Human factors improvements to technical specifications of nuclear control rooms

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.T. Tomasi ◽  
K. Bennett ◽  
R.L. Brune
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Nuclear Control ◽  
Technical Specifications ◽  
Control Rooms

Human Factor Approaches for the Enhancement of Nuclear Control Rooms

1981 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-12
Author(s):  
Steven M. Pine
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Human Engineering ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Nuclear Facilities ◽  
Nuclear Control ◽  
Control Rooms ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Display Systems

The accident at Three Mile Island (TMI) has underscored the need for human factors review and analysis of Nuclear Control Rooms. Virtually every study of the TMI debacle has come to the conclusion that one of the major contributors of the accident was poor human engineering. In recognition of this fact, the nuclear industry, through its research institutes, has initiated a series of research programs designed to provide individual utilities with guidelines on how to apply human factors principles and criteria to improve the safety and performance of their nuclear facilities. The present paper reports on one of the major studies being undertaken by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in the area. The objective of this research project is to identify and prioritize the existing Human Engineering Discrepancies (HEDs) in nuclear control rooms and to develop retrofits for correcting these HEDs that can be implemented during normal plant operation or during planned outages. Data was collected during one week visits to five power plants. Structured interviews, checklists, task analyses, surveys (noise, light, etc.) and procedural walk-throughs/talk-throughs were employed to assess the design and layout of the control rooms. In depth analyses of these data led to the identification of numerous HEDs. A prioritization scheme was developed to determine the relative seriousness of these HEDs and to rank alternative retrofit solutions in terms of cost and feasibility. The results revealed fairly wide variance in the extent to which control rooms violate human factors principles. The most frequent areas in which violations were found are labeling, alarm/display systems, functional grouping, design conventions, and anthropometric limits. Numerous HEDs along with alternative retrofits are shown and discussed. Emphasis is given to cost and engineering consideration in selecting appropriate backfits.

The use of questionnaire and virtual reality in the verification of the human factors issues in the design of nuclear control desk

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac José Antonio Luquetti dos Santos ◽  
Cláudio Henrique dos Santos Grecco ◽  
Antonio Carlos Abreu Mol ◽  
Paulo Victor Rodrigues Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Nuclear Control

Transitioning Nuclear Power Plant Main Control Room From Paper Based Procedures to Computer Based Procedures

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 1605-1609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Lew ◽  
Ronald L. Boring ◽  
Thomas A. Ulrich
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Hybrid Control ◽  
The United States ◽  
Maintenance Cost ◽  
Human Errors ◽  
Nuclear Control ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Control Rooms ◽  
Analog Systems

The United States (U.S.) has 99 operating Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). The majority of these were designed and commissioned in the 1970s and 1980s. Plants are modernizing their control systems and main control rooms to be able to continue operating past their original 40-year license agreements. U.S. NPP main control rooms are migrating towards hybrid controls with both digital and analog systems. Digital upgrades, while costly, provide improved reliability, reduced maintenance cost, and the potential for fewer unplanned outages and fewer human errors. U.S. utilities have been slow to embrace computerized procedure system (CBP) research, even though CBPs demonstrate clear operational and human factors benefits. Most of the CBP research has been oriented to new reactor designs or full digital control rooms and is not applicable to the piecemeal modernization approach favored by U.S. plants. Research is needed to examine how CBPs impact operations in hybrid control rooms, and how current paper based procedures can be efficiently migrated to computerized platforms. Work is underway to develop tools and perform the obligatory research needed to design and validate CBPs for modernized U.S. nuclear control rooms.

scholarly journals Human factors applied to alarm panel modernization of nuclear control room

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1308-1320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac José Antonio Luquetti dos Santos ◽  
Marcos Santana Farias ◽  
Fernando Toledo Ferraz ◽  
Assed Naked Haddad ◽  
Suzana Hecksher
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Control Room ◽  
Nuclear Control

scholarly journals Medical Device Human Factors Standards: Finding Them and What They Contain

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 592-596
Author(s):  
Molly Follette Story
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Medical Device ◽  
Medical Devices ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
Engineering Practice ◽  
Human Factors Engineering ◽  
Development Organizations ◽  
Working Groups ◽  
Technical Specifications

An HFES Task Force is considering if, when, which, and how HFES research publications should require the citation of relevant standards, policies, and practices. To support Task Force activities, papers are being written about how to find relevant standards produced by various development organizations (such as ISO, IEC and AAMI) and the content of those standards. This paper describes ISO’s, IEC’s, and AAMI’s standards programs and their technical committees and working groups that produce standards, recommended practices, technical specifications, technical information reports, guides and other publications for medical devices. This paper focuses on those medical device publications that are relevant to human factors engineering practice and explains where and how to find them.

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