Human Factors Research at the OECD Halden Reactor Project into the 21st Century

2000 ◽  
Vol 44 (22) ◽  
pp. 803-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conny O. Holmstroem ◽  
Mark Green
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Process Conditions ◽  
Control Room ◽  
Energy Agency ◽  
Operating Personnel ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Human Factors Research

The OECD Halden Reactor Project is a joint undertaking of national nuclear organisations from 20 countries, who together sponsor a research programme under the auspices of the OECD - Nuclear Energy Agency. One of the Projects important research areas addresses human factors in control room design and operation. The simulator-based Halden Man-Machine Laboratory (HAMMLAB) has, since its establishment in 1983, been the main facility for conducting research in this area. It's objective is to provide knowledge for improving today's control rooms, through the introduction and evaluation of computer-based solutions for effective and safe control of the plant, across all process conditions. The laboratory facility will be introduced and the recent major upgrades, involving moving from one nuclear simulator to three full-scale simulators, plus an oil production platform simulator described. The aim of the human factors research programme itself is to provide knowledge about the capabilities and limitations of the human operators within a control room environment. Understanding the impact of new technology on operating personnel is crucial in decision-making concerning safety and efficiency for nuclear power plants. The Halden Project's new three year research programme in this area includes many aspects of human performance. The main elements of this programme will be briefly described in order to provide an overview of the breadth of the research topics currently of interest to the Projects 100 participating nuclear organisations.

scholarly journals Human factors challenges for the safe use of artificial intelligence in patient care

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. e100081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Sujan ◽  
Dominic Furniss ◽  
Kath Grundy ◽  
Howard Grundy ◽  
David Nelson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Situation Awareness ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Independent Evaluation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Human Factors Research

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in patient care can offer significant benefits. However, there is a lack of independent evaluation considering AI in use. The paper argues that consideration should be given to how AI will be incorporated into clinical processes and services. Human factors challenges that are likely to arise at this level include cognitive aspects (automation bias and human performance), handover and communication between clinicians and AI systems, situation awareness and the impact on the interaction with patients. Human factors research should accompany the development of AI from the outset.

scholarly journals Pragmatic science? Reflections on the academic - industry interactions in a European aviation research programme

2019 ◽  
Vol 304 ◽  
pp. 06003
Author(s):  
Jim Nixon ◽  
Colin Pilbeam ◽  
Barry Kirwan
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Recent Model ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
Research Paradigms ◽  
Research Organizations ◽  
Methods And Techniques ◽  
Human Factors Research

In this article we explore the types of science produced and disseminated in human factors research in the cognitive domain. We reflect on the methods and techniques used in the European, Horizon 2020 ‘Future Sky Safety’ Project: Human Performance Envelope (P6). This project has adopted multiple research paradigms, successfully engaging academia and research organizations throughout its four-year duration. We discuss the challenges of conducting practically focused work that can also be brought to publication in peer-reviewed journals. Finally, we frame our research contributions within this project using a recent model of practitioner engagement.

Human Factors in Control Room Operations in Mineral Processing

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xilin Li ◽  
Malcolm S. Powell ◽  
Tim Horberry
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Dynamic Environment ◽  
Mineral Processing ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Control Room ◽  
Processing Plants ◽  
Operator Control ◽  
Human Factors Research

This study applied human factors research approaches to the complex and dynamic environment of mineral processing plants. In this domain, little formal human factors research has previously been undertaken, despite that human performance limitations are frequently noted as a bottleneck to effective production. This article presents a broad, operator-centered investigation on the current status of control room operations and explores the underlying barriers in the operators’ work environment. A total of 20 operators working at two types of Australian mineral processing plants were involved. Multiple data collection methods, including in situ observations and interviews, surveys, and reviews of documentation, were used. The findings revealed that operator control was essentially in a reactive mode, with operators often lacking the will or ability to engage in process optimization. A simplified work domain analysis was used to highlight the essential elements involved in operator control and to explore the gaps between the observed reactive behavior and the required proactive control employed by operators. Also, this study uncovered deficiencies in the current information and organizational environments constraining operator control ability. These deficiencies included poorly designed human-machine interface and alarms, insufficient operator training, and inappropriate task allocations. Further research for enhancing operator capacity is recommended and highlighted.

The Impact on Safety of Computerized Control Room in Nuclear Power Plants: The French Experience on Human Factors with N4 Series

2000 ◽  
Vol 44 (22) ◽  
pp. 815-818
Author(s):  
Daniel Tasset ◽  
Jean-Paul Labarthe
Keyword(s):  
Operating System ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Safety Assessment ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Approval Process ◽  
Control Room ◽  
French Experience ◽  
New Generation ◽  
The Impact

The French N4 reactor series is the new generation of reactors in France. One of its innovations consists in a computerized man-machine operating system, that has some impact on operation in normal as well as in incident and accident situation. This paper describes how human factors aspects are taken into account during the safety assessment and approval process, and what main lessons can be gained from this experience as regards human factors and safety in the design and evaluation of a computerized control room.

How Signs, Markings, and Hazards Impact Motorist Assessment of Cyclist Lane Placement

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 1948-1949
Author(s):  
Mary L. Still ◽  
Jeremiah D. Still
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
The Road ◽  
On The Road ◽  
Lane Position ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Human Factors Research ◽  
And Training

Human factors research has led to safer interactions between motorists through redesigned signage, roadway designs, and training. Similar efforts are needed to understand and improve interactions between cyclists and motorists. One challenge to safe motorist-cyclist interactions are expectations about where cyclists should be on the road. In this study, we utilize more directive signage and additional lane markings to clarify where cyclists should ride in the travel lane. The impact of these signifiers was examined by having motorists indicate where cyclists should ride in the lane, how difficult it was to determine the correct lane position, and how safe they would feel if they were in that lane position. Results indicate that more directive signage – “bicycles take the lane”-and painted hazard signifiers can change motorists’ expectations, so they are more aligned with safer cyclist positioning in the lane.

Me and My VE, Part 5: Applications in Human Factors Research and Practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 2051-2055
Author(s):  
Randall Spain ◽  
Benjamin Goldberg ◽  
Jeffrey Hansberger ◽  
Tami Griffith ◽  
Jeremy Flynn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Mixed Reality ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Human Factors Research

Recent advances in technology have made virtual environments, virtual reality, augmented reality, and simulations more affordable and accessible to researchers, companies, and the general public, which has led to many novel use cases and applications. A key objective of human factors research and practice is determining how these technology-rich applications can be designed and applied to improve human performance across a variety of contexts. This session will demonstrate some of the distinct and diverse uses of virtual environments and mixed reality environments in an alternative format. The session will begin with each demonstrator providing a brief overview of their virtual environment (VE) and a description of how it has been used to address a particular problem or research need. Following the description portion of the session, each VE will be set-up at a demonstration station in the room, and session attendees will be encouraged to directly interact with the virtual environment and ask demonstrators questions about their research and inquire about the effectiveness of using VE for research, training, and evaluation purposes. The overall objective of this alternative session is to increase the awareness of how human factors professionals use VE technologies and increase the awareness of the capabilities and limitations of VE in supporting the work of HF professionals.

Apply Performance Evaluation Matrix on Investigating Human Error Events in the Main Control Room

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tzu-Chung Yenn ◽  
Yung-Tsan Jou ◽  
Chiuhsiang Joe Lin ◽  
Wan-Shan Tsai ◽  
Tsung-Ling Hsieh
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Situation Awareness ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Human Error ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Main Stream ◽  
Control Room ◽  
Human Errors ◽  
Wrong Decision ◽  
Evaluation Matrix

Digitalized nuclear instruments and control systems have become the main stream design for the main control room (MCR) of advanced nuclear power plants (NPPs) nowadays. Digital human-system interface (HSI) could improve human performance and, on the other hand, could reduce operators’ situation awareness as well. It might cause humans making wrong decision during an emergency unintentionally. Besides, digital HSI relies on computers to integrate system information automatically instead of human operation. It has changed the operator’s role from mainly relating operational activity to mainly relating monitoring. However, if operators omit or misjudge the information on the video display units or wide display panel, the error of omission and error of commission may occur. Therefore, how to avoid and prevent human errors has become a very imperative and important issue in the nuclear safety field. This study applies Performance Evaluation Matrix to explore the potential human errors problems of the MCR. The results show that the potential problems which would probably affect to the human performance of the MCR in advanced NPPs are multiple accidents, pressure level, number of operators, and other factors such as working environmental.

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