Survey of control-room design practices with respect to human factors engineering

Journal Article · Mon Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980 · Nucl. Saf.; (United States)

OSTI ID:7014168

Seminara, J L ^[1]; Parsons, S O

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1. Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., Sunnyvale, CA

Human factors engineering is an interdisciplinary speciality concerned with influencing the design of equipment systems, facilities, and operational environments to promote safe, efficient, and reliable operator performance. This emphasis has been applied to most military and space systems in the past 30 y. A review of five nuclear power-plant control rooms, reported in the November-December 1977 issue of Nuclear Safety, revealed that human factors principles of design have generally not been incorporated in present-generation control rooms. This article summarizes the findings of a survey of 20 control-board designers from a mix of nuclear steam-supply system and architect-engineering firms. The interviews with these designers probed design methods currently used in developing control rooms. From these data it was concluded that there is currently no consistent, formal, uniform concern for the human factors aspects of control-room design on the part of the design organizations, the utilities, or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Although all the parties involved are concerned with human factors issues, this responsibility is not focused, and human factors yardsticks, or design standards, specific to power plants have not been evolved and applied in the development and verification of control-room designs from the standpoint of the man-machine interface.

• OSTI ID: 7014168
• Journal Information: Nucl. Saf.; (United States), Journal Name: Nucl. Saf.; (United States) Vol. 21:5; ISSN NUSAA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220400* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Control Systems
CONTROL ROOMS
DESIGN
ENGINEERING
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
PERSONNEL
POWER PLANTS
REACTOR OPERATORS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS