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.

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.

Long-term safety of the extended SFR - Methodology and conclusions from the SR-PSU project

MRS Advances ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (61) ◽  
pp. 4075-4080
Author(s):  
Fredrik Vahlund
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Safety Assessment ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Surface System ◽  
Radiological Safety ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTSince 1988 the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co. operates a repository for low- and intermediate-level short-lived radioactive waste, SFR, in Forsmark, Sweden. Due to decommissioning of the nuclear power plants additional storage capacity is needed. In December 2014, an application to extend the repository was therefore submitted. One key component of this application was an assessment of post-closure safety of the extended SFR. For this safety assessment, a methodology based on that developed by SKB for the spent nuclear fuel repository was used and the impact of the degradation of repository components, the evolution of the surface system and changes of future climate on the radiological safety of the repository was assessed over a period of 100,000 years. The central conclusion of the SR-PSU safety assessment is that the extended SFR repository meets requirements on protection of human health and of the environment that have been established by the Swedish radiation safety authority for the final disposal of radioactive waste. Furthermore, the design of the repository was shown suitable for the waste selected and the applied methodology suitable for the safety assessment.

scholarly journals Outcomes of an international initiative for harmonization of low power and shutdown probabilistic safety assessment

2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 222-228
Author(s):  
Giustino Manna ◽  
Irina Kuzmina ◽  
Jaroslav Holy
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Low Power ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Safety Assessment ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Operating Experience ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Probabilistic Safety Assessment ◽  
Probabilistic Safety

Many probabilistic safety assessment studies completed to the date have demonstrated that the risk dealing with low power and shutdown operation of nuclear power plants is often comparable with the risk of at-power operation, and the main contributors to the low power and shutdown risk often deal with human factors. Since the beginning of the nuclear power generation, human performance has been a very important factor in all phases of the plant lifecycle: design, commissioning, operation, maintenance, surveillance, modification, decommissioning and dismantling. The importance of this aspect has been confirmed by recent operating experience. This paper provides the insights and conclusions of a workshop organized in 2007 by the IAEA and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, on Harmonization of low power and shutdown probabilistic safety assessment for WWER nuclear power plants. The major objective of the workshop was to provide a comparison of the approaches and the results of human reliability analyses and gain insights in the enhanced handling of human factors.

Human Factors Considerations for Implementation of A “Green Board” Concept in an Existing “Red/Green” Power Plant Control Room

1981 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. D. Osborne ◽  
H. F. Barsam ◽  
D. C. Burgy
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Control Room ◽  
Power Plant Control ◽  
Control Rooms ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Plant Control

Various human factors issues have been raised in recent years concerning the operability of nuclear power plant control rooms. The plethora of status indicator lights which must be monitored effectively has prompted the development of alternative control board design layouts to increase ease of operation. A study was conducted to address the feasibility of implementing the “green board” concept in a nuclear power plant control room which has an existing “red/green” board. The research included a comparison of current control room display and design concepts as well as an identification of the impact that the “green board” modification could have upon various aspects of daily plant operation. Recommendations based on the information gathered during the study specify that existing control rooms should be modified to incorporate the “green board” concept for more effective operation. In addition, a recommendation was made that further research should be conducted to investigate the following parameters: (1) detection time, (2) the effects of stress, training and different approaches to computerizing status indicators on operability; and (3) CRT color-coding compatability during off-normal operation.

Epistemiation

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 1701-1705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald L. Boring ◽  
Roger Lew ◽  
Thomas A. Ulrich
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
System Design ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Verification And Validation ◽  
Knowledge Elicitation ◽  
Control Room ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Control Rooms

The Guideline for Operational Nuclear Usability and Knowledge Elicitation (GONUKE) outlines multiple types and stages of human factors evaluation to support system design activities. Originally developed to support human factors requirements for control room modernization at nuclear power plants, GONUKE includes verification, validation, and epistemiation. Epistemiation is a novel term for the process in which knowledge from expert users is elicited to shape the design of the system. Especially in the case of control rooms, the importance of knowledge transfer between expert operators and system designers may prove more beneficial than traditional verification and validation. This paper outlines epistemiation, provides background on expert users, and illustrates the process through a case study. Although GONUKE and epistemiation are native to nuclear power applications, the approach is generalizable to other domains that feature expert users.

A Nuclear Safety Basis for Assigning Priorities to Human Engineering Concerns at Nuclear Power Plants

1983 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-183
Author(s):  
Edward J. Sheehy
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Safety ◽  
Human Engineering ◽  
Control Room ◽  
Current State ◽  
Operator Interface ◽  
Safety Features ◽  
Actual Control

At this point in the integration of human factors into the nuclear power industry an important issue is how are the various discrepancies between the post Three Mile Island operator interface guidelines and the actual control room configuration to be assigned priorities for resolution? While it is generally agreed that safety-related discrepancies should receive first priority, it is not at all clear just what “safety-related” means when considered in an operational sense. This paper describes the current state of evolving standard definitions for hardware oriented safety features. It discusses how these definitions could be expanded to include operationally related considerations and explores some benefits which would ensue. These include (1) establishing a nuclear safety basis which can be used in establishing priorities for resolution of human engineering concerns, and (2) obtaining legal recognition of operational concerns in general in the design and licensing arenas.

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