Commission (EEAE), Athens, Greece.
J Radiol Prot. 2021 Nov 24;41(4). doi: 10.1088/1361-6498/ac31c2.
Covid-19 pandemic imposes crucial social distancing rules and restriction measures; therefore, the access to facilities and sites, in order to perform on-site inspections, became difficult or not feasible. Greek Atomic Energy Commission (EEAE) adopted remote virtual inspections (RVIs) of facilities and practices applying ionising radiation and magnetic resonance imaging installations, in order to continue discharging its regulatory duty of inspection, effectively. This study presents the experience gained and lessons learnt from the implementation of the RVIs and explores the RVIs perception by the stakeholders. Moreover, the effectiveness and the capability of RVIs to identify 'findings', is assessed by comparing the on-site and the remote inspections outcomes. The presented study showed that RVIs could not replace the on-site inspections, entirely; however, they could support and contribute to the inspection activities and program, in certain circumstances. RVIs were proven to be a valuable tool for the inspection of procedures, documents and records as well as the design and operational conditions of the facilities. The performance of remote verification tests and measurements, although feasible, was challenging, due to the technical issues needed to be resolved in advance. The comparison between remote and on-site inspections outcomes showed that both inspection options had similar capability to identify 'findings', indicating the validity of the RVIs as an inspection methodology in certain inspection thematic areas. The perception of the RVIs was positive and the added value and usefulness was acknowledged by the inspected facilities' personnel and the EEAE's inspectors, although the latter mainly considered RVIs as complementary and supportive to the on-site inspections.
新冠疫情大流行期间实施了严格的社交距离规定和限制措施；因此，为了进行现场检查，设施和场所的访问变得困难或不可行。希腊原子能源委员会（EEAE）为了有效地履行其检查监管职责，对应用电离辐射和磁共振成像设备的设施和实践采取了远程虚拟检查（RVIs）。本研究介绍了实施 RVIs 所获得的经验和教训，并探讨了利益相关者对 RVIs 的看法。此外，通过比较现场和远程检查的结果，评估了 RVIs 识别“发现”的有效性和能力。所提出的研究表明，RVIs 不能完全替代现场检查；然而，在某些情况下，它们可以支持和促进检查活动和计划。RVIs 已被证明是检查程序、文件和记录以及设施的设计和运行条件的有价值的工具。虽然远程验证测试和测量的性能是可行的，但由于需要预先解决的技术问题，因此具有挑战性。远程和现场检查结果的比较表明，两种检查选项都具有类似的识别“发现”的能力，这表明 RVIs 作为一种检查方法在某些检查主题领域是有效的。RVIs 的看法是积极的，被检查设施的人员和 EEAE 的检查员都承认了其附加值和有用性，尽管后者主要将 RVIs 视为现场检查的补充和支持。
