“Is that Jamie Murray from Berwicks?”
“Yes. How may I help?”
“Please hold for the Prime Minister...”
In 2011, I received a call that changed everything. It was shortly after the catastrophic earthquake in Japan and the subsequent explosions at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. While walking my dogs, my phone rang. David Cameron was on the line, asking directly, “I need a straightforward opinion. You know the operators well, so I’m told. If a catastrophic failure occurred at one of the UK’s nuclear plants, could they manage it?”
The government faced immense pressure to make critical decisions. Should the UK evacuate its nationals from Japan during such uncertain times, as the US was doing? What about the future of the UK’s nuclear industry? Germany was considering shutting down its nuclear sector in response to these events—a decision they ultimately made. Should the UK follow suit?
As CEO of Berwicks, we were contracted to provide emergency training and crisis management consultancy to many clients in the UK’s civil nuclear sector. We had been working with them for a decade by then. Our mission was to enhance their skills and resilience, both personally and organizationally, to lead and respond to emergencies. We also served as their independent assessor.
My team consisted of former senior leaders from the military and emergency services, hand-picked to collaborate with our nuclear clients. We understood the technology basics and had a detailed grasp of the hazards, risks, safeguards, and emergency protocols. Importantly, we were well-versed in the industry’s culture, strengths, and weaknesses. The PM sought an opinion from someone outside the nuclear operators and regulators who understood the industry’s emergency capabilities.
In the decade leading up to 2011, we observed individuals at their limits during emergency exercises. Their emergency roles were vastly different from their daily jobs, and many found the environment challenging initially. Chaos, elevated risk, and rapid change are not typical of daily operations in the nuclear industry, which epitomizes high reliability. We helped them become more comfortable in their emergency roles, enabling them to manage responses to extreme events effectively, however unlikely.
Building resilient capabilities requires time, effort, and practice. The UK’s nuclear operators take nuclear safety seriously, prioritizing public protection. They hold themselves to high standards and are unafraid to challenge themselves, even if it means failing exercises. These failures are opportunities for improvement, reflecting a healthy, resilient organization with a humble mindset that guards against complacency.
A decade after Fukushima, Berwicks continues to work with these clients and others across various industries, all recognizing the importance of resilience. Returning to that unexpected call:
PM: “... could they handle it?”
Me: “Yes, Prime Minister. I strongly believe they could.”
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