WorldWideScience

Sample records for safety control room

  1. 76 FR 35130 - Pipeline Safety: Control Room Management/Human Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-16

    ...: Control Room Management/Human Factors AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration... the Control Room Management/Human Factors regulations in order to realize the safety benefits sooner... FR 5536). By this amendment to the Control Room Management/Human Factors (CRM) rule, an operator must...

  2. Preliminary considerations on safety of computerized control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vittet, J.

    1983-02-01

    Safety problems are analyzed in this report by the study of the interaction: ''human behavior in a rigid environment/information overload in perturbed situation''. For pedagogy the study is presented as a research of factors influencing operator performance in a control room and a dialogue between an analyst and a conceiving engineer. Danger of all control room where the strategy for data acquisition is too rigid and without spatial reference is stressed in conclusion. Orientations for an advanced control room are outlined [fr

  3. 75 FR 69912 - Pipeline Safety: Control Room Management/Human Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-16

    ... 192 and 195 [Docket ID PHMSA-2007-27954] RIN 2137-AE64 Pipeline Safety: Control Room Management/Human... Control Room Management/Human Factors rule at 49 CFR 192.631 and 195.446. The NPRM proposes to expedite... rule and to engage in open discussions with the agency at PHMSA's Control Room Management...

  4. Safety aspects on the Asea-Atom BWR 75 control room design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gemst, Paul van; Pedersen, Tor.

    1978-01-01

    The control room is an integrated part of the total plant layout and is located in a special building, known as the control building. The problems of designing a control room meeting all safety requirements and at the same time allowing for modifications to meet special customer specifications are described. (author)

  5. Safety review for human factors engineering and control rooms of nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Mengzhuo

    1998-01-01

    Safety review for human factors engineering and control rooms of nuclear power plants (NPP) is in a forward position of science and technology, which began at American TMI severe accident and had been implemented in China. The importance and the significance of the safety review are expounded, the requirements of its scope and profundity are explained in detail. In addition, the situation of the technical document system for nuclear safety regulation on human factors engineering and control rooms of NPP in China is introduced briefly, on which the safety review is based

  6. 75 FR 67450 - Pipeline Safety: Control Room Management Implementation Workshop

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-02

    ... regulations to address human factors and other aspects of control room management for certain pipelines where controllers use supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. Under the final rule, pipeline... Washington, DC on October 22, 2010. Jeffrey D. Wiese, Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety. [FR Doc...

  7. 75 FR 5536 - Pipeline Safety: Control Room Management/Human Factors, Correction

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-03

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 49 CFR Parts...: Control Room Management/Human Factors, Correction AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety... following correcting amendments: PART 192--TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL AND OTHER GAS BY PIPELINE: MINIMUM...

  8. Experience in the review of utility control room design review and safety parameter display system programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, V.A.

    1985-01-01

    The Detailed Control Room Design Review (DCRDR) and the Safety Parameter Display System (SPDS) had their origins in the studies and investigations conducted as the result of the TMI-2 accident. The President's Commission (Kemeny Commission) critized NRC for not examining the man-machine interface, over-emphasizing equipment, ignoring human beings, and tolerating outdated technology in control rooms. The Commission's Special Inquiry Group (Rogovin Report) recommended greater application of human factors engineering including better instrumentation displays and improved control room design. The NRC Lessons Learned Task Force concluded that licensees should review and improve control rooms using NRC Human engineering guidelines, and install safety parameter display systems (then called the safety staff vector). The TMI Action Plan Item I.D.1 and I.D.2 were based on these recommendations

  9. Improving operating room safety

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garrett Jill

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Despite the introduction of the Universal Protocol, patient safety in surgery remains a daily challenge in the operating room. This present study describes one community health system's efforts to improve operating room safety through human factors training and ultimately the development of a surgical checklist. Using a combination of formal training, local studies documenting operating room safety issues and peer to peer mentoring we were able to substantially change the culture of our operating room. Our efforts have prepared us for successfully implementing a standardized checklist to improve operating room safety throughout our entire system. Based on these findings we recommend a multimodal approach to improving operating room safety.

  10. Future control room design (modernization of control room systems)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reischl, Ludwig; Freitag, Timo; Dergel, Rene

    2009-01-01

    In the frame of lifetime extension for nuclear power plants the modernization of the complete safety and operational control technology will be digitalized. It is also recommended to modernize the operator facilities, monitoring systems in the control room, the back-up shut-down center and the local control stations. The authors summarize the reasons for the modernization recommendations and discuss possible solutions for display-oriented control rooms. A concept for control room backfitting includes generic requirements, requirements of the local authorities, ergonomic principles information content and information density, and the design process. The backfitting strategy should include a cooperation with the operational personnel, The quality assurance and training via simulator needs sufficient timing during the implementation of the backfitting.

  11. Improving safety margins for control room habitability, through heating/ventilation/air conditioning modifications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beach, D.R.; Fillingim, W.; Bell, G.; Eurich, R.G.

    1989-01-01

    The Fort Calhoun power station began operation in September 1973. Since that time, modifications to the plant have required the addition of a substantial number of electrical and control components in the control room, which has resulted in an increased heat load in this area. Additionally, NUREG-0737, Item III.D.3.4, imposed requirements on the ventilating system related to protection of personnel from the effects of toxic and radioactive gas releases, which were not considered in the original design. Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) has recently undertaken a major modification to the Fort Calhoun station control room ventilating system to improve the safety margins for control room habitability. The goals of the modification were to achieve adequate cooling capacity with fully redundant equipment, improve habitability under accident conditions, and eliminate several potential problems related to steam line break and equipment qualification. Additionally, the scope of the project grew as design problems emerged

  12. Improving safety through an integrated approach for advanced control room development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haugset, K.; Berg, O.; Bologna, S.; Foerdestroemmen, N.T.; Kvalem, J.; Nelson, W.R.; Yamane, N.

    1992-01-01

    With the fast development of computer technology, the potential exists for improving operational safety of nuclear plants by using advanced operator tools in the control room. Specific systems are being introduced, such as systems for alarm handling, failure detection, disturbance diagnosis, procedural advice and others, often based on process modeling techniques or expert system technology. To ensure a maximum benefit from the new technology, a careful integration of the various systems must, however, take place, resulting in a well coordinated interface between the operator and the process. The OECD Halden Reactor Project has started the development of an Integrated Surveillance And Control System (ISACS). The basis for the activity is the experience at Halden in developing specific Computerized Operator Support Systems (COSSs), and the activity around the experimental control room HAMMLAB where detailed validations of operator tools have been performed for a number of years. The first goal in the ISACS project is to have a first, limited prototype in operation at the end of 1990. Validation experiments will follow. (orig.)

  13. Improving safety through an integrated approach for advanced control room development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haugset, K.; Berg, O.; Foerdestroemmen, N.T.; Kvalem, J.; Nelson, W.R.

    1990-01-01

    With the fast development of computer technology, the potential exists for improving operational safety of nuclear plants by using advanced operator tools in the control room. Specific systems are being introduced, such as systems for alarm handling, failure detection, disturbance diagnosis, procedural advice and others, often based on process modeling techniques or expert system technology. To ensure a maximum benefit from the new technology, a careful integration of the various systems must, however, take place, resulting in a well coordinated interface between the operator and the process. The OECD Halden Reactor Project has started the development of an Integrated Surveillance And Control System (ISACS). The basis for the activity is the experience at Halden in developing specific Computerized Operator Support Systems (COSSs), and the activity around the experimental control room HAMMLAB where detailed validations of operator tools have been performed for a number of years. The first goal in the ISACS project is to have a first, limited prototype in operation at the end of 1990. Validation experiments will follow

  14. Future control room design (modernization of control room systems); Zukuenftiges Wartendesign (Modernisierung von Warteneinrichtungen)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reischl, Ludwig; Freitag, Timo; Dergel, Rene [AREVA NP (Germany). NLLR-G ' ' Reactor I and C' '

    2009-07-01

    In the frame of lifetime extension for nuclear power plants the modernization of the complete safety and operational control technology will be digitalized. It is also recommended to modernize the operator facilities, monitoring systems in the control room, the back-up shut-down center and the local control stations. The authors summarize the reasons for the modernization recommendations and discuss possible solutions for display-oriented control rooms. A concept for control room backfitting includes generic requirements, requirements of the local authorities, ergonomic principles information content and information density, and the design process. The backfitting strategy should include a cooperation with the operational personnel, The quality assurance and training via simulator needs sufficient timing during the implementation of the backfitting.

  15. Nuclear power plant control room operator control and monitoring tasks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bovell, C.R.; Beck, M.G.; Carter, R.J.

    1998-01-01

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory is conducting a research project the purpose of which is to develop the technical bases for regulatory review criteria for use in evaluating the safety implications of human factors associated with the use of artificial intelligence and expert systems, and with advanced instrumentation and control (I and C) systems in nuclear power plants (NPP). This report documents the results from Task 8 of that project. The primary objectives of the task was to identify the scope and type of control and monitoring tasks now performed by control-room operators. Another purpose was to address the types of controls and safety systems needed to operate the nuclear plant. The final objective of Task 8 was to identify and categorize the type of information and displays/indicators required to monitor the performance of the control and safety systems. This report also discusses state-of-the-art controls and advanced display devices which will be available for use in control-room retrofits and in control room of future plants. The fundamental types of control and monitoring tasks currently conducted by operators can be divided into four classifications: function monitoring tasks, control manipulation tasks, fault diagnostic tasks, and administrative tasks. There are three general types of controls used in today's NPPs, switches, pushbuttons, and analog controllers. Plant I and C systems include components to achieve a number of safety-related functions: measuring critical plant parameters, controlling critical plant parameters within safety limits, and automatically actuating protective devices if safe limits are exceeded. The types of information monitored by the control-room operators consist of the following parameters: pressure, fluid flow and level, neutron flux, temperature, component status, water chemistry, electrical, and process and area radiation. The basic types of monitoring devices common to nearly all NPP control rooms include: analog meters

  16. The conference hybrid control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gieci, A.; Caucik, J.; Macko, J.

    2008-01-01

    An original concept of a hybrid control room was developed for the Mochovce-3 and Mochovce-4 reactor units which are under construction. The basic idea underlying the concept is that the control room should be a main working place for the operators (reactor operator and turbine operator) and for the shift supervisor, designed as a comprehensive unit desk shaped so that all members of the control room crew are in a face-to-face contact constantly. The main desk consists of three clearly identified areas serving the operators and the unit supervisor as their main working places. A soft control system is installed at the main working places. A separate safety-related working place, designed as a panel with classical instrumentations at the conference hybrid control room, is provided in case of abnormal conditions or emergency situation. Principles of ergonomics and cognitive engineering were taken into account when designing the new conference hybrid control room for the Mochovce-3 and -4 reactor units. The sizes, propositions, shapes and disposition of the equipment at the control room have been created and verified by using virtual reality tools. (orig.)

  17. Nuclear power station main control room habitability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paschal, W.B.; Knous, W.S.

    1989-01-01

    The main control room at a nuclear power station must remain habitable during a variety of plant conditions and postulated events. The control room habitability requirement and the function of the heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and air treatment system are to control environmental factors, such as temperature, pressure, humidity, radiation, and toxic gas. Habitability requirements provide for the safety of personnel and enable operation of equipment required to function in the main control room. Habitability as an issue has been gaining prominence with the Advisor Committee of Reactor Safeguards and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission since the incident at Three Mile Island. Their concern is the ability of the presently installed habitability systems to control the main control room environment after an accident. This paper discusses main control room HVAC systems; the concern, requirements, and results of NRC surveys and notices; and an approach to control room habitability reviews

  18. Safety measures in exposure room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muhammad Jamal Md Isa

    2004-01-01

    The contents of this chapter are follows - The exposure room: location and dimension, material and thickness, windows, doors and other openings; Position of the Irradiating Apparatus, Use of Space Adjoining the Room, Warning Signs/Light, Dark Room. Materials and Apparatus: Classification of Areas, Local Rules, Other General Safety Requirements

  19. The Patient Safety Attitudes among the Operating Room Personnel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cherdsak Iramaneerat

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: The first step in cultivating the culture of safety in the operating room is the assessment of safety culture among operating room personnel. Objective: To assess the patient safety culture of operating room personnel at the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, and compare attitudes among different groups of personnel, and compare them with the international standards. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of safety attitudes among 396 operating room personnel, using a short form of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ. The SAQ employed 30 items to assess safety culture in six dimensions: teamwork climate, safety climate, stress recognition, perception of hospital management, working conditions, and job satisfaction. The subscore of each dimension was calculated and converted to a scale score with a full score of 100, where higher scores indicated better safety attitudes. Results: The response rate was 66.4%. The overall safety culture score of the operating room personnel was 65.02, higher than an international average (61.80. Operating room personnel at Siriraj Hospital had safety attitudes in teamwork climate, safety climate, and stress recognition lower than the international average, but had safety attitudes in the perception of hospital management, working conditions, and job satisfaction higher than the international average. Conclusion: The safety culture attitudes of operating room personnel at the Department of Surgery, Siriraj Hospital were comparable to international standards. The safety dimensions that Siriraj Hospital operating room should try to improve were teamwork climate, safety climate, and stress recognition.

  20. [Operating Room Nurses' Experiences of Securing for Patient Safety].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Kwang Ok; Kim, Jong Kyung; Kim, Myoung Sook

    2015-10-01

    This study was done to evaluate the experience of securing patient safety in hospital operating rooms. Experiential data were collected from 15 operating room nurses through in-depth interviews. The main question was "Could you describe your experience with patient safety in the operating room?". Qualitative data from the field and transcribed notes were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory methodology. The core category of experience with patient safety in the operating room was 'trying to maintain principles of patient safety during high-risk surgical procedures'. The participants used two interactional strategies: 'attempt continuous improvement', 'immersion in operation with sharing issues of patient safety'. The results indicate that the important factors for ensuring the safety of patients in the operating room are manpower, education, and a system for patient safety. Successful and safe surgery requires communication, teamwork and recognition of the importance of patient safety by the surgical team.

  1. Control room philosophy: Principles of control room design and control room work

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skriver, Jan; Ramberg, Jasmine; Allwin, Pernilla

    2006-01-01

    In order to provide insights for improvement of work in control rooms several factors have to be considered. Knowledge of principles including control room philosophies will guide the recommended improvements. In addition to knowledge about specific principles an advantage for an organization can be an understanding of similarities and policies used in other high risk industry. The report has been developed on the basis of a document analysis of international standards and other guiding documents. (NUREG 0711, ISO 11064, ISO 6385, IEC 60964). In addition to the document analysis which has strived to compare the documents to see similarities in important principals, experience from working with control room design, modifications and evaluations in other high risk industries has pervaded the report. Important principles have been identified which are recommended to be included in a control room philosophy. Many of these are similar to the principles identified in the international standards. An additional principal which is regarded as important is the utilization of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) which can be used as a measure to target preventative means. Further more it is critical that the control room philosophy is easy to access and comprehend for all users. One of the challenges that remain after having developed a control room philosophy is how to utilize it in the daily work situation. It is vital that the document remains as a living document, guiding the continual improvement of the control room in the various life cycle stages

  2. Review of safety related control room function research based on experience from nuclear power plants in Finland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Juslin, K.; Wahlstroem, B.; Rinttilae, E.

    1985-01-01

    A comprehensive human engineering research programme was established in the second half of the 1970's at the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT). The research is performed in cooperation with the utility companies Imatran Voima Oy (IVO) and Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO) and includes topics such as Handling of alarm information, Disturbance analysis systems, Assessment of control rooms and Validation of safety parameter display systems. Reference is also made to the Finnish contribution to the OECD Halden Reactor Project (Halden) and the Nordic Liaison Committee for Atomic Energy (NKA) research projects. In this paper feasible realization alternatives of safety related control room functions are discussed on the basis of experience from the nuclear power plants in Finland, which at present are equipped with extensive process computer systems. A proposal for future power plant information systems is described. It is intended that this proposal will serve as the basis for future computer systems at nuclear power plants in Finland. (author)

  3. Replacement of the Advanced Test Reactor control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Durney, J.L.; Klingler, W.B.

    1989-01-01

    The control room for the Advanced Test Reactor has been replaced to provide modern equipment utilizing current standards and meeting the current human factors requirements. The control room was designed in the early 1960 era and had not been significantly upgraded since the initial installation. The replacement did not change any of the safety circuits or equipment but did result in replacement of some of the recorders that display information from the safety systems. The replacement was completed in concert with the replacement of the control room simulator which provided important feedback on the design. The design successfully incorporates computer-based systems into the display of the plant variables. This improved design provides the operator with more information in a more usable form than was provided by the original design. The replacement was successfully completed within the scheduled time thereby minimizing the down time for the reactor. 1 fig., 1 tab

  4. Replacement of the Advanced Test Reactor control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Durney, J.L.; Klingler, W.B.

    1990-01-01

    The control room for the Advanced Test Reactor has been replaced to provide modern equipment utilizing current standards and meeting the current human factors requirements. The control room was designed in the early 1960 era and had not been significantly upgraded since the initial installation. The replacement did not change any of the safety circuits or equipment but did result in replacement of some of the recorders that display information from the safety systems. The replacement was completed in concert with the replacement of the control room simulator which provided important feedback on the design. The design successfully incorporates computer-based systems into the display of the plant variables. This improved design provides the operator with more information in a more usable form than was provided by the original design. The replacement was successfully completed within the scheduled time thereby minimizing the down time for the reactor

  5. Patient safety in the operating room: an intervention study on latent risk factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van Beuzekom Martie

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Patient safety is one of the greatest challenges in healthcare. In the operating room errors are frequent and often consequential. This article describes an approach to a successful implementation of a patient safety program in the operating room, focussing on latent risk factors that influence patient safety. We performed an intervention to improve these latent risk factors (LRFs and increase awareness of patient safety issues amongst OR staff. Methods Latent risk factors were studied using a validated questionnaire applied to the OR staff before and after an intervention. A pre-test/post-test control group design with repeated measures was used to evaluate the effects of the interventions. The staff from one operating room of an university hospital acted as the intervention group. Controls consisted of the staff of the operating room in another university hospital. The outcomes were the changes in LRF scores, perceived incident rate, and changes in incident reports between pre- and post-intervention. Results Based on pre-test scores and participants’ key concerns about organizational factors affecting patient safety in their department the intervention focused on the following LRFs: Material Resources, Training and Staffing Recourses. After the intervention, the intervention operating room - compared to the control operating room - reported significantly fewer problems on Material Resources and Staffing Resources and a significantly lower score on perceived incident rate. The contribution of technical factors to incident causation decreased significantly in the intervention group after the intervention. Conclusion The change of state of latent risk factors can be measured using a patient safety questionnaire aimed at these factors. The change of the relevant risk factors (Material and Staffing resources concurred with a decrease in perceived and reported incident rates in the relevant categories. We conclude that

  6. Occurrences in control room equipment, procedures and personnel performances: IRS control room events

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tolstykh, V.

    1994-01-01

    The IAEA/NEA Incident Reporting System (IRS) was established in the early 1980, its objective being to gain from operating experience achieved in countries with nuclear power programmes by means of exchanging information on events relevant to safety. Among the 2171 events in the database, 175 events (i.e. 8%) were identified as ''control room events''. It was decided to group these into three sets for further study: 65 events with common mode/cause failures (CCFs), 22 events with cognitive errors and 30 events with unforeseen interaction between NPP systems. It is expected that the pitfalls experienced in the IRS and the questions derived from this study will help to gain a better understanding of the needs and interests of specialists in advanced information methods and artificial intelligence in NPP control rooms. (author)

  7. Game-based training environment for nuclear plant control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hung Tamin; Sun Tienlung; Yang Chihwei; Yang Lichen; Cheng Tsungchieh; Wang Jyhgang

    2011-01-01

    Nuclear power plant's safety is very important problem. In this very conscientious environment if operator has a little mistake, they may threaten with many people influence their safety. Therefore, operating training of control room is very important. However, the operator training is in limited space and time. Each operator must go to simulative control room do some training. If we can let each trainee having more time to do training and does not go to simulative control room. It may have some advantages for trainee. Moreover, in the traditional training ways, each operator may through the video, teaching manual or through the experienced instructor to learn the knowledge. This training way may let operator feel bored and stressful. So, in this paper aims, we hope utilizing virtual reality technology developing a game-based virtual training environment of control room. Finally, we will use presence questionnaire evaluating realism and feasibility of our virtual training environment. Expecting this initial concept of game-based virtual training environment can attract trainees having more learning motivation to do training in off-hour. (author)

  8. Design And Implementation Of Smart Living Room Wireless Control For Safety Purpose

    OpenAIRE

    Aeindra Myint Lwin; Zaw Min Min Htun; Hla Myo Tun

    2015-01-01

    Abstract This research presents the microcontroller controlled smart living room system using Bluetooth wireless technology from mobile phone.An android apk is created in mobile for controlling the living room system. A 16F877A microcontroller is interfaced serially to a bluetooth module transceiver. It is used for controlling fan speed control dim light control lighting ONOFF and window angle control. An arduino controller is used for keypad control door security. It is connected to DC motor...

  9. Uncertainty analysis for parameters of CFAST in the main control room fire scenario

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Wanhong; Guo, Yun; Peng, Changhong [Univ. of Science and Technology of China No. 96, Anhui (China). School of Nuclear Science and Technology

    2017-07-15

    The fire accident is one of important initial events in the nuclear power plant. Moreover, the fire development process is extremely difficult and complex to predict accurately. As a result, the plant internal fire accidents have become one of the most realistic threat on the safety of the nuclear power plants. The main control room contains all the control and monitoring equipment that operators need. Once it is on fire, hostile environments would greatly impact on the safety of human operations. Therefore, fire probability safety analysis on the main control room has become a significant task. By using CFAST and Monte Carlo sampling method as a tool for fire modeling to simulate main control room on fire, we can examine uncertainty analysis for the important parameters of CFAST.

  10. New technologies for control room habitability assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lahti, G.P.; Muraida, J.E.; Perchiazzi, W.T.; Harden, P.A.

    1994-01-01

    Older nuclear power plants typically considered only a nominal amount of unfiltered inleakage (typically 10 cfm) impacting their postaccident control room habitability. However, recent measurements of unfiltered inleakage show values in excess of the nominal 10 cfm. A reassessment for two of these ''older'' stations has been completed recently to show that the measured inleakage did not jeopardize the safety of the control room occupants. Recent concerns at the Zion Station and the Palisades Station about control room habitability in the event of a loss-of-coolant accident have led to an extensive effort to increase control room habitability margin. The heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system servicing each of the control rooms has the potential for unfiltered in-leakage through many locations. For example, at the Palisades Station, the current limiting control room habitability analysis allows for 25 cfm unfiltered in-leakage through its normal outside air intake louvered isolation dampers during emergency mode into the control room envelope. This leakage value was not thought to be achievable with the existing as-built configuration. Repairing the system was considered a potential solution; however, this would be costly and could negatively affect plant operation. In addition, the system would still be required to meet the low specified unfiltered in-leakage. An alternate approach was to review the analysis and reassess the most important parameters. The key effort was to determine the atmospheric dispersion factors (χ/Qs) through wind tunnel tests using scale models of the stations. The results of the wind tunnel testing could yield more realistic χ/Qs for control room habitability than previously employed methods. The wind tunnel study options were selected based on their ease of implementation, realistic results, and low cost. More importantly, the results of the studies would allow more realistic values of unfiltered inleakage

  11. Ergonomics in the licensing and evaluation of nuclear reactors control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Isaac Jose Antonio Luquetti dos; Vidal, Mario Cesar Rodriguez

    2002-01-01

    A nuclear control room is a complex system that controls a thermodynamic process used to produce electrical energy. The operators interact with the control room through interfaces that have significant implications to nuclear plant safety and influence the operator activity. The TMI (Three Mile Island) accident demonstrated that only the anthropometric aspects were not enough for an adequate nuclear control room design. The studies showed that the accident was aggravated because the designers had not considered adequately human factor aspects. After TMI accident, the designers introduce in the nuclear control room development only human factors standards and human factors guidelines. The ergonomics approaches was not considered. Our objective is introduce in nuclear control room design and nuclear control room evaluation, a methodology that. includes human factors standards, human factors guidelines and ergonomic approaches, the operator activity analysis. (author)

  12. Control room habitability study: findings and recommendations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Driscoll, J.W.

    1986-01-01

    The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) has raised a number of concerns related to control room habitability and has recommended actions which they believe could alleviate these concerns. As a result of the ACRS's concerns, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) in conjunction with the Offices of Research and Inspection and Enforcement, and the NRC regional offices, embarked upon a program to reevaluate Control Room Habitability. Argonne National Laboratory was contracted by the NRC to perform a Control Room Habitability Study on twelve licensed power reactors. The plants selected for the study were chosen based upon architect engineer, nuclear steam system supplier, utility, and plant location. Participants in the study review the plant design as contained in the Updated Safety Analysis Report, Technical Specifications, Three Mile Island action item III.D.3.4 submittal on Control Room Habitability, NRC staff evaluation of the III.D.3.4 submittal, appropriate plant operating procedures, system drawings, and significant Licensee Event Reports on Loss of Cooling to the Control Room Envelope. A two-day visit is then made to the plant to determine if the as-built systems are built, operated, and surveillance performed as described in the documentation reviewed prior to the visit. The major findings of this study are included in this report along with generic recommendations of the review team that apply to control room HVAC systems. Although the study is not complete, at the time of publication of this report, the results obtained to date should be useful to persons responsible for Control Room Habitability in evaluating their own systems

  13. Human factors design review guidelines for advanced nuclear control room technologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Hara, J.; Brown, W.; Granda, T.; Baker, C.

    1991-01-01

    Advanced control rooms (ACRs) for future nuclear power plants are being designed utilizing computer-based technologies. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission reviews the human engineering aspects of such control rooms to ensure that they are designed to good human factors engineering principles and that operator performance and reliability are appropriately supported in order to protect public health and safety. This paper describes the rationale, general approach, and initial development of an NRC Advanced Control Room Design Review Guideline. 20 refs., 1 fig

  14. 3D visualization based customer experiences of nuclear plant control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun Tienlung; Chou Chinmei; Hung Tamin; Cheng Tsungchieh; Yang Chihwei; Yang Lichen

    2011-01-01

    This paper employs virtual reality (VR) technology to develop an interactive virtual nuclear plant control room in which the general public could easily walk into the 'red zone' and play with the control buttons. The VR-based approach allows deeper and richer customer experiences that the real nuclear plant control room could not offer. When people know more about the serious process control procedures enforced in the nuclear plant control room, they will appropriate more about the safety efforts imposed by the nuclear plant and become more comfortable about the nuclear plant. The virtual nuclear plant control room is built using a 3D game development tool called Unity3D. The 3D scene is connected to a nuclear plant simulation system through Windows API programs. To evaluate the usability of the virtual control room, an experiment will be conducted to see how much 'immersion' the users could feel when they played with the virtual control room. (author)

  15. Control room design of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos, Isaac Jose Antonio Luquetti dos; Carvalho, Paulo Vitor R.; Lacerda, Fabio de; Szabo, Andre P.; Vianna Filho, Alfredo Marques, E-mail: luquetti@ien.gov.br [Instituto Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Divisao de Instrumentacao e Confiabilidade Humana; Falcao, Mariana A. [Escola de Belas Artes da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2011-07-01

    A control room is defined as a functional entity with an associated physical structure, where the operators carry out the centralized control, monitoring and administrative responsibilities. Inadequate integration between control room and operators reduces safety, increases the operation complexity, complicates operator training and increases the likelihood of human errors occurrence. The purpose of this paper is to present a specific approach for the design of the main control room of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotope. The approach is based on human factors standards and the participation of a multidisciplinary team in the conceptual and basic phases of the design. Using the information gathered from standards and from the multidisciplinary an initial sketch 3D of the main control room is being developed. (author)

  16. Control room design of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Isaac Jose Antonio Luquetti dos; Carvalho, Paulo Vitor R.; Lacerda, Fabio de; Szabo, Andre P.; Vianna Filho, Alfredo Marques

    2011-01-01

    A control room is defined as a functional entity with an associated physical structure, where the operators carry out the centralized control, monitoring and administrative responsibilities. Inadequate integration between control room and operators reduces safety, increases the operation complexity, complicates operator training and increases the likelihood of human errors occurrence. The purpose of this paper is to present a specific approach for the design of the main control room of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotope. The approach is based on human factors standards and the participation of a multidisciplinary team in the conceptual and basic phases of the design. Using the information gathered from standards and from the multidisciplinary an initial sketch 3D of the main control room is being developed. (author)

  17. Have it your way. A modular approach to custom compact control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harmon, Daryl; Scarola, Ken

    2003-01-01

    In spite of the recent lack of growth in the nuclear power industry, a transition is taking place to compact main control rooms as the design of choice for power generating facilities. This is evident in the design and construction of new facilities, including Advanced Light Water Reactors such as the Korean Shin Kori 3 and 4 units, as well as Generation IV reactors. Also, compact control rooms are increasingly preferred for the modernization of current generation plants. This shift reflects that compact control rooms combine cost savings through equipment reduction and standardization with operability improvements through increased functionality and flexibility and improved presentation. Though compact control rooms feature significantly fewer Human Machine Interface (HMI) devices than their conventional counterparts, customers still require a wide variety of different configurations to accommodate their individual operations philosophies, cultural norms, licensing regulations and physical constraints. To meet this need, Westinghouse Electric Company has developed an innovative, modular approach to designing compact control rooms for nuclear power plants. This approach features a small set of standard HMI devices serving as building blocks for all compact control room functions. The building blocks include qualified and non-safety video devices for implementing displays, alarms, multi-channel soft controls, computerized procedures, etc. These building blocks can be used for (1) large screen overview displays, (2) console-based control and monitoring and (3) HMI devices for conventional, benchboard-style control panels. Their modular design allows these building blocks to be arranged in various physical configurations to meet a wide variety of customer's control room preferences and constraints. For example, a compact control room could use the qualified building blocks (1) to configure a dedicated safety panel independent of the normal operational consoles, or (2

  18. Advanced control room design for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scarola, K.

    1987-01-01

    The power industry has seen a continuous growth of size and complexity of nuclear power plants. Accompanying these changes have been extensive regulatory requirements resulting in significant construction, operation and maintenance costs. In response to related concerns raised by industry members, Combustion Engineering developed the NUPLEX 80 Advanced Control Room. The goal of NUPLEX 80 TM is to: reduce design and construction costs; increase plant safety and availability through improvements in the man-machine interface; and reduce maintenance costs. This paper provides an overview of the NUPLEX 80 Advanced Control Room and explains how the stated goals are achieved. (author)

  19. The development of an advanced computerised control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haugset, K.

    1988-01-01

    Control room improvements by use of computer technology is a major activity within the OECD Halden Reactor Project. The goal is to improve operational efficiency and safety by supplying the operator with the information relevant for the specific operational situation, assisting him both in identifying plant state, plan operational strategies and implement such plans. The research activity consists of development of specific operator support systems, validation of such systems under realistic conditions and integration under the scope of an advanced control room concept. The work is carried out in close cooperation with the many member organisations. (author) 2 figs., 8 refs

  20. Control room philosophy: Principles of control room design and control room work; Kontrollrumsfilosofi: Principer foer kontrollrumsutformning och kontrollrumsarbete

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Skriver, Jan; Ramberg, Jasmine; Allwin, Pernilla [Scandpower Risk Management AB, Uppsala (Sweden)

    2006-01-15

    In order to provide insights for improvement of work in control rooms several factors have to be considered. Knowledge of principles including control room philosophies will guide the recommended improvements. In addition to knowledge about specific principles an advantage for an organization can be an understanding of similarities and policies used in other high risk industry. The report has been developed on the basis of a document analysis of international standards and other guiding documents. (NUREG 0711, ISO 11064, ISO 6385, IEC 60964). In addition to the document analysis which has strived to compare the documents to see similarities in important principals, experience from working with control room design, modifications and evaluations in other high risk industries has pervaded the report. Important principles have been identified which are recommended to be included in a control room philosophy. Many of these are similar to the principles identified in the international standards. An additional principal which is regarded as important is the utilization of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) which can be used as a measure to target preventative means. Further more it is critical that the control room philosophy is easy to access and comprehend for all users. One of the challenges that remain after having developed a control room philosophy is how to utilize it in the daily work situation. It is vital that the document remains as a living document, guiding the continual improvement of the control room in the various life cycle stages.

  1. Attitudes to teamwork and safety among Italian surgeons and operating room nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prati, Gabriele; Pietrantoni, Luca

    2014-01-01

    Previous studies have shown that surgical team members' attitudes about safety and teamwork in the operating theatre may play a role in patient safety. The aim of this study was to assess attitudes about teamwork and safety among Italian surgeons and operating room nurses. Fifty-five surgeons and 48 operating room nurses working in operating theatres at one hospital in Italy completed the Operating Room Management Attitudes Questionnaire (ORMAQ). Results showed several discrepancies in attitudes about teamwork and safety between surgeons and operating room nurses. Surgeons had more positive views on the quality of surgical leadership, communication, teamwork, and organizational climate in the theatre than operating room nurses. Operating room nurses reported that safety rules and procedures were more frequently disregarded than the surgeons. The results are only partially aligned with previous ORMAQ surveys of surgical teams in other countries. The differences emphasize the influence of national culture, as well as the particular healthcare system. This study shows discrepancies on many aspects in attitudes to teamwork and safety between surgeons and operating room nurses. The findings support implementation and use of team interventions and human factor training. Finally, attitude surveys provide a method for assessing safety culture in surgery, for evaluating the effectiveness of training initiatives, and for collecting data for a hospital's quality assurance programme.

  2. Optimizing the human engineering design of control panels in nuclear power plant control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Behrendt, V.; Krehbiehl, T.; Hartfiel, H.D.; Mannhaupt, H.R.

    1986-12-01

    The study contains two parts. In the first part an analytical procedure is developed to logically and reproducibly subdivide the control room personnel tasks resulting in a list of the elements (operations) and the structure (operations scheme) of a task. The second part lists together all knowledge of and influences on human engineering which are known at this time and which should be taken into account in designing control rooms. The content of this catalogue can best be used and presented by using a personal computer. Two fundamental different ways are possible to use the catalogue. Designing new control rooms or new parts of control rooms the results of the task analysis which should be done first, should guide the search in the catalogue to find the right human engineering factors. For assessing existing control room panels the performance shaping factors which are establishing the table of content, permit a quick access to the catalogue. Both the specific procedure of the task analysis and the different ways of access to the catalogue of human engineering knowledge for designing nuclear power plant control rooms have been proven by experienced system engineers and safety experts. The results are presented. They have been considered in this version of the study. (orig.) [de

  3. Control room lay-out

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toma, Violeta

    2004-01-01

    TRIUMF (Tri-University Meson Facility) is Canada's national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics. There are 6 accelerators and 3 Control Rooms at TRIUMF. The main control room serves the big cyclotron, the 500 MeV, and the adjacent experiment. The 42 MeV and two 32 MeV ones are production dedicated. These cyclotrons belong to a private company but are operated by TRIUMF staff from ATG (Applied Technology Group) Control Room. The last is ISAC (Isotope Acceleration and Separation) Control Room, from which the LINAC is controlled. Research areas cover theoretical (2 subjects), pure (5 subjects) and applied (8 subjects) physics. In the early '70s, as the 500 MeV was being completed, the first Control Room was built in the main accelerator building. The recent topics covered by this paper are proton and pion therapy, what are the operator's duties?, the CP42, TR30 and TR13 cyclotron control rooms, the ISAC control systems including control room modification. Due to the nature of an operator's job, the Control Room layout is pretty important. This is true for any work environment, but when working shifts it becomes essential. Lots of time and effort, not to mention money, were spent to figure out the optimum configuration. It seems to me that the key factor in the control room layout is versatility, and this is because it has to keep happy a group of people with different inclinations, which have a tendency to become quite moody after the second night shift. No matter what, there will still be unhappy people, but we are trying our best. (Y. Tanaka)

  4. Control room design and human engineering in power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herbst, L.; Hinz, W.

    1982-01-01

    The concept for modern plant control rooms is primary influenced by: The automation of protection, binary control and closed loop control functions; organization employing functional areas; computer based information processing; human engineered design. Automation reduces the human work load. Employment of functional areas permits optimization of operational sequences. Computer based information processing makes it possible to output information in accordance with operating requirements. Design based on human engineering principles assures the quality of the interaction between the operator and the equipment. The degree to which these conceptional features play a role in design of power plant control rooms depends on the unit rating, the mode of operation and on the requirements respecting safety and availability of the plant. (orig.)

  5. Control room design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zinke, H.

    1980-01-01

    To control a 1300 megawatt nuclear power plant, about 15000 plant parameters must be collected together to control and operate the plant. The control room design therefore is of particular importance. The main design criteria are: Required functions of the power plant process - Level of Automation - Ergonomics - Available Technology. Extensive analysis has resulted in a control room design method. This ensures that an objective solution will be reached. Resulting from this methodical approach are: 1. Scope, position and appearance of the instrumentation. 2. Scope, position and appearance of the operator controls. Process analysis dictates what instrumentation and operator controls are needed. The priority and importance of the control and instrumentation (this we define as the utilisation areas), dictates the rough layout of the control room. (orig./RW)

  6. Safety culture in the gynecology robotics operating room.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zullo, Melissa D; McCarroll, Michele L; Mendise, Thomas M; Ferris, Edward F; Roulette, G D; Zolton, Jessica; Andrews, Stephen J; von Gruenigen, Vivian E

    2014-01-01

    To measure the safety culture in the robotics surgery operating room before and after implementation of the Robotic Operating Room Computerized Checklist (RORCC). Prospective study. Gynecology surgical staff (n = 32). An urban community hospital. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire domains examined were teamwork, safety, job satisfaction, stress recognition, perceptions of management, and working conditions. Questions and domains were described using percent agreement and the Cronbach alpha. Paired t-tests were used to describe differences before and after implementation of the checklist. Mean (SD) staff age was 46.7 (9.5) years, and most were women (78%) and worked full-time (97%). Twenty respondents (83% of nurses, 80% of surgeons, 66% of surgical technicians, and 33% of certified registered nurse anesthetists) completed the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire; 6 were excluded because of non-matching identifiers. Before RORCC implementation, the highest quality of communication and collaboration was reported by surgeons and surgical technicians (100%). Certified registered nurse anesthetists reported only adequate levels of communication and collaboration with other positions. Most staff reported positive responses for teamwork (48%; α = 0.81), safety (47%; α = 0.75), working conditions (37%; α = 0.55), stress recognition (26%; α = 0.71), and perceptions of management (32%; α = 0.52). No differences were observed after RORCC implementation. Quality of communication and collaboration in the gynecology robotics operating room is high between most positions; however, safety attitude responses are low overall. No differences after RORCC implementation and low response rates may highlight lack of staff support. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  7. Virtual reality applied in the ergonomic evaluation of nuclear power plant control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gatto, Leandro Barbosa da Silveira

    2012-01-01

    A nuclear power plant control room is a complex system that controls a nuclear and thermodynamic process used to produce electrical energy. The operators interact with the control room through interfaces that have significant implications to nuclear power plant safety and influence the operator activity. The operator activity presents complexity features and shows a series of mechanisms absents from the human factors guidelines, important to the evaluation and update of control rooms. The ergonomics approach considers the operation strategies, the interaction between the operators, the operator-system interaction, and interaction between operators and support groups. The main objective of this paper is propose the modeling of a nuclear control room, with the support of a game engine core. This tool will be used in the ergonomic evaluation of nuclear control room, generating information and data that will make possible the adequacy of control rooms features to the legal requirements of the regulating agency, assisting the nuclear licensing. (author)

  8. The Control Room Upgrade in Oskarshamn 2 Modernization Project Lesson Learned from Ongoing Human Factor design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, Gunnarsson; Magnus, Eliasson

    2011-01-01

    Due to recent changes in Swedish commercial nuclear safety system requirements, OKG decided to make the changes required by the new safety requirements, apply for a 30-year license extension, and to concurrently make changes for a major power uprate; this project is called the Plant Life Extension project (PLEX). It was decided, in addition to several plant modifications, to re build the old control room to a new modern screen-based control room located in the same space as the old one, and with the same number of operators. This paper explains the approach taken when modernizing the control room as a part of the Oskarshamn 2 Modernization project PLEX, the results, and the lessons learned from this ongoing work. The combination of changes results in a modernization project that is expected to increase output power by approximately 50 MWe through increased efficiency and to result in an increase in thermal power from 1800 MWt to 2300 MWt (28%) and electrical power from 620 MWe to 840 MWe due to the power uprate. The license to operate OKG2 expires in 2012 The PLEX project is one of the most ambitious nuclear power plant modernization projects ever implemented, world-wide. The application of human factors engineering (HFE) and control room and HSI design is a complex challenge. The original main control room from 1975 in Oskarshamn 2, was quite compact and provided a fairly good overview of the process. New requirements for enhanced safety and other design changes in the process systems and instrumentation led to a step-wise installation of new information and control equipment in the control room. Since the control room was quite limited in space, the control room grew larger, and the new equipment was installed farther away from the operator workplaces into an adjacent control room. This was even the case for the new safety systems. These systems were functioning well separately as such, but in some cases their interfaces were inconsistent, leading to increased

  9. Recent Development in the ATLAS Control Room

    CERN Document Server

    Armen Vartapetian

    Only recently the name ATLAS Control Room (ACR) was more associated with the building at Point 1 (SCX1) than with the real thing. But just within the last several months, with the installation of the ACR hardware, that perception has changed significantly. The recently furnished ATLAS control room. But first of all, if you are not familiar with the ATLAS experimental site and are interested in visiting the ATLAS control room to see the place that in the near future will become the brain of the detector operations, it is quite easy to do so. You don't even need safety helmet or shoes! The ACR is located on the ground floor of a not so typical, glass-covered building in Point 1. The building number on the CERN map is 3162, or SCX1 as we call it. It is also easy to recognize that building by its shiny appearance within the cluster of Point 1 buildings if you are driving from Geneva. Final design and prototyping of the ACR hardware started at the beginning of 2006. Evaluation of the chosen hardware confi...

  10. Design And Implementation Of Smart Living Room Wireless Control For Safety Purpose

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aeindra Myint Lwin

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This research presents the microcontroller controlled smart living room system using Bluetooth wireless technology from mobile phone.An android apk is created in mobile for controlling the living room system. A 16F877A microcontroller is interfaced serially to a bluetooth module transceiver. It is used for controlling fan speed control dim light control lighting ONOFF and window angle control. An arduino controller is used for keypad control door security. It is connected to DC motor control circuit and switching circuit for opening and closing of the door keypad for entering password and serial LCD for displaying the update status of the door.User can control the home appliances by using bluetooth connection from mobile phone in its range. User can adjust the dim light fan speed window angle and light bulbs from android apk. An internal EEPROM is built in 16F877A microcontroller and it stores the last requested data of the appliances. If userwants to recover the former conditions of the appliances he can recall them from android apk.

  11. OVERVIEW OF A RECONFIGURABLE SIMULATOR FOR MAIN CONTROL ROOM UPGRADES IN NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ronald L. Boring

    2012-10-01

    This paper provides background on a reconfigurable control room simulator for nuclear power plants. The main control rooms in current nuclear power plants feature analog technology that is growing obsolete. The need to upgrade control rooms serves the practical need of maintainability as well as the opportunity to implement newer digital technologies with added functionality. There currently exists no dedicated research simulator for use in human factors design and evaluation activities for nuclear power plant modernization in the U.S. The new research simulator discussed in this paper provides a test bed in which operator performance on new control room concepts can be benchmarked against existing control rooms and in which new technologies can be validated for safety and usability prior to deployment.

  12. The development of KNGR control room man-machine interface design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sung-Jae Cho; Yeong-Cheol Shin

    2000-01-01

    KNGR MMI design has been developed for the last 7 years as a part of Korea Next Generation Reactor (KNGR) design development. The KNGR control room has the common features of advanced control room such as large display panel, redundant compact workstations, soft control, and computerized procedure system. A conventional type safety console is provided as a backup when operation at the workstations is impossible. The strong points of an advanced control room are based on the powerful information processing and flexible graphic presentation capability of computer technology. On the other hand, workstation based design has a weak point that the amount of information to be presented in one VDU is limited. This can cause navigational overload and inconsistent interfaces and provide chances for performance errors/failures, if not designed carefully. From this background, the regulators require licensees to follow strict top-down human factor engineering design process. Analysis of operating experiences and iterative evaluations are used to address the potential problems of the KNGR advanced control room MMI design. But, further study is necessary in design area like CPS design, where experiences or design guidance is insufficient. Further study topics for KNGR advanced control room MMI design development are discussed briefly in this paper. (author)

  13. Human-machine interface aspects and use of computer-based operator support systems in control room upgrades and new control room designs for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berg, O.

    1997-01-01

    At the Halden Project efforts are made to explore the possibilities through design, development and validation of Computer-based Operator Support Systems (COSSes) which can assist the operators in different operational situations, ranging from normal operation to disturbance and accident conditions. The programme comprises four main activities: 1) verification and validation of safety critical software systems; 2) man-machine interaction research emphasizing improvements in man-machine interfaces on the basis of human factors studies; 3) computerized operator support systems assisting the operator in fault detection/diagnosis and planning of control actions; and 4) control room development providing a basis for retrofitting of existing control rooms and for the design of advanced concepts. The paper presents the status of this development programme, including descriptions of specific operator support functions implemented in the simulator-based, experimental control room at Halden (HAMMLAB, HAlden Man-Machine LABoratory). These operator aids comprise advanced alarms systems, diagnostic support functions, electronic procedures, critical safety functions surveillance and accident management support systems. The different operator support systems development at the Halden Project are tested and evaluated in HAMMLAB with operators from the Halden Reactor, and occasionally from commercial NPPs, as test subjects. These evaluations provide data on the merits of different operator support systems in an advanced control room setting, as well as on how such systems should be integrated to enhance operator performance. The paper discusses these aspects and the role of computerized operator support systems in plant operation based on the experience from this work at the Halden Project. 15 refs, 5 figs

  14. Human-machine interface aspects and use of computer-based operator support systems in control room upgrades and new control room designs for nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berg, O [Institutt for Energiteknikk, OECD Halden Reactor Project (Netherlands)

    1997-07-01

    At the Halden Project efforts are made to explore the possibilities through design, development and validation of Computer-based Operator Support Systems (COSSes) which can assist the operators in different operational situations, ranging from normal operation to disturbance and accident conditions. The programme comprises four main activities: 1) verification and validation of safety critical software systems; 2) man-machine interaction research emphasizing improvements in man-machine interfaces on the basis of human factors studies; 3) computerized operator support systems assisting the operator in fault detection/diagnosis and planning of control actions; and 4) control room development providing a basis for retrofitting of existing control rooms and for the design of advanced concepts. The paper presents the status of this development programme, including descriptions of specific operator support functions implemented in the simulator-based, experimental control room at Halden (HAMMLAB, HAlden Man-Machine LABoratory). These operator aids comprise advanced alarms systems, diagnostic support functions, electronic procedures, critical safety functions surveillance and accident management support systems. The different operator support systems development at the Halden Project are tested and evaluated in HAMMLAB with operators from the Halden Reactor, and occasionally from commercial NPPs, as test subjects. These evaluations provide data on the merits of different operator support systems in an advanced control room setting, as well as on how such systems should be integrated to enhance operator performance. The paper discusses these aspects and the role of computerized operator support systems in plant operation based on the experience from this work at the Halden Project. 15 refs, 5 figs.

  15. Improving 900 MW(e) PWR control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bouat, M.; Marcille, R.

    1983-01-01

    Analyses of the behaviour of operators during operating tests on PWR units and the lessons learned from the TMI-2 accident have demonstrated the need to improve the interface between operators and the facilities they control. To that end, and to complement its establishment of safety panels, Electricite de France (EDF) embarked upon a study on the ''Modification of Control Desks and Boards'' in control rooms. This study, involving twenty-eight 900 MW(e) units, almost all of which are currently in service, began with an ergonomic analysis of control rooms by an external consultant, the ADERSA GERBIOS Association. This analysis was based on interviews with simulator instructors and operators, a study of the operation of the unit, and a general review of previous studies. The analysis began in October 1980 and resulted, in April 1981, in a critical report and a proposal to create a full-scale mock-up of a 900 MW(e) control room. Improvements to this were subsequently proposed, enabling options to be made between, among other things, active overall control panels and function-by-function control panels. Finally, a number of general principles, which largely encompass the operators' suggestions, were defined. The alterations to be made will make it necessary to revamp the control panels completely. The work and tests involved should match the duration of refuelling shut-downs. Audio-visual training programmes are planned (portable model). (author)

  16. Guidelines for control room design reviews

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-09-01

    The control room design review is part of a broad program being undertaken by the nuclear industry and the government to ensure consideration of human factors in nuclear power plant design and operation. The purpose of the control room design review described by these guidelines is to (1) review and evaluate the control room workspace, instrumentation, controls, and other equipment from a human factors engineering point of view that takes into account both system demands and operator capabilities; and (2) to identify, assess, and implement control room design modifications that correct inadequate or unsuitable items. The scope of the control room design review described by these guidelines covers the human engineering review of completed control rooms; i.e., operational control rooms or those at that stage of the licensing process where control room design and equipment selection are committed. These guidelines should also be of use during the design process for new control rooms. However, additional analyses to optimize the allocation of functions to man and machine, and further examination of advanced control system technology, are recommended for new control rooms. Guidelines and references for comprehensive system analyses designed to incorporate human factors considerations into the design and development of new control rooms are presented in Appendix B. Where possible, a generic approach to the control room design review process is encouraged; for example, when control room designs are replicated wholly or in part in two or more units. Even when designs are not replicated exactly, generic reviews which can be modified to account for specific differences in particular control rooms should be considered. Industry organizations and owners groups are encouraged to coordinate joint efforts and share data to develop generic approaches to the design review process. The control room design review should accomplish the following specific objectives. To determine

  17. Human-factors engineering-control-room design review: Shoreham Nuclear Power Station. Draft audit report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterson, L.R.; Preston-Smith, J.; Savage, J.W.; Rousseau, W.F.

    1981-01-01

    A human factors engineering preliminary design review of the Shoreham control room was performed at the site on March 30 through April 3, 1981. This design review was carried out by a team from the Human Factors Engineering Branch, Division of Human Factors Safety. This report was prepared on the basis of the HFEB's review of the applicant's Preliminary Design Assessment and the human factors engineering design review/audit performed at the site. The presented sections are numbered to conform to the guidelines of the draft version of NUREG-0700. They summarize the teams's observations of the control room design and layout, and of the control room operators' interface with the control room environment

  18. Seismic simulation and functional performance evaluation of a safety related, seismic category I control room emergency air cleaning system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manley, D.K.; Porco, R.D.; Choi, S.H.

    1985-01-01

    Under a nuclear contract MSA was required to design, manufacture, seismically test and functionally test a complete Safety Related, Seismic Category I, Control Room Emergency Air Cleaning System before shipment to the Yankee Atomic Electric Company, Yankee Nuclear Station in Rowe, Massachusetts. The installation of this system was required to satisfy the NRC requirements of NUREG-0737, Section III, D.3.4, ''Control Room Habitability''. The filter system tested was approximately 3 ft. wide by 8 ft. high by 18 ft. long and weighed an estimated 8300 pounds. It had a design flow rate of 3000 SCFM and contained four stages of filtration - prefilters, upstream and downstream HEPA filters and Type II sideload charcoal adsorber cells. The filter train design followed the guidelines set forth by ANSI/ASME N509-1980. Seismic Category I Qualification Testing consisted of resonance search testing and triaxial random multifrequency testing. In addition to ANSI/ASME N510-1980 testing, triaxial response accelerometers were placed at specific locations on designated prefilters, HEPA filters, charcoal adsorbers and test canisters along with accelerometers at the corresponding filter seal face locations. The purpose of this test was to demonstrate the integrity of the filters, filter seals, and monitor seismic response levels which is directly related to the system's ability to function during a seismic occurrence. The Control Room Emergency Air Cleaning System demonstrated the ability to withstand the maximum postulated earthquake for the plant site by remaining structurally sound and functional

  19. GUIDANCE FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CONTROL ROOM AND HUMAN-SYSTEM INTERFACE MODERNIZATION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naser, J.; Morris, G.

    2004-01-01

    Several nuclear power plants in the United States are starting instrumentation and control (I and C) modernization programs using digital equipment to address obsolescence issues and the need to improve plant performance while maintaining high levels of safety. As an integral part of the I and C modernization program at a nuclear power plant, the control room and other human-system interfaces (HSIs) are also being modernized. To support safe and effective operation, it is critical to plan, design, implement, train for, operate, and maintain the control room and HSI changes to take advantage of human cognitive processing abilities. A project, jointly funded by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the United States Department of Energy (DOE) under the Nuclear Energy Plant Optimization (NEPO) Program, is developing guidance for specifying and designing control rooms, remote shut-down panels, HSIs etc. The guidance is intended for application by utilities and suppliers of control room and HSI modernization. The guidance will facilitate specification, design, implementation, operations, maintenance, training, and licensing activities. This guidance will be used to reduce the likelihood of human errors and licensing risk, to gain maximum benefit of implemented technology, and to increase performance. The guidance is of five types. The first is planning guidance to help a utility develop its plant-specific control room operating concepts, its plant-specific endpoint vision for the control room, its migration path to achieve that endpoint vision, and its regulatory, licensing, and human factors program plans. The second is process guidance for general HSI design and integration, human factors engineering analyses, verification and validation, in-service monitoring processes, etc. The third is detailed human factors engineering guidance for control room and HSI technical areas. The fourth is guidance for licensing. The fifth is guidance for special topics

  20. Recommendations to Improve the Implementation Compliance of Surgical Safety Checklist in Surgery Rooms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Sandrawati

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: Surgical Safety Checklist has been adopted in surgery room as a tool to improve safe surgery. Its implementation during 2012 was low (33.9% so was the completeness of filling it (57.3%. Objective: To increase the implementation of Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC through analyzing the effect of policy, procedures, patient safety culture, and individual factors on compliance SSC implementation in the surgery room. Methods: Cross-sectional study with descriptive observational approach was done to find influencing factors of health care personnels’ compliance to fill SSC. Sample consisted of all surgery room nurses (45 nurses, 10 surgeons and 4 anesthesists. Data collection was made use of questionnaires, surgical medical records and SSC form. Results:The compliance to fill SSC in April 2013 was still low (55.9%. Written policy on patient safety was absent and awareness of respondents about the procedure was low. Respondents’ assessment showed that patient safety culture in surgery room was good, except management and stress recognition dimensions. Likewise, the respondents’ knowledge about SSC was low (61.0%. Conclusion: The study conclude that influencing factors of compliance implementation SSC is absence of the written policy in patient safety, lack of socialization of Standar Prosedur Operasional to health care personnels, lack of knowledge about SSC, lack awareness about the importance of SSC, shortage of surgery room nurses, and innappropriate perception about filling SSC as workload. Recomendation:The study will be making of written policy in patient safety and SSC, followed by socialization to health care personnels, training about SSC implementation, empowering and advocating surgery room nurses and use of reminders.

  1. Hybrid control rooms: the effects of introducing new technology into existing control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morisseau, Dolores S.

    2001-02-01

    The goal of this part of the Hybrid Control Room Project is to gain a perspective on the issues and problems that are an integral part of introducing new technology, automated systems, or support systems into nuclear power plant (NPP) control rooms, particularly when they are introduced on a system-by-system basis. For purposes of this project, hybrid control rooms are defined as those into which new technology, such as digital and computer-based controls are gradually incorporated as opposed to those that are completely, or nearly completely, refitted with new technology. Although the focus of this project is the introduction of computer based, digital systems into NPP control rooms, it is not possible to exclude the effects throughout the process that are inevitable when new technology is introduced anywhere in complex process control systems. Thus, this document examines the effects of such changes within the context of the organisation in which they occur, including the management of change, work procedures and work methods, communications and crew interaction, training, and the interdependent functions in the operational context. (Author)

  2. Control room habitability during severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siu, R.P.

    1989-01-01

    The requirements for protection of control room personnel against radiation hazards are specified in 10CFR50, Appendix A, GDC 19. The conventional approach involves a mechanistic evaluation of the radiation doses to control room personnel during design-basis accidents. In this study, an assessment of control room habitability during severe accidents is conducted. The potential levels of radiation hazards to control room personnel are evaluated in terms of both magnitude and probability of occurrence. The expected values for the probabilities of exceeding GDC-19 limits and the cumulative probability distributions of control room doses are determined. In this study, a pressurized water reactor with a large dry containment has been selected for analysis. The types of control rooms evaluated in this study include designs with: (a) filtered local intakes only, (b) filtered recirculation only, (c) filtered local intakes and recirculation, and (d) filtered dual remote intakes and recirculation. From the observations, it is concluded that, except for control room D, all other control room designs may require improvements in order to provide adequate radiation protection during severe accidents, particularly in terms of reducing whole-body gamma doses and skin doses. Potential design improvements include reduction of intake flows for concepts relying on pressurization, reduction in overall leakages, and control room pressurization through the use of bottled air supply

  3. Modern control room for AHWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verghese, Clement C.; Joseph, Jose; Biswas, B.B.; Patil, R.K.

    2005-01-01

    Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) is a next generation nuclear power plant being developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. A modern control room has been conceived for operation and monitoring of the plant in tune with the advanced features of the reactor. A state of the art C and I architecture based on extensive use of computers and networking has been conceived for this plant. This architecture enables the implementation of a fully computerised operator friendly control room with soft HMIs. Features of the modern control room and control room and concept of soft HMI based operator interfaces have been described in the paper. (author)

  4. Leadership in the control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McDougall, S.J.

    2006-01-01

    This paper discusses the importance of leadership within the control rooms at nuclear power facilities. the leadership capability of control room staff has a significant influence over the improvement of human performance and the development of an 'event free' culture within the business. The development of leadership competency in the control room must be an important part of any nuclear power utility business improvement plan. (author)

  5. NRC Information No. 89-44: Hydrogen storage on the roof of the control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rossi, C.E.

    1992-01-01

    During the Region V Chemistry Team Inspection at the Trojan Nuclear Plant the week of April 17, 1989, the inspectors identified a potential safety problem concerning the location of the hydrogen storage facility. Hydrogen is used on pressurized water reactor (PWR) plants for (1) providing a cover gas in the volume control tank, and (2) for cooling the main turbine generator. At boiling water reactor (BWR) plants, hydrogen is also used for cooling the main turbine generator and for injection into the feed system for plants which have implemented hydrogen water chemistry. The Trojan hydrogen storage facility is located on the control room roof which is 30-inch-thick reinforced concrete. The Trojan plant hydrogen facility does not meet guidelines from the standpoint of (1) the separation distance needed between a hydrogen pipe break and the control room ventilation intake to prevent buildup of a flammable or explosive gas mixture inside the control room, and (2) the separation distance needed to prevent damage to safety-related structures resulting from the explosion of an 8,000-scf hydrogen tank

  6. Concept of Advanced Back-up Control Panel Design of Digital Main Control Room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, Guo Jin; Sun, Yong Bin; Tan, Ke; Zhang, Li Ming; Shi, Ji; Zhang, Xue Gang; Huang, Wei Jun; Mao, Ting; Liu Yanzi

    2011-01-01

    Back-up control panel (BCP) of digital main control room (DMCR) is the backup means for main computerized control means (MCM). This paper focus on technical issues for advanced design of Backup Panel (BCP) for CPR1000 using qualified computer-based video display unit to display plant process indication and alarms. HFE issues also have been considered in the BCP design. Then, mean to fulfill safety target of NPP, best ergonomic effect has been described. At last conclusion on advanced BCP design is provided

  7. Concept of Advanced Back-up Control Panel Design of Digital Main Control Room

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Guo Jin; Sun, Yong Bin; Tan, Ke; Zhang, Li Ming; Shi, Ji; Zhang, Xue Gang; Huang, Wei Jun; Mao, Ting; Liu Yanzi [China Nuclear Power Engineering Company, Shenzen (China)

    2011-08-15

    Back-up control panel (BCP) of digital main control room (DMCR) is the backup means for main computerized control means (MCM). This paper focus on technical issues for advanced design of Backup Panel (BCP) for CPR1000 using qualified computer-based video display unit to display plant process indication and alarms. HFE issues also have been considered in the BCP design. Then, mean to fulfill safety target of NPP, best ergonomic effect has been described. At last conclusion on advanced BCP design is provided.

  8. Requirements for Control Room Computer-Based Procedures for use in Hybrid Control Rooms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Le Blanc, Katya Lee [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Oxstrand, Johanna Helene [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Joe, Jeffrey Clark [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2015-05-01

    Many plants in the U.S. are currently undergoing control room modernization. The main drivers for modernization are the aging and obsolescence of existing equipment, which typically results in a like-for-like replacement of analogue equipment with digital systems. However, the modernization efforts present an opportunity to employ advanced technology that would not only extend the life, but enhance the efficiency and cost competitiveness of nuclear power. Computer-based procedures (CBPs) are one example of near-term advanced technology that may provide enhanced efficiencies above and beyond like for like replacements of analog systems. Researchers in the LWRS program are investigating the benefits of advanced technologies such as CBPs, with the goal of assisting utilities in decision making during modernization projects. This report will describe the existing research on CBPs, discuss the unique issues related to using CBPs in hybrid control rooms (i.e., partially modernized analog control rooms), and define the requirements of CBPs for hybrid control rooms.

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seminara, J.L.; Parsons, S.O.

    1980-01-01

    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

  10. Leadership in the control room

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDougall, S.J. [Bruce Power, Bruce B Operations Div., Tiverton, Ontario (Canada)

    2006-07-01

    This paper discusses the importance of leadership within the control rooms at nuclear power facilities. the leadership capability of control room staff has a significant influence over the improvement of human performance and the development of an 'event free' culture within the business. The development of leadership competency in the control room must be an important part of any nuclear power utility business improvement plan. (author)

  11. Concept and design of a fully computerized control room for future nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hinz, W.; Kollmannsberger, J.

    1991-01-01

    The development of digital process control equipment and of safety engineering equipment together with the CRT - based information visualization systems is advanced to a state allowing process control of nuclear power plant to be done by these equipments. The systems have been tested in the control room of the fossil-fuel Staudinger reactor station, unit 5, and the computer-assisted PRISCA process information system has been tested in the Konvoi-type nuclear reactor series. These tests serve as a basis for further process control system development by Siemens KWU, to be used in their future nuclear power plants. The advantages of digital process control and CRT-based information display are intended to be used for further optimization of the man-machine interface in nuclear power plant. One important aspect is to give the control room personnel complete insight into the operational processes of the entire plant, and to establish for detail recognition for process monitoring a very close mental link between operators and the system processes. In addition, the control room operator has to be given appropriate means and tools for process monitoring and control, fulfilling the requirements of guaranteeing the plant's availability and safety. These requirements put very high demands on the process monitoring and control equipment. (orig.) [de

  12. Design of control rooms and ergonomics in power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herbst, L.; Hinz, W.

    1981-01-01

    Modern power plant control rooms are characterized by automation of protection and control functions, subdivision according to functions, computer-aided information processing, and ergonomic design. Automation relieves the personnel of stress. Subdivision according to functions permits optimized procedures. Computer-aided information processing results in variable information output tailored to the actual needs. Ergonomic design assures qualified man-machine interaction. Of course, these characteristics will vary between power plants in dependence of unit power, mode of operation, and safety and availability requirements. (orig.) [de

  13. Nuclear power plant control room task analysis. Pilot study for pressurized water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barks, D.B.; Kozinsky, E.J.; Eckel, S.

    1982-05-01

    The purposes of this nuclear plant task analysis pilot study: to demonstrate the use of task analysis techniques on selected abnormal or emergency operation events in a nuclear power plant; to evaluate the use of simulator data obtained from an automated Performance Measurement System to supplement and validate data obtained by traditional task analysis methods; and to demonstrate sample applications of task analysis data to address questions pertinent to nuclear power plant operational safety: control room layout, staffing and training requirements, operating procedures, interpersonal communications, and job performance aids. Five data sources were investigated to provide information for a task analysis. These sources were (1) written operating procedures (event-based); (2) interviews with subject matter experts (the control room operators); (3) videotapes of the control room operators (senior reactor operators and reactor operators) while responding to each event in a simulator; (4) walk-/talk-throughs conducted by control room operators for each event; and (5) simulator data from the PMS

  14. BEYOND INTEGRATED SYSTEM VALIDATION: USE OF A CONTROL ROOM TRAINING SIMULATOR FOR PROOF-OF-CONCEPT INTERFACE DEVELOPMENT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ronald Boring; Vivek Agarwal

    2012-07-01

    This paper provides background on a reconfigurable control room simulator for nuclear power plants. The main control rooms in current nuclear power plants feature analog technology that is growing obsolete. The need to upgrade control rooms serves the practical need of maintainability as well as the opportunity to implement newer digital technologies with added functionality. There currently exists no dedicated research simulator for use in human factors design and evaluation activities for nuclear power plants in the US. The new research simulator discussed in this paper provides a test bed in which operator performance on new control room concepts can be benchmarked against existing control rooms and in which new technologies can be validated for safety and usability prior to deployment.

  15. Use of control room simulators for training of nuclear power plant personnel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-09-01

    Safety analysis and operational experience consistently indicate that human error is the greatest contributor to the risk of a severe accident in a nuclear power plant. Subsequent to the Three Mile Island accident, major changes were made internationally in reducing the potential for human error through improved procedures, information presentation, and training of operators. The use of full scope simulators in the training of operators is an essential element of these efforts to reduce human error. The operators today spend a large fraction of their time training and retraining on the simulator. As indicated in the IAEA Safety Guide on Recruitment, Qualification and Training of Personnel for Nuclear Power Plants, NS-G-2.8, 2002, representative simulator facilities should be used for training of control room operators and shift supervisors. Simulator training should incorporate normal, abnormal and accident conditions. The ability of the simulator to closely represent the actual conditions and environment that would be experienced in a real situation is critical to the value of the training received. The objective of this report is to provide nuclear power plant (NPP) managers, training centre managers and personnel involved with control room simulator training with practical information they can use to improve the performance of their personnel. While the emphasis in this publication is on simulator training of control room personnel using full scope simulators, information is also provided on how organizations have effectively used control room simulators for training of other NPP personnel, including simulators other than full-scope simulators

  16. HYBRID ALARM SYSTEMS: COMBINING SPATIAL ALARMS AND ALARM LISTS FOR OPTIMIZED CONTROL ROOM OPERATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ronald L. Boring; J.J. Persensky

    2012-07-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE) is sponsoring research, development, and deployment on Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS), in which the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is working closely with nuclear utilities to develop technologies and solutions to help ensure the safe operational life extension of current nuclear power plants. One of the main areas of focus is control room modernization. Within control room modernization, alarm system upgrades present opportunities to meet the broader goals of the LWRS project in demonstrating the use and safety of the advanced instrumentation and control (I&C) technologies and the short-term and longer term objectives of the plant. In this paper, we review approaches for and human factors issues behind upgrading alarms in the main control room of nuclear power plants.

  17. Advanced control room evaluation: General approach and rationale

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Hara, J.M.; Wachtel, J.

    1991-01-01

    Advanced control rooms (ACRs) for future nuclear power plants (NPPs) are being designed utilizing computer-based technologies. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission reviews the human engineering aspects of such control rooms to ensure that they are designed to good human factors engineering principles and that operator performance and reliability are appropriately supported in order to protect public health and safety. This paper describes the rationale and general approach to the development of a human factors review guideline for ACRs. The factors influencing the guideline development are discussed, including the review environment, the types of advanced technologies being addressed, the human factors issues associated with advanced technology, and the current state-of-the-art of human factors guidelines for advanced human-system interfaces (HSIs). The proposed approach to ACR review would track the design and implementation process through the application of review guidelines reflecting four review modules: planning, design process analysis, human factors engineering review, and dynamic performance evaluation. 21 refs

  18. In the LEAR control room

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN PhotoLab

    1983-01-01

    View into the control room of the Low Energy Antiproton Ring (LEAR). Edgar Asseo (sitting) and Dieter Möhl and Georges Carron reflecting upon some beam dynamics (or hardware?) problem. Vassilis Agoritsas, in the background, leaning over a plan or a keyboard. LEAR in its early years (1982 to about 1990) was run from this local control room in building 363 close to the end of the PS South Hall, where the ring was installed. Later-on the operation was surveyed from the PS main control room.

  19. Controlling the clean room atmosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meeks, R.F.

    1979-01-01

    Several types of clean rooms are commonly in use. They include the conventional clean room, the horizontal laminar flow clean room, the vertical laminar flow clean room and a fourth type that incorporates ideas from the previous types and is known as a clean air bench or hood. These clean rooms are briefly described. The origin of contamination and methods for controlling the contamination are discussed

  20. Ergonomics in the licensing and evaluation of nuclear reactors control room; A ergonomia no licenciamento e na avaliacao de salas de controle de reatores nucleares

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos, Isaac Jose Antonio Luquetti dos [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Vidal, Mario Cesar Rodriguez [Universidade Federal, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao de Engenharia. Programa de Engenharia de Producao

    2002-07-01

    A nuclear control room is a complex system that controls a thermodynamic process used to produce electrical energy. The operators interact with the control room through interfaces that have significant implications to nuclear plant safety and influence the operator activity. The TMI (Three Mile Island) accident demonstrated that only the anthropometric aspects were not enough for an adequate nuclear control room design. The studies showed that the accident was aggravated because the designers had not considered adequately human factor aspects. After TMI accident, the designers introduce in the nuclear control room development only human factors standards and human factors guidelines. The ergonomics approaches was not considered. Our objective is introduce in nuclear control room design and nuclear control room evaluation, a methodology that. includes human factors standards, human factors guidelines and ergonomic approaches, the operator activity analysis. (author)

  1. Control room and ergonomic design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hinz, W.

    1984-01-01

    The important basis for the configuration of the control room of a nuclear power station is the concept for controlling a fault and that for controlling normal operation. The tasks resulting from this for the control room personnel are decided by the control room concept. In this configuration process (from the division of process control tasks between the system components operators and control technology to the configuration of individual means of operation) the characteristics and capabilities of the personnel, which are subject to special requirements as regards their qualifications, are observed. New concepts which are only now technically feasible are therefore being developed for information processing and display, in order to give the personnel a better oversight of the state and trends of the plant. (orig./DG) [de

  2. Ergonomics influence on control room layout

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartfiel, H.D.

    1984-01-01

    Nowadays, human factors has become an important aspect of the design of work places. Since the control room in a nuclear power plant is a work place, too, its layout is also influenced by ergonomics. With the KWU control room concept for the 1300 MW PWR as an example, we show how assured and applicable ergonomic findings enter into the control room design. On the basis of general design principles for work places, specific methods for control room planning have been developed. By working with these methods a concept that makes it possible to build a man-machine interface able to fulfill the process control tasks with all their underlying conditions has been derived. (author)

  3. A control room lighting study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vaidya, V.V.; Iwasa-Madge, K.M.; Howard, B.; Willson, R.B.

    1984-01-01

    Operators at a Heavy Water Plant in Ontario, Canada complained about lighting-related difficulties in the control room. The Human Factors Engineering Unit was requested to perform a lighting survey and make recommendations to improve the control centre lighting conditions. This paper describes the control room, the operator tasks, the procedures used for the lighting survey, the findings, and the changes recommended

  4. Integration of analog and digital instrumentation and control systems in hybrid control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-01-01

    he IAEA's activities in the area of nuclear power plant operating performance and life cycle management are aimed at increasing Member State capabilities in utilizing good engineering and management practices as developed and transferred by the IAEA. In particular, the IAEA supports the improvement of nuclear power plant performance, plant life management, training, power uprating, operational license renewal, and the modernization of instrumentation and control (I and C) systems of plants. The issue of the integration of analog and digital I and C systems in hybrid control rooms was suggested by the IAEA Technical Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation (TWG-NPPCI) at its meetings in 2003 and 2005. The subject was then approved by the IAEA and included in its work programmes for 2006-2009. The purpose of this report is to help nuclear utilities in planning control room and other human system interface (HSI) changes, making appropriate use of modern technologies. These technologies would aid in managing ageing and obsolescence, and facilitate improvements in plant performance and safety. This report covers a broad spectrum of potential changes to the control room ranging from the replacement of a few obsolete components with newer digital devices to a fully computerized control room. New digital technologies offer significant opportunities to improve access to and presentation of information to the user, e.g. operators, maintenance staff and management. However, this technology should be used prudently. In some cases, modernization is undertaken to resolve ageing and obsolescence or to meet regulatory requirements for license renewal. The integration of new technologies during main control room (MCR) modernizations should be performed cautiously and all affected aspects of plant maintenance, and operation should be carefully considered, paying particular attention to the human factors elements of these aspects. This report describes a

  5. Nuclear power plant control room operators' performance research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gray, L.H.; Haas, P.M.

    1984-01-01

    A research program is being conducted to provide information on the performance of nuclear power plant control room operators when responding to abnormal/emergency events in the plants and in full-scope training simulators. The initial impetus for this program was the need for data to assess proposed design criteria for the choice of manual versus automatic action for accomplishing safety-related functions during design basis accidents. The program also included studies of training simulator capabilities, of procedures and data for specifying and verifying simulator performance, and of methods and applications of task analysis

  6. A remote control room at DIII-D

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abla, G.; Schissel, D.P.; Penaflor, B.G.; Wallace, G.

    2008-01-01

    This paper describes a remote control room built at DIII-D to support remote participation activities of DIII-D research staff. In order to create a persistent, efficient, and reliable remote participation environment for DIII-D scientists, a remote control room has been built in a 640-ft 2 dedicated area. The purpose of this room is to experiment and define a remote control room framework that can facilitate the remote participation needs of current and future fusion experiments such as ITER. A variety of hardware equipment has been installed and several remote participation and collaboration technologies have been deployed. Objectivity and practical consideration has been the key while designing the room and deploying the technologies. Although, the DIII-D remote control room is still a work in progress and new software tools are being implemented, it has been already useful for a number of international remote participation activities. For example, it has been used for remote support of the EAST Tokamak in China during the start up operation and proven effective for other collaborative experiment activities. The description of the remote control room design is given along with technologies deployed for remote collaboration needs. We will also discuss our recent experiences involving the DIII-D remote control room as well as future plans for improvements

  7. PS Control Room

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN PhotoLab

    1963-01-01

    The good old PS Control Room, all manual. For each parameter, a knob or a button to control it; for each, a light or meter or oscilloscope to monitor it; carefully written pages serve as the data bank; phones and intercom for communication. D.Dekkers is at the microphone, M.Valvini sits in front.

  8. Control room design and human engineering in power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herbst, L.; Hinz, W.

    1981-01-01

    Automation reduces the human work load. Employment of functional areas permits optimization of operational sequences. Computer based information processing makes it possible to output information in accordance with operating requirements. Design based on human engineering principles assures the quality of the interaction between the operator and the equipment. The degree to which these conceptional features play a role in design of power plant control rooms depends on the unit rating, the mode of operation and on the requirements respecting safety and availability of the plant. (orig./RW)

  9. Human factors design of nuclear power plant control rooms including computer-based operator aids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bastl, W.; Felkel, L.; Becker, G.; Bohr, E.

    1983-01-01

    The scientific handling of human factors problems in control rooms began around 1970 on the basis of safety considerations. Some recent research work deals with the development of computerized systems like plant balance calculation, safety parameter display, alarm reduction and disturbance analysis. For disturbance analysis purposes it is necessary to homogenize the information presented to the operator according to the actual plant situation in order to supply the operator with the information he most urgently needs at the time. Different approaches for solving this problem are discussed, and an overview is given on what is being done. Other research projects concentrate on the detailed analysis of operators' diagnosis strategies in unexpected situations, in order to obtain a better understanding of their mental processes and the influences upon them when such situations occur. This project involves the use of a simulator and sophisticated recording and analysis methods. Control rooms are currently designed with the aid of mock-ups. They enable operators to contribute their experience to the optimization of the arrangement of displays and controls. Modern control rooms are characterized by increasing use of process computers and CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) displays. A general concept for the integration of the new computerized system and the conventional control panels is needed. The technical changes modify operators' tasks, and future ergonomic work in nuclear plants will need to consider the re-allocation of function between man and machine, the incorporation of task changes in training programmes, and the optimal design of information presentation using CRTs. Aspects of developments in control room design are detailed, typical research results are dealt with, and a brief forecast of the ergonomic contribution to be made in the Federal Republic of Germany is given

  10. Nuclear reactor control room construction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lamuro, R.C.; Orr, R.

    1993-01-01

    A control room for a nuclear plant is disclosed. In the control room, objects labelled 12, 20, 22, 26, 30 in the drawing are no less than four inches from walls labelled 10.2. A ceiling contains cooling fins that extend downwards toward the floor from metal plates. A concrete slab is poured over the plates. Studs are welded to the plates and are encased in the concrete. 6 figures

  11. An expert display system and nuclear power plant control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beltracchi, L.

    1988-01-01

    An expert display system controls automatically the display of segments on a cathode ray tube's screen to form an image of plant operations. The image consists of an icon of: 1) the process (heat engine cycle), 2) plant control systems, and 3) safety systems. A set of data-driven, forward-chaining computer stored rules control the display of segments. As plant operation changes, measured plant data are processed through the rules, and the results control the deletion and addition of segments to the display format. The icon contains information needed by control rooms operators to monitor plant operations. One example of an expert display is illustrated for the operator's task of monitoring leakage from a safety valve in a steam line of a boiling water reactor (BWR). In another example, the use of an expert display to monitor plant operations during pre-trip, trip, and post-trip operations is discussed as a universal display. The viewpoints and opinions expressed herein are the author's personal ones, and they are not to be interpreted as Nuclear Regulatory Commission criteria, requirements, or guidelines

  12. Performance-based evaluation of graphic displays for nuclear-power-plant control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petersen, R.J.; Banks, W.W.; Gertman, D.I.

    1982-01-01

    This paper reports several methodologies for evaluating the perceptual and perceptual/decision making aspects of displays used in the control rooms of nuclear power plants. This NRC funded study focuses upon the Safety Parameter Display System (SPDS) and relates the utility of the display to objective performance and preference measures obtained in experimental conditions. The first condition is a traditional laboratory setting where classical experimental methodologies can be employed. The second condition is an interactive control room simulation where the operator's performance is assessed while he/she operates the simulator. The third condition is a rating scale designed to assess operator preferences and opinions regarding a variety of display formats. The goal of this study is the development of a cost-efficient display evaluation methodology which correlates highly with the operator's ability to control a plant

  13. Control room habitability in Spanish Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mediavilla, F.; Sierra, J. J.

    2007-01-01

    Since the NRC published in 2003 the Generic Letter 2003-01 Control room Habitability and the Regulatory guide 1.197 Demonstrating Control Room Envelope Integrity at Nuclear Power Reactors, where it is emphasized the importance of verifying the control room habitability by means of alternative methods, Spanish Nuclear Power Plants are undertaking the different necessary activities to fulfill the requirements of the regulatory commission. This paper describes the main mechanisms included in NEI 99-03 Nuclear Energy Institute publication Control room Habitability Assessment guidance, to demonstrate and maintain Control room Habitability. In addition, in this article it Ds shown the theoretical principle of the test used to quantify air in-leakage in a control room envelope by using tracer gas techniques. The necessary activities to perform the initial in leakage testing are also put forward. Since 2006 Tecnatom, S. A. has performed the baseline testing in four Spanish Units, all of them with successful results. The rest of the Plants are scheduled to perform the tests during the second half of this year. Finally, this document summarises the more important aspects to be taken into account in the development of control room Habitability Programs, which are expected to ensure the integral maintenance of the Control room Envelope during the life a plant. (Author)

  14. Control room human engineering influences on operator performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finlayson, F.C.

    1977-01-01

    Three general groups of factors influence operator performance in fulfilling their responsibilities in the control room: (1) control room and control system design, informational data displays (operator inputs) as well as control board design (for operator output); (2) operator characteristics, including those skills, mental, physical, and emotional qualities which are functions of operator selection, training, and motivation; (3) job performance guides, the prescribed operating procedures for normal and emergency operations. This paper presents some of the major results of an evaluation of the effect of human engineering on operator performance in the control room. Primary attention is given to discussion of control room and control system design influence on the operator. Brief observations on the influences of operator characteristics and job performance guides (operating procedures) on performance in the control room are also given. Under the objectives of the study, special emphasis was placed on the evaluation of the control room-operator relationships for severe emergency conditions in the power plant. Consequently, this presentation is restricted largely to material related to emergency conditions in the control room, though it is recognized that human engineering of control systems is of equal (or greater) importance for many other aspects of plant operation

  15. One size fits all? Mixed methods evaluation of the impact of 100% single-room accommodation on staff and patient experience, safety and costs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maben, Jill; Penfold, Clarissa; Simon, Michael; Anderson, Janet E; Robert, Glenn; Pizzo, Elena; Hughes, Jane; Murrells, Trevor; Barlow, James

    2016-01-01

    Background and objectives There is little strong evidence relating to the impact of single-room accommodation on healthcare quality and safety. We explore the impact of all single rooms on staff and patient experience; safety outcomes; and costs. Methods Mixed methods pre/post ‘move’ comparison within four nested case study wards in a single acute hospital with 100% single rooms; quasi-experimental before-and-after study with two control hospitals; analysis of capital and operational costs associated with single rooms. Results Two-thirds of patients expressed a preference for single rooms with comfort and control outweighing any disadvantages (sense of isolation) felt by some. Patients appreciated privacy, confidentiality and flexibility for visitors afforded by single rooms. Staff perceived improvements (patient comfort and confidentiality), but single rooms were worse for visibility, surveillance, teamwork, monitoring and keeping patients safe. Staff walking distances increased significantly post move. A temporary increase of falls and medication errors in one ward was likely to be associated with the need to adjust work patterns rather than associated with single rooms per se. We found no evidence that single rooms reduced infection rates. Building an all single-room hospital can cost 5% more with higher housekeeping and cleaning costs but the difference is marginal over time. Conclusions Staff needed to adapt their working practices significantly and felt unprepared for new ways of working with potentially significant implications for the nature of teamwork in the longer term. Staff preference remained for a mix of single rooms and bays. Patients preferred single rooms. PMID:26408568

  16. Biased Decision Making in Realistic Extra-Procedural Nuclear Control Room Scenarios

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Emil; Kozin, Igor; Maier, Anja

    In normal operations and emergency situations, operators of nuclear control rooms rely on procedures to guide their decision making. However, in emergency situations, where several interacting problems can cause unpredictable adverse effects, these procedures may be insufficient in guiding...... improve safety by creating procedures that bear the risks of these biases in mind, or by specifically aiming to debias the users. Avenues for debiasing through design are discussed....

  17. Safety status system for operating room devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guédon, Annetje C P; Wauben, Linda S G L; Overvelde, Marlies; Blok, Joleen H; van der Elst, Maarten; Dankelman, Jenny; van den Dobbelsteen, John J

    2014-01-01

    Since the increase of the number of technological aids in the operating room (OR), equipment-related incidents have come to be a common kind of adverse events. This underlines the importance of adequate equipment management to improve the safety in the OR. A system was developed to monitor the safety status (periodic maintenance and registered malfunctions) of OR devices and to facilitate the notification of malfunctions. The objective was to assess whether the system is suitable for use in an busy OR setting and to analyse its effect on the notification of malfunctions. The system checks automatically the safety status of OR devices through constant communication with the technical facility management system, informs the OR staff real-time and facilitates notification of malfunctions. The system was tested for a pilot period of six months in four ORs of a Dutch teaching hospital and 17 users were interviewed on the usability of the system. The users provided positive feedback on the usability. For 86.6% of total time, the localisation of OR devices was accurate. 62 malfunctions of OR devices were reported, an increase of 12 notifications compared to the previous year. The safety status system was suitable for an OR complex, both from a usability and technical point of view, and an increase of reported malfunctions was observed. The system eases monitoring the safety status of equipment and is a promising tool to improve the safety related to OR devices.

  18. Application of process computers and colour CRT displays in the plant control room of a BWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Itoh, M.; Hayakawa, H.; Kawahara, H.; Neda, T.; Wakabayashi, Y.

    1983-01-01

    The recent application of a CRT display system in an 1100-MW(e) BWR plant control room and the design features of a new control room whose installation is planned for the next generation are discussed. As reactor unit capacity and the need for plant safety and reliability continue to increase, instrumentation and control equipment is growing in number and complexity. In consequence, control and supervision of plant operations require improvement. Thus, because of recent progress in the field of process computers and display equipment (colour CRTs), efficient improvements of the control room are under way in the Japanese BWR plant. In the recently constructed BWR plant (1100 MW(e)), five CRTs on the bench board and two process computers were additionally installed in the control room during the construction stage to improve plant control and supervisory functions by implementing the lessons learned from the Three Mile Island incident. The major functions of the new computers and display systems are to show integrated graphic displays of the plant status, to monitor the standby condition of the safety system, to show the condition of the integrated alarm system, etc. In practice, in the actual plant, this newly installed system performs well. On the basis of the experience gained in these activities, a new computerized control and monitoring system is now being designed for subsequent domestic BWR plants. This advanced system will incorporate not only the functions already mentioned, but also a surveillance guide system and plant automation. For future plants, a diagnostic system and an instructional system that can analyse a disturbance and give operational guidance to the plant operator are being developed in a government-sponsored programme. (author)

  19. New Radiation Protection training room

    CERN Multimedia

    HSE Unit

    2013-01-01

    From now on, the theory and practical components of the Radiation Protection training, developed by the RP Group and offered by the HSE Unit’s Safety Training team to people working in a Controlled Radiation Area, will take place in a dedicated teaching room, designed specifically for this kind of training.   The new room is in the Safety Training Centre on the Prévessin site and has been open since 16 October. It has an adjoining workshop that, like the room itself, can accommodate up to 12 people. It is also equipped with an interactive board as well as instruments and detectors to test for ionising radiation. This room is located near the recently inaugurated LHC tunnel mock-up where practical training exercises can be carried out in conditions almost identical to those in the real tunnel. To consult the safety training catalogue and/or sign up for Radiation Protection training, please go to: https://cta.cern.ch For further information, please contact the Safety Trainin...

  20. Is single room hospital accommodation associated with differences in healthcare-associated infection, falls, pressure ulcers or medication errors? A natural experiment with non-equivalent controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, Michael; Maben, Jill; Murrells, Trevor; Griffiths, Peter

    2016-07-01

    A wide range of patient benefits have been attributed to single room hospital accommodation including a reduction in adverse patient safety events. However, studies have been limited to the US with limited evidence from elsewhere. The aim of this study was to assess the impact on safety outcomes of the move to a newly built all single room acute hospital. A natural experiment investigating the move to 100% single room accommodation in acute assessment, surgical and older people's wards. Move to 100% single room accommodation compared to 'steady state' and 'new build' control hospitals. Falls, pressure ulcer, medication error, meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile rates from routine data sources were measured over 36 months. Five of 15 time series in the wards that moved to single room accommodation revealed changes that coincided with the move to the new all single room hospital: specifically, increased fall, pressure ulcer and Clostridium difficile rates in the older people's ward, and temporary increases in falls and medication errors in the acute assessment unit. However, because the case mix of the older people's ward changed, and because the increase in falls and medication errors on the acute assessment ward did not last longer than six months, no clear effect of single rooms on the safety outcomes was demonstrated. There were no changes to safety events coinciding with the move at the new build control site. For all changes in patient safety events that coincided with the move to single rooms, we found plausible alternative explanations such as case-mix change or disruption as a result of the re-organization of services after the move. The results provide no evidence of either benefit or harm from all single room accommodation in terms of safety-related outcomes, although there may be short-term risks associated with a move to single rooms. © The Author(s) 2016.

  1. HAMMLAB 1999 experimental control room: design - design rationale - experiences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foerdestroemmen, N. T.; Meyer, B. D.; Saarni, R.

    1999-01-01

    A presentation of HAMMLAB 1999 experimental control room, and the accumulated experiences gathered in the areas of design and design rationale as well as user experiences. It is concluded that HAMMLAB 1999 experimental control room is a realistic, compact and efficient control room well suited as an Advanced NPP Control Room (ml)

  2. Control room habitability study - findings and recommendations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Driscoll, J.W.

    1987-01-01

    The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) has raised a number of concerns related to control room habitability and has recommended actions which they believe could alleviate these concerns. As a result of the ACRS's concerns, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) in conjunction with the Offices of Research and Inspection and Enforcement, and the NRC regional offices, embarked upon a program to reevaluate Control Room Habitability. Argonne National Laboratory was contracted by the NRC to perform a Control Room Habitability Study on twelve licensed power reactors. The plants selected for the study were chosen based upon architect engineer, nuclear steam system supplier, utility, and plant location. The major findings of this study are included in this report along with generic recommendations of the review team that apply to control room HVAC systems. Although the study is not complete, at the time of publication of this report, the results obtained to date should be useful to persons responsible for Control Room Habitability in evaluating their own systems

  3. Environmental Health and Safety Hazards Experienced by Home Health Care Providers: A Room-by-Room Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polivka, Barbara J; Wills, Celia E; Darragh, Amy; Lavender, Steven; Sommerich, Carolyn; Stredney, Donald

    2015-11-01

    The number of personnel providing in-home health care services is increasing substantially. The unique configuration of environmental hazards in individual client homes has a significant impact on the safety and health of home health care providers (HHPs). This mixed-methods study used data from a standardized questionnaire, focus groups, and individual interviews to explore environmental health and safety hazards encountered by HHPs in client homes. The participant sample (N = 68) included nurses, aides, therapists, and owners/managers from a variety of geographic locations. The most often-reported hazards were trip/slip/lift hazards, biohazards, and hazards from poor air quality, allergens, pests and rodents, and fire and burns. Frequency of identified key hazards varied by room, that is, kitchen (e.g., throw rugs, water on floor), bathroom (e.g., tight spaces for client handling), bedroom (e.g., bed too low), living room (e.g., animal waste), and hallway (e.g., clutter). Findings indicate the need for broader training to enable HHPs to identify and address hazards they encounter in client homes. © 2015 The Author(s).

  4. Programmable controllers replace relays in MFTF-B personnel-safety interlocks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Branum, J.D.

    1981-01-01

    This paper describes a new approach for implementing personnel safety interlocks logic using industrial-type programmable controllers. The logic for all personnel safety interlocks except those totally internal to a subsystem is implemented in two non-redundant controllers. A high degree of fail-safe reliability is achieved by augmenting the protective features intrinsic to each controller with those provided by a small amount of external support hardware. The controllers are interfaced to the host computer system via fiber optic data links to enable display of interlock and overall system status on the control room graphic displays. When fully implemented, the controllers will perform the equivalent of over 2000 discreet relay functions

  5. Guidelines for control room systems design. Working material. Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    This report contains comprehensive technical and methodological information and recommendations for the benefit of Member States for advice and assistance in ''NPP control room systems'' design backfitting existing nuclear power plants and design for future stations. The term ''Control Room Systems'' refers to the entire human/machine interface for the nuclear stations - including the main control room, back-ups control room and the emergency control rooms, local panels, technical support centres, operating staff, operating procedures, operating training programs, communications, etc. Refs, figs and tabs

  6. Perception of tomorrow's nuclear power plant control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meyer, O.R.

    1986-01-01

    Major development programs are upgrading today's light water reactor nuclear power plant (NPP) control rooms. These programs involve displays, control panel architecture, procedures, staffing, and training, and are supported by analytical efforts to refine the definitions of the dynamics and the functional requirements of NPP operation. These programs demonstrate that the NPP control room is the visible command/control/communications center of the complex man/machine system that operates the plant. These development programs are primarily plant specific, although the owners' groups and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) do provide some standardization. The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory recently completed a project to categorize control room changes and estimate the degree of change. That project, plus related studies, provides the basis for this image of the next generation of NPP control rooms. The next generation of NPP control rooms is envisioned as being dominated by three current trends: (1) application of state-of-the-art computer hardware and software; (2) use of NPP dynamic analyses to provide the basis for the control room man/machine system design; and (3) application of empirical principles of human performance

  7. The influence and evaluation of different virtual reality presentations for the main control room of nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Rouwen; Lin Chiuhsiang Joe; Lin Shiaufeng; Yang Chihwei; Cheng Tsungchieh; Yang Lichen

    2011-01-01

    Certainly, a nuclear power plant (NPP) is a complex system and requires high reliability. Engineering technology plays an important role in NPP that requires complex technical equipment and interfaces in order to achieve public security and working safety. Through training, operators can understand the nuclear power system and further establish the fit between human operators and the system, in order to reduce human errors and to ensure the working safety of the control room of NPP. However, the operator trainings for the control room of NPP are difficult and time-consuming. Virtual control room is thus developed using the virtual reality (VR) technology to help the training process. Presently several researches have developed virtual system for NPP for the purpose of training. However, whether the virtual training system for the control room of NPP can give users realistic immersive context as in the real environment is unknown. Whether these virtual systems are helpful in training performance are yet to be confirmed. For this reason, the control room of Lung-Men NPP of Taiwan was constructed with VR technology in this study in order to compare the performances of two VR representation methods (Desktop VR and Project VR). A searching task was planned in which the operators have to find out the objects appointed by the experimenter in the virtual interface of the main control room. The time to complete the task was collected as dependent variables in this experiment. The subjects have to complete the questionnaire that was developed for evaluating the usability of the virtual interface of MRC after finishing the experiment. The result showed that the performance of the virtual interface of NPP presented by the VR projector was better than the desktop. (author)

  8. Advanced control room caters for the operator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    George, C.R.; Rygg, D.E.

    1980-01-01

    In existing control rooms the operators' efficiency is often limited by widely scattered and sometimes illogically arranged controls which tend to increase the potential for outages or equipment damage. The advanced control room described allows instant and ready access to preselected information and control by one or two operators from a seated or standing position. (author)

  9. Human factors methods for nuclear control room design. Volume 2. Human factors survey of control room design practices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seminara, J.L.; Parsons, S.O.

    1979-11-01

    An earlier review of the control rooms of operating nuclear power plants identified many design problems having potential for degrading operator performance. As a result, the formal application of human factors principles was found to be needed. This report demonstrates the use of human factors in the design of power plant control rooms. The approaches shown in the report can be applied to operating power plants, as well as to those in the design stage. This study documents human factors techniques required to provide a sustained concern for the man-machine interface from control room concept definition to system implementation

  10. Local control room

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN PhotoLab

    1972-01-01

    Local control room in the ejection building : all electronics pertaining to proton distribution and concomitants such as beam gymnastics and diagnostics at high energies will eventually be gathered here. Shown is the first of two rows of fast ejection electronic racks. It includes only what is necessary for operation.

  11. Spallation Neutron Source Accelerator Facility Target Safety and Non-safety Control Systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Battle, Ronald E.; DeVan, B.; Munro, John K. Jr.

    2006-01-01

    The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) is a proton accelerator facility that generates neutrons for scientific researchers by spallation of neutrons from a mercury target. The SNS became operational on April 28, 2006, with first beam on target at approximately 200 W. The SNS accelerator, target, and conventional facilities controls are integrated by standardized hardware and software throughout the facility and were designed and fabricated to SNS conventions to ensure compatibility of systems with Experimental Physics Integrated Control System (EPICS). ControlLogix Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) interface to instruments and actuators, and EPICS performs the high-level integration of the PLCs such that all operator control can be accomplished from the Central Control room using EPICS graphical screens that pass process variables to and from the PLCs. Three active safety systems were designed to industry standards ISA S84.01 and IEEE 603 to meet the desired reliability for these safety systems. The safety systems protect facility workers and the environment from mercury vapor, mercury radiation, and proton beam radiation. The facility operators operated many of the systems prior to beam on target and developed the operating procedures. The safety and non-safety control systems were tested extensively prior to beam on target. This testing was crucial to identify wiring and software errors and failed components, the result of which was few problems during operation with beam on target. The SNS has continued beam on target since April to increase beam power, check out the scientific instruments, and continue testing the operation of facility subsystems

  12. Enhancing operational safety

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wiebe, J S

    1997-09-01

    The presentation briefly considers the following aspects concerning enhancing operational safety of NPP: licensed control room supervision, reactivity changes, personnel access to control room, simulator training.

  13. Creys-Malville control room and data processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Decuyper, J.

    1984-01-01

    After a brief definition of the control of a plant, this article presents the Creys-Malville control room: control means display and considerations on ergonomy and specific features in respect of the PWR control room. The Creys-Malville data processing is then rapidly presented with a brief description, the different data treatments and the specificity of the centralised data computer [fr

  14. Information presentation in power plant control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kautto, A.

    1984-11-01

    The objective of this study is to support operators' work especially in the control rooms of power plant. The exemplified process is a pressurized water (nuclear) reactor (PWR). The man-process interface is an information system that covers information refining, information presentation, information system handling, and process control. THe emphasis in this study is on the organization and presentation of information and on the alert function that is part of the information system. Another goal is to design the alert function so as to radically reduce the number of alarms during plant shutdown, e.g. during the refuelling or maintenance period and during a disturbance. Further, the experimental validation of CFMS (Critical Function Monitoring System), developed by Combustion Engineering, Inc. in the U.S.A. is described briefly. The validation was made at the Loviisa training simulator in the autumn of 1982. CFMS is a safety-related functional alarm system. The functional decomposition of information has turned out to be successful and it is helpful in designing displays. Preliminary criteria for designing displays, the structure of the information presentation system and the illustration of main interactions are presented. General practical ideas on designing the alert function seem very promising. Preliminary results of the CFMS validation are presented. Further, some ideas are presented on how to carry out the analysis and how to make such validations in the future. A new idea for the evaluation of core safety is presented, based on control theory concepts

  15. Control room habitability survey of licensed commercial nuclear power generating stations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Driscoll, J.W.

    1988-10-01

    This document presents the results of a survey of control room habitability systems at twelve commercial nuclear generating stations. The survey, conducted by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), is part of an NRC program initiated in response to concerns and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). The major conclusion of the report is that the numerous types of potentially significant discrepancies found among the surveyed plants may be indicative of similar discrepancies throughout the industry. The report provides plant-specific and generalized findings regarding safety functions with respect to the consistency of the design, construction, operation and testing of control room habitability systems and corresponding Technical Specifications compared with descriptions provided in the license basis documentation including assumptions in the operator toxic gas concentration and radiation dose calculations. Calculations of operator toxic gas concentrations and radiation doses were provided in the license basis documentation and were not performed by the ANL survey team. Recommendation for improvements are provided in the report

  16. A computerized diagnostic system for nuclear plant control rooms based on statistical quality control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heising, C.D.; Grenzebach, W.S.

    1990-01-01

    In engineering science, statistical quality control techniques have traditionally been applied to control manufacturing processes. An application to commercial nuclear power plant maintenance and control is presented that can greatly improve safety. As a demonstration of such an approach to plant maintenance and control, a specific system is analyzed: the reactor coolant pumps of the St. Lucie Unit 2 nuclear power plant located in Florida. A 30-day history of the four pumps prior to a plant shutdown caused by pump failure and a related fire within the containment was analyzed. Statistical quality control charts of recorded variables were constructed for each pump, which were shown to go out of statistical control many days before the plant trip. The analysis shows that statistical process control methods can be applied as an early warning system capable of identifying significant equipment problems well in advance of traditional control room alarm indicators

  17. Design of a Clean Room for Quality Control of an Environmental Sampling in KINAC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoon, Jongho; Ahn, Gil Hoon; Seo, Hana; Han, Kitek; Park, Il Jin

    2014-01-01

    The objective of environmental sampling and analysis for safeguards is to characterize the nuclear materials handled and the activities conducted at the specific locations. The KINAC is responsible for the conclusions drawn from the analytical results provided by the analytical laboratories. To assure the KINAC of the continuity of the quality of the analytical results provided by the laboratories, the KINAC will implement a quality control(QC) programme. One of the QC programme is to prepare QC samples. The establishment of a clean room is needed to handle QC samples due to stringent control of contamination. The KINAC designed a clean facility with cleanliness of ISO Class 6, the Clean Room for Estimation and Assay of trace Nuclear materials(CREAN) to meet conflicting requirements of a clean room and for handling of nuclear materials according to Korean laws. The clean room will be expected to acquire of a radiation safety license under these conditions in this year and continue to improve it. The construction of the CREAN facility will be completed by the middle of 2015. In terms of QC programme, the establishment of a clean room is essential and will be not only very helpful for setting of quality control system for the national environmental sampling programme but also be applied for the environmental sample analysis techniques to the nuclear forensics

  18. Engineering Process Monitoring for Control Room Operation

    CERN Document Server

    Bätz, M

    2001-01-01

    A major challenge in process operation is to reduce costs and increase system efficiency whereas the complexity of automated process engineering, control and monitoring systems increases continuously. To cope with this challenge the design, implementation and operation of process monitoring systems for control room operation have to be treated as an ensemble. This is only possible if the engineering of the monitoring information is focused on the production objective and is lead in close collaboration of control room teams, exploitation personnel and process specialists. In this paper some principles for the engineering of monitoring information for control room operation are developed at the example of the exploitation of a particle accelerator at the European Laboratory for Nuclear Research (CERN).

  19. Atmospheric diffusion model for control room habitability assessments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramsdell, J.V.; Lee, J.Y.

    1993-01-01

    General Design Criterion 19 for nuclear power plants (Appendix A to 10CFR50) requires control room radiation protection adequate to limit radiation exposures to control room personnel. Murphy and Campe proposed the procedure currently used in evaluating control room habitability. However, data from building-wake diffusion experiments at nuclear power plants indicate that the Murphy-Campe procedure tends to overestimate concentrations, particularly during low wind speeds. This paper describes an alternative procedure developed by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory that is acceptable to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff. The procedure estimates control room air intake concentrations that are generally lower than those estimated by the Murphy-Campe procedure, yet are still conservative

  20. Operation Aspect of the Main Control Room of NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahala M Lumbanraja

    2009-01-01

    The main control room of Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is operational centre to control all of the operation activity of NPP. NPP must be operated carefully and safely. Many aspect that contributed to operation of NPP, such as man power whose operated, technology type used, ergonomic of main control room, operational management, etc. The disturbances of communication in control room must be anticipated so the high availability of NPP can be achieved. The ergonomic of the NPP control room that will be used in Indonesia must be designed suitable to anthropometric of Indonesia society. (author)

  1. A HUMAN FACTORS META MODEL FOR U.S. NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CONTROL ROOM MODERNIZATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joe, Jeffrey C.

    2017-03-01

    Over the last several years, the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) has sponsored human factors research and development (R&D) and human factors engineering (HFE) activities through its Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program to modernize the main control rooms (MCR) of commercial nuclear power plants (NPP). Idaho National Laboratory (INL), in partnership with numerous commercial nuclear utilities, has conducted some of this R&D to enable the life extension of NPPs (i.e., provide the technical basis for the long-term reliability, productivity, safety, and security of U.S. NPPs). From these activities performed to date, a human factors meta model for U.S. NPP control room modernization can now be formulated. This paper discusses this emergent HFE meta model for NPP control room modernization, with the goal of providing an integrated high level roadmap and guidance on how to perform human factors R&D and HFE for those in the U.S. nuclear industry that are engaging in the process of upgrading their MCRs.

  2. Survey of licensee control room habitability practices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boland, J.F.; Brookshire, R.L.; Danielson, W.F.; Driscoll, J.W.; Graham, E.D.; McConnell, R.J.; Thompson, V.N.

    1985-04-01

    This document presents the results of a survey of Licensee control-room-habitability practices. The survey is part of a comprehensive program plan instituted in August 1983 by the NRC to respond to ongoing questions from the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). The emphasis of this survey was to determine by field review the control-room habitability practices at three different plants, one of which is still under construction and scheduled to receive an operating license in 1986. The other two plants are currently operating, having received operating licenses in the mid-1970's and early 1980's. The major finding of this survey is that despite the fact that the latest control-room-habitability systems have become larger and more complex than earlier systems surveyed, the latest systems do not appear to be functionally superior. The major recommendation of this report is to consolidate into a single NRC document, based upon a comprehensive systems engineering approach, the pertinent criteria for control-room-habitability design

  3. Gaining control room habitability margin at the Palisades Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harden, P.A.

    1993-01-01

    The bounding design-basis accident for control room habitability is the loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). At Palisades, very little margin existed between the calculated control room operator thyroid dose and the 0.3-Sv (30-rem) limit of Standard Review Plan (SRP) 6.4. Also, a low rate of unfiltered air leakage into the control room during the emergency mode of operation, 5.5 x 10 -3 m 3 /s (11.6 ft 3 /min), was accounted for in the control room habitability analysis. The control room heating, ventilating and air-conditioning system at Palisades has louvered isolation dampers for the normal air intake that are exposed to a negative pressure. Considering the small margin to the thyroid dose limits and the leakage characteristics of louvered dampers, a low allowable rate of unfiltered air in-leakage raised some concern. A significant effort has been initiated to alleviate control room habitability concerns at Palisades. The first step in this effort was to evaluate the calculational models for control room habitability and gain margin through updated analytical methods. To accomplish this, a new radiological consequence analysis for the LOCA was completed

  4. Human reliability and the man/machine interface: what do we do after the control room review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Folley, J.D. Jr.; Schurman, D.L.

    1983-01-01

    The nuclear industry has focused on only one aspect of the man/machine interface--human factors engineering of control rooms - to enhance nuclear power plant (NPP) safety. There are other factors that profoundly affect the reliability of the operators and maintenance personnel of NPP which, thus, affect NPP safety and availability. This paper discusses the factors of training, selection, job engineering, and work satisfaction, describing the potential effects on reactor safety of these factors at the man/machine interface. The impact of these factors on safety and plant availability is illustrated with examples of results obtained in other fields

  5. Control Room Habitability for Accidental Sulfuric Acid Release

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Sungmin; Lee, Heedo; Song, Dongsoo

    2006-01-01

    The 10 CFR 50 Appendix A Criterion 19, 'Control Room', requires that a control room be provided from which actions can be taken to operate the nuclear power unit safely under normal conditions and to maintain it in a safe condition under accident conditions. For compliance with the requirement, the control room of a nuclear power plant should be appropriately protected from hazardous chemicals that may be discharged as a result of equipment failures, operator errors, or events and conditions outside the control of the nuclear power plant. We have excluded sulfuric acid from a target of estimation for control room habitability merely because its boiling point is too high; qualitative analysis in this paper shows that we can exclude sulfuric acid from the target of habitability estimation

  6. Control Room Tasks During Refueling in Ringhals 1 Nuclear Power Plant - Operator performance during refuelling outages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stroebeck, Einar; Olausson, Jesper; Van Gemst, Paul

    1998-01-01

    This paper discusses the performance and tasks of the operators in the control room during refuelling outages. Analyses of such events have, during the last years, shown that the risk for nuclear accidents is not negligible compared with the risk at higher reactor power levels. Some experts have the opinion that, due to mistakes during an outage, the risk for such accidents during the outage and other accidents later on during power operation is higher than in other plant situations. The high risk level is mainly a result of errors at maintenance actions and supervision of lining up of safety systems. Most of the control rooms in existing NPPs were designed more than 10 years ago. At that time the activities and the tasks for the operators were not very well understood. Procedures for refuelling and other activities during the outages were not described very well. Often the utility organisation for refuelling outages was not established at the start of the control room design. Experience from operation during many years has shown that the performance of operators can be improved in existing plant, and thus risks be reduced, by upgrading the control room. These issues have been studied as a part of the modernisation project for Ringhals 1, an ABB Atom BWR owned by Vattenfall AB in Sweden. The paper will describe the working model for upgrading the control room and important issues to take care of with respect to refuelling outages. The identified issues will be used as the input for improving control room philosophy and the individual technical systems. (authors)

  7. Mass Alarms in Main Control Room Caused Condensate on the Instrumentation and Control Cards in Turbine Building

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goo, Cheol-Soo

    2015-01-01

    A bunch of alarms and trouble lights on the main control room simultaneously turned on during inspection and exchange of the coolers of the turbine building at pressurized water reactor of the Hanbit nuclear power plant No. 6. The main cause was condensate on instrumentation cards of plant control system (PCS) installed at enclosures in the turbine building which have MUX cabinets to transmit signals between the main control room and local equipment. To control the temperature and humidity of the MUX cabinets, two coolers of the plant chilled water system supply air to the compact enclosures at turbine building where temperature and humidity is high in the summer. It is an unusual experience that mass alarms abnormally were occurred in the main control room during normal plant operation phases. Spurious signals with unknown cause at control and instrumentation system occasionally may have an unnecessary actuation of monitoring equipment and a plant scram even. One of the main causes is humidity by a rapid temperature change of the control and instrumentation cards. Dew on the instrumentation cards could form an abnormal short circuit in printed circuit board with the compact circuits and make any malfunction of the related system. Instrumentation and control cards with integrated circuits are vulnerable to high humidity and temperature where the system is enclosed in a small housing or enclosure surrounding with hash environment such as a turbine building. It was found that there was no functional degradation of the safety systems and no outsides releases of radioactive materials by this occurrence. (author)

  8. Bridging the gap: adapting advanced display technologies for use in hybrid control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jokstad, Håkon; Boring, Ronald

    2015-01-01

    The Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), runs the OECD Halden Reactor Project (HRP), featuring a state-of-the-art research simulator facility in Halden, Norway, called HAMMLAB. HAMMLAB serves two main purposes: the study of human behaviour in interaction with complex process systems; and the development, test and evaluation of prototype control centres and their individual systems. By studying operator performance in HAMMLAB and integrating the knowledge gained into new designs, the HRP contributes to improving operational safety, reliability, efficiency and productivity. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program has contracted IFE to assist DOE national laboratory staff at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in adapting HAMMLAB design concepts for the purpose of control room modernization at nuclear power plants in the U.S. In support of this effort, the DOE has built a simulator research facility at INL called the Human Systems Simulation Laboratory (HSSL). The HSSL is centered on control room modernization, in which industry provided plant instrumentation and controls are modified for upgrade opportunities. The HSSL houses the LWRS simulator, which is a reconfigurable full-scale and full-scope control room simulator. Consisting of 45 large touchscreens on 15 panels, the LWRS simulator is currently using this glass top technology to digitally represent and replicate the functionality of the analog I&C systems in existing control rooms. The LWRS simulator is reconfigurable in that different plant training simulator models obtained from the utilities can be run on the panels, and the panels can be physically moved and arranged to mimic the layout of those control rooms. The glass top technology and reconfigurability capabilities allow the LWRS simulator to be the research platform that is necessary to design, prototype, and validate human-system interface (HSI) technologies that can replace existing analog I&C. IFE

  9. Bridging the gap: adapting advanced display technologies for use in hybrid control rooms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jokstad, Håkon [Inst. for Energy Technology, Halden (Norway); Boring, Ronald [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2015-02-01

    The Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), runs the OECD Halden Reactor Project (HRP), featuring a state-of-the-art research simulator facility in Halden, Norway, called HAMMLAB. HAMMLAB serves two main purposes: the study of human behaviour in interaction with complex process systems; and the development, test and evaluation of prototype control centres and their individual systems. By studying operator performance in HAMMLAB and integrating the knowledge gained into new designs, the HRP contributes to improving operational safety, reliability, efficiency and productivity. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program has contracted IFE to assist DOE national laboratory staff at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in adapting HAMMLAB design concepts for the purpose of control room modernization at nuclear power plants in the U.S. In support of this effort, the DOE has built a simulator research facility at INL called the Human Systems Simulation Laboratory (HSSL). The HSSL is centered on control room modernization, in which industry provided plant instrumentation and controls are modified for upgrade opportunities. The HSSL houses the LWRS simulator, which is a reconfigurable full-scale and full-scope control room simulator. Consisting of 45 large touchscreens on 15 panels, the LWRS simulator is currently using this glass top technology to digitally represent and replicate the functionality of the analog I&C systems in existing control rooms. The LWRS simulator is reconfigurable in that different plant training simulator models obtained from the utilities can be run on the panels, and the panels can be physically moved and arranged to mimic the layout of those control rooms. The glass top technology and reconfigurability capabilities allow the LWRS simulator to be the research platform that is necessary to design, prototype, and validate human-system interface (HSI) technologies that can replace existing analog I&C. IFE has

  10. Discussion on control room habitability assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Bing; Chen Yingying; Xiao Jun; Yang Duanjie; Cui Hao

    2014-01-01

    The discussion on control room envelope integrity, source term analysis in habitability assessments and other impact factors for dose consequence is provided combined with regulatory requirements and the current status of domestic NPPs. Considering that the infiltration is an important factor for control room habitability assessment, CRE integrity test should be performed to demonstrate the CRE's infiltration characteristics. The consequence assessment should be performed based on different DBAs and different pathways, such as pathways internal to the plant. (authors)

  11. Considerations concerning the ergonomics of power plant control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herbst, L.; Hinz, W.

    1981-01-01

    Modern control rooms for the monitoring and control of large power plants have a high degree of automation. However, it is the responsibility of the control room personnel to ensure optimum process control during all operational states. The proper ergonomic design of a control room is one of the prerequisites to ensure that the operators are able to perceive the often large flow of current information and, after processing, to respond properly. (orig.) [de

  12. CERN'S TECHNICAL CONTROL ROOM (TCR) A CENTRALSERVICE FOR EVERYONE

    CERN Multimedia

    Mario Batz / TCR Responsible

    2001-01-01

    The Technical Control Room (TCR) monitors and operates the entire technical infrastructure of CERN 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It registers and dispatches troubleshooting requests to the appropriate equipment services. In addition, the TCR executes first-line interventions on the entire CERN site. Troubleshooting requests are transmitted to the TCR either via a computerised control system or via the phone number '72201'. More than 10'000 such requests are dispatched and dealt with every year. The TCR's diverse field of activity concerns the following systems: electrical and fluid distribution networks, heating, cooling, ventilation, air-conditioning and gas equipment, safety and communication installations, electromechanical systems (e.g. lifts, cranes, machine tools, motorised doors), sanitary systems (leaks, sewage), control and monitoring infrastructure equipment, buildings. These systems can either be part of the administrative infrastructure, such as offices or restaurants, or part of the t...

  13. Use of task analysis in control room evaluations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ross, K.C.

    1981-01-01

    Responding to recently formulated regulatory requirements, the BWR Owners' Group, working in conjunction with General Electric, has formulated a method for performing human factors design reviews of nuclear power plant control rooms. This process incorporates task analyses to analyze operational aspects of panel layout and design. Correlation of operator functions defined by emergency procedures against required controls and displays has proven successful in identifying instrumentation required in the control room to adequately respond to transient conditions, and in evaluating the effectiveness of panel design and physical arrangement. Extensions of the analysis have provided information on operator response paths, frequency of use of instruments, and control room layout. The techniques used were based on a need to identify primary controls and indications required by the operator in performing each step of the applicable procedure. The relative locations of these instruments were then analyzed for information on the adequacy of the control room design for those conditions

  14. Control room inleakage testing using tracer gases at Zion Generating station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lagus, P.L.; Brown, J.H.; Dubois, L.J.; Fleming, K.M.

    1993-01-01

    In order to assess the amount of air inleakage into the Control Room Envelope at Zion Generating Station (ZGS), a series of tracer gas tests using sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6 ) were performed on the Control Room ventilation system (PV system) and the Computer Room/Miscellaneous Area ventilation system (OV system) during February, 1991. Two redundant trains, denoted A and B comprise the PV system. Inleakage was measured for each train. An OV supply duct passes through the Control Room Envelope. Leakage from this duct into the Control Room would constitute air leakage into the Control room Envelope and hence any potential leakage had to be quantified. Each test attempted to measure the contribution (if any) of a particular section of PV return duct or OV supply duct to the total air inleakage into the Control Room. This paper reviews the tracer gas tests. Described here are the control room inleakage testing, HVAC equipment room duct inleakage, purge plenum inleakage, OV duct leakage into the control room envelope, vestibule PV return inleakage, TSC duct inleakage, and cable spreading room inleakage. Conclusions from the testing are presented. 5 refs., 4 figs., 7 tabs

  15. Design and Validation of Control Room Upgrades Using a Research Simulator Facility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ronald L. Boring; Vivek Agarwal; Jeffrey C. Joe; Julius J. Persensky

    2012-11-01

    Since 1981, the United States (U.S.) Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) [1] requires a plant- specific simulator facility for use in training at U.S. nuclear power plants (NPPs). These training simulators are in near constant use for training and qualification of licensed NPP operators. In the early 1980s, the Halden Man-Machine Laboratory (HAMMLab) at the Halden Reactor Project (HRP) in Norway first built perhaps the most well known set of research simulators. The HRP offered a high- fidelity simulator facility in which the simulator is functionally linked to a specific plant but in which the human-machine interface (HMI) may differ from that found in the plant. As such, HAMMLab incorporated more advanced digital instrumentation and controls (I&C) than the plant, thereby giving it considerable interface flexibility that researchers took full advantage of when designing and validating different ways to upgrade NPP control rooms. Several U.S. partners—the U.S. NRC, the Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI), Sandia National Laboratories, and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) – as well as international members of the HRP, have been working with HRP to run control room simulator studies. These studies, which use crews from Scandinavian plants, are used to determine crew behavior in a variety of normal and off-normal plant operations. The findings have ultimately been used to guide safety considerations at plants and to inform advanced HMI design—both for the regulator and in industry. Given the desire to use U.S. crews of licensed operators on a simulator of a U.S. NPP, there is a clear need for a research simulator facility in the U.S. There is no general-purpose reconfigurable research oriented control room simulator facility in the U.S. that can be used for a variety of studies, including the design and validation of control room upgrades.

  16. Evaluation of main control room habitability in Japanese LWR (1). Outline of evaluation method and conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujita, Yuko; Yoneda, Jiro; Okabayashi, Kazuki; Fukuda, Ryo

    2009-01-01

    It has been recognized that main control room habitability (CRH) is very important safety item. Its evaluation method and conditions was recently updated as a common method both for Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) and Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) in Japan. This paper describes the common procedure for CRH evaluation. Postulated accidents for CRH evaluation are Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) for BWR and PWR, Main Steam Line Break Accident(MSLBA) for BWR, and Steam Generator Tube Rupture(SGTR) for PWR. Evaluation period is thirty days after each accident occurs. Acceptable criterion for each operator is 100mSv as total effective dose equivalent for thirty days, considering the net staying period of an operator in a control room and frequency of alternation of working staff. Total effective dose equivalent is calculated not only for an operator in control room, but also for an operator outside a building for alternation, and then total effective dose is compared with the criterion. The routes for dose evaluation are classified into five patterns, covering three patterns of location of radioactive source (i.e. source inside a building, source released into air, and source leaked into a control room) and covering two patterns of location of an operator (i.e. in control room and outside a building for alternation). Total effective dose by a route for source which is released into air and leaked into a control room is typically the largest contributor, in case of PWR LOCA evaluation, as an example showing relatively severe result. Evaluated dose for this dominant route is significantly affected by two calculations. One is a source term for calculation of radioactive gas release and the other is dispersion calculation in the air for concentration of radioactive gas in the vicinity of a control room. For LOCA 100% Kr,Xe and 50% iodine of total core radionuclide inventory are assumed to be released immediately into containment vessel. This is the most conservative assumption

  17. Design of a multisystem remote maintenance control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Draper, J.V.; Handel, S.J.; Kring, C.T.; Kawatsuma, S.

    1988-01-01

    The Remote Systems Development Section of the Consolidated Fuel Reprocessing Program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Japan's Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) recently collaborated in the development of a control room concept for remote operations. This report describes design methods and the resulting control room concept. The design project included five stages. The first was compilation of a complete function list; functions are tasks performed by operators in the control room while operating equipment located in the remote area. The second step was organization of the function list into ''function groups;'' function groups are sets of functions that operate one piece of equipment. The third stage was determination of crew size and requirements for supervision. The fourth stage was development of conceptual designs of displays and controls. The fifth stage was development of plans for placement of crew stations within the control room. 5 figs., 1 tab

  18. Taking account of human factors in control-room design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dien, Y.; Montmayeul, R.

    1995-07-01

    Since the Three Mile Island accident two ways for improving the Human-Machine Interface have mainly been followed: the development of computerized operator aids in existing control-rooms and the design of advanced control-rooms. Insufficient attention paid to human factors in the design of operator aids has generally led to these aids being neglected or unused by their potential users. While for the design of advanced control-rooms efforts have been made for dealing with human factors in more extensive way. Based upon this experience, a general method for taking account of human factors in a control-room design has been devised and is described in this paper. (author)

  19. Using human factors engineering to improve patient safety in the cardiovascular operating room.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurses, Ayse P; Martinez, Elizabeth A; Bauer, Laura; Kim, George; Lubomski, Lisa H; Marsteller, Jill A; Pennathur, Priyadarshini R; Goeschel, Chris; Pronovost, Peter J; Thompson, David

    2012-01-01

    Despite significant medical advances, cardiac surgery remains a high risk procedure. Sub-optimal work system design characteristics can contribute to the risks associated with cardiac surgery. However, hazards due to work system characteristics have not been identified in the cardiovascular operating room (CVOR) in sufficient detail to guide improvement efforts. The purpose of this study was to identify and categorize hazards (anything that has the potential to cause a preventable adverse patient safety event) in the CVOR. An interdisciplinary research team used prospective hazard identification methods including direct observations, contextual inquiry, and photographing to collect data in 5 hospitals for a total 22 cardiac surgeries. We performed thematic analysis of the qualitative data guided by a work system model. 60 categories of hazards such as practice variations, high workload, non-compliance with evidence-based guidelines, not including clinicians' in medical device purchasing decisions were found. Results indicated that hazards are common in cardiac surgery and should be eliminated or mitigated to improve patient safety. To improve patient safety in the CVOR, efforts should focus on creating a culture of safety, increasing compliance with evidence based infection control practices, improving communication and teamwork, and designing better tools and technologies through partnership among all stakeholders.

  20. Human-factors engineering control-room design review/audit report: Byron Generating Station, Commonwealth Edison Company

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Savage, J.W.

    1983-01-01

    A human factors engineering design review/audit of the Byron Unit 1 control room was performed at the site on November 17 through November 19, 1981. This review was accomplished using the Unit 2 control room appropriately mocked-up to reflect design changes already committed to be incorporated in Unit 1. The report was prepared on the basis of the HFEB's audit of the applicant's Preliminary Design Assessment report and the human factors engineering design review performed at the site. This design review was carried out by a team from the Human Factors Engineering Branch, Division of Human Factors Safety. The review team was assisted by consultants from BioTechnology, Inc. (Falls Church, Virginia), and from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (University of California), Livermore, California

  1. Operating room fire prevention: creating an electrosurgical unit fire safety device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culp, William C; Kimbrough, Bradly A; Luna, Sarah; Maguddayao, Aris J

    2014-08-01

    To reduce the incidence of surgical fires. Operating room fires represent a potentially life-threatening hazard and are triggered by the electrosurgical unit (ESU) pencil. Carbon dioxide is a fire suppressant and is a routinely used medical gas. We hypothesize that a shroud of protective carbon dioxide covering the tip of the ESU pencil displaces oxygen, thereby preventing fire ignition. Using 3-dimensional modeling techniques, a polymer sleeve was created and attached to an ESU pencil. This sleeve was connected to a carbon dioxide source and directed the gas through multiple precisely angled ports, generating a cone of fire-suppressive carbon dioxide surrounding the active pencil tip. This device was evaluated in a flammability test chamber containing 21%, 50%, and 100% oxygen with sustained ESU activation. The sleeve was tested with and without carbon dioxide (control) until a fuel was ignited or 30 seconds elapsed. Time to ignition was measured by high-speed videography. Fires were ignited with each control trial (15/15 trials). The control group median ± SD ignition time in 21% oxygen was 3.0 ± 2.4 seconds, in 50% oxygen was 0.1 ± 1.8 seconds, and in 100% oxygen was 0.03 ± 0.1 seconds. No fire was observed when the fire safety device was used in all concentrations of oxygen (0/15 trials; P fire ignition was 76% to 100%. A sleeve creating a cone of protective carbon dioxide gas enshrouding the sparks from an ESU pencil effectively prevents fire in a high-flammability model. Clinical application of this device may reduce the incidence of operating room fires.

  2. The design process and the use of computerized tools in control room design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wahlstroem, B.; Heinonen, R.; Ranta, J.; Haarla, J.

    1985-09-01

    Control room design has proven an important component when the safety and availability of a complex industrial process plant are considered. Many control room deficiencies can be traced back to oversights and other errors during the design process. The introduction of powerful computers and software for computer-aided design (CAD) offers one possibility when tools for improving the quality of design are being selected. The report gives a broad assessment of problems of design and the benefits of using computer-aided design. One proposal for a structure of a computer-aided design system is considered in more detail. In this system special emphasis has been laid on dealing with requirements during design process. A demonstration system has been built and sample system user dialogues are described. The report is the final report of the LIT3.1 project of the Nordic cooperation on human reliability in the energy production field. (author)

  3. Modern control room design experience and speculation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, J.E.

    1993-01-01

    Can operators trained to use conventional control panels readily adapt to CRT based control rooms? Does automation make the design of good man-machine interfaces more or less difficult? In a conventional, hard-wired control room is the operator's peripheral vision always an asset and how can one do better in a CRT based control room? Are Expert System assisted man-machine interfaces a boon or a bust? This paper explores these questions in the light of actual experience with advanced power plant control environments. This paper discusses how automation has in fact simplified the problem of ensuring that the operator has at all times a clear understanding of the plant state. The author contends that conventional hard-wired control rooms are very poor at providing the operator with a good overview of the plant status particularly under startup, or upset conditions and that CRT-based control rooms offer an opportunity for improvement. Experience with some early attempts at this are discussed together with some interesting proposals from other authors. Finally the paper discusses the experience to date with expert system assisted man-machine interfaces. Although promising for the future progress has been slow. The amount of knowledge research required is often formidable and consequently costly. Often when an adequate knowledge base is finally acquired it turns out to be better to use it to increase the level of automation and thus simplify the operator's task. The risks are not any greater and automation offers more consistent operation. It is important also to carefully distinguish between expert system assisted display selection and expert system operator guidance. The first is intended to help the operator in his quest for information. The second attempts to guide the operator actions. The good and the bad points of each of these approaches is discussed

  4. Authorization of nuclear power plant control room personnel: Methods and practices with emphasis on the use of simulators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-07-01

    In 2002 the IAEA published a revision to Safety Guide NS-G-2.8, Recruitment, Qualification and Training of Personnel for Nuclear Power Plants. This Safety Guide provides recommendations on the authorization of designated personnel who have a direct impact on nuclear safety. The IAEA Technical Working Group on Training and Qualification of Nuclear Power Plant Personnel recommended that an additional report be prepared that provided information on the practices in Member States on the use of simulators in the authorization of control room staff. This publication has been prepared in response to that recommendation. In gathering information for the report, Member States were asked to: respond to a survey on the use of simulators and the involvement of regulatory body in operator authorization; and to complete a questionnaire on their practices in authorizing control room staff. Safety analysis and operating experience consistently indicate that human error is a major contributor to nuclear power plant (NPP) accident risk. With the recent world wide emphasis and implementation of full scope simulators for nuclear power plant personnel training, operators spend a large portion of their training time on simulators. As described in the foreword to IAEA-TECDOC-1411, Use of Control Room Simulators for Training of Nuclear Power Plant Personnel, simulators provide operators an opportunity to learn and practice the abilities that are required in accident and infrequently used plant evolutions. Because of their fidelity, full scope simulators are now used by most Member States in the authorization examinations of control room personnel. This situation is becoming more common as more plants acquire modern full scope plant referenced simulators. This publication provides information and examples based upon experience in a variety of Member States. The body of the report provides general information that represents the practices of the Member States that contributed to the

  5. Study on the main control room design for Hamaoka Unit No.5

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsuruta, Tadakazu; Sakamoto, Minoru; Maruyama, Tohru; Saito, Tadashi

    2000-01-01

    The main control room of nuclear power station is important to operate the power station and to promote public acceptance of nuclear power station. To enhance them, there is an idea of high ceiling control room with a gallery room located in backside middle upper floor. The control room is expected to enhance habitability and to offer visitors the fine view of the control room. In this study, psychological and physiological influence of such a high ceiling control room design on operators was investigated first. And then some human engineering requirements for desirable main control room were identified. A control room (ceiling height: about 5 meters) adequate to the requirements was designed, and finally the validity of the design was verified by means of full mockup model room tests. The results of this study are applied to the main control room design of Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station Unit No.5 (Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.) (author)

  6. Control rooms in German nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffmann, E.

    1999-01-01

    The paper explains and illustrates the dissimilarity in design and equipment of control rooms in German NPPs, as well as a historical survey of the general principles and approaches applied in the evolution of control room technology, including backfitting activities. Experience obtained from daily operation as well training at the simulators is taken as a basis to formulate fundamental requirements for modification or novel design approaches. (orig./CB) [de

  7. Single room control for user-optimised room air conditions; Einzelraumregelung fuer nutzungsoptimiertes Raumklima

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lezius, A. [Staefa Control System GmbH, Leinfelden-Echterdingen (Germany)

    1995-12-31

    In chapter 14 of the anthology about building control the single room control for achieving user-optimised room air conditions is described. The following aspects are discussed: What is comfort? What is economic efficiency? Systems for secondary air treatment, adapted functions of the measurement and control technique, management functions, orientation of the demand at the use, investment and amortisation. (BWI) [Deutsch] Kapitel 14 des Sammelbandes ueber Building control ist dem Thema der Einzelraumregelung zur Erzielung eines nutzungsoptimierten Raumklimas gewidmet. In diesem Zusammenhang werden folgende Themenbereiche angesprochen: Was ist Komfort? Was ist Wirtschaftlichkeit? Systeme fuer sekundaere Luftbehandlung; Angepasste Funktionen der MSR-Technik; Managementfunktionen; Bedarfsorientierung an der Nutzung; Investition und Amortisation. (BWI)

  8. Methodology for advanced control rooms assessment of nuclear reactors: case study using Laboratory of Human System Interface (LABIHS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carvalho, Eduardo Ferro; Verboonen, Monique; Carvalho, Bruno Batista de

    2005-01-01

    A control room of a nuclear reactor is a complex system that controls a thermodynamic process used to produce electric energy. The operators interact with the control room through interfaces and several monitoring stations. These interfaces present significant implications for the safety of the nuclear power plant, once they influence the activities of the operators, affect the way how operators receive information related with the status from the main systems and determine the necessary requirements so that the operators understand and supervise the main parameters. This article intends to present the methodology and the results of the evaluation carried through in the advanced control room of a compact simulator, that uses as reference a nuclear plant PWR of the Westinghouse. The structure used for evaluation of the simulator is formed by the guideline of human factors of the NRC, the NUREG 700, checklist, questionnaires and the analysis of the operator's activity. (author)

  9. IMPROVING CONTROL ROOM DESIGN AND OPERATIONS BASED ON HUMAN FACTORS ANALYSES OR HOW MUCH HUMAN FACTORS UPGRADE IS ENOUGH ?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    HIGGINS,J.C.; OHARA,J.M.; ALMEIDA,P.

    2002-09-19

    THE JOSE CABRERA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IS A ONE LOOP WESTINGHOUSE PRESSURIZED WATER REACTOR. IN THE CONTROL ROOM, THE DISPLAYS AND CONTROLS USED BY OPERATORS FOR THE EMERGENCY OPERATING PROCEDURES ARE DISTRIBUTED ON FRONT AND BACK PANELS. THIS CONFIGURATION CONTRIBUTED TO RISK IN THE PROBABILISTIC SAFETY ASSESSMENT WHERE IMPORTANT OPERATOR ACTIONS ARE REQUIRED. THIS STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF THE DESIGN ON CREW PERFORMANCE AND PLANT SAFETY AND TO DEVELOP DESIGN IMPROVEMENTS.FIVE POTENTIAL EFFECTS WERE IDENTIFIED. THEN NUREG-0711 [1], PROGRAMMATIC, HUMAN FACTORS, ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED TO SYSTEMATICALLY EVALUATE THE CR-LA YOUT TO DETERMINE IF THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS. THESE ANALYSES INCLUDED OPERATING EXPERIENCE REVIEW, PSA REVIEW, TASK ANALYSES, AND WALKTHROUGH SIMULATIONS. BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THESE ANALYSES, A VARIETY OF CONTROL ROOM MODIFICATIONS WERE IDENTIFIED. FROM THE ALTERNATIVES, A SELECTION WAS MADE THAT PROVIDED A REASONABLEBALANCE BE TWEEN PERFORMANCE, RISK AND ECONOMICS, AND MODIFICATIONS WERE MADE TO THE PLANT.

  10. Safety measures for the main control board replacement project at Ikata units 1 and 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hashimoto, Nozomu; Tada, Kenji

    2013-01-01

    When Units 1 and 2 of the Ikata Power Station underwent replacement of their main control boards, control cabinets, and associated equipment, it was necessary to remove all the control boards, cabinets, and cables from the control building including from the main control room. This meant the loss of operation and monitoring functions in the main control room and functions of control cabinets. To maintain the operation and monitoring functions required under plant shutdown conditions, temporary operation and monitoring equipment (i.e., temporary main control board) was installed in the temporary main control room. The advance preparations included a trial switching from the permanent to the temporary main control board to identify and address potential problems in advance. When the replacement work was underway, a work schedule sheet posted in the temporary and the permanent control rooms was used to prevent human errors caused by operators’ recognition errors. Monitoring and control signals were switched from the old boards to the temporary boards and from the temporary boards to the new boards at appropriate timings to ensure plant safety during the replacement operation. (author)

  11. New technologies for a postaccident control room habitability assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lahti, G.P.; Perchiazzi, W.T.

    1993-01-01

    Older nuclear power plants typically considered only a nominal amount of unfiltered in-leakage (typically 10 ft 3 /min) affecting their postaccident habitability. However, recent measurements of unfiltered in-leakage show leakages in excess of the nominal 10 ft 3 /m in. The assessment of postaccident doses in control rooms is done in a number of well-defined steps: (1) Determine the initial release of radioactivity to the containment (the open-quotes source termclose quotes). (2) Determine the release of radioactivity to the environment. (3) Determine the atmospheric dispersion and the concentration at the control room air intake. (4) Determine within-building dilution (if any). (5) Determine unfiltered in-leakage. (6) Determine the concentration of radioactivity in the control room. (7) Determine the dose to control room occupants. The prescriptive methodology of the Murphy-Campe paper and Standard Review Plan (SRP) 6.4 has been used by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to assess control room designs. However, a number of new technologies have been employed to reevaluate an existing pressurized water reactor plant design

  12. Control console for the X-ray room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia H, J.M.; Aguilar B, M.A.; Torres B, M.A.

    1998-01-01

    It is presented the design and construction of Control console for the X-ray room of Metrology Center for ionizing radiations at National Institute of Nuclear Research (ININ). This system controls the positioning of 6 different filters for an X-ray beam. Also it controls a shutter which blockades the beam during periods established by user, these periods can be fixed from hours until tenth of second. The shutter opening periods, as well as the X-ray beam filter are establish and monitoring from a Personal computer outside of room. (Author)

  13. Development of contextual task analysis for NPP control room operators' work

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hukki, K.

    1998-01-01

    The paper introduces a contextual approach to task analysis concerning control room operators' tasks and task conditions in nuclear power plants. The approach is based on the ecological concept of the situational appropriateness of activity. The task demands are dependent on the ultimate task of the operators which is to maintain the critical safety functions of the process. The context also sets boundary conditions to the fulfilment of these demands. The conceptualisation of the context affords possibilities to comprehend and make visible the core demands of the operators' work. Characteristic to the approach is that the conceptualisation is made both from the point of the operators who are making interpretations of the situation and from the point of the process to be controlled. The context is described as a world of operators' possibilities and constraints and, at the same time, in relation to the demands set by the nature of the process. The method is under development and has been applied in simulator training, in the evaluation of the control room information and in the integrated development of reliability analysis. The method emphasizes the role of explicit conceptualisation of the task situations. Explicity enhances its role as a conceptual tool and, therefore, promotes common awareness in these domains. (orig.)

  14. CERN'S TECHNICAL CONTROL ROOM (TCR) A CENTRAL SERVICE FOR EVERYONE

    CERN Multimedia

    Mario Batz / TCR Responsible

    2000-01-01

    The Technical Control Room (TCR) monitors and operates the entire technical infrastructure of CERN 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It registers and dispatches troubleshooting requests to the appropriate equipment services. In addition, the TCR executes first-line interventions on the entire CERN site. Troubleshooting requests are transmitted to the TCR either via a computerised control system or via the phone number 72201. More than 10'000 such requests are dispatched and dealt with every year. The TCR's diverse field of activity concerns the following systems: electrical and fluid distribution networks, heating, cooling, ventilation, air-conditioning and gas equipment, safety and communication installations, electromechanical systems (e.g. lifts, cranes, machine tools, motorised doors), sanitary systems (leaks, sewage), control and monitoring infrastructure equipment, buildings. These systems can either be part of the administrative infrastructure, such as offices or restaurants, or part of the tec...

  15. CERN'S TECHNICAL CONTROL ROOM (TCR) A CENTRAL SERVICE FOR EVERYONE

    CERN Document Server

    Mario Batz

    2002-01-01

    The Technical Control Room (TCR) monitors and operates the entire technical infrastructure of CERN 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It registers and dispatches troubleshooting requests to the appropriate equipment services. In addition, the TCR executes first-line interventions on the entire CERN site. Troubleshooting requests are transmitted to the TCR either via a computerised control system or via the phone number '72201'. More than 10'000 such requests are dispatched and dealt with every year. The TCR's diverse field of activity concerns the following systems: electrical and fluid distribution networks, heating, cooling, ventilation, air-conditioning and gas equipment, safety and communication installations, electromechanical systems (e.g. lifts, cranes, machine tools, motorised doors), sanitary systems (leaks, sewage), control and monitoring infrastructure equipment, buildings. These systems can either be part of the administrative infrastructure, such as offices or restaurants, or part of the t...

  16. CERN'S TECHNICAL CONTROL ROOM (TCR) A CENTRAL SERVICE FOR EVERYONE

    CERN Multimedia

    Mario Batz (TCR Responsible)

    2001-01-01

    The Technical Control Room (TCR) monitors and operates the entire technical infrastructure of CERN 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It registers and dispatches troubleshooting requests to the appropriate equipment services. In addition, the TCR executes first-line interventions on the entire CERN site. Troubleshooting requests are transmitted to the TCR either via a computerised control system or via the phone number '72201'. More than 10'000 such requests are dispatched and dealt with every year. The TCR's diverse field of activity concerns the following systems: electrical and fluid distribution networks, heating, cooling, ventilation, air-conditioning and gas equipment, safety and communication installations, electromechanical systems (e.g. lifts, cranes, machine tools, motorised doors), sanitary systems (leaks, sewage), control and monitoring infrastructure equipment, buildings. These systems can either be part of the administrative infrastructure, such as offices or restaurants, or part of the t...

  17. CERN'S TECHNICAL CONTROL ROOM (TCR) A CENTRAL SERVICE FOR EVERYONE

    CERN Document Server

    Mario Batz

    2002-01-01

    The Technical Control Room (TCR) monitors and operates the entire technical infrastructure of CERN 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It registers and dispatches troubleshooting requests to the appropriate CERN equipment services or contractors. In addition, the TCR executes first-line interventions on the entire CERN site. Troubleshooting requests are transmitted to the TCR either via a computerised control system or via the phone number '72201'. More than 10'000 such requests are dispatched and dealt with every year. The TCR's diverse field of activity covers the following systems: electrical and fluid distribution networks, heating, cooling, ventilation, air-conditioning and gas equipment, safety and communication installations, electromechanical systems (e.g. lifts, cranes, machine tools, motorised doors), sanitary systems (leaks, sewage), control and monitoring infrastructure equipment, and buildings. These systems can either be part of the administrative infrastructure, such as offices or restaur...

  18. CERN's Technical Control Room (TCR) A Central Service for Everyone

    CERN Document Server

    Mario Batz

    2001-01-01

    The Technical Control Room (TCR) monitors and operates the entire technical infrastructure of CERN 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It registers and dispatches troubleshooting requests to the appropriate equipment services. In addition, the TCR executes first-line interventions on the entire CERN site. Troubleshooting requests are transmitted to the TCR either via a computerised control system or via the phone number '72201'. More than 10'000 such requests are dispatched and dealt with every year. The TCR's diverse field of activity concerns the following systems: electrical and fluid distribution networks, heating, cooling, ventilation, air-conditioning and gas equipment, safety and communication installations, electromechanical systems (e.g. lifts, cranes, machine tools, motorised doors), sanitary systems (leaks, sewage), control and monitoring infrastructure equipment, buildings. These systems can either be part of the administrative infrastructure, such as offices or restaurants, or part of the t...

  19. CERN'S TECHNICAL CONTROL ROOM (TCR) A CENTRAL SERVICE FOR EVERYONE

    CERN Multimedia

    Mario Batz (TCR Responsible)

    2001-01-01

    The Technical Control Room (TCR) monitors and operates the entire technical infrastructure of CERN 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It registers and dispatches troubleshooting requests to the appropriate equipment services. In addition, the TCR executes first-line interventions on the entire CERN site. Troubleshooting requests are transmitted to the TCR either via a computerised control system or via the phone number 72201. More than 10'000 such requests are dispatched and dealt with every year. The TCR's diverse field of activity concerns the following systems: electrical and fluid distribution networks, heating, cooling, ventilation, air-conditioning and gas equipment, safety and communication installations, electromechanical systems (e.g. lifts, cranes, machine tools, motorised doors), sanitary systems (leaks, sewage), control and monitoring infrastructure equipment, buildings. These systems can either be part of the administrative infrastructure, such as offices or restaurants, or part of the tec...

  20. Control room MMI 2000 for NORS simulator in HAMMLAB

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saarni, R.; Foerdestroemmen, N.T.; Meyer, B.D.; Skjerve, A.B.M.

    2001-03-01

    The report presents the control room MMI as of year 2000 for the NORS simulator in HAMMLAB. It consists of two main parts: NORS Reference Control Room MMI and NORS Experimental Control Room MMI. They are both utilised in human factors experiments in HAMMLAB. The HAMMLAB Experimental Control Room 2000 is presented together with the NORS Reference CR MMI, which includes the following display types: Overview displays, process and control displays, trend displays, supplementary alarm displays and logic displays for the protection system and other automatic control systems. User experiences based on feedback from professional Loviisa NPP operators are also given. For the Experimental Control Room MMI, main emphasis is on presenting the design of a new large screen overview display called; experimental Automatic Information Presentation (AIP) display. It was used for the first time last year in the HCA-2000 experiment in HAMMLAB. The design is quite different from previous overview displays being developed and used in HAMMLAB. The display presents the overall dynamic status of both the process and the automatic systems. The plans for the future include to develop and user test an upgraded AIP overview display, and to enhance and user test a limited set of task-based display prototypes. (Author)

  1. Assessment of control rooms of nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norros, L.; Ranta, J.; Wahlstroem, B.

    1983-05-01

    To identify and correct the lacks in control rooms of operating power plants and plants under construction an extensive program has been started in the USA. In Finland as in other countries using nuclear power, the development in the USA particularly with regard to the requirements imposed on nuclear power plants is carefully followed. The changes in these requirements are sooner or later also reflected in the guidelines given by the Finnish authorities. It is therefore important to be able to form a notion of how the new requirements apply to Finnish conditions. Especially it is important to review the latest assessment guidelines for control room implementation (NUREG-0700). Thus we can avoid possible over hasty conclusions. The aim of the analysis of the method and experiments presented in NUREG 0700 report was to create a basis for assessment of the suitability of the method for Finnish control room implementation. The task group has made a general methodical analysis of the method, and partly tried it in assessment of the TVO2 control room. It is obvious that direct conclusions from the American situation are misleading. It can be considered unfeasible to follow the American requirements as such, because they can lead to unwanted results. If the review is limited to control room details, the NRC program (checklist) can be considered successful. It can also be used during planning to observation of small discrepancies. However, we can question the applicability of some requirements. It is, though, more essential that the control room entity has neither in this nor in several other programs been reached or standardized. In spite of the difficulties we should try to reach this most important goal. (author)

  2. Control room envelope unfiltered air inleakage test protocols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lagus, P.L.; Grot, R.A.

    1997-01-01

    In 1983, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) recommended that the US NRC develop a control room HVAC performance testing protocol. To date no such protocol has been forthcoming. Beginning in mid-1994, an effort was funded by NRC under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to develop several simplified test protocols based on the principles of tracer gas testing in order to measure the total unfiltered inleakage entering a CRE during emergency mode operation of the control room ventilation system. These would allow accurate assessment of unfiltered air inleakage as required in SRP 6.4. The continuing lack of a standard protocol is unfortunate since one of the significant parameters required to calculate operator dose is the amount of unfiltered air inleakage into the control room. Often it is assumed that, if the Control Room Envelope (CRE) is maintained at +1/8 in. w.g. differential pressure relative to the surroundings, no significant unfiltered inleakage can occur it is further assumed that inleakage due to door openings is the only source of unfiltered air. 23 refs., 13 figs., 2 tabs

  3. Control room envelope unfiltered air inleakage test protocols

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lagus, P.L. [Lagus Applied Technology, San Diego, CA (United States); Grot, R.A. [Lagus Applied Technology, Olney, MD (United States)

    1997-08-01

    In 1983, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) recommended that the US NRC develop a control room HVAC performance testing protocol. To date no such protocol has been forthcoming. Beginning in mid-1994, an effort was funded by NRC under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to develop several simplified test protocols based on the principles of tracer gas testing in order to measure the total unfiltered inleakage entering a CRE during emergency mode operation of the control room ventilation system. These would allow accurate assessment of unfiltered air inleakage as required in SRP 6.4. The continuing lack of a standard protocol is unfortunate since one of the significant parameters required to calculate operator dose is the amount of unfiltered air inleakage into the control room. Often it is assumed that, if the Control Room Envelope (CRE) is maintained at +1/8 in. w.g. differential pressure relative to the surroundings, no significant unfiltered inleakage can occur it is further assumed that inleakage due to door openings is the only source of unfiltered air. 23 refs., 13 figs., 2 tabs.

  4. Threats to safety during sedation outside of the operating room and the death of Michael Jackson.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webster, Craig S; Mason, Keira P; Shafer, Steven L

    2016-03-01

    From an understanding of human psychology and the reliability of high-technology systems, this review considers critical threats to the safety of patients undergoing sedation outside of the operating room, and will stratify these threats along what we define as the 'Patient Risk Continuum'. We then consider interventions suitable for addressing identified risks. The technology, organization and delivery of healthcare continue to become more complex, highlighting the importance of maintaining the safety of patients. Sedation outside of the operating room is known to be associated with higher rates of adverse events. However, a number of recent safety initiatives have shown benefit in improving patient safety. The following threats to patients undergoing sedation, in increasing order of risk, are discussed: equipment and environmental factors, known patient risks, poor team performance, combinatorial problems and egregious violations. To address these threats, we discuss a number of approaches consistent with the systems approach to safety, namely: encouraging functions, forcing functions, cognitive safety nets, information sharing, recovery strategies and regulatory change. Demonstrating improvement with any safety initiative relies critically on quality data collected on the problem area in question.

  5. NRC study of control room habitability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayes, J.J. Jr.; Muller, D.R.; Gammill, W.P.

    1985-01-01

    Since 1980, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) has held several meetings with the NRC staff to discuss the subject of control room habitability. Several meetings between the ACRS and the staff have resulted in ACRS letters that express specific concerns, and the staff has provided responses in reports and meetings. In June of 1983, the NRC Executive Director for Operations directed the Offices of Nuclear Reactor Regulation and Inspection and Enforcement to develop a plan to handle the issues raised by the ACRS and to report to him specific proposed courses of action to respond to the ACRS's concerns. The NRC control room habitability working group has reviewed the subject in such areas as NRR review process, transformation of control room habitability designs to as-built systems, and determination of testing protocol. The group has determined that many of the ACRS concerns and recommendations are well founded, and has recommended actions to be taken to address these as well as other concerns which were raised independent of the ACRS. The review has revealed significant areas where the approach presently utilized in reviews should be altered

  6. Emergency control room design of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos, Isaac J.A.L. dos; Farias, Larissa P. de; Ponte, Luana T.L.; Goncalves, Gabriel L.; Castro, Heraclito M.; Farias, Marcos S.; Carvalho, Paulo V.R. de; Vianna Filho, Alfredo M.V., E-mail: luquetti@ien.gov.br [Instituto Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Departamento Engenharia Nuclear

    2015-07-01

    A control room is defined as a functional entity with an associated physical structure, where the operators carry out the centralized control, monitoring and administrative responsibilities. Emergency control room acts as an alternative control room for the purpose of shutting down or maintaining the facility in a safe shutdown state when the main control room is uninhabitable. The mission of emergency control room is to provide the resources to bring the plant to a safe shutdown condition after an evacuation of the main control room. An evacuation of the main control room is assumed when there is no possibility to accomplish tasks involved in the shutdown except reactor trip. The purpose of this paper is to present a specific approach for the design of the emergency control room of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotope. The approach is based on human factors standards and the participation of a multidisciplinary team in the development phase of the design. Using the information gathered from standards and from the multidisciplinary team a 3D Sketch and a 3D printing of the emergency control room were created. (author)

  7. Emergency control room design of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Isaac J.A.L. dos; Farias, Larissa P. de; Ponte, Luana T.L.; Goncalves, Gabriel L.; Castro, Heraclito M.; Farias, Marcos S.; Carvalho, Paulo V.R. de; Vianna Filho, Alfredo M.V.

    2015-01-01

    A control room is defined as a functional entity with an associated physical structure, where the operators carry out the centralized control, monitoring and administrative responsibilities. Emergency control room acts as an alternative control room for the purpose of shutting down or maintaining the facility in a safe shutdown state when the main control room is uninhabitable. The mission of emergency control room is to provide the resources to bring the plant to a safe shutdown condition after an evacuation of the main control room. An evacuation of the main control room is assumed when there is no possibility to accomplish tasks involved in the shutdown except reactor trip. The purpose of this paper is to present a specific approach for the design of the emergency control room of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotope. The approach is based on human factors standards and the participation of a multidisciplinary team in the development phase of the design. Using the information gathered from standards and from the multidisciplinary team a 3D Sketch and a 3D printing of the emergency control room were created. (author)

  8. Control room habitability system review models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilpin, H.

    1990-12-01

    This report provides a method of calculating control room operator doses from postulated reactor accidents and chemical spills as part of the resolution of TMI Action Plan III.D.3.4. The computer codes contained in this report use source concentrations calculated by either TACT5, FPFP, or EXTRAN, and transport them via user-defined flow rates to the control room envelope. The codes compute doses to six organs from up to 150 radionuclides (or 1 toxic chemical) for time steps as short as one second. Supporting codes written in Clipper assist in data entry and manipulation, and graphically display the results of the FORTRAN calculations. 7 refs., 22 figs

  9. Cadmium control/safety rod disposal at the Savannah River Site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McInnis, S.H.

    1995-01-01

    Four heavy-water-moderated reactors at the Savannah River Site will undergo the removal of 862 activated cadmium control/safety rods. Although these reactors are 40 years old, they offer 4 basic advantages for decommissioning: the equipment is still in some sort of operable state; the reactor is blow the floor in a large process room, allowing access; Control/safety rods can be handled remotely by existing equipment; a radiologically shielded removal path exists. Drawbacks include the following: age of reactors; improvements in technology have caused incompatibility problems; more strigent standards; compliance with environmental regulations. This article details how the removal was carried out and the current status of the project, keeping in mind the above considerations

  10. A new Main Control Room for the AGS complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ingrassia, P.F.; Zaharatos, R.M.; Dyling, O.H.

    1991-01-01

    A new Main Control Room (MCR) has been built to control the accelerators of the AGS Complex. A new physical environment was produced to better control light, sound, temperature, and traffic. New control consoles were built around the work-stations that make up the distributed control system. Equipment placement within consoles and console placement within the room reflect attention to the 'human factors' needs of the operator

  11. Design process and philosophy of TVA's latest advance control room complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Owens, G.R.; Masters, D.W.

    1979-01-01

    TVA's latest nuclear power plant control room design includes a greater emphasis on human factors as compared to their earlier plant designs. This emphasis has resulted in changes in the overall design philosophy and design process. This paper discusses some of the prominent design features of both the control room and the surrounding control room complex. In addition, it also presents some of the important activities involved in the process of developing the advanced control room design

  12. A Research Framework for Demonstrating Benefits of Advanced Control Room Technologies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Le Blanc, Katya [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Boring, Ronald [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Joe, Jeffrey [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Hallbert, Bruce [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Thomas, Kenneth [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2014-12-01

    Control Room modernization is an important part of life extension for the existing light water reactor fleet. None of the 99 currently operating commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. has completed a full-scale control room modernization to date. A full-scale modernization might, for example, entail replacement of all analog panels with digital workstations. Such modernizations have been undertaken successfully in upgrades in Europe and Asia, but the U.S. has yet to undertake a control room upgrade of this magnitude. Instead, nuclear power plant main control rooms for the existing commercial reactor fleet remain significantly analog, with only limited digital modernizations. Previous research under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program has helped establish a systematic process for control room upgrades that support the transition to a hybrid control. While the guidance developed to date helps streamline the process of modernization and reduce costs and uncertainty associated with introducing digital control technologies into an existing control room, these upgrades do not achieve the full potential of newer technologies that might otherwise enhance plant and operator performance. The aim of the control room benefits research presented here is to identify previously overlooked benefits of modernization, identify candidate technologies that may facilitate such benefits, and demonstrate these technologies through human factors research. This report serves as an outline for planned research on the benefits of greater modernization in the main control rooms of nuclear power plants.

  13. A Research Framework for Demonstrating Benefits of Advanced Control Room Technologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Blanc, Katya; Boring, Ronald; Joe, Jeffrey; Hallbert, Bruce; Thomas, Kenneth

    2014-01-01

    Control Room modernization is an important part of life extension for the existing light water reactor fleet. None of the 99 currently operating commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. has completed a full-scale control room modernization to date. A full-scale modernization might, for example, entail replacement of all analog panels with digital workstations. Such modernizations have been undertaken successfully in upgrades in Europe and Asia, but the U.S. has yet to undertake a control room upgrade of this magnitude. Instead, nuclear power plant main control rooms for the existing commercial reactor fleet remain significantly analog, with only limited digital modernizations. Previous research under the U.S. Department of Energy's Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program has helped establish a systematic process for control room upgrades that support the transition to a hybrid control. While the guidance developed to date helps streamline the process of modernization and reduce costs and uncertainty associated with introducing digital control technologies into an existing control room, these upgrades do not achieve the full potential of newer technologies that might otherwise enhance plant and operator performance. The aim of the control room benefits research presented here is to identify previously overlooked benefits of modernization, identify candidate technologies that may facilitate such benefits, and demonstrate these technologies through human factors research. This report serves as an outline for planned research on the benefits of greater modernization in the main control rooms of nuclear power plants.

  14. Teamwork and problem solving in the control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nygard, F.I.; Dedon, J.M.; Fuld, R.B.

    1989-01-01

    The importance of teamwork and communications in the control room of a nuclear power plant has been the subject of significant attention during the 10 yr since the Three Mile Island accident. The ability to conduct effective problem solving, especially under unexpected conditions, requires that the control room crew be well trained in techniques that produce synergism and avoid ambiguous or conflicting interactions. This paper describes the foundations of a training program developed and conducted by Combustion Engineering to produce a winning team in the control room. The complete licensed operations staffs of three utilities, Florida Power ampersand Light, Louisiana Power ampersand Light, and Omaha Public Power District, have completed this program. Thus, the results of the experience of ∼150 licensed operators is reported

  15. A new main control room for the AGS complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ingrassia, P.F.; Zaharatos, R.M.; Dyling, O.H.

    1991-01-01

    A new Main Control Room (MCR) has been built to control the accelerators of the AGS Complex. A new physical environment was produced to better control light, sound, temperature, and traffic. New control consoles were built around the work-stations that make up the distributed control system. Equipment placement within consoles and console placement within the room reflect attention to the ''human factors'' needs of the operator. 1 ref., 2 figs

  16. Using a Research Simulator for Validating Control Room Modernization Concepts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boring, Ronald L.; Agarwal, Vivek; Persensky, Julius J.; Joe, Jeffrey C.

    2012-01-01

    The Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program is a research, development, and deployment program sponsored by the United States Department of Energy. The program is operated in close collaboration with industry research and development programs to provide the technical foundations for licensing and managing the long-term, safe, and economical operation of nuclear power plants that are currently in operation. Advanced instrumentation and control (I and C) technologies are needed to support the continued safe and reliable production of power from nuclear energy systems during sustained periods of operation up to and beyond their expected licensed lifetime. This requires that new capabilities to achieve process control be developed and eventually implemented in existing nuclear control rooms. It also requires that approaches be developed and proven to achieve sustainability of I and C systems throughout the period of extended operation. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is working closely with nuclear utilities to develop technologies and solutions to help ensure the safe life extension of current reactors. One of the main areas of focus is control room modernization. Current analog control rooms are growing obsolete, and it is difficult for utilities to maintain them. Using its reconfigurable control room simulator adapted from a training simulator, INL serves as a neutral test bed for implementing new control room system technologies and assisting in control room modernization efforts across. (author)

  17. Using a Research Simulator for Validating Control Room Modernization Concepts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ronald L. Boring; Vivek Agarwal; Julius J. Persensky; Jeffrey C. Joe

    2012-05-01

    The Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program is a research, development, and deployment program sponsored by the United States Department of Energy. The program is operated in close collaboration with industry research and development programs to provide the technical foundations for licensing and managing the long-term, safe, and economical operation of nuclear power plants that are currently in operation. Advanced instrumentation and control (I&C) technologies are needed to support the continued safe and reliable production of power from nuclear energy systems during sustained periods of operation up to and beyond their expected licensed lifetime. This requires that new capabilities to achieve process control be developed and eventually implemented in existing nuclear control rooms. It also requires that approaches be developed and proven to achieve sustainability of I&C systems throughout the period of extended operation. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is working closely with nuclear utilities to develop technologies and solutions to help ensure the safe life extension of current reactors. One of the main areas of focus is control room modernization. Current analog control rooms are growing obsolete, and it is difficult for utilities to maintain them. Using its reconfigurable control room simulator adapted from a training simulator, INL serves as a neutral test bed for implementing new control room system technologies and assisting in control room modernization efforts across.

  18. Overview of the LHD central control room data monitoring environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Emoto, M.; Yoshinuma, M.; Yoshida, M.; Nakanishi, H.; Iwata, C.; Ohsuna, M.; Nonomura, M.; Imazu, S.; Yokota, M.; Aoyagi, M.; Ogawa, H.; Ida, K.; Watanabe, K.; Kaneko, O.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • In this paper, the data monitoring environments in the LHD central control room, for example, summary data graph and video monitoring tools are introduced. Also, the environments for the remote participants are introduced. - Abstract: During the Large Helical Device (LHD) experiments, many scientists and technical staff are working in the central control room to operate the experiment. They must manage the diagnostics and controlling devices referring to the results of the last plasma shot. Also, the experiment coordinator must decide the conditions for the subsequent experiments using the results. Furthermore, many scientists are participating in the experiment from remote sites. Therefore, it is important to share the information in the control room quickly, such as the results of the last plasma discharge, with the remote user as well as with the staff in the room. In this paper, the data monitoring environment in the LHD central control room is introduced.

  19. Overview of the LHD central control room data monitoring environment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Emoto, M., E-mail: emoto.masahiko@nifs.ac.jp; Yoshinuma, M.; Yoshida, M.; Nakanishi, H.; Iwata, C.; Ohsuna, M.; Nonomura, M.; Imazu, S.; Yokota, M.; Aoyagi, M.; Ogawa, H.; Ida, K.; Watanabe, K.; Kaneko, O.

    2016-11-15

    Highlights: • In this paper, the data monitoring environments in the LHD central control room, for example, summary data graph and video monitoring tools are introduced. Also, the environments for the remote participants are introduced. - Abstract: During the Large Helical Device (LHD) experiments, many scientists and technical staff are working in the central control room to operate the experiment. They must manage the diagnostics and controlling devices referring to the results of the last plasma shot. Also, the experiment coordinator must decide the conditions for the subsequent experiments using the results. Furthermore, many scientists are participating in the experiment from remote sites. Therefore, it is important to share the information in the control room quickly, such as the results of the last plasma discharge, with the remote user as well as with the staff in the room. In this paper, the data monitoring environment in the LHD central control room is introduced.

  20. An electronic logbook for the HEP control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roediger, G.; Pomatto, P.; Kyriakopulos, J.; Panacek, S.; Canal, P.; Kubarovsky, A.

    2001-01-01

    The Control Room Logbook (CRL) is designed to improve and replace the paper logbooks traditionally used in the HEP accelerator control room. Its features benefit the on-line coordinator, the shift operators, and the remote observers. The author explains some of the most attractive features for each of these roles. The features include the ability to configure the logbook for the specific needs of a collaboration, a large variety of entry types an operator can add by simply clicking and dragging, and a flexible web interface for the remote observer to keep up with control room activities. The entries and saved as UTF-8 based XML files, which allowed us to give the data structure and meaning such that it can easily be parsed in the present and far into the future. The XML tag data is also indexed in a relational database, making queries on dates, keywords, entry type and other criteria feasible and fast. The CRL is used in the D0 control room. This presentation also discusses our experience with deployment, platform independence and other interesting issues that arose with the installation and use of logbook

  1. An Electronic Logbook for the HEP Control Room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gary Roediger

    2001-01-01

    The Control Room Logbook (CRL) is designed to improve and replace the paper logbooks traditionally used in the HEP accelerator control room. Its features benefit the on-line coordinator, the shift operators, and the remote observers. This paper explains some of the most attractive features for each of these roles. The features include the ability to configure the logbook for the specific needs of a collaboration, a large variety of entry types an operator can add by simply clicking and dragging, and a flexible web interface for the remote observer to keep up with control room activities. The entries are saved as UTF-8 based XML files, which allowed us to give the data structure and meaning such that it can easily be parsed in the present and far into the future. The XML tag data is also indexed in a relational database, making queries on dates, keywords, entry type and other criteria feasible and fast. The CRL is used in the D0 control room. This presentation also discusses our experience with deployment, platform independence and other interesting issues that arose with the installation and use of the logbook

  2. Information Foraging in Nuclear Power Plant Control Rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boring, R.L.

    2011-01-01

    nformation foraging theory articulates the role of the human as an 'informavore' that seeks information and follows optimal foraging strategies (i.e., the 'information scent') to find meaningful information. This paper briefly reviews the findings from information foraging theory outside the nuclear domain and then discusses the types of information foraging strategies operators employ for normal and off-normal operations in the control room. For example, operators may employ a predatory 'wolf' strategy of hunting for information in the face of a plant upset. However, during routine operations, the operators may employ a trapping 'spider' strategy of waiting for relevant indicators to appear. This delineation corresponds to information pull and push strategies, respectively. No studies have been conducted to determine explicitly the characteristics of a control room interface that is optimized for both push and pull information foraging strategies, nor has there been empirical work to validate operator performance when transitioning between push and pull strategies. This paper explores examples of control room operators as wolves vs. spiders and con- cludes by proposing a set of research questions to investigate information foraging in control room settings.

  3. Information Foraging in Nuclear Power Plant Control Rooms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    R.L. Boring

    2011-09-01

    nformation foraging theory articulates the role of the human as an 'informavore' that seeks information and follows optimal foraging strategies (i.e., the 'information scent') to find meaningful information. This paper briefly reviews the findings from information foraging theory outside the nuclear domain and then discusses the types of information foraging strategies operators employ for normal and off-normal operations in the control room. For example, operators may employ a predatory 'wolf' strategy of hunting for information in the face of a plant upset. However, during routine operations, the operators may employ a trapping 'spider' strategy of waiting for relevant indicators to appear. This delineation corresponds to information pull and push strategies, respectively. No studies have been conducted to determine explicitly the characteristics of a control room interface that is optimized for both push and pull information foraging strategies, nor has there been empirical work to validate operator performance when transitioning between push and pull strategies. This paper explores examples of control room operators as wolves vs. spiders and con- cludes by proposing a set of research questions to investigate information foraging in control room settings.

  4. Control room - ergonomic factors and their influence on the quality of exploitation process conduction in the coal fueled power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kutuzovska, Snezhana

    1997-01-01

    In the Control Room in which control and regulation is performed upon the overall process of electric energy production, the operator plays essential role as an ultimate decision factor, particularly in the states of emergency. From the Control Room the operator performs a real-time supervision and management of the production process thus introducing exquisite quality into the operating fitness maintenance, creating optimal conditions for uninterrupted and safe production. The engagements of the operator in the Control Room require mutual accordance of the anthropology-technical and bio mechanical characteristics with the psychophysiological attributes of the operator. Any command and signaling equipment mishandling may cause numerous unwanted consequences, leading to a production control system breakdown for the power plant. In order to achieve a balanced optimization in the system operation, such as appropriate working conveniences, protection, certain economic effects, etc. an ergonomic organization and arrangement of the Control Room working environment is required. Re existing working environment solutions of the kind in our milieu show outstanding deviations towards the anthropology-physiological and psychophysiological capabilities of the operator on duties of the kind, as well as towards the collocation of signaling and command facilities and other equipment units at the Control Room site - the reason being a lack of appropriate investigation before setup of the systems. Solution to this kind of problems is aimed to provide maximum functional capability, efficiency and safety to the Control Room operator's domain of activities, which will essentially improve the reliability of the entire energy production control system of a thermoelectric power plant. (Author)

  5. A new remote control room for tokamak operations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schissel, D.P., E-mail: schissel@fusion.gat.com [General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, CA (United States); Abla, G.; Flanagan, S.; Kim, E.N. [General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, CA (United States)

    2012-12-15

    This paper presents a summary of a new remote tokamak control room constructed near the offices of DIII-D's scientific staff. This integrated system combines hardware, software, data, and control of the room (R-232) into a unified package that has been designed and constructed in a generic fashion so that it can be used with any tokamak operating worldwide. The room is approximately 300 ft{sup 2} and can accommodate up to 12 seated participants. Mounted on the wall facing each scientist are five 52 Double-Prime LCD televisions and mounted to the wall on their right are six 24 Double-Prime LCD monitors. Each seat has associated with it a 24 Double-Prime monitor, network connection, and power and the scientist is either provided with a computer or they can use their own. The room has been used for operation of DIII-D, EAST, and KSTAR. Due to the long distances, data from EAST and KSTAR was brought back to local DIII-D computers in one large parallel network transfer and subsequently served to scientists in the remote control room to other US collaborators. This parallel data transfer allowed the data to be available to US participants between pulses making remote experimental participation highly effective.

  6. Cognitive models and computer aids for nuclear plant control room operators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sheridan, T.B.

    1982-01-01

    This paper reviews what is usually meant by a cognitive model of a control room operator in a nuclear power plant. It emphasizes the idea of internal (that is, mental) representation of external events and the use of such representation for the cognitive steps of attending, recognizing or learning, assessing and deciding. As computers play an increasingly important role in nuclear power plants, especially as cognitive aids to human supervisors of highly automated control systems, it is important that the software and computer interface characteristics be compatible with the operator's internal model. Specific examples discussed in this paper are in the monitoring and prediction of the plant state and in the detection and diagnosis of failures. Current trends in SPDS (safety parameter display system) and failure detection/location systems will be discussed in this regard

  7. Digital Full-Scope Simulation of a Conventional Nuclear Power Plant Control Room, Phase 2: Installation of a Reconfigurable Simulator to Support Nuclear Plant Sustainability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ronald L. Boring; Vivek Agarwal; Kirk Fitzgerald; Jacques Hugo; Bruce Hallbert

    2013-03-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability program has developed a control room simulator in support of control room modernization at nuclear power plants in the U.S. This report highlights the recent completion of this reconfigurable, full-scale, full-scope control room simulator buildout at the Idaho National Laboratory. The simulator is fully reconfigurable, meaning it supports multiple plant models developed by different simulator vendors. The simulator is full-scale, using glasstop virtual panels to display the analog control boards found at current plants. The present installation features 15 glasstop panels, uniquely achieving a complete control room representation. The simulator is also full-scope, meaning it uses the same plant models used for training simulators at actual plants. Unlike in the plant training simulators, the deployment on glasstop panels allows a high degree of customization of the panels, allowing the simulator to be used for research on the design of new digital control systems for control room modernization. This report includes separate sections discussing the glasstop panels, their layout to mimic control rooms at actual plants, technical details on creating a multi-plant and multi-vendor reconfigurable simulator, and current efforts to support control room modernization at U.S. utilities. The glasstop simulator provides an ideal testbed for prototyping and validating new control room concepts. Equally importantly, it is helping create a standardized and vetted human factors engineering process that can be used across the nuclear industry to ensure control room upgrades maintain and even improve current reliability and safety.

  8. Wind tunnel testing to predict control room atmospheric dispersion factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holmquist, L.J.; Harden, P.A.; Muraida, J.E.

    1993-01-01

    Recent concerns at Palisades about control room habitability in the event of a loss-of-coolant accident have led to an extensive effort to increase control room habitability margin. The heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system servicing the control room has the potential for unfiltered in-leakage through its normal outside air intake louvered isolation dampers during emergency mode. The current limiting control room habitability analysis allows for 1.2 x 10 -2 m 3 /s (25 ft 3 /min) unfiltered in-leakage into the control room envelope. This leakage value was not thought to be achievable with the existing as-built configuration. Repairing the system was considered as a potential solution; however, this would be costly and could negatively affect plant operation. In addition, the system would still be required to meet the low specified unfiltered in-leakage. A second approach to this problem was to determine the atmospheric dispersion factors (x/Q's) through a wind tunnel test using a scale model of Palisades. The results of the wind tunnel testing could yield more realistic x/Q's for control room habitability than previously employed methods. Palisades selected the wind tunnel study option based on its ease of implementation, realistic results, and low cost. More importantly, the results of the study could increase the allowable unfiltered in-leakage

  9. Room Thermostat with Servo Controlled by PIC Microcontroller

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Skapa

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes the design of room thermostat with Microchip PIC microcontroller. Thermostat is designated for two-pipe heating system. The microprocessor controls thermostatic valve via electric actuator with mechanical gear unit. The room thermostat uses for its activity measurements of air temperature in the room and calorimetric measurement of heat, which is served to the radiator. These features predestinate it mainly for underfloor heating regulation. The thermostat is designed to work in a network. Communication with heating system's central control unit is proceeded via RS485 bus with proprietary communication protocol. If the communication failure occurs the thermostat is able to work separately. The system uses its own real time clock circuit and memory with heating programs. These programs are able to cover the whole heating season. The method of position discontinuous PSD control is used in this equipment.

  10. LOFT advanced control room operator diagnostic and display system (ODDS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larsen, D.G.; Robb, T.C.

    1980-01-01

    The Loss-of-Fluid Test (LOFT) Reactor Facility in Idaho includes a highly instrumented nuclear reactor operated by the Department of Energy for the purpose of establishing nuclear safety requirements. The results of the development and installation into LOFT of an Operator Diagnostic and Display System (ODDS) are presented. The ODDS is a computer-based graphics display system centered around a PRIME 550 computer with several RAMTEK color graphic display units located within the control room and available to the reactor operators. Use of computer-based color graphics to aid the reactor operator is discussed. A detailed hardware description of the LOFT data system and the ODDS is presented. Methods and problems of backfitting the ODDS equipment into the LOFT plant are discussed

  11. Low frequency sound field control for loudspeakers in rectangular rooms using CABS (Controlled Acoustical Bass System)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Sofus Birkedal; Celestinos, Adrian

    2010-01-01

    Rectangular rooms are the most common shape for sound reproduction, but at low frequencies the reflections from the boundaries of the room cause large spatial variations in the sound pressure level.  Variations up to 30 dB are normal, not only at the room modes, but basically at all frequencies....... As sound propagates in time, it seems natural that the problems can best be analyzed and solved in the time domain. A time based room correction system named CABS (Controlled Acoustical Bass System) has been developed for sound reproduction in rectangular listening rooms. It can control the sound...... sound field in the whole room, and short impulse response.  In a standard listening room (180 m3) only 4 loudspeakers are needed, 2 more than a traditional stereo setup. CABS is controlled by a developed DSP system. The time based approached might help with the understanding of sound field control...

  12. FRAMEWORK AND APPLICATION FOR MODELING CONTROL ROOM CREW PERFORMANCE AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ronald L Boring; David I Gertman; Tuan Q Tran; Brian F Gore

    2008-09-01

    This paper summarizes an emerging project regarding the utilization of high-fidelity MIDAS simulations for visualizing and modeling control room crew performance at nuclear power plants. The key envisioned uses for MIDAS-based control room simulations are: (i) the estimation of human error associated with advanced control room equipment and configurations, (ii) the investigative determination of contributory cognitive factors for risk significant scenarios involving control room operating crews, and (iii) the certification of reduced staffing levels in advanced control rooms. It is proposed that MIDAS serves as a key component for the effective modeling of cognition, elements of situation awareness, and risk associated with human performance in next generation control rooms.

  13. FRAMEWORK AND APPLICATION FOR MODELING CONTROL ROOM CREW PERFORMANCE AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ronald L Boring; David I Gertman; Tuan Q Tran; Brian F Gore

    2008-01-01

    This paper summarizes an emerging project regarding the utilization of high-fidelity MIDAS simulations for visualizing and modeling control room crew performance at nuclear power plants. The key envisioned uses for MIDAS-based control room simulations are: (1) the estimation of human error associated with advanced control room equipment and configurations, (2) the investigative determination of contributory cognitive factors for risk significant scenarios involving control room operating crews, and (3) the certification of reduced staffing levels in advanced control rooms. It is proposed that MIDAS serves as a key component for the effective modeling of cognition, elements of situation awareness, and risk associated with human performance in next generation control rooms

  14. HABIT, Toxic and Radioactive Release Hazards in Reactor Control Room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stage, S.A.

    2005-01-01

    1 - Description of program or function: HABIT is a package of computer codes designed to be used for the evaluation of control room habitability in the event of an accidental release of toxic chemicals or radioactive materials. 2 - Methods: Given information about the design of a nuclear power plant, a scenario for the release of toxic or radionuclides, and information about the air flows and protection systems of the control room, HABIT can be used to estimate the chemical exposure or radiological dose to control room personnel

  15. Design and implementation of new control room system in Damavand tokamak

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasouli, H.; Zamanian, H.; Gheidi, M.; Kheiri-Fard, M.; Kouhi, A.

    2017-07-01

    The aim of this paper is design and implementation of an up-to-date control room. The previous control room had a lot of constraints and it was not apposite to the sophisticated diagnostic systems as well as to the modern control and multivariable systems. Although it provided the best output for the considered experiments and implementing offline algorithms among all similar plants, it needed to be developed to provide more capability for complex algorithm mechanisms and this work introduces our efforts in this area. Accordingly, four leading systems were designed and implemented, including real-time control system, online Data Acquisition System (DAS), offline DAS, monitoring and data transmission system. In the control system, three real-time control modules were established based on Digital Signal Processor (DSP). Thanks to them, implementation of the classic and linear and nonlinear intelligent controllers was possible to control the plasma position and its elongation. Also, online DAS was constructed in two modules. Using them, voltages and currents of charge for the capacitor banks and pressure of different parts in vacuum vessel were measured and monitored. Likewise, by real-time processing of the online data, the safety protocol of plant performance was accomplished. In addition, the offline DAS was organized in 13 modules based on Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). This system can be used for gathering all diagnostic, control, and performance data in 156 channels. Data transmission system and storing mechanism in the server was provided by data transmitting network and MDSplus standard protocol. Moreover, monitoring software was designed so that it could display the required plots for physical analyses. Taking everything into account, this new platform can improve the quality and quantity of research activities in plasma physics for Damavand tokamak.

  16. Controlling allergens in animal rooms by using curtains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krohn, Thomas Cæcius; Itter, Gabi; Fosse, Richard

    2006-01-01

    The reduction and control of allergens in the animal facility is important for staff working with laboratory animals. This study was designed to evaluate the efficiency of perforated Makrolon curtains in front of racks as a method to reduce the amount of allergen in the animal room. The experimen......The reduction and control of allergens in the animal facility is important for staff working with laboratory animals. This study was designed to evaluate the efficiency of perforated Makrolon curtains in front of racks as a method to reduce the amount of allergen in the animal room....... The experimental situation we studied provides some information regarding allergen disposition in animal rooms but is clearly artificial and does not reflect a typical, ‘real-world’ environment in terms of preventing exposure of workers to allergens. Plastic curtains with holes were placed in front of racks......, and a corridor between the racks and a curtain was present. The room was ventilated with air, which was blown into the room through the middle of the corridor, flowing downstream and passing through the holes in the curtain. This set-up resulted in air flow from the corridor through the curtain. Air samples were...

  17. Signal validation with control-room information-processing computers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belblidia, L.A.; Carlson, R.W.; Russell, J.L. Jr.

    1985-01-01

    One of the 'lessons learned' from the Three Mile Island accident focuses upon the need for a validated source of plant-status information in the control room. The utilization of computer-generated graphics to display the readings of the major plant instrumentation has introduced the capability of validating signals prior to their presentation to the reactor operations staff. The current operations philosophies allow the operator a quick look at the gauges to form an impression of the fraction of full scale as the basis for knowledge of the current plant conditions. After the introduction of a computer-based information-display system such as the Safety Parameter Display System (SPDS), operational decisions can be based upon precise knowledge of the parameters that define the operation of the reactor and auxiliary systems. The principal impact of this system on the operator will be to remove the continuing concern for the validity of the instruments which provide the information that governs the operator's decisions. (author)

  18. CEBAF Control Room Renovation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michael Spata; Thomas Oren

    2005-01-01

    The Machine Control Center (MCC) at Jefferson Lab's Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) was initially constructed in the early 1990s and based on proven technology of that era. Through our experience over the last 15 years and in our planning for the facility's 12 GeV upgrade we reevaluated the control room environment to capitalize on emerging visualization and display technologies and improve workflow processes and ergonomic attributes. This effort also sets the foundation for the redevelopment of the accelerator's control system to deliver high reliability performance with improvements in beam specifications management and information flow. The complete renovation was performed over a three-week maintenance period with no interruption to beam operations. We present the results of this effort

  19. CEBAF Control Room Renovation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michael Spata; Thomas Oren

    2005-01-01

    The Machine Control Center at Jefferson Lab's Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility was initially constructed in the early 1990s and based on proven technology of that era. Through our experience over the last 15 years and in our planning for the facilities 12 GeV upgrade we reevaluated the control room environment to capitalize on emerging visualization and display technologies and improve on workflow processes and ergonomic attributes. This effort also sets the foundation for the redevelopment of the accelerator's control system to deliver high reliability performance with improvements in beam specifications management and information flow. The complete renovation was performed over a three-week period with no interruption to beam operations. We present the results of this effort

  20. Analysis of the operator's tasks: An aid to control room design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blanc, P.; Guesnier, G.P.; Heilbronn, B.; Monnier, B.

    1983-01-01

    The control room designer usually has no knowledge of the tasks performed by the operator in the control room since an overall picture of the situation only becomes available once the whole facility has been constructed. In order to study and design control rooms for its future PWR units, Electricite de France (EDF) felt it was essential to analyse these tasks: the work was facilitated by the existence of 900 MW PWR units which were already in operation and which are controlled in much the same manner as future units of the same type. Accordingly, by analysing the control procedures of these 900 MW PWR units, a data base describing the control and monitoring tasks performed by operators in normal, incident and accident situations has been built up. The data-base files, which were established from a study of 130 control procedures, record all the commands given and data available in the control room (about 7000), describe the tasks connected with these commands and data, and identify the times at which they are made use of by the operator. Using this data base, the principle of operator-system communication and of data processing in the control room of the future has been established: in such a control room, most controls and data will be accessible through computer communication systems to ensure that control and monitoring systems are closely integrated under normal operating conditions as well as in incident and post-accident situations and to enable the plant to be controlled by one or two operators in a seated position. (author)

  1. Learning from aviation to improve safety in the operating room - a systematic literature review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    L.S.G.L. Wauben; J.F. Lange (Johan); R.H.M. Goossens (Richard)

    2012-01-01

    textabstractLessons learned from other high-risk industries could improve patient safety in the operating room (OR). This review describes similarities and differences between high-risk industries and describes current methods and solutions within a system approach to reduce errors in the OR. PubMed

  2. Advanced tools for enhancing control room collaborations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abla, G.; Flanagan, S.M.; Peng, Q.; Burruss, J.R.; Schissel, D.P.

    2006-01-01

    The US National Fusion Collaboratory (NFC) project has been exploring a variety of computer and network technologies to develop a persistent, efficient, reliable and convenient collaborative environment for magnetic fusion research. One goal is to enhance remote and collocated team collaboration by integrating collaboration software tools into control room operations as well as with data analysis tools. To achieve this goal, the NFC recently introduced two new collaboration technologies into the DIII-D tokamak control room. The first technology is a high-resolution, large format Shared Display Wall (SDW). By creating a shared public display space and providing real time visual information about the multiple aspects of complex experiment activity, the large SDW plays an important role in increasing the rate of information dissemination and promoting interaction among team members. The second technology being implemented is the 'tokamak control room aware' Instant Messaging (IM) service. In addition to providing text-chat capabilities for research scientists, it enables them to automatically receive information about experiment operations and data analysis processes to remotely monitor the status of ongoing tokamak experiment. As a result, the IM service has become a unified portal interface for team collaboration and remote participation

  3. Advanced tools for enhancing control room collaborations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abla, G. [General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186 5608 (United States)]. E-mail: abla@fusion.gat.com; Flanagan, S.M. [General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186 5608 (United States); Peng, Q. [General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186 5608 (United States); Burruss, J.R. [General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186 5608 (United States); Schissel, D.P. [General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186 5608 (United States)

    2006-07-15

    The US National Fusion Collaboratory (NFC) project has been exploring a variety of computer and network technologies to develop a persistent, efficient, reliable and convenient collaborative environment for magnetic fusion research. One goal is to enhance remote and collocated team collaboration by integrating collaboration software tools into control room operations as well as with data analysis tools. To achieve this goal, the NFC recently introduced two new collaboration technologies into the DIII-D tokamak control room. The first technology is a high-resolution, large format Shared Display Wall (SDW). By creating a shared public display space and providing real time visual information about the multiple aspects of complex experiment activity, the large SDW plays an important role in increasing the rate of information dissemination and promoting interaction among team members. The second technology being implemented is the 'tokamak control room aware' Instant Messaging (IM) service. In addition to providing text-chat capabilities for research scientists, it enables them to automatically receive information about experiment operations and data analysis processes to remotely monitor the status of ongoing tokamak experiment. As a result, the IM service has become a unified portal interface for team collaboration and remote participation.

  4. CERN opens up its control rooms to youngsters

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Bulletin

    2011-01-01

    CERN is inviting 13 to 18 year-olds to come and spend a couple of hours in the control rooms of the LHC and its experiments. Registration is now open.   Is your neighbour's kid eager to come and see what's going on in the CERN control rooms for himself? Is your niece from Germany fascinated by the famous accelerator near Geneva that she's heard about and asking to know more? Then Researchers Night is for them! From 6.00 p.m. on Friday 23 September until 1.00 a.m. the following morning, the LHC and its experiments will open their doors to 13 to 18 year-olds. They are invited to come and spend a couple of hours in the control rooms watching the physicists and taking part in various activities. ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, LHCb, TOTEM, and the CERN Control Centre (CCC) will all be welcoming visitors. For this second year of CERN's involvement in European Researchers Night, the CERN exhibitions will be open late and special activities will be organised in Microcosm....

  5. Responsibilities for control room design in the USA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leary, J.E.; Barnhart, C.G.

    1980-01-01

    In the design and construction of nuclear power plants in the United States, the architect-engineering firm usually serves as the principal co-ordinator for the various parties involved. Recent events such as the Three Mile Island accident have focused attention on operability and human factors engineering in the design of the control room. This article describes current trends in control room design and the division of responsibility between the plant owner, the reactor vendor, and the architect-engineer. (author)

  6. Design, operation, and safety of single-room interventional MRI suites: practical experience from two centers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Mark J; Thornton, John S; Hawkes, David J; Hill, Derek L G; Kitchen, Neil; Mancini, Laura; McEvoy, Andrew W; Razavi, Reza; Wilson, Sally; Yousry, Tarek; Keevil, Stephen F

    2015-01-01

    The design and operation of a facility in which a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner is incorporated into a room used for surgical or endovascular cardiac interventions presents several challenges. MR safety must be maintained in the presence of a much wider variety of equipment than is found in a diagnostic unit, and of staff unfamiliar with the MRI environment, without compromising the safety and practicality of the interventional procedure. Both the MR-guided cardiac interventional unit at Kings College London and the intraoperative imaging suite at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery are single-room interventional facilities incorporating 1.5 T cylindrical-bore MRI scanners. The two units employ similar strategies to maintain MR safety, both in original design and day-to-day operational workflows, and between them over a decade of incident-free practice has been accumulated. This article outlines these strategies, highlighting both similarities and differences between the units, as well as some lessons learned and resulting procedural changes made in both units since installation. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Cooperative research for human factors review of advanced control rooms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Park, Jae Chang; Lee, Yong Hee; Oh, In Seok; Lee, Hyun Chul

    2000-12-01

    This project has been performed as cooperative research between KAERI and USNRC. Human factors issues related to soft controls, which is one of key features of advanced HSI, are identified in this project. The issues are analyzed for the evaluation approaches in either experimental or analytical ways. Also, issues requiring additional researches for the evaluation of advanced HSI are identified in the areas of advanced information systems design, computer-based procedure systems, soft controls, human systems interface and plant modernization process, and maintainability of digital systems. The issues are analyzed to discriminate the urgency of researches on it to high, medium, and low levels in consideration of advanced HSI development status in Korea, and some of the issues that can be handled by experimental researches are identified. Additionally, an experimental study is performed to compare operator's performance on human error detection in advanced control rooms vs. in conventional control rooms. It is found that advanced control rooms have several design characteristics hindering operator's error detection performance compared to conventional control rooms.

  8. Cooperative research for human factors review of advanced control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Park, Jae Chang; Lee, Yong Hee; Oh, In Seok; Lee, Hyun Chul

    2000-12-01

    This project has been performed as cooperative research between KAERI and USNRC. Human factors issues related to soft controls, which is one of key features of advanced HSI, are identified in this project. The issues are analyzed for the evaluation approaches in either experimental or analytical ways. Also, issues requiring additional researches for the evaluation of advanced HSI are identified in the areas of advanced information systems design, computer-based procedure systems, soft controls, human systems interface and plant modernization process, and maintainability of digital systems. The issues are analyzed to discriminate the urgency of researches on it to high, medium, and low levels in consideration of advanced HSI development status in Korea, and some of the issues that can be handled by experimental researches are identified. Additionally, an experimental study is performed to compare operator's performance on human error detection in advanced control rooms vs. in conventional control rooms. It is found that advanced control rooms have several design characteristics hindering operator's error detection performance compared to conventional control rooms

  9. PS Main Control Room (partial view)

    CERN Multimedia

    1974-01-01

    Jean-Pierre Potier (turning buttons) and Bertran Frammery (telephoning) on shift. The 26 GeV Synchrotron and later also its related machines (Linacs 1,2,3; PS-Booster; LEP-Injector Linacs and Electron-Positron Accumulator; Antiproton Accumulator, Antiproton Collector, Low Energy Antiproton Ring and more recently Antiproton Decelerator) were all controlled from the PS control room situated on the Meyrin site. The SPS and LEP were controlled from a separat control centre on the Prevessin site. In 2005 all controls were transferred to the Prevessin centre.

  10. Function analysis and function assignment of NPP advanced main control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng Mingguang; Xu Jijun

    2001-01-01

    The author addresses the requirements of function analysis and function assignment, which should be carried out in the design of main control room in nuclear power plant according to the design research of advanced main control room, then states its contents, functions, importance and necessity as well as how to implement these requirements and how to do design verification and validation in the design of advanced main control room of nuclear power plant

  11. Changes in safety climate and teamwork in the operating room after implementation of a revised WHO checklist: a prospective interventional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erestam, Sofia; Haglind, Eva; Bock, David; Andersson, Annette Erichsen; Angenete, Eva

    2017-01-01

    Inter-professional teamwork in the operating room is important for patient safety. The World Health Organization (WHO) checklist was introduced to improve intraoperative teamwork. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety climate in a Swedish operating room setting before and after an intervention, using a revised version of the WHO checklist to improve teamwork. This study is a single center prospective interventional study. Participants were personnel working in operating room teams including surgeons, anesthesiologists, scrub nurses, nurse anaesthetists and nurse assistants. The study started with pre-interventional observations of the WHO checklist use followed by education on safety climate, the WHO checklist, and non-technical skills in the operating room. Thereafter a revised version of the WHO checklist was introduced. Post-interventional observations regarding the performance of the WHO checklist were carried out. The Safety Attitude Questionnaire was used to assess safety climate at baseline and post-intervention. At baseline we discovered a need for improved teamwork and communication. The participants considered teamwork to be important for patient safety, but had different perceptions of good teamwork between professions. The intervention, a revised version of the WHO checklist, did not affect teamwork climate. Adherence to the revision of the checklist was insufficient, dominated by a lack of structure. There was no significant change in teamwork climate by use of the revised WHO checklist, which may be due to insufficient implementation, as a lack of adherence to the WHO checklist was detected. We found deficiencies in teamwork and communication. Further studies exploring how to improve safety climate are needed. NCT02329691.

  12. Evaporation Controlled Emission in Ventilated Rooms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Topp, Claus; Nielsen, Peter V.; Heiselberg, Per

    -scale ventilated room when the emission is fully or partly evaporation controlled. The objective of the present research work has been to investigate the change of emission rates from small-scale experiments to full-scale ventilated rooms and to investigate the influence of the local air velocity field near......Emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from materials is traditionally determined from tests carried out in small-scale test chambers. However, a difference in scale may lead to a difference in the measured emission rate in a small-scale test chamber and the actual emission rate in a full...

  13. Comparison of the inspection practices in relation to the control room operator and shift supervisor licenses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aro, Ilari; Koizumi, Hiroyoshi; Manzella, Pietro

    1998-01-01

    The CNRA believes that safety inspections are a major element in the regulatory authority's efforts to ensure the safe operation of nuclear facilities. Considering the importance of these issues, the Committee has established a special Working Group on Inspection Practices (WGIP). The purpose of WGIP, is to facilitate the exchange of information and experience related to regulatory safety inspections between CNRA Member countries In 1996, members of WGIP discussed various ways in which regulatory inspectors look at and evaluate how licenses are given to control room operators and shift supervisors in the Member countries. As a result of these discussions it was proposed to put together a short comparison report on this issue. The CNRA approved work on this at its annual meeting that year. This CNRA/WGIP study concentrates on the regulatory inspection of control room operator competence and authorisation. As noted in the text, fourteen Member countries supplied input by responding to the questionnaire. This report presents a comparison of inspection practices in participating OECD countries relating to control room operator and shift supervisor licenses. The report has been derived from answers to a questionnaire on the basis of guidance given in Appendix 1.1 with the detailed answers being given in Appendix 1. Key questions for this comparison were 'What are the regulatory or licensee requirements for holding and up-keeping a license or authorisation' and 'How does the regulatory body inspect the training and competence of shift teams and individual operators'. The main conclusion from the comparison is that the general practice within the participating countries for ensuring the competence of operators is broadly similar although regulatory practices differ markedly. For example, the regulatory bodies in some countries are actively involved in the examination and licensing process of individual operators whereas other regulatory bodies

  14. Multinodal control room envelope model used for habitability analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blumberg, W.M.; Gore, D.E.

    1995-01-01

    This work analyzes the habitability of the control room envelope (CRE) during an off-normal ventilation system condition. The most limiting design basis accident utilized for this analysis is the postulated loss-of-coolant accident. The off-normal condition assumes two rooms within the CRE are at pressures that are lower than adjoining rooms outside the CRE. This pressure differential allows unfiltered in-leakage to enter the CRE through the doors and penetrations in these rooms. This paper quantifies the maximum unfiltered in-leakage

  15. A Control Room Design Support system using virtual reality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakuma, Akira; Fukumoto, Akira; Hatanaka, Takahiro; Saijou, Nobuyuki; Masugi, Tsuyoshi

    1999-01-01

    To enhance the efficiency of design and evaluation of the control and monitoring system in the main control room of nuclear power plants, we have been developing a COntrol Room Design Support system (CORDS) using virtual reality technology. Using CORDS, vendor designers and customers can visually check and review human interface design of the proposed control and monitoring systems. The geometry of panels and consoles of the control and monitoring system represented as 3-dimensional static CG (computer graphics) models. Dynamic components, such as control switches, CRT displays and so on, are modeled as dynamic objects in the geometric CG model environment. CORDS is linked with real-time plant simulator. The dynamic objects respond to the corresponding process variables in the simulator, which enables visual evaluation of the response of the control and monitoring system for the various normal and abnormal plant status. The behavior of plant operators can be simulated in 3-dimensional CG control room environment. The operators can be displayed as CG figures and their motions are modeled and controlled based on plant operation manuals. A prototype of CORDS has constructed on a graphics workstation and two engineering workstations. (author)

  16. Exploitation of new information technologies to improve the man-machine interface in particular in nuclear power plants control rooms (SR 2039/7)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fassmann, W.

    1994-01-01

    The establishment of a uniform computer-based user surface requires a qualification of the employed hard- and software which meets safety demands. This problem is outlined, pointing out those parts of safety instrumentation and control which for the time being have to be conventional in order to ensure sufficient safety precaution. Ergonomic problems of man-machine interaction, which have to be assessed when licensing computerized control rooms or mixed ones, are worked out and a way of solving them is shown. In this regard, observational and operational tasks are considered; activities, however, which are related to the modification of computer software remain unconsidered. (orig./DG) [de

  17. Developing control room operator selection procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bosshardt, M.J.; Bownas, D.A.

    1979-01-01

    PDRI is performing a two-year study to identify the tasks performed and attributes required in electric power generating plant operating jobs, and focusing on the control room operator position. Approximately 65 investor-owned utilities are participating in the study

  18. Near-term improvements for nuclear power plant control room annunciator systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rankin, W.L.; Duvernoy, E.G.; Ames, K.R.; Morgenstern, M.H.; Eckenrode, R.J.

    1983-04-01

    This report sets forth a basic design philosophy with its associated functional criteria and design principles for present-day, hard-wired annunciator systems in the control rooms of nuclear power plants. It also presents a variety of annunciator design features that are either necessary for or useful to the implementation of the design philosophy. The information contained in this report is synthesized from an extensive literature review, from inspection and analysis of control room annunciator systems in the nuclear industry and in related industries, and from discussions with a variety of individuals who are knowledgeable about annunciator systems, nuclear plant control rooms, or both. This information should help licensees and license applicants in improving their hard-wired, control room annunciator systems as outlined by NUREG-0700

  19. Ergonomic Investigation On The Layout And Design Of The Main Control Room Of (MCR)Reactor Thermalhydraulic Testing Loop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DARLlS; WIDAGDO, SUHARYO

    2000-01-01

    Ergonomics investigation on the layout and design of the reactor thermalhydraulic testing loop main control room has been done. This reason is needed to be done as the primary step for evaluating of operator workload. The operator work load be influence on the operator performance, and finally would influencing the installation operation safety. Generally, the factors that is influencing on operator performance are the layout and design of MCR and its supporting physical environments factors for instance lighting, noising and climatic condition respectively. From investigation had been done, cod be identified that ergonomics point of view not implemented yet on the main control console design, especially on the alarm panel, and also found a little bit brightness problem. Otherwise the temperature and noise room are still in the tolerance boundary

  20. Nuclear power plant control room ventilation system design for meeting general criterion 19

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murphy, K.G.; Campe, K.M.

    1975-01-01

    The requirement for protection of control room personnel against radiation is specified in General Design Criterion 19 of Appendix A, 10 CFR Part 50. The evaluation of a control room design, especially its emergency ventilation system, with respect to radiation protection primarily consists of determining the radiation doses to control room personnel under accident conditions. The accident dose assessment involves modeling and evaluation of radiological source terms, atmospheric transport of airborne activity, and protection features of the control room ventilation system. Some of the assumptions and conservatisms used in the dose analyses are based on the technical review experience of existing or proposed control room designs. A review of over 50 control room designs has revealed a great variety of design concepts, not all of which seem to have been based on radiation protection criteria. A summary of the basic control room protection requirements, design features, dose acceptance criteria, and an outline of the methods used by the Regulatory staff for accident dose evaluation are presented. (U.S.)

  1. Guidelines on ergonomic aspects of control rooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, C. M.; Bocast, A. K.; Stewart, L. J.

    1983-01-01

    The anthropometry, workstation design, and environmental design of control rooms are outlined. The automated interface and VDTs and displays and various modes of communication between the system and the human operator using VDTs are discussed. The man in the loop is examined, the single controller single task framework and multiple controller multiple tasks issues are considered.

  2. Man-machine considerations in nuclear power plant control room design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tennant, D.V.

    1987-01-01

    Although human factors is a subject that has been around for a number of years, this area of design has only recently become known to the power industry. As power plants have grown in size and complexity, the instrumentation required to control and monitor plant processes has increased tremendously. This has been especially true in nuclear power facilities. Although operators are better trained and qualified, very little consideration has been devoted to man-machine interface and the limitations of human operators. This paper explores the historic aspects and design philosophy associated with nuclear plant control rooms. Current problems and solutions are explored along with the components of a control room review. Finally, a survey of future advances in control room design are offered. This paper is concerned with instrumentation, controls, and displays

  3. Verification and Validation of Digitally Upgraded Control Rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boring, Ronald; Lau, Nathan

    2015-01-01

    As nuclear power plants undertake main control room modernization, a challenge is the lack of a clearly defined human factors process to follow. Verification and validation (V&V) as applied in the nuclear power community has tended to involve efforts such as integrated system validation, which comes at the tail end of the design stage. To fill in guidance gaps and create a step-by-step process for control room modernization, we have developed the Guideline for Operational Nuclear Usability and Knowledge Elicitation (GONUKE). This approach builds on best practices in the software industry, which prescribe an iterative user-centered approach featuring multiple cycles of design and evaluation. Nuclear regulatory guidance for control room design emphasizes summative evaluation - which occurs after the design is complete. In the GONUKE approach, evaluation is also performed at the formative stage of design - early in the design cycle using mockups and prototypes for evaluation. The evaluation may involve expert review (e.g., software heuristic evaluation at the formative stage and design verification against human factors standards like NUREG-0700 at the summative stage). The evaluation may also involve user testing (e.g., usability testing at the formative stage and integrated system validation at the summative stage). An additional, often overlooked component of evaluation is knowledge elicitation, which captures operator insights into the system. In this report we outline these evaluation types across design phases that support the overall modernization process. The objective is to provide industry-suitable guidance for steps to be taken in support of the design and evaluation of a new human-machine interface (HMI) in the control room. We suggest the value of early-stage V&V and highlight how this early-stage V&V can help improve the design process for control room modernization. We argue that there is a need to overcome two shortcomings of V&V in current practice

  4. Verification and Validation of Digitally Upgraded Control Rooms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boring, Ronald [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Lau, Nathan [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2015-09-01

    As nuclear power plants undertake main control room modernization, a challenge is the lack of a clearly defined human factors process to follow. Verification and validation (V&V) as applied in the nuclear power community has tended to involve efforts such as integrated system validation, which comes at the tail end of the design stage. To fill in guidance gaps and create a step-by-step process for control room modernization, we have developed the Guideline for Operational Nuclear Usability and Knowledge Elicitation (GONUKE). This approach builds on best practices in the software industry, which prescribe an iterative user-centered approach featuring multiple cycles of design and evaluation. Nuclear regulatory guidance for control room design emphasizes summative evaluation—which occurs after the design is complete. In the GONUKE approach, evaluation is also performed at the formative stage of design—early in the design cycle using mockups and prototypes for evaluation. The evaluation may involve expert review (e.g., software heuristic evaluation at the formative stage and design verification against human factors standards like NUREG-0700 at the summative stage). The evaluation may also involve user testing (e.g., usability testing at the formative stage and integrated system validation at the summative stage). An additional, often overlooked component of evaluation is knowledge elicitation, which captures operator insights into the system. In this report we outline these evaluation types across design phases that support the overall modernization process. The objective is to provide industry-suitable guidance for steps to be taken in support of the design and evaluation of a new human-machine interface (HMI) in the control room. We suggest the value of early-stage V&V and highlight how this early-stage V&V can help improve the design process for control room modernization. We argue that there is a need to overcome two shortcomings of V&V in current practice

  5. Development of control room design in French PWR nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guesnier, G.

    1996-01-01

    The layouts of the control rooms of the French nuclear power stations have undergone great development in the period 1970-1990. The control rooms, with an architecture similar to that of the oil fired power stations, were similar to those of the 1300 MW blocks in which the human factor was emphasised. For the selection of a computerised control room for the N4 series, comprehensive functional and ergonomical validation on a full simulator was required. (author) 3 figs., 7 refs

  6. HuRECA: Human Reliability Evaluator for Computer-based Control Room Actions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jae Whan; Lee, Seung Jun; Jang, Seung Cheol

    2011-01-01

    As computer-based design features such as computer-based procedures (CBP), soft controls (SCs), and integrated information systems are being adopted in main control rooms (MCR) of nuclear power plants, a human reliability analysis (HRA) method capable of dealing with the effects of these design features on human reliability is needed. From the observations of human factors engineering verification and validation experiments, we have drawn some major important characteristics on operator behaviors and design-related influencing factors (DIFs) from the perspective of human reliability. Firstly, there are new DIFs that should be considered in developing an HRA method for computer-based control rooms including especially CBP and SCs. In the case of the computer-based procedure rather than the paper-based procedure, the structural and managerial elements should be considered as important PSFs in addition to the procedural contents. In the case of the soft controllers, the so-called interface management tasks (or secondary tasks) should be reflected in the assessment of human error probability. Secondly, computer-based control rooms can provide more effective error recovery features than conventional control rooms. Major error recovery features for computer-based control rooms include the automatic logic checking function of the computer-based procedure and the information sharing feature of the general computer-based designs

  7. Design of a Control Room for Jordan Research and Training Reactor (JRTR)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Yong Jun; Suh, Sang Moon; Lee, Hyun Chul; Park, Je Yun [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-05-15

    Since the main role of JRTR(Jordan Research and Training Reactor) operating personnel is safe and reliable operation of the reactor, MCR(Main Control Room) and SCR(Supplementary Control Room) must provide them with sufficient information and controls needed to optimize their performance. Before the TMI accident, control room were generally designed just with intuitive common sense, without using any proper HFE(human factors engineering) practices. Many results derived from the analysis of TMI accident showed that a more comprehensive and systematic approaches to develop MCR design requirements were needed. Moreover changes of operators' role as a decision maker from a physical controller in rapid improvement of control system which resulted in higher automation clearly needed more featured regulatory requirements and guidelines. So many regulatory and industrial guidance for control room design have been developed by relevant institution and regulatory bodies. In this paper, a conceptual design of the JRTR control room in the effort of satisfying current regulatory requirements and guidelines are presented. And some information display design is also presented

  8. Low frequency sound field control in rectangular listening rooms using CABS (Controlled Acoustic Bass System) will also reduce sound transmission to neighbor rooms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Sofus Birkedal; Celestinos, Adrian

    2011-01-01

    Sound reproduction is often taking place in small and medium sized rectangular rooms. As rectangular rooms have 3 pairs of parallel walls the reflections at especially low frequencies will cause up to 30 dB spatial variations of the sound pressure level in the room. This will take place not only...... at resonance frequencies, but more or less at all frequencies. A time based room correction system named CABS (Controlled Acoustic Bass System) has been developed and is able to create a homogeneous sound field in the whole room at low frequencies by proper placement of multiple loudspeakers. A normal setup...... from the rear wall, and thereby leaving only the plane wave in the room. With a room size of (7.8 x 4.1 x 2.8) m. it is possible to prevent modal frequencies up to 100 Hz. An investigation has shown that the sound transmitted to a neighbour room also will be reduced if CABS is used. The principle...

  9. Control room habitability assessment and in-leakage test for Korean NPP - 15510

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, D.S.; Lee, J.B.; Ha, S.J.; Seong, J.J.

    2015-01-01

    The assessment of control room habitability for Wolsung unit 1 was performed based on GL 2003-01 and Reg. Guide 1.197. The control room habitability program including Control Room Envelope (CRE) in-leakage test procedures, self assessment guidance, CRE boundary control program, CRE maintenance/sealing program was developed for Wolsung unit 1. The integrated CRE test was performed utilizing ASTM E741. There are two operating modes of pressurization and isolation for CRE ventilation test, and four tests were performed using each of the control room HVAC sub-trains. The control room HVAC system lineup of pressurization mode test was based upon a lineup that encompassed the design basis radiological analyses. The other control room HVAC system lineup of isolation mode test was based on an operation mode that considers toxic gas. The in-leakage testing was performed in accordance with CRE in-leakage test procedures. In the pressurization mode, measured unfiltered in-leakage rates for train A and train B were 0 CFM and 405 CFM respectively. In the isolation mode, measured unfiltered in-leakage rates for train A and train B were 1,739 CFM and 1,502 CFM, respectively. Maximum concentration of ammonia at the control room HVAC intake is calculated to be 0.027 g/m 3 (39 ppm), and satisfied the toxicity limit of 300 ppm. The test result shows that the measured unfiltered in-leakage is bounded by the regulatory criteria assumed in the design basis radiological analyses. (authors)

  10. Computer codes for evaluation of control room habitability (HABIT)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stage, S.A.

    1996-06-01

    This report describes the Computer Codes for Evaluation of Control Room Habitability (HABIT). HABIT is a package of computer codes designed to be used for the evaluation of control room habitability in the event of an accidental release of toxic chemicals or radioactive materials. Given information about the design of a nuclear power plant, a scenario for the release of toxic chemicals or radionuclides, and information about the air flows and protection systems of the control room, HABIT can be used to estimate the chemical exposure or radiological dose to control room personnel. HABIT is an integrated package of several programs that previously needed to be run separately and required considerable user intervention. This report discusses the theoretical basis and physical assumptions made by each of the modules in HABIT and gives detailed information about the data entry windows. Sample runs are given for each of the modules. A brief section of programming notes is included. A set of computer disks will accompany this report if the report is ordered from the Energy Science and Technology Software Center. The disks contain the files needed to run HABIT on a personal computer running DOS. Source codes for the various HABIT routines are on the disks. Also included are input and output files for three demonstration runs

  11. Applying human factors engineering program to the modernization project of NPP Control Room in accordance with U.S.NRC and KTA regulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Avellar, Renato Koga de; Schirru, Roberto

    2017-01-01

    Application of Human Factors Engineering (HFE) in the design and implementation of such a project is essential to ensure that the new man-machine interface outcoming from the modernization does not have any negative impacts on human performance and plant safety. This paper analyzes the applicability of the Human Factors Engineering Program in the licensing and certification of Konvoi Nucleoelectric Power Plant Control Room Modernization Project using digital instrumentation and control in accordance with U.S.NRC and KTA regulations. The results of the analyses show that although regulatory bodies adopt different methodology in the process of licensing the modernization of control rooms, the engineering aspects are being developed based on the principles of engineering. (author)

  12. Applying human factors engineering program to the modernization project of NPP Control Room in accordance with U.S.NRC and KTA regulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Avellar, Renato Koga de, E-mail: rkoga@eletronuclear.gov.br [Eletrobrás Termonuclear S.A. (ELETRONUCLEAR), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Assessoria de Licenciamento Nuclear e Ambiental; Schirru, Roberto, E-mail: schirru@lmp.ufrj.br [Coordenacao de Pos-Graduacao e Pesquisa de Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear

    2017-07-01

    Application of Human Factors Engineering (HFE) in the design and implementation of such a project is essential to ensure that the new man-machine interface outcoming from the modernization does not have any negative impacts on human performance and plant safety. This paper analyzes the applicability of the Human Factors Engineering Program in the licensing and certification of Konvoi Nucleoelectric Power Plant Control Room Modernization Project using digital instrumentation and control in accordance with U.S.NRC and KTA regulations. The results of the analyses show that although regulatory bodies adopt different methodology in the process of licensing the modernization of control rooms, the engineering aspects are being developed based on the principles of engineering. (author)

  13. Control of the Environment in the Operating Room.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katz, Jonathan D

    2017-10-01

    There is a direct relationship between the quality of the environment of a workplace and the productivity and efficiency of the work accomplished. Components such as temperature, humidity, ventilation, drafts, lighting, and noise each contribute to the quality of the overall environment and the sense of well-being of those who work there.The modern operating room is a unique workplace with specific, and frequently conflicting, environmental requirements for each of the inhabitants. Even minor disturbances in the internal environment of the operating room can have serious ramifications on the comfort, effectiveness, and safety of each of the inhabitants. A cool, well-ventilated, and dry climate is optimal for many members of the surgical team. Any significant deviation from these objectives raises the risk of decreased efficiency and productivity and adverse surgical outcomes. A warmer, more humid, and quieter environment is necessary for the patient. If these requirements are not met, the risk of surgical morbidity and mortality is increased. An important task for the surgical team is to find the correct balance between these 2 opposed requirements. Several of the components of the operating room environment, especially room temperature and airflow patterns, are easily manipulated by the members of the surgical team. In the following discussion, we will examine these elements to better understand the clinical ramifications of adjustments and accommodations that are frequently made to meet the requirements of both the surgical staff and the patient.

  14. At ISR Main Control Room

    CERN Multimedia

    1983-01-01

    After 13 years the exploitation of the Intersecting Storage Rings as a beam-beam collider went to an end. In this last year the demands were very exacting, both in terms of operating time and diversified running conditions (Annual Report 1983 p. 123). Before dismantelement the photographer made a last tour, see photos 8310889X --> 8310667X. This photo shows the Main Control Room.

  15. Control room systems design for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-07-01

    This publication provides a resource for those who are involved in researching, managing, conceptualizing, designing, manufacturing or backfitting power plant control room systems. It will also be useful to those responsible for performing reviews or evaluations of the design and facilities associated with existing power plant control room systems. The ultimate worth of the publication, however, will depend upon how well it can support its users. Readers are invited to provide comments and observations to the IAEA, Division of Nuclear Power. If appropriate, the report will subsequently be re-issued, taking such feedback into account. Refs, figs and tabs

  16. Control room systems design for nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-07-01

    This publication provides a resource for those who are involved in researching, managing, conceptualizing, designing, manufacturing or backfitting power plant control room systems. It will also be useful to those responsible for performing reviews or evaluations of the design and facilities associated with existing power plant control room systems. The ultimate worth of the publication, however, will depend upon how well it can support its users. Readers are invited to provide comments and observations to the IAEA, Division of Nuclear Power. If appropriate, the report will subsequently be re-issued, taking such feedback into account. Refs, figs and tabs.

  17. Research on control function switch of nuclear power plant control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mei Shibo; Mao Ting; Cheng Bo; Zhang Gang

    2014-01-01

    The nuclear power plant provides main control room (MCR) to the unit operators for the plant monitoring and control, and provides the remote shutdown station (RSS) as the back-up control room, which is used only when MCR is unavailable. The RSS could be used to monitor and control the plant, bring the plant into shutdown state and remove the residual heat. The command from MCR and RSS is blocked by each other and can not be executed at the same time. The operation mode switch function between MCR and RSS is carried out by MCR/RSS mode switches. The operation mode switch scheme of CPR1000, ERP and AP1000 were compared and researched, and some design bases for new nuclear power plant were submitted in this paper. These design bases could be referred during the design of control function switch for the new nuclear power plants, in order to put forward a more practical, simple, safe and convenient scheme. (authors)

  18. Software quality assurance and software safety in the Biomed Control System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, R.P.; Chu, W.T.; Ludewigt, B.A.; Marks, K.M.; Nyman, M.A.; Renner, T.R.; Stradtner, R.

    1989-01-01

    The Biomed Control System is a hardware/software system used for the delivery, measurement and monitoring of heavy-ion beams in the patient treatment and biology experiment rooms in the Bevalac at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL). This paper describes some aspects of this system including historical background philosophy, configuration management, hardware features that facilitate software testing, software testing procedures, the release of new software quality assurance, safety and operator monitoring. 3 refs

  19. Stress, performance, and control room operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fontaine, C.W.

    1990-01-01

    The notion of control room operator performance being detrimentally affected by stress has long been the focus of considerable conjecture. It is important to gain a better understanding of the validity of this concern for the development of effective severe-accident management approaches. This paper illustrates the undeniable negative impact of stress on a wide variety of tasks. A computer-controlled simulated work environment was designed in which both male and female operators were closely monitored during the course of the study for both stress level (using the excretion of the urine catecholamines epinephrine and norepinephrine as an index) and job performance. The experimental parameters employed by the study when coupled with the subsequent statistical analyses of the results allow one to make some rather striking comments with respect to how a given operator might respond to a situation that he or she perceives to be psychologically stressful (whether the stress be externally or internally generated). The findings of this study clearly indicated that stress does impact operator performance on tasks similar in nature to those conducted by control room operators and hence should be seriously considered in the development of severe-accident management strategies

  20. Ergonomic requirements to control room design - evaluation method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hinz, W.

    1985-01-01

    The method of evaluation introduced is the result of work carried out by the sub-committee 'Control Room Design' of the Engineering Standards Committee in DIN Standards, Ergonomy. This committee compiles standards for the design of control rooms (instrumentation and control) for the monitoring and operation of process engineering cycles. With the agreement of the committee - whom we wish to take the opportunity of thanking at this point for their constructive collaboration - a planned partial standard will be introduced thematically in the following, in order that knowledge gained from the discussion can be included in further work on the subject. The matter in question is a procedure for the qualitative evaluation of the duties to be performed under the control of operators in order that an assessment can be made of existing control concepts or such concepts as are to be found in the draft phase. (orig./GL) [de

  1. Recommendations to Improve Employee Thermal Comfort When Working in 40°F Refrigerated Cold Rooms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ceballos, Diana; Mead, Kenneth; Ramsey, Jessica

    2015-01-01

    Cold rooms are commonly used for food storage and preparation, and are usually kept around 40°F following food safety guidelines. Some food preparation employees may spend 8 or more hours inside cold rooms. These employees may not be aware of the risks associated with mildly cold temperatures, dampness, and limited ventilation. We performed an evaluation of cold rooms at an airline catering facility because of concerns with exposure to cold temperatures. We spoke with and observed employees in two cold rooms, reviewed daily temperature logs, evaluated employee's physical activity, work/rest schedule, and protective clothing. We measured temperature, percent relative humidity, and air velocities at different work stations inside the cold rooms. We concluded that thermal comfort concerns perceived by cold room employees may have been the result of air drafts at their workstations, insufficient use of personal protective equipment due to dexterity concerns, work practices, and lack of knowledge about good health and safety practices in cold rooms. These moderately cold work conditions with low air velocities are not well covered in current occupational health and safety guidelines, and wind chill calculations do not apply. We provide practical recommendations to improve thermal comfort of cold room employees. Engineering control recommendations include the redesigning of air deflectors and installing of suspended baffles. Administrative controls include the changing out of wet clothing, providing hand warmers outside of cold rooms, and educating employees on cold stress. We also recommended providing more options on personal protective equipment. However, there is a need for guidelines and educational materials tailored to employees in moderately cold environments to improve thermal comfort and minimize health and safety problems.

  2. Feasibility of touch-less control of operating room lights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartmann, Florian; Schlaefer, Alexander

    2013-03-01

    Today's highly technical operating rooms lead to fairly complex surgical workflows where the surgeon has to interact with a number of devices, including the operating room light. Hence, ideally, the surgeon could direct the light without major disruption of his work. We studied whether a gesture tracking-based control of an automated operating room light is feasible. So far, there has been little research on control approaches for operating lights. We have implemented an exemplary setup to mimic an automated light controlled by a gesture tracking system. The setup includes a articulated arm to position the light source and an off-the-shelf RGBD camera to detect the user interaction. We assessed the tracking performance using a robot-mounted hand phantom and ran a number of tests with 18 volunteers to evaluate the potential of touch-less light control. All test persons were comfortable with using the gesture-based system and quickly learned how to move a light spot on flat surface. The hand tracking error is direction-dependent and in the range of several centimeters, with a standard deviation of less than 1 mm and up to 3.5 mm orthogonal and parallel to the finger orientation, respectively. However, the subjects had no problems following even more complex paths with a width of less than 10 cm. The average speed was 0.15 m/s, and even initially slow subjects improved over time. Gestures to initiate control can be performed in approximately 2 s. Two-thirds of the subjects considered gesture control to be simple, and a majority considered it to be rather efficient. Implementation of an automated operating room light and touch-less control using an RGBD camera for gesture tracking is feasible. The remaining tracking error does not affect smooth control, and the use of the system is intuitive even for inexperienced users.

  3. RB research reactor safety report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sotic, O.; Pesic, M.; Vranic, S.

    1979-04-01

    This new version of the safety report is a revision of the safety report written in 1962 when the RB reactor started operation after reconstruction. The new safety report was needed because reactor systems and components have been improved and the administrative procedures were changed. the most important improvements and changes were concerned with the use of highly enriched fuel (80% enriched), construction of reactor converter outside the reactor vessel, improved control system by two measuring start-up channels, construction of system for heavy water leak detection, new inter phone connection between control room and other reactor rooms. This report includes description of reactor building with installations, rector vessel, reactor core, heavy water system, control system, safety system, dosimetry and alarm systems, experimental channels, neutron converter, reactor operation. Safety aspects contain analyses of accident reasons, method for preventing reactivity insertions, analyses of maximum hypothetical accidents for cores with natural uranium, 2% enriched and 80% enriched fuel elements. Influence of seismic events on the reactor safety and well as coupling between reactor and the converter are parts of this document

  4. 49 CFR 192.631 - Control room management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... control room who monitors and controls all or part of a pipeline facility through a SCADA system. Each... sections 1, 4, 8, 9, 11.1, and 11.3 of API RP 1165 are not practical for the SCADA system used; (2) Conduct... or SCADA displays; (3) Test and verify an internal communication plan to provide adequate means for...

  5. Changes in control room at Swedish nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kecklund, Lena

    2005-09-01

    The Swedish nuclear power plants were commissioned during a period between 1972 and 1985 and the instrumentation and control equipment are basically from that period. For several years there have been plans made for changes in all the nuclear power plants and to a certain extent the changes in control equipment and monitoring rooms have also been implemented. The object of this project was to make a comprehensive review of the changes in control room design implemented in the Swedish nuclear power plants and to describe how the MTO- (Man-Technology-Organisation) and (Man-Machine-Interface) -issues have been integrated in the process. The survey is intended to give an overall picture of the changes in control room design and man-machine-interface made in the Swedish control rooms, in order to get a deeper knowledge of the change management process and its results as well as of the management of MTO-issues in these projects. The units included in this survey are: Oskarhamn reactor 2 and 3; Ringhals reactor 2, 3 and 4; Forsmark reactor 1, 2 and 3. The Oskarshamn 1 unit has not been included in this report as it has recently undergone an extensive modernisation program as well as a detailed inspection by the SKI (Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate). At Ringhals 2 the modernisation work is carried out at present and the unit is also subjected to extensive inspection activities carried out by SKI and is therefore not part of this survey. This report also includes a short description of relevant standards and requirements. Then follows a presentation of the results of the plant survey, presented as case studies for three companies OKG, Ringhals and FKA. Control room changes are summarized as well as the results on specific MTO issues which has been surveyed. In all the power companies there is a joint way of working with projects concerning plant modifications. This process is described for each company separately. In the concluding of the report the strengths and

  6. First-of-A-Kind Control Room Modernization Project Plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thomas, Kenneth David [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2016-02-01

    This project plan describes a comprehensive approach to the design of an end-state concept for a modernized control room for Palo Verde. It describes the collaboration arrangement between the DOE LWRS Program Control Room Modernization Project and the APS Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. It further describes the role of other collaborators, including the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). It combines advanced tools, methodologies, and facilities to enable a science-based approach to the validation of applicable engineering and human factors principles for nuclear plant control rooms. It addresses the required project results and documentation to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements. It describes the project tasks that will be conducted in the project, and the deliverable reports that will be developed through these tasks. This project plan will be updated as new tasks are added and as project milestones are completed. It will serve as an ongoing description on the project both for project participants and for industry stakeholders.

  7. Verbal Communication Quality Analysis of Human Operators in Main Control Room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Seung Hwan; Park, Jin kyun

    2012-01-01

    Verbal communication problems have been one of the major human factors causing serious problems in many industries. The results of existing researches have revealed that keeping good communication quality is essential to ensure the safety of a large-sized and highly advanced industrial process system. Communication Quality is ensured only when both parties involved in a communication process understand and comprehend each other correctly, and it can be decided based on the correctness of the messages communicated between them. In this paper, we suggested a method to measure the quality of communication during off-normal situation in main control room of nuclear power plants. It evaluates the cosine similarity that is a measure of sentence similarity between two operators by finding the cosine of the angle between them

  8. Risk Assessment of the Main Control Room Fire Using Fire Simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Dae Il; Kim, Kilyoo; Jang, Seung Cheol

    2013-01-01

    KAERI is performing a fire PSA for a reference plant, Ulchin Unit 3, as part of developing the Korean site risk profile (KSRP). Fire simulations of the MCR fire were conducted using the CFAST (Consolidated Fire Growth and Smoke Transport) model and FDS (fire dynamic simulator) to improve the uncertainty in the MCR fire risk analysis. Using the fire simulation results, the MCR abandonment risk was evaluated. Level 1 PSA (probabilistic safety assessment) results of Ulchin Unit 3 using the EPRI PRA (probabilistic risk assessment) implementation guide showed that the MCR (main control room) fire was the main contributor to the core damage frequency. Recently, U. S. NRC and EPRI developed NUREG/CR-6850 to provide state-of-the-art methods, tools, and data for the conduct of a fire PSA for a commercial NPP

  9. What's getting in the way of teamwork in our nuclear control rooms?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harrington, D.K.

    1991-01-01

    Nuclear control room crews, like teams of any kind, develop their own unique personalities, or ways of getting things done. These personalities contain both good news and bad news when it comes to teamwork, and evolve from the beliefs and attitudes of the individual supervisors and operators. These beliefs and attitudes translate into behaviors that contribute to, or become barriers to, the teamwork so vital in today's modem nuclear control room. The writer, a consultant who has worked with control room crews at twelve US nuclear plants over the past five years in developing teamwork skills, describes his experiences, observations, and successes with the use of videotape to help operators change or modify their behavior to make them more effective as members of a control room team

  10. Optimization of the main control room habitability system in nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng Guanghui; Zhao Xinyan

    2013-01-01

    This article describes the optimization of main control room habitability system in nuclear power plant. It also describes the design shortage in terms of habitability in the main control room. Through modification and optimization, habitable conditions are met for personnel staying in the emergency area of the main control room for a period of time, with an aim to take accident intervention measures smoothly and reduce the accident loss and radioactive contamination as low as possible. (authors)

  11. Current Approaches for Control Room I and C Modernization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopez, Alberto; Jimenez, Alfonso

    2002-01-01

    In general, instrumentation and control (I and C) systems for nuclear power plants were made using analogic systems and relays, since this was the only technology available by the time these systems were designed. This fact impacts on the operational and maintenance capabilities required to these systems. For this reason, nuclear power plants are facing nowadays two challenges: on one hand, the obsolescence of these systems contributes to the increase in the operation and maintenance costs - due to the difficulties for getting spare parts and support from the system vendors -. On the other hand, there has been an increase in the utilities competitiveness due to the electric power market liberalization. All this, of course, along with the commitment to maintain the current safety levels and meet the new requirements and standards that may arise in the near future. The application of current technologies, especially digital technology, solves the obsolescence problems and allows for a more functional and updated human-machine interface. Nevertheless, the cost associated to these modifications makes it necessary to develop strategies to determine which systems need to be modified and how to implement modifications effectively, so that these systems can work jointly with others using different technologies. Other issues inherent to digital technology must be considered, such as verification and validation of the software and of the human-machine interface, which are required for its licensing. This presentation describes the current approaches for I and C modernization, the main reasons, technologies and implementation plans, focusing on the control room and on the impact on operations. The main issues to be considered for developing a specific modernization plan are analysed. The goals and status of the 'Feasibility Study of the Control Room I and C Modernization' are described. This study is currently being developed by Endesa, Iberdrola and Tecnatom, and is included

  12. Advanced control room design review guidelines: Merging old and new

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carter, R.J.; Wachtel, J.A.

    1992-01-01

    The nuclear power industry is currently developing operator interface systems based on innovative applications of digital computers. To assure that this advanced technology is incorporated in a way that maximizes the potential safety benefits of the technology and minimizes the potential negative effects on human performance, human factors principles must be considered. NUREG-0700 contains guidelines for the review of operator interfaces. However, in light of the rapid technological advances in digital technology which have taken place in the eleven years since its publication, it is no longer adequate to assess the rapidly changing human-system interfaces. A research program, the purpose of which is to upgrade NUREG-0700, has been initiated. Thus far a set of draft advanced control room design review (ACRDR) guidelines has been complied. Three tasks, which were oriented towards integrating the applicable guidelines in NUREG-0700 into the ACRDR document, are described in the paper

  13. The Ergonomically Principle Application On The Main Control Room At Modified Research Reactor TRIGA Mark II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santoso, Kussigit; Itjeu K; Piping S; Sudarmin; Bambang S; Suharyo W

    2000-01-01

    The main control room analysis has been done by using the application of ergonomically principle. The analysis has been stressed on the controller position and noisiness and lightness. The instrumentation position has been analyzed by using software DAP (Display Analysis Program) and noisiness and brightness has been measured by direct measurement at definite point. From the result, it is known that the analog panel display is not good, then it is advised to rearrange the data element and the character vertically or horizontally for reducing the position character complexities. From the noisiness and brightness measurement, it is know that it still fulfills the safety standard

  14. How does a change in the control room design affect diagnostic strategies in nuclear power plants?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Dong Young; Kim, Jonghyun

    2014-01-01

    Recently, main control rooms have been considerably changed by modern computer techniques. Some of the features that distinguish digital control rooms from conventional, analog rooms in nuclear power plants include advanced alarm systems, graphic information display systems, computerized procedure systems, and soft control. These features can bring changes in operator tasks, changing the characteristics of tasks or creating new tasks for operators. It is especially expected that these features may bring out changes in the operator's diagnostic tasks and strategies in a digital control room as compared with an analog control room. This study investigates the differences in the operator's diagnostic tasks and strategies in analog and digital control rooms. This study also attempts to evaluate how new systems in a digital control room affect diagnostic strategies. Three different approaches, which are complementary, are used to identify diagnostic strategies in the digital control room and in the analog control room: (1) observation in the simulator, (2) interview with operators, and (3) a literature review. The results show that the digital control room introduces new diagnosis strategies compared with the analog control room while also changing the characteristics of the strategies, mostly by gaining more support from the computerized system. (author)

  15. Improvement of main control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chae, Sung Ki; Ham, Chang Sik; Kwon, Ki Chun

    1991-07-01

    Information display system, advanced alarm system and fiber optical communication system were developed to improve the main control room in nuclear power plant. Establishing the new hierachical information structure of plant operation data, plant overview status board(POSB) and digital indicator(DI) were designed and manufactured. The prototype advanced alarm system which employed the new alarm logics and algorithm compared with the conventional alarm system were developed and its effectiveness was proved. Optical communication system which has multi-drop feature and capability of upgrading to large-scale system by using BITBUS communication protocol which is proven technology, were developed. Reliability of that system was enhanced by using distributed control. (Author)

  16. Control room concept for remote maintenance in high radiation areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clarke, M.M.; Kreifeldt, J.G.

    1984-01-01

    This paper summarizes the design of a control room concept for an operator interface with remote maintenance equipment consisting of force-reflecting manipulators, tools, hoists, cranes, cameras, and lights. The design development involved two major activities. First, detailed requirements were defined for foreseeable functions that will be performed by the control room operators. Second, concepts were developed, tested, and refined to meet these requirements. 6 references, 3 figures

  17. CEBAF Control Room Renovation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michael Spata; Anthony Cuffe; Thomas Oren

    2005-01-01

    The Machine Control Center (MCC) at Jefferson Lab's Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) was constructed in the early 1990s and based on proven technology of that era. Through our experience over the last 15 years and in our planning for the facilities 12 GeV upgrade we reevaluated the control room environment to capitalize on emerging visualization and display technologies and improve on work-flow processes and ergonomic attributes. The renovation was performed in two phases during the summer of 2004, with one phase occurring during machine operations and the latter, more extensive phase, occurring during our semi-annual shutdown period. The new facility takes advantage of advances in display technology, analog and video signal management, server technology, ergonomic workspace design, lighting engineering, acoustic ceilings and raised flooring solutions to provide a marked improvement in the overall environment of machine operations

  18. Review of advanced control rooms: Methodological considerations for the use of HFE guidelines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Hara, J.M.

    1994-01-01

    Control rooms for advanced nuclear power plants use advanced human-system interface (HSI) technologies that may have significant implications for plant safety in that they will affect the operator's overall role in the system and the ways in which operators interact with the system. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews HSIs to ensure that they are designed to accepted human factors engineering (HFE) principles. The principal review guidance, however, is more than ten-years old (US NRC, 1981). Accordingly, an Advanced HSI Design Review Guideline (DRG) was developed to provide criteria for these reviews. The DRG contains seven major sections: Information Display, User-System Interaction, Process Control and Input Devices, Alarms, Analysis and Decision Aids, Inter-Personnel Communication, and Workplace Design (see O'Hara ampersand Brown, 1993). The purpose of this paper is to describe the methodology for DRG use

  19. Recent development of nuclear power in Japan and instrumentation and control system and control room equipment for advanced light water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wakayama, N.

    1992-01-01

    This paper was provided for the 13th IAEA/IWG-NPPCI Meeting and aims to introduce an outline of recent development of nuclear power in Japan and some topics in the field of nuclear power plant control and instrumentation. Forty units of nuclear power plants are in operation in Japan and five units of BWRs and six PWRs are under construction. Construction of prototype FBR Monju have almost completed an construction of High-Temperature Engineering Test Reactor, HTTR, started in March 1991. In parallel of those, extensive effort has been carried out to develop the third generation LWRs which are called Advanced BWR (ABWR) and Advanced PWR (APWR). Two Advanced BWRs are under safety review for construction. Instrumentation and control system of these Advanced LWRs adopts integrated digital I and C system, optical multiplexing signal transmission, fault tolerant control systems and software logic for reactor protection and safety systems and enhances plant control performance and provides human-friendly operation and maintenance environments. Main control room of these Advanced LWRs, comprised with large display panels and advanced console, has special futures such as one-man sit-down operation, human friendly man-machine interface, high level automation in operation and maintenance. (author). 7 refs, 9 figs, 1 tab

  20. Control room design with new automation structures. Leitwartengestaltung bei neuen Automatisierungsstrukturen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gilson, W

    1984-01-01

    This brochure is concerned with the configuration of modern control rooms, taking new automation structures into account. The configuration of control rooms is treated taking note of new process control systems from the point of view of the requirements and performance, which is well known from process and powerstation technology. Apart from general technical and ergonomic considerations, aspects of work load and work stress are dealt with in detail.

  1. Laser training courses: new purpose-built room for practical exercises

    CERN Multimedia

    Safety Training, HSE Unit

    2015-01-01

    CERN’s Safety Training Centre, on the Prévessin site, now features a new facility for the “Laser - Expert” and “Laser - User” training courses: a dedicated room for practical exercises, near the theoretical training room. From now on, participants will be able to move from theory to practice in just a few steps!   The new room, equipped with real lasers ranging from levels 1 to 4, allows the participants to put their training into practice in real-life situations, solidifying the principles and lessons learned during the theory part – and all in complete safety, since the room was of course designed to allow the control of dangers posed by lasers. The participants and instructors are also provided with the required personal protective equipment (goggles, etc.) during the sessions. Efforts are being made to make the Centre's infrastructure more useful to improve the quality of training on offer. For example, the la...

  2. Control room concept for remote maintenance in high radiation areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clarke, M.M.; Kreifeldt, J.G.

    1984-01-01

    This paper summarizes the design of a control room concept for an operator interface with remote maintenance equipment consisting of force-reflecting manipulators, tools, hoists, cranes, cameras, and lights. The design development involved two major activities. First, detailed requirements were defined for foreseeable functions that will be performed by the control room operators. Second, concepts were developed, tested, and refined to meet these requirements. Each of these activities is summarized below. 6 references, 3 figures

  3. Design for the human-machine interface of a digitalized reactor control-room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qu Ronghong; Zhang Liangju; Li Duo; Yu Hui

    2005-01-01

    Digitalized technology is implemented in the instrumentation and control system of an in-construction research reactor, which advances information display in both contents and styles in a nuclear reactor control-room, and greatly improves human-machine interface. In the design for a digitalized nuclear reactor control-room there are a series of new problems and technologies should be considered seriously. This paper mainly introduces the design for the digitalized control-room of the research nuclear reactor and covered topics include design principle of human-machine interface, organization and classification of interface graphics, technologies and principles based on human factors engineering and implemented in the graphics design. (authors)

  4. White Paper for Virtual Control Room

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, William; Tully-Hanson, Benjamin

    2015-01-01

    The Virtual Control Room (VCR) Proof of Concept (PoC) project is the result of an award given by the Fourth Annual NASA T&I Labs Challenge Project Call. This paper will outline the work done over the award period to build and enhance the capabilities of the Augmented/Virtual Reality (AVR) Lab at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to create the VCR.

  5. The application of human engineering in control room of HFETR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Shuchun; Shan Songlin

    2003-01-01

    The human-machine system for improving the working environment in the control room of HFETR is described. The reliability of the equipment, instruments and operation by human engineering is increased. The relations between human engineering and lowering human failure in HFETR are also discussed. It is concluded that the further application of human engineering can increase interaction of the human and machine in the control room and provide assurances for the safe and reliable operation of reactor. (authors)

  6. The application of human engineering in control room of HFETR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shuchun, Yang; Songlin, Shan [Nuclear Power Inst. of China, Chengdu (China)

    2003-07-01

    The human-machine system for improving the working environment in the control room of HFETR is described. The reliability of the equipment, instruments and operation by human engineering is increased. The relations between human engineering and lowering human failure in HFETR are also discussed. It is concluded that the further application of human engineering can increase interaction of the human and machine in the control room and provide assurances for the safe and reliable operation of reactor. (authors)

  7. Enhancing the NCSU PULSTAR reactor control room with human factors considerations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glover, B.L.; Pupons, D.E.; Perez, P.B.

    1993-01-01

    The North Carolina PULSTAR research reactor was constructed to support teaching, training, and research. The training provided is not limited to academic students but encompasses plant operators, managers, engineers, designers, and supporting organizations in the nuclear industry. Our facility is under-going design changes to maximize teaching effectiveness and continued safe operation by providing current technology in the control room. The opportunity for the enhancements is a result of the generosity of neighboring utilities and the US Department of Energy instrumentation upgrade funds. Our objective, to provide a control room environment that conforms to selected industry practices, required human factors input. A human factors course, offered jointly between the industrial engineering and the psychology departments, included the PULSTAR control room enhancement as a case study

  8. The role of the control room operator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, M.C.

    A control room operator at an Ontario Hydro nuclear power plant operates a reactor-turbine unit according to approved procedures within imposed constraints to meet the objectives of the organization. A number of operating and administrative tasks make up this role. Control room operators spend approximately six percent of their time physically operating equipment exclusive of upset conditions, and another one percent operating in upset conditions. Testing occupies five percent of an operator's time. Operators must be trained to recognize the entire spectrum of inputs available to them and use them all effectively. Any change in system or unit state is always made according to an approved procedure. Extensive training is required; operators must be taught and pracised in what to do, and must know the reasons behind their actions. They are expected to memorize emergency procedures, to know when to consult operating procedures, and to have sufficient understanding and practice to perform these procedures reliably

  9. Assessment of safety levels in operation rooms at two major tertiary care public hospitals of Karachi. Safe surgery saves life

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minhas, M.S.; Muzzammil, M.; Effendi, J.

    2017-01-01

    The objectives of this study are to determine the knowledge and attitude towards surgical safety among the health care professionals including surgeons, anaesthetist, hospital administrators, and operation room personnel and raise awareness towards the importance of safe surgery. Method: A pilot cross- sectional study of 543 healthcare providers working in the operating rooms and the surgical intensive care units was conducted in two tertiary care hospitals, within a study period of one month. A structured questionnaire was constructed and an informed verbal consent was taken. The questionnaire was then distributed; data collected and analysed on SPSS 20.0. Results: A total of 543 respondents participated in the study out of which there were 375 (69%) men and 168 (31%) women. The ages ranged between 23-58 years, mean 40.5+-24.74. There were 110 (20.25%) surgeons, 58 (10.68%) anaesthetist, 132 (24.30%) trainees, 125 (23.02%) technicians, and were 118 (21.73%) nurses. The question regarding briefing operation room personnel is important for patient safety was agreed by 532 (98%) respondents. Amongst the respondents, 239 (44%) did not feel safe to be operated in their own setup. Team communication improvement through the check list implementation was agreed by 483 (89%) respondents. 514 (94.7%) opted for the checklist to be used while they are being operated. That operation room personnel frequently disregard established protocols was agreed by 374 (69%) respondents. 193 (35.54%) of the respondents stated that it is difficult for them to speak up in the or if they perceive a problem with patient care. Conclusion: Operation room personnel were not aware of several important areas related to briefing, communication, safety attitude, following standard protocols and use of WHO Surgical Safety check list. A pre-post intervention study should be conducted after formal introduction of the Checklist. Successful implementation will require taking all stake holders on board

  10. Virtual Training of Compressor Control Room, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — MYMIC will analyze, design, develop and evaluate the Virtual Control Room – Compressor Station (VCoR-CS) training system. VCoR-CS will provide procedural training to...

  11. Description of the tasks of control room operators in German nuclear power plants and support possibilities by advanced computer systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buettner, W.E.

    1984-01-01

    In course of the development of nuclear power plants the instrumentation and control systems and the information in the control room have been increasing substantially. With this background it is described which operator tasks might be supported by advanced computer aid systems with main emphasis to safety related information and diagnose facilities. Nevertheless, some of this systems under development may be helpful for normal operation modes too. As far as possible recommendations for the realization and test of such systems are made. (orig.) [de

  12. Research study on the effects of illumination on performance of control room tasks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silverman, E.B.; Horst, R.L.; Parris, H.L.; O'Brien, J.

    1990-01-01

    The illumination in the control rooms of many operating nuclear plants falls below the levels specified in the NUREG-0700 guidelines. However, these guidelines are based on human perception and performance data which were acquired under laboratory conditions and with tasks very different from those typically found in control rooms. The objective of the present studies was to gather empirical data regarding the levels of illumination sufficient for performing tasks analogous to those performed in control rooms. Several tasks were designed to engage the perceptual and cognitive processes that are representative of actual control room performance. In a computerized laboratory test-bed, subjects scanned edgewise meters, examined hard-copy X-Y plots to discern the value of the displayed function at specific coordinates, and proofread hard-copy plant procedures. In a power plant control room simulator, data were likewise collected in a meter reading task and similar tasks representing elements of specific job-performance measures. For each task, response time and accuracy were measured under a range of illumination levels. Subjective comfort ratings were also obtained for each illumination level. The results from both settings indicated that with decreasing illumination, increased errors and/or longer response times occurred only for levels below ten footcandles, if at all. These data suggest that adequate performance in control room tasks can be achieved at illumination levels below those recommended in NUREG-0700

  13. Control rooms and man-machine interface in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-08-01

    The importance of man-machine interface for ensuring safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants has always been recognized. Since the early 1970's, the concepts of operator support and human factors have been increasingly used to better define the role of control rooms. In the late 1970's, the lessons learned from experience considerably accelerated the development of recommendations and regulatory requirements governing the resources and data available to operators in nuclear power plant control rooms, and specified the expertise required to assist them in case of need. This document summarizes the steps which have been taken and are being planned around the world to improve the man-machine interface for safe and economic power generation. It intends to present to the reader useful examples on some selected control room design and man-machine interface practices for operation and surveillance of nuclear power plants. 53 refs, 94 figs, 27 tabs

  14. The Halden Reactor Project workshop meeting on control room development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miberg, Ann Britt; Green, Marie; Haukenes, Hanne; Larsen, Marit; Seim, Lars Aage; Veland, Oeystein

    1999-03-01

    The 'Control Room Development' workshop was organised in. Halden, November 5-6, 1998. The purpose of the workshop was to bring forward recommendations for the future use of HAMMLAB with respect to control room development. The workshop comprised thirteen presentations summarising current issues and status in control room development projects and related projects. Following the presentations, five working groups were formed. The purpose of the working groups was to establish a set of recommendations for the future use of HAMMLAB. Each working group developed a set of recommendations. The outcomes of the working groups' discussions were summarised in plenum by the working group chairs. During the workshop, all participants excluding the Halden Project staff were asked to fill in a questionnaire indicating which research topics they found most interesting to pursue in future HAMMLAB research. The purpose of this report is to summarise the workshop participants' presentations, the working groups' discussions, and the recommendations given by the workshop participants concerning the future use of HAMMLAB (author) (ml)

  15. Engineering Process Monitoring for Control Room Operation

    OpenAIRE

    Bätz, M

    2001-01-01

    A major challenge in process operation is to reduce costs and increase system efficiency whereas the complexity of automated process engineering, control and monitoring systems increases continuously. To cope with this challenge the design, implementation and operation of process monitoring systems for control room operation have to be treated as an ensemble. This is only possible if the engineering of the monitoring information is focused on the production objective and is lead in close coll...

  16. Subjective task complexity in the control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braarud, Per Oeivind

    2000-05-01

    Understanding of what makes a control room situation difficult to handle is important when studying operator performance, both with respect to prediction as well as improvement of the human performance. Previous exploratory work on complexity showed a potential for prediction and explanation of operator performance. This report investigates in further detail the theoretical background and the structure of operator rated task complexity. The report complements the previous work on complexity to make a basis for development of operator performance analysis tools. The first part of the report outlines an approach for studying the complexity of the control room crew's work. The approach draws upon man-machine research as well as problem solving research. The approach identifies five complexity-shaping components: 'task work characteristics', 'teamwork characteristics', 'individual skill', 'teamwork skill', and 'interface and support systems'. The crew's work complexity is related to concepts of human performance quality and human error. The second part of the report is a post-hoc exploratory analysis of four empirical HRP studies, where operators' conception of the complexity of control room work is assessed by questionnaires. The analysis deals with the structure of complexity questionnaire ratings, and the relationship between complexity ratings and human performance measures. The main findings from the analysis of structure was the identification of three task work factors which were named Masking, Information load and Temporal demand, and in addition the identification of one interface factor which was named Navigation. Post-hoc analysis suggests that operator's subjective complexity, which was assessed by questionnaires, is related to workload, task and system performance, and operator's self-rated performance. (Author). 28 refs., 47 tabs

  17. Study on the task categorization of main control room in NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang Zhou; Ma Zhicai; Ma Xusheng; Zheng Mingguang

    2005-01-01

    The paper states the importance and trendy requirements of Main Control Room (MCR) in nuclear power plant and introduces how to implement the human factor engineering principle in the design of advanced main control room. It mainly focuses on the purpose and functions, strategy and methodology, scope and contents of the MCR task categorization. The preliminary MCR task categorization is performed according to these principles. (authors)

  18. Baseline Study Methodology for Future Phases of Research on Nuclear Power Plant Control Room Technologies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Le Blanc, Katya Lee [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Bower, Gordon Ross [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Hill, Rachael Ann [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Spielman, Zachary Alexander [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Rice, Brandon Charles [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2016-07-01

    In order to provide a basis for industry adoption of advanced technologies, the Control Room Upgrades Benefits Research Project will investigate the benefits of including advanced technologies as part of control room modernization This report describes the background, methodology, and research plan for the first in a series of full-scale studies to test the effects of advanced technology in NPP control rooms. This study will test the effect of Advanced Overview Displays in the partner Utility’s control room simulator

  19. New generation main control room of enhanced safety NPP with MKER reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golovanev, V.E.; Gorelov, A.I.; Proshin, V.A.

    1994-01-01

    Russia is planning to begin the gradual substitution RMBK NPP units, whose resources were worked out itself, to NPP units with a 800 MW multiloop boiling water power reactor (MKER-800) enhanced safety at next ten-year period. Main drawbacks of RBMK Reactor were completely removed in design of MKER-800 reactor. Moreover some special decisions were made to give MKER-800 self-safety properties. The proposed design of the MKER-800 enhanced safety reactor is not only fully free from the drawbacks of the RBMK reactors, but also show a number of advantages of channel-type reactors. This Paper presents some preliminary proposals of MCR Design, that developed Research and Development Institute of Power Energy (RDIPE). 6 refs, 2 figs

  20. Baseline Evaluations to Support Control Room Modernization at Nuclear Power Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boring, Ronald L.; Joe, Jeffrey C.

    2015-02-01

    For any major control room modernization activity at a commercial nuclear power plant (NPP) in the U.S., a utility should carefully follow the four phases prescribed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in NUREG-0711, Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model. These four phases include Planning and Analysis, Design, Verification and Validation, and Implementation and Operation. While NUREG-0711 is a useful guideline, it is written primarily from the perspective of regulatory review, and it therefore does not provide a nuanced account of many of the steps the utility might undertake as part of control room modernization. The guideline is largely summative—intended to catalog final products—rather than formative—intended to guide the overall modernization process. In this paper, we highlight two crucial formative sub-elements of the Planning and Analysis phase specific to control room modernization that are not covered in NUREG-0711. These two sub-elements are the usability and ergonomics baseline evaluations. A baseline evaluation entails evaluating the system as-built and currently in use. The usability baseline evaluation provides key insights into operator performance using the control system currently in place. The ergonomics baseline evaluation identifies possible deficiencies in the physical configuration of the control system. Both baseline evaluations feed into the design of the replacement system and subsequent summative benchmarking activities that help ensure that control room modernization represents a successful evolution of the control system.

  1. Baseline Evaluations to Support Control Room Modernization at Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boring, Ronald L.; Joe, Jeffrey C.

    2015-01-01

    For any major control room modernization activity at a commercial nuclear power plant (NPP) in the U.S., a utility should carefully follow the four phases prescribed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in NUREG-0711, Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model. These four phases include Planning and Analysis, Design, Verification and Validation, and Implementation and Operation. While NUREG-0711 is a useful guideline, it is written primarily from the perspective of regulatory review, and it therefore does not provide a nuanced account of many of the steps the utility might undertake as part of control room modernization. The guideline is largely summative–intended to catalog final products–rather than formative–intended to guide the overall modernization process. In this paper, we highlight two crucial formative sub-elements of the Planning and Analysis phase specific to control room modernization that are not covered in NUREG-0711. These two sub-elements are the usability and ergonomics baseline evaluations. A baseline evaluation entails evaluating the system as-built and currently in use. The usability baseline evaluation provides key insights into operator performance using the control system currently in place. The ergonomics baseline evaluation identifies possible deficiencies in the physical configuration of the control system. Both baseline evaluations feed into the design of the replacement system and subsequent summative benchmarking activities that help ensure that control room modernization represents a successful evolution of the control system.

  2. Analysis on nuclear power plant control room system design and improvement based on human factor engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao Feng; Liu Yanzi; Sun Yongbin

    2014-01-01

    The design of nuclear power plant control room system is a process of improvement with the implementation of human factor engineering theory and guidance. The method of implementation human factor engineering principles into the nuclear power plant control room system design and improvement was discussed in this paper. It is recommended that comprehensive address should be done from control room system function, human machine interface, digital procedure, control room layout and environment design based on the human factor engineering theory and experience. The main issues which should be paid more attention during the control room system design and improvement also were addressed in this paper, and then advices and notices for the design and improvement of the nuclear power plant control room system were afforded. (authors)

  3. Criteria for the design of the control room complex for a nuclear power generating station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1981-01-01

    This Standard addresses the central control room of a nuclear power generating station and the overall complex in which this room is housed. It is not intended to cover special or normally unattended control rooms, such as those provided for radioactive waste handling or for emergency shutdown operations. The nuclear power generating station control room complex provides a protective envelope for plant operating personnel and for instrument and control equipment vital to the operation of the plant during normal and abnormal conditions. In this capacity, the control room complex must be designed and constructed to meet the following criteria contained in Appendix A of 10CFR50, General Design criteria for Nuclear Power Plants: (1) Criterion 2: design bases for protection against natural phenomena; (2) Criterion 3: fire protection; (3) Criterion 4: environmental and missile design bases; (4) Criterion 5: sharing of structures, systems and components (multiunit stations only); and (5) Criterion 19: control room

  4. Review of international standards related to the design for control rooms on nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitamura, Masashi; Yoshikawa, Hidekazu; Fujita, Yushi

    2005-01-01

    The improvement of Human-Machine Interface (HMI) design for control rooms on nuclear power plants (NPP) has been accomplished world wide, especially after the TMI-2 accident. The design process and guidelines are standardized in IEC60964 and supplemental standards as international standard. However, technological update is required due to the increased use of computerized control and monitoring equipment and systems in control rooms on NPP in recent years. Standards are becoming more important for computerized control rooms because there is more freedom to design than conventional hardware based system. For computerized control rooms, standards for hardware and software of HMI systems should be also considered. Standards and guidelines for computerized control rooms on NPP have been developed recently in each body such as IEC, ISO, and IEEE etc. Therefore, reviewing these standards and guidelines related to control rooms design of NPP can be useful not only for revision of the international standards such as IEC60964, but also for users of the standards and guidelines. In this paper, we reviewed the international standards related to the design for control rooms, in the two aspects of HMI design and hardware and software design, considering the undergoing revision work and their application. (author)

  5. Durable improvements in efficiency, safety, and satisfaction in the operating room.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heslin, Martin J; Doster, Barbara E; Daily, Sandra L; Waldrum, Michael R; Boudreaux, Arthur M; Smith, A Blair; Peters, Glenn; Ragan, Debbie B; Buchalter, Scott; Bland, Kirby I; Rue, Loring W

    2008-05-01

    Enhanced productivity and efficiency in the operating room must be balanced with patient safety and staff satisfaction. In December 2004, transition to an expanded replacement hospital resulted in mandatory overtime, unpredictable work hours, and poor morale among operating room (OR) staff. A staff-retention crisis resulted, which threatened the viability of the OR and the institution. We report the changes implemented to efficiently deliver safe patient care in a supportive environment for surgeons and OR staff. University of Alabama at Birmingham University Hospital OR data were evaluated for fiscal year 2004 and compared with fiscal years 2005 and 2006. Case volumes, number of operational ORs, and on-time case starts were evaluated. OR adverse events were tabulated. Percentage of registered nurse hires and staff departures served as a proxy for staff satisfaction. Short, intermediate, and longterm strategies were implemented by an engaged OR management committee with the guidance of surgical, anesthesia, and hospital leadership. These included new block time release policies; use of traveling nurses until new staff could be hired and trained; and incentive-based, voluntary, employee-scheduled overtime. Mandatory nursing education time was blocked weekly. Enforcement of the National Patient Safety Goals were implemented and adjudicated with a "surgeon-of-the-day" system providing backup for nurse management. We demonstrated an increase in operations per year, on-time starts, and registered nurse hires in fiscal years 2005 and 2006. During this same time, we were able to markedly decrease the number of adverse events, admitting delays, and staff departures. Change is difficult to accept but essential when vital clinical activities are impaired and at risk. To maintain important clinical environments like the OR in an academic center, we developed and implemented effective, data-driven changes. This allowed us to retain critical human resources and restore a

  6. Enhancing training in the main control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McGuigan, K.; O'Leary, K.; Canavan, K.

    2004-01-01

    In 2003 Pickering B Nuclear of Ontario Power Generation installed a Desktop Simulator (DTS) in the Main Control Room (MCR) for training purposes. This paper will outline why this training enhancement was undertaken and the approach taken to secure its use in an active MCR environment while minimizing distractions to plant operations. (author)

  7. Noble gas control room accident filtration system for severe accident conditions (N-CRAFT)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hill, Axel; Stiepani, Cristoph; Drechsler, Michael

    2015-01-01

    Severe accidents might cause the release of airborne radioactive substances to the environment of the NPP either due to containment leakages or due to intentional filtered containment venting. In the latter case aerosols and iodine are retained, however noble gases are not retainable by the FCVS or by conventional air filtration systems like HEPA filters and iodine absorbers. Radioactive noble gases nevertheless dominate the activity release depending on the venting procedure and the weather conditions. To prevent unacceptable contamination of the control room atmosphere by noble gases, AREVA GmbH has developed a noble gas control room accident filtration system (CRAFT) which can supply purified fresh air to the control room without time limitation. The retention process is based on dynamic adsorption of noble gases on activated carbon. The system consists of delay lines (carbon columns) which are operated by a continuous and simultaneous adsorption and desorption process. CRAFT allows minimization of the dose rate inside the control room and ensures low radiation exposure to the staff by maintaining the control room environment suitable for prolonged occupancy throughout the duration of the accident. CRAFT consists of a proven modular design either transportable or permanently installed. (author)

  8. RB research reactor Safety Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sotic, O.; Pesic, M.; Vranic, S.

    1979-04-01

    This RB reactor safety report is a revised and improved version of the Safety report written in 1962. It contains descriptions of: reactor building, reactor hall, control room, laboratories, reactor components, reactor control system, heavy water loop, neutron source, safety system, dosimetry system, alarm system, neutron converter, experimental channels. Safety aspects of the reactor operation include analyses of accident causes, errors during operation, measures for preventing uncontrolled activity changes, analysis of the maximum possible accident in case of different core configurations with natural uranium, slightly and highly enriched fuel; influence of possible seismic events

  9. Assessment of control room habitability and unfiltered air inleakage test of the OPR 1000 NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Dong Soo; Lee, Jong Beom; Ha, Sang Jun; Huh, Seong Cheol

    2015-01-01

    The assessment of control room habitability for Hanbit unit 5 was performed based on GL 2003-01 and Regulatory Guide 1.197. The integrated control room envelope (CRE) test was performed utilizing ASTM E741. Four tests were performed using each of the control room HVAC subtrains. The control room heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system lineup of pressurization mode test was based upon a lineup that encompassed the design basis radiological analyses. The other control room HVAC system lineup of isolation mode test was based on an operation mode that considers toxic gas. The measured inleakage for the isolation test mode remains within the toxicity limit. Radiation effect analysis showed that the measured inleakage satisfied the regulatory criteria, and the inleakage would not result in control room operator dose exceeding 50 mSv whole body and 500 mSv thyroid except train A pressurization test mode. The thyroid dose due to maximum measured unfiltered inleakage of 8976 lpm for train A is corresponding to 700 mSv. Modifications to the CRE boundary and control room HVAC system should be done to demonstrate that the measured unfiltered inleakage for train A pressurization test mode is bounded by the regulatory criteria assumed in the design basis radiological analyses. (author)

  10. Control room unfiltered in-leakage limit analysis of design-basis LOCA for Lungmen ABWR plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsai Chihming; Chang Chinjang; Yuann Yngruey

    2014-01-01

    In USNRC's Generic Letter 2003-01, 'Control Room Habitability,' it requests utilities provide information to demonstrate that the control room at each of their respective facilities complies with the current licensing and design bases, and applicable regulatory requirements, and that suitable design, maintenance and testing control measures are in place for maintaining this compliance. In particular, each utility is required to perform the control room in-leakage test to demonstrate that the unfiltered in-leakage rate is within that assumed in the licensing analyses. It must be ensured that the control room envelope habitability, in terms of radiation dose, is maintained during normal operations as well as design basis accidents. In view of this, a dose analysis has been performed to establish the control room unfiltered in-leakage limit which can be used as an acceptance criterion for the in-leakage test. The analysis in this study is for Lungmen ABWR plant. The plant has twin units, with each unit having its own control room. The TID-4844 source terms and associated methodology are used. The USNRC RADTRAD v3.03 code is employed for the transport calculation of radioactive materials in different paths, including control room in-leakage path. The radiological criterion on protection of the operators specified in 10 CFR 50, Appendix A, General Design Criterion 19 is followed. It's demonstrated that the performance of Lungmen control room with 500 cfm unfiltered in-leakage air could meet the radiological habitability acceptance criteria in case of radiation hazards. (author)

  11. Method for control-room display design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montmayeul, R.

    1988-01-01

    This document describes a method for control-room displays design. It can be used either for isolated display to add to an existing system either for the design of a full system of operator aids. The method is a top-down design with steps of possible iteration. The emphasis is put on display design rather than on system design; system aspects are just mentioned. Advantages of using a method are described [fr

  12. Safety control and risk management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rasmussen, J.

    1987-01-01

    The acceptable probability of major accidents in nuclear power is very small, and can not be determined from direct empirical evidence. Therefore, control of the level of safety is a complex problem. The difficulty is related to the fact that a variable, 'safety', which is not accessible to direct measurement, is to be tightly controlled. Control, therefore, depends on a systematic, analytical prediction of the target state, i.e., the level of safety, from indirect evidence. From a control theoretic point of view this means that safety is controlled by a system which includes openloop as well as closed loop control paths. The aim of the paper is to take a general systems view on the complex mechanisms involved in the control of safety of industrial installations like nuclear power. From this, the role of probabilistic risk analysis is evaluated and needs for further development discussed. (author)

  13. Learning from Aviation to Improve Safety in the Operating Room - a Systematic Literature Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda S. G. L. Wauben

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Lessons learned from other high-risk industries could improve patient safety in the operating room (OR. This review describes similarities and differences between high-risk industries and describes current methods and solutions within a system approach to reduce errors in the OR. PubMed and Scopus databases were systematically searched for relevant articles written in the English language published between 2000 and 2011. In total, 25 articles were included, all within the medical domain focusing on the comparison between surgery and aviation. In order to improve safety in the OR, multiple interventions have to be implemented. Additionally, the healthcare organization has to become a ‘learning organization’ and the OR team has to become a team with shared responsibilities and flat hierarchies. Interpersonal and technical skills can be trained by means of simulation and can be supported by implementing team briefings, debriefings and cross-checks. However, further development and research is needed to prove if these solutions are useful, practical, and actually increase safety.

  14. Consequences of modern information display technologies in power plant control rooms. What has changed in control rooms?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kruip, Jochen

    2007-01-01

    Control rooms of power plants have undergone major developments and changes, some of them considerable, over the past few years. The most visible change has been the display of information on a variety of video screens and projectors. The question examined in the article is whether the visible or invisible changes in power plant control rooms have any influence on the training of operators. In a contribution coming from the Simulator Center, this question naturally focuses on simulator training, which is to be discussed in the light of the basic objectives of this type of training. The main duty of the Essen Simulator Center is to offer first training and in-career training to the licensed operators of nuclear power plants. The experience accumulated in nearly thirty years of simulator training has been laid down in the 'Kompendium der Simulatorschulung' (Handbook of Simulator Training). Simulator training, as referred to above, is a major component of all training programs. The two main objectives of simulator training are 'reliability in operation' and 'experience' in handling the new information systems and digital I and C systems. In the future, simulators can also be used for advanced developments and for advance testing and training. (orig.)

  15. Ergonomics and control room design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, J.C.; Story, D.T.

    1987-01-01

    The application of ergonomic principles to the design process and some aspects of the Sizewell B control room is discussed. Also outlined is the management process which ensures that these principles are applied systematically throughout the design development activity and highlights the functional requirements which must also be met in the creation of a total man-machine system package which meets all the technical design criteria. The ergonomics requirements are part of this process and extend into all aspects of design ranging from such matters as workplace organization to environmental factors, social engineering, communications and aesthetics. (author)

  16. Measuring Human Performance in Simulated Nuclear Power Plant Control Rooms Using Eye Tracking

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kovesdi, Casey Robert [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Rice, Brandon Charles [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Bower, Gordon Ross [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Spielman, Zachary Alexander [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Hill, Rachael Ann [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); LeBlanc, Katya Lee [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2015-11-01

    Control room modernization will be an important part of life extension for the existing light water reactor fleet. As part of modernization efforts, personnel will need to gain a full understanding of how control room technologies affect performance of human operators. Recent advances in technology enables the use of eye tracking technology to continuously measure an operator’s eye movement, which correlates with a variety of human performance constructs such as situation awareness and workload. This report describes eye tracking metrics in the context of how they will be used in nuclear power plant control room simulator studies.

  17. Measuring Human Performance in Simulated Nuclear Power Plant Control Rooms Using Eye Tracking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kovesdi, Casey Robert; Rice, Brandon Charles; Bower, Gordon Ross; Spielman, Zachary Alexander; Hill, Rachael Ann; LeBlanc, Katya Lee

    2015-01-01

    Control room modernization will be an important part of life extension for the existing light water reactor fleet. As part of modernization efforts, personnel will need to gain a full understanding of how control room technologies affect performance of human operators. Recent advances in technology enables the use of eye tracking technology to continuously measure an operator's eye movement, which correlates with a variety of human performance constructs such as situation awareness and workload. This report describes eye tracking metrics in the context of how they will be used in nuclear power plant control room simulator studies.

  18. REVIEW Of COMPUTERIZED PROCEDURE GUIDELINES FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CONTROL ROOMS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    David I Gertman; Katya Le Blanc; Ronald L Boring

    2011-09-01

    Computerized procedures (CPs) are recognized as an emerging alternative to paper-based procedures for supporting control room operators in nuclear power plants undergoing life extension and in the concept of operations for advanced reactor designs. CPs potentially reduce operator workload, yield increases in efficiency, and provide for greater resilience. Yet, CPs may also adversely impact human and plant performance if not designed and implemented properly. Therefore, it is important to ensure that existing guidance is sufficient to provide for proper implementation and monitoring of CPs. In this paper, human performance issues were identified based on a review of the behavioral science literature, research on computerized procedures in nuclear and other industries, and a review of industry experience with CPs. The review of human performance issues led to the identification of a number of technical gaps in available guidance sources. To address some of the gaps, we developed 13 supplemental guidelines to support design and safety. This paper presents these guidelines and the case for further research.

  19. Modernisation of Radiation Monitoring Room as a Part of Slovenian Emergency Response Centre

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarvari, A.; Mitic, D.

    2003-01-01

    In the year 2002 the Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration (SNSA) moved to the new premises therefore it had to rearrange some of its rooms for the emergency situation. SNSA does not operate with a dedicated Emergency Response Centre (ERC), instead of it the SNSA has to rearrange the existing rooms in case of an emergency. Modernisation of the equipment, with the help of government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, for the emergency situation was carried out, especially in the monitoring room. The radiation monitoring system, which is placed in the monitoring room, continuously collects, processes and archives the incoming data of exposure to radiation and meteorological parameters on the Slovenian territory (A model national emergency response plan for radiological accidents, IAEA, Vienna, 1993. IAEA-TECDOC-718). In the emergency situation the monitoring room transforms into the room for the Dose Assessment Group (DAG), which is part of ERC (IAEA emergency response network, IAEA, Vienna, 2000, EPR-ERNET (2000)). The modernisation of monitoring room and within the DAG room with new equipment and its purpose is described in this article. Modernisation of the monitoring room and the room for DAG showed to be inevitably needed. Modernisation of the monitoring room has brought the SNSA a sophisticated and reliable system of controlling the external exposure to radiation on the Slovenian territory. The equipment, especially the equipment for the use in the emergency situation, brought novelties for the Dose Assessment Group. The group has now better and easier control of radiation situation in case of an accident. In overall this modernisation has put the Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration a step forward in having a dedicated Emergency Response Centre, since it does not need to rearrange the room for the Dose Assessment Group. (author)

  20. An alternative atmospheric diffusion model for control room habitability assessments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramsdell, J.V. Jr.

    1990-01-01

    The US Nuclear Regulatory (NRC) staff uses procedures to evaluate control room designs for compliance with General Design Criterion 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Appendix A, 10 CRF Part 50. These procedures deal primarily with radiation protection. However, other hazardous materials, for example, chlorine, pose a potential threat to control room habitability. The NRC is considering changes in their current procedures to update methods and extend their applicability. Two changes to the current procedures are suggested: using a puff diffusion model to estimate concentrations at air intakes and using a new method to estimate diffusion coefficients

  1. Toxic vapor concentrations in the control room following a postulated accidental release

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wing, J.

    1979-05-01

    An acceptable method is presented for calculating the vapor concentrations in a control room as a function of time after a postulated accidental release. Included are the mathematical formulas for computing the rates of vaporization and evaporation of liquid spills, the vapor dispersion in air, and the control room air exchange. A list of toxic chemicals and their physical properties is also given

  2. Application of human engineering to design of central control room and evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tani, Mamoru

    1986-01-01

    The central control room of a nuclear power station is the center of the operation control, monitoring and management of the plant, therefore, the design by the application of human engineering has been performed on the basis of the experience and achievement in thermal power stations and other industries. In this report, the application of human engineering to the development of the new control boards for PWRs and the evaluation are described. In a nuclear power station, the number of the machinery and equipment composing it is large, and the interrelation among them is complex, accordingly, in the information processing system for operation monitoring and control, the man-machine interface works with high density. The concept of multiple protection design requires to show numerous plant parameters on a central control board, and this also complicates the man-machine interface. The introduction of human engineering was seriously studied after the TMI accident. In order to increase the safety and reliability of a plant, the new central control and monitoring system aims at facilitating operation and monitoring, and lightening burden and preventing mistakes in handling and judgement. The operational sequence diagram and mock-up varification, the application of human engineering and the evaluation, the synthetic real-time verification at the time of abnormality and accident, and the evaluation of the reliability improvement of men are reported. (Kako, I.)

  3. FOOD SAFETY CONTROL SYSTEM IN CHINA

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Liu Wei-jun; Wei Yi-min; Han Jun; Luo Dan; Pan Jia-rong

    2007-01-01

    Most countries have expended much effort to develop food safety control systems to ensure safe food supplies within their borders. China, as one of the world's largest food producers and consumers,pays a lot of attention to food safety issues. In recent years, China has taken actions and implemented a series of plans in respect to food safety. Food safety control systems including regulatory, supervisory,and science and technology systems, have begun to be established in China. Using, as a base, an analysis of the current Chinese food safety control system as measured against international standards, this paper discusses the need for China to standardize its food safety control system. We then suggest some policies and measures to improve the Chinese food safety control system.

  4. Design of nuclear power plant control rooms: some findings and possible improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bohr, E.

    1984-01-01

    Major findings are described of a study on the present status and possible improvements in the design of nuclear power plant control rooms according to ergonomic principles and criteria. The findings have been acquired by observing the performance of control room operators, by interviewing operators and management personnel, and by analysing major characteristics of the man-machine interface. The methods currently used for developing and designing control rooms have also been examined. The results of the study indicate that there is a growing awareness and consideration of physical factors affecting performance. More attention should be paid to the essential cognitive characteristics of work in the control room with the aim of avoiding unnecessary hindrances and possible errors. Examples are given of some of these problems, and approaches, ways and means for solving or mitigating them are indicated. A more deliberate consideration of factors affecting operator performance and reliability is suggested, based on a systems ergonomics approach. Analyses of critical tasks would be a major feature of this approach. Its main objective is to ensure that operators are able to carry out their tasks reliably. (author)

  5. Control console for the X-ray room; Consola de control para la sala de rayos X

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcia H, J.M.; Aguilar B, M.A.; Torres B, M.A

    1998-07-01

    It is presented the design and construction of Control console for the X-ray room of Metrology Center for ionizing radiations at National Institute of Nuclear Research (ININ). This system controls the positioning of 6 different filters for an X-ray beam. Also it controls a shutter which blockades the beam during periods established by user, these periods can be fixed from hours until tenth of second. The shutter opening periods, as well as the X-ray beam filter are establish and monitoring from a Personal computer outside of room. (Author)

  6. Replacement of the complete control system of the NPP Oskarshamn 1 by digital distributed control system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berger, E.

    1998-01-01

    As part of an ongoing modernization program, Oskarshamn 1's I and C system and control room will be upgraded by ABB using its Advant Power range of digital, programmable process control system. Besides ensuring the higher level of safety that is demanded today, the new equipment provides the plant with an integrated system which will improve operator overview of operation and reduce risk of human error and serve as a platform for further improvements of the control room. This paper discusses in the example of Oskarshamn 1 how the complete control system of a nuclear power plant may be exchanged, the technical solution and the time schedule. Oskarshamn 1 is the first nuclear power plant in Sweden. It is a boiling water reactor built by ABB ATOM in Sweden between 1966 and 1971. According to this age the control system is semiconductor based and the reactor protection system is relays based. This makes the maintenance expensive and extensions nearly impossible. To extend the life period of this plant the owner has decided to improve the safety system and to replace the reactor protection system and safety related control and the non safety related control by a state of the art digital distributed control system of ABB. In March 1997 ABB got the order to replace the reactor protection system, the safety control system, to start the replacement of all control systems and to replace the old control room by a new ergonomically designed control room. Together with the exchange of the control system an enhancement of the safety system and of the emergency power supply will be implemented

  7. Human-factors engineering control-room design review/audit: Waterford 3 SES Generating Station, Louisiana Power and Light Company

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Savage, J.W.

    1983-01-01

    A human factors engineering design review/audit of the Waterford-3 control room was performed at the site on May 10 through May 13, 1982. The report was prepared on the basis of the HFEB's review of the applicant's Preliminary Human Engineering Discrepancy (PHED) report and the human factors engineering design review performed at the site. This design review was carried out by a team from the Human Factors Engineering Branch, Division of Human Factors Safety. The review team was assisted by consultants from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (University of California), Livermore, California

  8. Safety and interlock system for Tristan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takeda, S.; Kudo, K.; Katoh, T.; Akiyama, A.

    1987-01-01

    This report describes alarm and interlock system of TRISTAN, concentrating on personnel safety. The basis of TRISTAN machine-control system (TMS) is an N-to-N computer network and KEK NODAL which offers high software productivity. TMC achieves high flexibility of operation both for normal operation and for the fast commissioning. However, to assure the safety of personnel and the TRISTAN machine operation, the safety system has to continue functioning during TMC failure as well. A distributed safety and interlock system (DSIS) is used for diversification of risks in TRISTAN system. DSIS is functionally subdivided along local system lines and has a hierarchical structure of 12 programmable sequence controllers (PSCs). Optical fiber links connect the PSCs at subsystem level and a PSC at the supervisory level of TRISTAN central control room (TCCR). The subsystem PSCs provide the interlock functions between their local devices. The local PSCs interact with the central system through a limited number of summarized signals. The central PSC provides the interlock functions between the subsystems and interacts with an operator's panel. Personnel safety is based on a system of electrical interlock keys, emergency push-buttons around the tunnel, at the entrance gates or in the control room

  9. [Controlling systems for operating room managers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schüpfer, G; Bauer, M; Scherzinger, B; Schleppers, A

    2005-08-01

    Management means developing, shaping and controlling of complex, productive and social systems. Therefore, operating room managers also need to develop basic skills in financial and managerial accounting as a basis for operative and strategic controlling which is an essential part of their work. A good measurement system should include financial and strategic concepts for market position, innovation performance, productivity, attractiveness, liquidity/cash flow and profitability. Since hospitals need to implement a strategy to reach their business objectives, the performance measurement system has to be individually adapted to the strategy of the hospital. In this respect the navigation system developed by Gälweiler is compared to the "balanced score card" system of Kaplan and Norton.

  10. Modernization of Safety and Control Instrumentation of the IEA-R1 Research Reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    De Carvalho, P.V., E-mail: paulov@ien.gov.br [Institute of Nuclear Engineering (IEN), National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

    2014-08-15

    The research reactor IEA-R1 located in the Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN), São Paulo, Brazil, obtained its first criticality on 16 September 1957 and since then has served the scientific and medical community in the performance of experiments in applied nuclear physics, as well as the provision of radioisotopes for production of radiopharmaceuticals. The reactor produces radioisotopes {sup 82}Br and {sup 41}Ar for special processes in industrial inspection and {sup 192}Ir and {sup 198}Au as sources of radiation used in brachytherapy, {sup 153}Sm for pain relief in patients with bone metastasis, and calibrated sources of {sup 133}Ba, {sup 137}Cs, {sup 57}Co, {sup 60}Co, {sup 241}Am and {sup 152}Eu used in medical clinics and hospitals practicing nuclear medicine and research laboratories. Services are offered in regular non-destructive testing by neutron radiography, neutron irradiation of silicon for phosphorous doping and other various irradiations with neutrons. The reactor is responsible for producing approximately 70% of radiopharmaceutical {sup 131}I used in Brazil, which saves about US$ 800 000 annually for the country. After more than 50 years of use, most of its equipment and systems have been modernized, and recently the reactor power was increased to 5 MW in order to enhance radioisotope production capability. However, the control room and nuclear instrumentation system used for reactor safety have operated more than 30 years and require constant maintenance. Many equipment and electronic components are obsolete, and replacements are not available in the market. The modernization of the nuclear safety and control instrumentation systems of IEA-R1 is being carried out with consideration for the internationally recognized criteria for safety and reliable reactor operations and the latest developments in nuclear electronic technology. The project for the new reactor instrumentation system specifies three wide range neutron monitoring

  11. new developments for control room habitability evaluation and analysis. Panel Discussion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cozens, Kurt O.; Harvey, Robert B. Jr.; Hayes, John J. Jr.; Jarosz, Gregory; Lagus, Peter L.; Taplett, Kenneth J.; Schultz, Stephen P.

    2001-01-01

    In 2000, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), nuclear utilities, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) embarked on a series of working meetings designed to develop means to assess the post-accident performance of control room ventilation systems to ensure required control room habitability (CRH). Through monthly meeting interactions beginning in January 2000, teams from the industry and the NRC have been working to develop an industry approach for assessment of existing systems. New system evaluation techniques are being developed that will allow for evaluation and/or identification of potential performance improvement options. NRC review of the documentation of this approach, as well as broad industry comment, was performed in the first part of 2001. This session will examine technical development topics covering licensing, analysis, testing, and control room refurbishment. NRC, NEI, utility, vendor, and consultant presentations will be followed by a panel session that will explore both process and technical recommendations for improvements. Since the mid-1980's, the NRC has communicated concerns on the inadequacies of control room designs relating to CRH requirements. In the mid-1990's, testing of some control room envelopes indicated that key assumptions supporting the radiological dose analysis might be incorrect. In 1998, the NRC held a public workshop to address CRH concerns. In late 1999, the NRC and the industry agreed to work together on issues affecting CRH and develop the NEI 99-03 guidance document for resolving those issues. This NEI 99-03 industry document defines a process for licensees to assess a plant's design and licensing bases for CRH to ensure that they are established and maintained throughout the life of the plant. The assessment process describes a comparative approach to determine if the plant configuration and operation are consistent with the CRH licensing basis and analysis. The process includes evaluation, testing, and

  12. Human factors engineering control-room-design review/audit report: Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Arizona Public Service Company

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Savage, J.W.; Lappa, D.A.

    1981-01-01

    A human factors engineering design review of the Palo Verde control room simulator was performed at the site on September 15 through September 17, 1981. Observed human factors design discrepancies were given priority ratings. This report summarizes the team's observations of the control room design and layout and of the control room operators' interface with the control room environment. A list of the human factors strengths observed in the Palo Verde control room simulator is given

  13. Compositional Synthesis of Safety Controllers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuijper, W.

    2012-01-01

    In my thesis I investigate compositional techniques for synthesis of safety controllers. A safety controller, in this context, is a state machine that gives the set of safe control outputs for every possible sequence of observations from the plant under control. Compositionality, in this context,

  14. Study on comprehensive evaluation model for nuclear power plant control room layout

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Yiming; Liu Yuan; Fan Huixian

    2010-01-01

    A comprehensive evaluation model for layout of the main control room of nuclear power plants was proposed. Firstly the design scope and principle for the layout of the main control room were defined based on the standards, and then the index system for the comprehensive evaluation was established. Finally, comprehensive evaluation was carried out for the layout design by applying the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method in the index system. (authors)

  15. Response Times of Operators in a Control Room

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Platz, O.; Rasmussen, Jens; Skanborg, Preben Zacho

    A statistical analysis was made of operator response times recorded in the control room of a research reactor during the years 1972-1974. A homogeneity test revealed that the data consist of a mixture of populations. A small but statistically significant difference is found between day and night...

  16. Palo Verde receives new control room simulator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1993-01-01

    A new control room simulator was delivered to Arizona Public Service Company's Palo Verde nuclear generating station in late August. The system, the second simulator on site, will be used for training beginning in January 1994, said David C. Brown, manager of the simulator upgrade project. Having two simulators will ease the current tight training schedule, and allow expansion of instruction to personnel other than licensed operators

  17. Look into the PS Main Control Room (partial view)

    CERN Multimedia

    1974-01-01

    Jean-Pierre Potier at work. The 26 GeV Synchrotron and later also its related machines (Linacs 1,2,3; PS-Booster, LEP-Injector Linacs and Electron-Positron Accumulator; Antiproton Accumulator, Antiproton Collector, Low Energy Antiproton Ring and more recently Antiproton Decelerator) were all controlled from the PS control room situated at the Meyrin site. The SPS and LEP were controlled from a separat control centre on the Prevessin site. In 2005 all controls were transferred to the Prevessin centre.

  18. A computerized main control room for NPP: Development and investigation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anokhin, A. N.; Marshall, E. C.; Rakitin, I. D.; Slonimsky, V. M.

    2006-01-01

    An ergonomics assessment of the control room at Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant has been undertaken as part of an international project funded by the EU TACIS program. The project was focused on the upgrading of the existing control facilities and the installation of a validation facility to evaluate candidate refurbishment proposals before their implementation at the plant. The ergonomics methodology applied in the investigation was wide ranging and included an analysis of reported events, extensive task analysis (including novel techniques) and validation studies using experienced operators. The paper addresses the potential difficulties for the human operator associated with fully computerized interfaces and shows how the validation facility and the outcomes from ergonomics assessment will be used to minimise any adverse impact on performance that may be caused by proposed control room changes. (authors)

  19. Psychological factors of professional success of nuclear power plant main control room operators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kosenkov A.A.

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Aim: to conduct a comparative analysis of the psychological characteristics of the most and least successful main control room operators. Material and Methods. Two NPP staff groups: the most and least successful main control room operators, who worked in routine operating conditions, were surveyed. Expert evaluation method has been applied to identify the groups. The subjects were administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI, Cattell's Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF form A and Raven's Progressive Matrices test. Results. Numerous significant psychological differences between the groups of most and least successful control room operators were obtained: the best operators were significantly more introverted and correctly solved more logical tasks with smaller percentage of mistakes under time pressure than worst ones. Conclusions: 1. The psychodiagnostic methods used in the study were adequate to meet research objective 2. Tendency to introversion, as well as developed the ability to solve logic problems undertime pressure, apparently, are important professional qualities for control room operators. These indicators should be considered in the process of psychological selection and professional guidance of nuclear power plant operators.

  20. Multichannel active control of random noise in a small reverberant room

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laugesen, Søren; Elliott, Stephen J.

    1993-01-01

    An algorithm for multichannel adaptive IIR (infinite impulse response) filtering is presented and applied to the active control of broadband random noise in a small reverberant room. Assuming complete knowledge of the primary noise, the theoretically optimal reductions of acoustic energy are init...... with the primary noise field generated by a panel excited by a loudspeaker in an adjoining room. These results show that far better performances are provided by IIR and FIR filters when the primary source has a lightly damped dynamic behavior which the active controller must model...

  1. Performance evaluation of control room HVAC and air cleaning systems under accident conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almerico, F.; Machiels, A.J.; Ornberg, S.C.; Lahti, G.P.

    1985-01-01

    In light water reactors, control rooms and technical support centers must be designed to provide habitable environments in accordance with the requirements specified in General Design Criterion 19 of Appendix A, 10 CFR Part 50. Therefore, the effectiveness of HVAC and air cleaning system designs with respect to plant operator protection has to be evaluated by the system designer. Guidance for performing the analysis has been previously given in ANSI/ASME N509-1980 as well as in presentations at past Air Cleaning Conferences. The previous work is extended and the methodology used in a generic, interactive computer program that performs Main Control Room and Technical Support Center (TSC) habitability analyses for LWR nuclear power plants is presented. For given accident concentrations of radionuclides or hazardous gases in the outdoor air intakes and plant spaces surrounding the Main Control Room (or TSC), the program models the performance of the HVAC and air cleaning system designs, and determines control room (or TSC) contaminant concentrations and plant operator protection factors. Calculated or actual duct leakage, air cleaning efficiency, and airborne contamination are taken into account. Flexibility of the model allows for the representation of most control rooms (or TSC) and associated HVAC and air cleaning system conceptual designs that have been used by the US architect/engineers. The program replaced tedious calculations to determine the effects of HVAC ductwork and equipment leakage and permits (1) parametric analyses of various HVAC system design options early in the conceptual phase of a project, and (2) analysis of the effects of leakage test results on contaminant room concentrations, and therefore operator doses

  2. A work process and information flow description of control room operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davey, E.; Matthews, G.

    2007-01-01

    The control room workplace is the location from which all plant operations are supervised and controlled on a shift-to-shift basis. The activities comprising plant operations are structured into a number of work processes, and information is the common currency that is used to convey work requirements, communicate business and operating decisions, specify work practice, and describe the ongoing plant and work status. This paper describes the motivation for and early experience with developing a work process and information flow model of CANDU control room operations, and discusses some of the insights developed from model examination that suggest ways in which changes in control centre work specification, organization of resources, or asset layout could be undertaken to achieve operational improvements. (author)

  3. IAEA technical meeting on integrating analog and digital instrumentation and control systems in hybrid main control rooms at nuclear power plants. Book of abstracts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2007-07-01

    that digital technology offers are needed to increase cost-effective electricity production. As an integral part of the I and C modernization program at a nuclear power plant, the control room and other human-system interfaces (HSIs) will also be modernized. To support safe and effective operation, it is critical to specify, design, implement, operate, and maintain, as well as train for, the control room and HSI changes to take advantage of human cognitive processing abilities. This consideration of human factors is essential to increase performance and to reduce the likelihood of human errors. The plant I and C and HSI modifications can affect personnel in various ways. They can impact the role of personnel, the tasks to be performed, the way tasks are performed, and the knowledge, skills and training required of personnel. As part of modernization, HSIs are becoming more computer-based, incorporating features such as soft controls and computerized procedures, touch-screen interfaces, sit-down workstations, and large-screen overview displays. As computer-based technologies are integrated into control rooms that were largely based on conventional technology, hybrid control rooms are created. The potential benefits of implementing digital technology include more efficient operations and maintenance, leading to improved power plant availability and safety through the avoidance of transients, forced outages, and unnecessary shutdowns. The potential benefits also include increased efficiency and power output as well as reduced operating costs. New digital systems provide the opportunity to give personnel information they did not have with conventional systems. The importance of these issues has led the IAEA to organize (in conjunction with AECL) an international forum for presentations and discussions on the potential benefits and challenges related to the integration of Analog and Digital Instrumentation and Control Systems in Hybrid Main Control Rooms. Many of these

  4. Control room, emergency control system and local control panels in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-01-01

    The requirements on planning and construction of control boards including ergonomic-technical designing are specified in this rule. The specifications put the requirements on the design of place, process and environment of work, which are mentioned in the sections 90 and 91 of the labor-management relations act, into more concrete terms for the safety-relevant control panels as work places in a nuclear power station. The work places at control panels are not considered as video workstations in the sense of the 'Safety Rules for Video Workstations in the Office Sector' published by the General Association of the Industrial Trade Associations. The requirements are based on the operation and information technology realized at present in control panels of stationary nuclear power plants. (orig./HP) [de

  5. Review of Methods Related to Assessing Human Performance in Nuclear Power Plant Control Room Simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Katya L Le Blanc; Ronald L Boring; David I Gertman

    2001-11-01

    With the increased use of digital systems in Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) control rooms comes a need to thoroughly understand the human performance issues associated with digital systems. A common way to evaluate human performance is to test operators and crews in NPP control room simulators. However, it is often challenging to characterize human performance in meaningful ways when measuring performance in NPP control room simulations. A review of the literature in NPP simulator studies reveals a variety of ways to measure human performance in NPP control room simulations including direct observation, automated computer logging, recordings from physiological equipment, self-report techniques, protocol analysis and structured debriefs, and application of model-based evaluation. These methods and the particular measures used are summarized and evaluated.

  6. Control room habitability Analysis and Testing for Wolsong Unit 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, J. B. [KHNP Central Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-05-15

    In response to this recommendation, KHNP has established CRH program and performed tracer gas in leakage tests. These activities are described herein including the emergency ventilation system analysis, acceptance criteria calculation for the test and Control Room Envelope (CRE) discrimination, and the results of the tracer gas tests are presented. CRH analysis including unfiltered in leakage tests according to the methodology in ASTM E741 was performed for Wolsong Unit 1. The results show that the integrity of the control room of Wolsong Unit 1 is in good condition to maintain the reactor in a safe condition under accident conditions, which complies with the US NRC regulatory guides 1.78, 1.196 and 1.197.

  7. Inside the LEP control room at start-up

    CERN Multimedia

    1989-01-01

    Physicists grouped around a screen in the LEP control room at the strat-up of LEP on 14 July 1989. The emotion of the moment is clear. Carlo Rubbia, Director-General of CERN at the time, is in the centre and on his left, Herwig Schopper, former Director-General of the Organization.

  8. Safety in the operating room during orthopedic trauma surgery-incidence of adverse events related to technical equipment and logistics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Delft, E. A. K.; Schepers, T.; Bonjer, H. J.; Kerkhoffs, G. M. M. J.; Goslings, J. C.; Schep, N. W. L.

    2017-01-01

    Safety in the operating room is widely debated. Adverse events during surgery are potentially dangerous for the patient and staff. The incidence of adverse events during orthopedic trauma surgery is unknown. Therefore, we performed a study to quantify the incidence of these adverse events. Primary

  9. Control room design and human factors using a virtual reality based tool for design, test and training

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lirvall, Peter

    1998-02-01

    This report describes a user-centred approach to control room design adopted by IFE for the nuclear industry. The novelty of this approach is the development of a Control Room Philosophy, and the use of Virtual Reality (VR) technology as a tool in the design process, integrated with a specially developed Design Documentation System (DDS) and a process display prototyping tool PICASSO-3. The control room philosophy identifies all functional aspects of a control centre, to define the baseline principles and guidelines for the design. The use of VR technology enables end-users of the control room design (e.g. control room operators) to specify their preferred design of the new control room, and to replace the need for a physical mock-up to test and evaluate the proposed design. The DDS, integrated with the VR design tool, guides the control room operators, through a structured approach, to document the proposed design in a complete design specification. The VR tool, specially developed by IFE, is called the VR based Design, Test and Training tool (VR DTandT). It is not only intended to visualise the design, but also to test and evaluate the design. When the design is implemented, the same model is re-used as a VR based training simulator for operators. A special feature in the VR DTandT tool is that the verification and validation (VandV) tests, concerning human factors, are according to the regulative standards for nuclear control rooms

  10. Benefits of Advanced Control Room Technologies: Phase One Upgrades to the HSSL, Research Plan, and Performance Measures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Le Blanc, Katya [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Joe, Jeffrey [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Rice, Brandon [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Ulrich, Thomas [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Boring, Ronald [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2015-05-01

    Control Room modernization is an important part of life extension for the existing light water reactor fleet. None of the 99 currently operating commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. has completed a full-scale control room modernization to date. A full-scale modernization might, for example, entail replacement of all analog panels with digital workstations. Such modernizations have been undertaken successfully in upgrades in Europe and Asia, but the U.S. has yet to undertake a control room upgrade of this magnitude. Instead, nuclear power plant main control rooms for the existing commercial reactor fleet remain significantly analog, with only limited digital modernizations. Previous research under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program has helped establish a systematic process for control room upgrades that support the transition to a hybrid control room. While the guidance developed to date helps streamline the process of modernization and reduce costs and uncertainty associated with introducing digital control technologies into an existing control room, these upgrades do not achieve the full potential of newer technologies that might otherwise enhance plant and operator performance. The aim of the control room benefits research is to identify previously overlooked benefits of modernization, identify candidate technologies that may facilitate such benefits, and demonstrate these technologies through human factors research. This report describes the initial upgrades to the HSSL and outlines the methodology for a pilot test of the HSSL configuration.

  11. A simple intervention to improve patient safety, save time and improve staff experience in the AMU procedure room.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misselbrook, Gary Peter; Kause, Juliane; Yeoh, Su-Ann

    2016-01-01

    Over the last decade, operating theatres and Intensive Care Units (ICUs) have established systematic methods for performing procedures on patients that have been shown to reduce complications and improve patient safety. Whilst the use of procedure rooms on Acute Medicine Units (AMUs) is highly recommended by patient safety groups and Royal College publications, they are not universally available or appropriately utilised. In this article we discuss a quality improvement project that was undertaken on an AMU at a large university teaching hospital in the United Kingdom, highlighting its successes and challenges.

  12. Cognitive requirements in the redesign of a TRIGA RC-1 control room: The role of the operators' evaluations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Visciola, M.; Bagnara, S.; Ruggeri, R.

    1986-01-01

    When a control room undergoes to a redesign process it is of crucial importance to analyze how operators critically review it and which improvements they suggest. This is even more critical when presumably the same people will operate in the new 'redesigned' control room: Consistency in the mental models possessed by the operators of the plant functions and of their control should be emphasized. Consistency in the mental models can be assumed when redesign follows well-established guidelines drawn from experiences and studies carried out in very similar situations. However, this condition is not fulfilled when a nuclear research control room has to be redesigned, since available guidelines (e.g.; NUREG-0700) are based on studies conducted on nuclear power plant control rooms. These two types of facilities are of much difference as for activities performed in the control room, goals to be aimed at, costs and risks. As a consequence, the available guidelines cannot be safely applied to such a situation as the redesign of a TRIGA RC-1 control room. So, data have to be collected in order to allow the operators to efficiently and easily adapt to the new control room by consistently 'updating' their mental models. In the present study, these data have been collected through structured interviews, which consisted of a modified version of EPRI. The results can be summarized as follows: 1) The operators critically reviewed the present control room and underlined the lack of 'transparency' of the control system as for the plant's conditions and for the feedbacks about their own activities. 2) The operators' work analysis showed that they spend much of their time out of the control room. This means that, if the operators have to stay in the control room, they should be allowed to perform more and higher-level activities than those presently required, to prevent understimulation. So, the redesign should or allow and support the central control and maintenance, and other

  13. Replacement of the complete control system of the NPP Oskarshamn 1 by digital distributed control system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berger, E.

    1998-01-01

    As part of an ongoing modernization program, the I and C system and the control room of Oskarshamn 1 will be upgraded by ABB using its 'Advant Power' range of digital, programmable process control system. Besides ensuring the higher level of safety that is demanded today, the new equipment provides the plant with an integrated system which will improve operator interaction with the plant and reduce the risk of human error. The newly installed DCS system will serve also as a platform for further improvements of the control room. This paper discusses Oskarshamn 1 exchange of the complete control system of a nuclear power plant, the technical solution and the time schedule. Oskarshamn 1 is the first nuclear power plant in Sweden. It is a boiling water reactor built between 1966 and 1971 by ABB ATOM in Sweden. According to the plant age the control system is relay-based, while instrumentation and analogue control is semiconductor-based. This makes maintenance expensive and even worse, makes extensions nearly impossible. According to the safety standards of the 1960s, there is no separation between safety and non safety control and no seismic qualification. To extend the life of this plant the owner has decided to improve the safety system as well as to replace the reactor protection system, the safety related control and the non safety related control by a state-of-the-art digital distributed control system from ABB. In March 1997, ABB got the order to replace the reactor protection system, the safety control system and to start the replacement of all control systems. The old control room has to be replaced by a new ergonomically design. Together with the exchange of the control system the safety features of the plant and the emergency power supply has to be extended. (author)

  14. Draft audit report, human factors engineering control room design review: Saint Lucie Nuclear Power Plant, Unit No. 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterson, L.R.; Lappa, D.A.; Moore, J.W.

    1981-01-01

    A human factors engineering preliminary design review of the Saint Lucie Unit 2 control room was performed at the site on August 3 through August 7, 1981. This design review was carried out by a team from the Human Factors Engineering Branch, Division of Human Factors Safety. This report was prepared on the basis of the HFEB's review of the applicant's Preliminary Design Assessment and the human factors engineering design review/audit performed at the site. The review team included human factors consultants from BioTechnology, Inc., Falls Church, Virginia, and from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (University of California), Livermore, California

  15. Neutron flux control systems validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hascik, R.

    2003-01-01

    In nuclear installations main requirement is to obtain corresponding nuclear safety in all operation conditions. From the nuclear safety point of view is commissioning and start-up after reactor refuelling appropriate period for safety systems verification. In this paper, methodology, performance and results of neutron flux measurements systems validation is presented. Standard neutron flux measuring chains incorporated into the reactor protection and control system are used. Standard neutron flux measuring chain contains detector, preamplifier, wiring to data acquisition unit, data acquisition unit, wiring to display at control room and display at control room. During reactor outage only data acquisition unit and wiring and displaying at reactor control room is verified. It is impossible to verify detector, preamplifier and wiring to data acquisition recording unit during reactor refuelling according to low power. Adjustment and accurate functionality of these chains is confirmed by start-up rate (SUR) measurement during start-up tests after refuelling of the reactors. This measurement has direct impact to nuclear safety and increase operational nuclear safety level. Briefly description of each measuring system is given. Results are illustrated on measurements performed at Bohunice NPP during reactor start-up tests. Main failures and their elimination are described (Authors)

  16. Comprehensive Surgical Coaching Enhances Surgical Skill in the Operating Room: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonrath, Esther M; Dedy, Nicolas J; Gordon, Lauren E; Grantcharov, Teodor P

    2015-08-01

    The aim of the study was to determine whether individualized coaching improved surgical technical skill in the operating room to a higher degree than current residency training. Clinical training in the operating room is a valuable opportunity for surgeons to acquire skill and knowledge; however, it often remains underutilized. Coaching has been successfully used in various industries to enhance performance, but its role in surgery has been insufficiently investigated. This randomized controlled trial was conducted at one surgical training program. Trainees undergoing a minimally invasive surgery rotation were randomized to either conventional training (CT) or comprehensive surgical coaching (CSC). CT included ward and operating room duties, and regular departmental teaching sessions. CSC comprised performance analysis, debriefing, feedback, and behavior modeling. Primary outcome measures were technical performance as measured on global and procedure-specific rating scales, and surgical safety parameters, measured by error count. Operative performance was assessed by blinded video analysis of the first and last cases recorded by the participants during their rotation. Twenty residents were randomized and 18 completed the study. At posttraining the CSC group (n = 9) scored significantly higher on a procedure-specific skill scale compared with the CT group (n = 9) [median, 3.90 (interquartile range, 3.68-4.30) vs 3.60 (2.98-3.70), P = 0.017], and made fewer technical errors [10 (7-13) vs 18 (13-21), P = 0.003]. Significant within-group improvements for all skill metrics were only noted in the CSC group. Comprehensive surgical coaching enhances surgical training and results in skill acquisition superior to conventional training.

  17. Test to prove the resistance to incidents of components of electric and control systems in the safety containment of nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-01-01

    The marginal program for proving the suitability of safety-relevant components of electric and control systems in the safety containment during a loss-of-coolant incident is described. Variant test conditions are established in the component-specific test program. Special attention has been paid to the representation of the course of pressure and temperature for the performance test of the valve room of the Nuclear Power Plant Philippsburg 2. (DG) [de

  18. Research on cognitive reliability model for main control room considering human factors in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Jianjun; Zhang Li; Wang Yiqun; Zhang Kun; Peng Yuyuan; Zhou Cheng

    2012-01-01

    Facing the shortcomings of the traditional cognitive factors and cognitive model, this paper presents a Bayesian networks cognitive reliability model by taking the main control room as a reference background and human factors as the key points. The model mainly analyzes the cognitive reliability affected by the human factors, and for the cognitive node and influence factors corresponding to cognitive node, a series of methods and function formulas to compute the node cognitive reliability is proposed. The model and corresponding methods can be applied to the evaluation of cognitive process for the nuclear power plant operators and have a certain significance for the prevention of safety accidents in nuclear power plants. (authors)

  19. Research on design method of main control room intake air radioactive monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Lei; Sun Yu; Wang Jiaoya; Liu Hongtao

    2014-01-01

    According to the design of the main control room intake gamma radiation dose rate monitoring channels in CPR1000 project and the study of relevant regulations and standards, a design method of main control room air inlet radioactive monitoring was presented. The measured object, equipment layout and chain operation were described. The threshold setting was explored using a calculation model established by MCNP software. The advantages, disadvantages and improvement ideas of this design were presented on the basis of calculation results. (authors)

  20. Screen-based process control in nuclear plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hinz, W.; Arnoldt, C.; Hessler, C.

    1993-01-01

    Requirements, development and conceptual design of a screen-based control room for nuclear power plants are outlined. The control room consists of three or four equally equipped operator workstations comprising screens for process information and manual process control. A plant overview will assist the coordination among the operators. A safety classified backup system (safety control area) is provided to cover postulated failures of the control means. Some aspects of ergonomical validation and of future development trends are discussed. (orig.) [de

  1. Skill retention and control room operator competency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stammers, R.B.

    1981-12-01

    The problem of skill retention in relation to the competency of control room operators is addressed. Although there are a number of related reviews of the literature, this particular topic has not been examined in detail before. The findings of these reviews are summarised and their implications for the area discussed. The limited research on skill retention in connection with process control is also reviewed. Some topics from cognitive and instructional psychology are also raised. In particular overlearning is tackled and the potential value of learning strategies is assessed. In conclusion the important topic of measurement of performance is introduced and a number of potentially valuable training approaches are outlined. (author)

  2. Use of 2.5-D and 3-D technology to evaluate control room upgrades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanes, L. F.; Naser, J.

    2006-01-01

    This paper describes an Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI) study in which 2.5-D and 3-D visualization technology was applied to evaluate the design of a nuclear power plant control room upgrade. The study involved converting 3-D CAD flies of a planned upgrade into a photo-realistic appearing virtual model, and evaluating the value and usefulness of the model. Nuclear utility and EPRI evaluators viewed and interacted with the control room virtual model with both 2.5-D and 3-D representations. They identified how control room and similar virtual models may be used by utilities for design and evaluation purposes; assessed potential economic and other benefits; and identified limitations, potential problems, and other issues regarding use of visualization technology for this and similar applications. In addition, the Halden CREATE (Control Room Engineering Advanced Tool-kit Environment) Verification Tool was applied to evaluate features of the virtual model against US NRC NUREG 0700 Revision 2 human factors engineering guidelines (NUREG 0700) [1]. The study results are very favorable for applying 2.5-D visualization technology to support upgrading nuclear power plant control rooms and other plant facilities. Results, however, show that today's 3-D immersive viewing systems are difficult to justify based on cost, availability and value of information provided for this application. (authors)

  3. Contribution of computerization to alarm processing: A French safety view

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cette, W [CEA Centre d` Etudes de Fontenay-aux-Roses, 92 (France). Inst. de Protection et de Surete Nucleaire

    1997-09-01

    Following the TMI accident and according to the requirement of the French safety authority, very important studies were performed by the French utility, Electricite de France (EDF), and assessed by the Institute for Nuclear Safety and Protection (IPSN) on reactor operation in conventional control rooms, particularly on alarm processing. These studies dealt with the man-machine interface, as well as design and exploitation requirements, presentation and management of alarm signals, and associated operating documents. The conclusions of these studies have led to improvements in French conventional control rooms. The current state of these control rooms and links between alarm sets and operating documents will be shortly presented in the first part of the paper. More recently, the computerized means implemented in the PWR 1400 MWe control rooms (N4) profoundly modified reactor operation. In particular, major advances concern alarm processing in comparison with conventional control rooms. The N4 plants provide a more rigorous approach in processing and presentation of alarms than in the past. Indeed, EDF wanted to have less alarms switched on during plant upsets and to make them more characteristic of a specific situation of the process. For example, computerization makes it easier to validate or inhibit alarms according to the situation, to allow the operator to manage alarm presentation and to propose on-line alarm sheets to the operator etc. This approach in comparison with conventional control rooms, and the IPSN assessment will be presented in the second part of this paper. (author).

  4. Contribution of computerization to alarm processing: A French safety view

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cette, W.

    1997-01-01

    Following the TMI accident and according to the requirement of the French safety authority, very important studies were performed by the French utility, Electricite de France (EDF), and assessed by the Institute for Nuclear Safety and Protection (IPSN) on reactor operation in conventional control rooms, particularly on alarm processing. These studies dealt with the man-machine interface, as well as design and exploitation requirements, presentation and management of alarm signals, and associated operating documents. The conclusions of these studies have led to improvements in French conventional control rooms. The current state of these control rooms and links between alarm sets and operating documents will be shortly presented in the first part of the paper. More recently, the computerized means implemented in the PWR 1400 MWe control rooms (N4) profoundly modified reactor operation. In particular, major advances concern alarm processing in comparison with conventional control rooms. The N4 plants provide a more rigorous approach in processing and presentation of alarms than in the past. Indeed, EDF wanted to have less alarms switched on during plant upsets and to make them more characteristic of a specific situation of the process. For example, computerization makes it easier to validate or inhibit alarms according to the situation, to allow the operator to manage alarm presentation and to propose on-line alarm sheets to the operator etc. This approach in comparison with conventional control rooms, and the IPSN assessment will be presented in the second part of this paper. (author)

  5. Evaluation for the habitability of the main control room and the performance of the smoke control system at NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ji, M. H.; Hong, S. R.; Sung, C. K.

    2002-01-01

    In addition to the indoor air conditioning, the habitability of the main control room for the operators at Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) has to be ensured with a strict design requirements to protect the workers from the radiation exposure, hazardous chemicals, and the smoke with toxic combustion products. With this context, the internal pressure of the control room envelope shall be sustained at slightly higher pressure than the atmospheric pressure. At this paper, the internal pressure of the control room envelope was analyzed by use of the evaluation program, CONTANW that was developed by the NIST. On the basis of design values, the performance status of the smoke control system was also checked by the program, CFAST that was released by the NIST to confirm the dynamic smoke behaviors

  6. Commentary on nuclear power plant control room habitability - including a review of related LERs (1981-1983)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moeller, D.W.; Kotra, J.P.

    1985-01-01

    A review of Licensee Event Reports filed by the operator of commercial nuclear power plants from 1981 through 1983 has revealed that approximately 3% pertain to systems that maintain or monitor control room habitability. Dominant contributors were deficiencies in normal and emergency trains of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and air cleaning systems (45%), deficiencies in atmospheric monitors for toxic and radioactive substances (27%) and deficiencies in fire protection systems (13%). To correct the situation revealed by these analyses and by information provided from other sources, it is recommended that the NRC incorporate into its program plan the development of information that anticipates the conditions within a control room during emergencies, and that criteria for habitability within the control room be better defined. In addition, it is suggested than an improved protocol for testing control room air-related systems be developed, that the required thickness and number of layers of charcoal adsorption beds for control room air cleaning systems be re-evaluated, and that steps be taken to improve the quality of heating, ventilating, air conditioning and air cleaning components. It is also recommended that greater emphasis be placed on maintaining nuclear power plant control rooms in a habitable condition during emergencies so that the operators can remain there and safely shut down the plant, in contrast to placing reliance on the use of remote shutdown panels or auxiliary control facilities

  7. Further improvement of human-machine interface for ABWR main control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Makino, S.

    2001-01-01

    Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has developed main control room panels based on progress in C and I technology. ABWR type main control room panels (ABWR MCR PNLs) are categorized as third generation type domestic BWR MCR, that is, they are were developed step by step based on operating experience with the first and the second generation BWR. ABWR type main control room panels were applied to Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station Units Number 6 and 7 (K-6/7) for the first time. K-6/7 are the first advanced BWR (ABWR), which started commercial operation in November 1996 and July 1997, respectively. The concept of ABWR MCR design was verified through wooden mock-up panels, start-up tests and commercial operation. Though the K-6/7 design has borne fruit, we are planning to refine and standardize the design based on the following concepts: to maintain the plant operation and monitoring style of ABWR MCR PNLs; to introduce brand-new HMI technology and devices; to incorporate operators' advice in the design. This paper outlines the features and improvements of the K6/7 MCR PNLs design. (author)

  8. Tritium behavior intentionally released in the room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobayashi, K.; Hayashi, T.; Iwai, Y.; Yamanishi, T.; Willms, R. S.; Carlson, R. V.

    2008-01-01

    To construct a fusion reactor with high safety and acceptability, it is necessary to establish and to ensure tritium safe handling technology. Tritium should be well-controlled not to be released to the environment excessively and to prevent workers from excess exposure. It is especially important to grasp tritium behavior in the final confinement area, such as the room and/or building. In order to obtain data for actual tritium behavior in a room and/or building, a series of intentional Tritium Release Experiments (TREs) were planned and carried out within a radiologically controlled area (main cell) at Tritium System Test Assembly (TSTA) in Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) under US-JAPAN collaboration program. These experiments were carried out three times. In these experiments, influence of a difference in the tritium release point and the amount of hydrogen isotope for the initial tritium behavior in the room were suggested. Tritium was released into the main cell at TSTA/LANL. The released tritium reached a uniform concentration about 30 - 40 minutes in all the experiments. The influence of the release point and the amount of hydrogen isotope were not found to be important in these experiments. The experimental results for the initial tritium behavior in the room were also simulated well by the modified three-dimensional eddy flow analysis code FLOW-3D. (authors)

  9. The development and application of electronic information system for safety administration of newborns in the rooming-in care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Fang; Dong, Jian-Cheng; Chen, Jian-Rong; Wu, Hui-Qun; Liu, Man-Hua; Xue, Li-Ly; Zhu, Xiang-Hua; Wang, Jian

    2015-01-01

    To independently research and develop an electronic information system for safety administration of newborns in the rooming-in care, and to investigate the effects of its clinical application. By VS 2010 SQL SERVER 2005 database and adopting Microsoft visual programming tool, an interactive mobile information system was established, with integrating data, information and knowledge with using information structures, information processes and information technology. From July 2011 to July 2012, totally 210 newborns from the rooming-in care of the Obstetrics Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University were chosen and randomly divided into two groups: the information system monitoring group (110 cases) and the regular monitoring group (100 cases). Incidence of abnormal events and degree of satisfaction were recorded and calculated. ① The wireless electronic information system has four main functions including risk scaling display, identity recognition display, nursing round notes board and health education board; ② statistically significant differences were found between the two groups both on the active or passive discovery rate of abnormal events occurred in the newborns (P<0.05) and the satisfaction degree of the mothers and their families (P<0.05); ③ the system was sensitive and reliable, and the wireless transmission of information was correct and safety. The system is with high practicability in the clinic and can ensure the safety for the newborns with improved satisfactions.

  10. [Nursing professionals and health care assistants' perception of patient safety culture in the operating room].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernalte-Martí, Vicente; Orts-Cortés, María Isabel; Maciá-Soler, Loreto

    2015-01-01

    To assess nursing professionals and health care assistants' perceptions, opinions and behaviours on patient safety culture in the operating room of a public hospital of the Spanish National Health Service. To describe strengths and weaknesses or opportunities for improvement according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality criteria, as well as to determine the number of events reported. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted using the Spanish version of the questionnaire Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. The sample consisted of nursing professionals, who agreed to participate voluntarily in this study and met the selection criteria. A descriptive and inferential analysis was performed depending on the nature of the variables and the application conditions of statistical tests. Significance if p < .05. In total, 74 nursing professionals responded (63.2%). No strengths were found in the operating theatre, and improvements are needed concerning staffing (64.0%), and hospital management support for patient safety (52.9%). A total of 52.3% (n = 65) gave patient safety a score from 7 to 8.99 (on a 10 point scale); 79.7% (n = 72) reported no events last year. The total variance explained by the regression model was 0.56 for "Frequency of incident reporting" and 0.26 for "Overall perception of safety". There was a more positive perception of patient safety culture at unit level. Weaknesses have been identified, and they can be used to design specific intervention activities to improve patient safety culture in other nearby operating theatres. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  11. Safety control and minimization of radioactive wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Jinming; Rong Feng; Li Jinyan; Wang Xin

    2010-01-01

    Compared with the developed countries, the safety control and minimization of the radwastes in China are under-developed. The research of measures for the safety control and minimization of the radwastes is very important for the safety control of the radwastes, and the reduction of the treatment and disposal cost and environment radiation hazards. This paper has systematically discussed the safety control and the minimization of the radwastes produced in the nuclear fuel circulation, nuclear technology applications and the process of decommission of nuclear facilities, and has provided some measures and methods for the safety control and minimization of the radwastes. (authors)

  12. Evaluation of safety parameter display concepts. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woods, D.D.; Wise, J.A.; Hanes, L.F.

    1982-02-01

    New control room equipment designed to improve operator performance must be evaluated before adoption and installation. Two experimental concept for a Safety Parameters Display System (SPDS) were evaluated to assess benefits and potential problems associated with the SPDS concept and its integration into control room operations. Participants were licensed utility operators undergoing retraining on a nuclear power plant simulator. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed on crew response to seven simulated accident conditions. Data on operator decisions and actions have been organized into timelines. Analysis of the timelines and observations collected during testing provide important insights about the potential impact of the SPDS concept on control room operations

  13. Exploring Bridge-Engine Control Room Collaborative Team Communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aditi Kataria

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The EC funded CyClaDes research project is designed to promote the increased impact of the human element in shipping across the design and operational lifecycle. It addresses the design and operation of ships and ship systems. One of the CyClaDes’ tasks is to create a crew-centered design case-study examination of the information that is shared between the Bridge and Engine Control Room that helps the crew co-ordinate to ensure understanding and complete interconnected tasks. This information can be provided in various ways, including communication devices or obtained from a common database, display, or even the ship environment (e.g., the roll of the ship. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with seafarers of diverse ranks to get a better idea of what communication does, or should, take place and any problems or challenges existing in current operations, as seen from both the bridge and ECR operators’ perspectives. Included in the interview were both the standard communications and information shared during planning and executing a voyage, as well as special situations such as safety/casualty tasks or heavy weather. The results were analyzed in terms of the goals of the communication, the primary situations of interest for communication and collaboration, the communication media used, the information that is shared, and the problems experienced. The results of seafarer interviews are presented in the paper to explore on-board inter-departmental communication.

  14. Randomized controlled trial on promoting influenza vaccination in general practice waiting rooms.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christophe Berkhout

    Full Text Available Most of general practitioners (GPs use advertising in their waiting rooms for patient's education purposes. Patients vaccinated against seasonal influenza have been gradually lessening. The objective of this trial was to assess the effect of an advertising campaign for influenza vaccination using posters and pamphlets in GPs' waiting rooms.Registry based 2/1 cluster randomized controlled trial, a cluster gathering the enlisted patients of 75 GPs aged over 16 years. The trial, run during the 2014-2015 influenza vaccination campaign, compared patient's awareness from being in 50 GPs' standard waiting rooms (control group versus that of waiting in 25 rooms from GPs who had received and exposed pamphlets and one poster on influenza vaccine (intervention group, in addition to standard mandatory information. The main outcome was the number of vaccination units delivered in pharmacies. Data were extracted from the SIAM-ERASME claim database of the Health Insurance Fund of Lille-Douai (France. The association between the intervention (yes/no and the main outcome was assessed through a generalized estimating equation. Seventy-five GPs enrolled 10,597 patients over 65 years or suffering from long lasting diseases (intervention/control as of 3781/6816 patients from October 15, 2014 to February 28, 2015. No difference was found regarding the number of influenza vaccination units delivered (Relative Risk (RR = 1.01; 95% Confidence interval: 0.97 to 1.05; p = 0.561.Effects of the monothematic campaign promoting vaccination against influenza using a poster and pamphlets exposed in GPs' waiting rooms could not be demonstrated.

  15. A model of a control-room crew

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spurgin, A.J.; Beveridge, R.L.

    1986-01-01

    This paper discusses the development of a model of a control-room crew based on observations of crews and concepts developed by cognitive psychologists. The model can help define, among other things, the requirements for SPDS or other operator aids. The paper discusses the relationship of the shift supervisor, the control board operators, the control and instrumentation systems and the written procedures in the control of the plant during normal and abnormal plant transients. These relationships cover the communications between crew members, use of the control equipment by the board operators, use of information, such as the SPDS, by the shift supervisor and integration of crew actions by the use of the procedures. Also discussed are the potential causes of erroneous actions by the crew in accident situations. The model is at this time purely qualitative, but it can be considered to be the basis for the development of a mathematical model

  16. Evaluation of human factors in interface design in main control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwang, S.-L.; Liang, S.-F.M.; Liu, T.-Y.Y.; Yang, Y.-J.; Chen, P.-Y.; Chuang, C.-F.

    2009-01-01

    An evaluation of human factors in a new nuclear power plant was conducted prior to the beginning of any business operations. After the task analysis and observation of training, two stages of interviews were carried out with the operators in the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (NPP4). The main concerns identified were problems resulting from the operating interface of the display and controls in the main control room, usability of procedures, and the layout of the main control room. The latent human errors and suggestions were listed, and the top three problems were analyzed. The operators indicated that the alarm design issues and the critical problem of the operating mode with the VDU were worth further study in order to provide suggestions for a new interface design for future power plants.

  17. RB research reactor safety report; Izvestaj o sigurnsti istrazivackog reaktora RB

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sotic, O; Pesic, M; Vranic, S [Boris Kidric Institute of Nuclear Sciences Vinca, Beograd (Yugoslavia)

    1979-04-15

    This new version of the safety report is a revision of the safety report written in 1962 when the RB reactor started operation after reconstruction. The new safety report was needed because reactor systems and components have been improved and the administrative procedures were changed. the most important improvements and changes were concerned with the use of highly enriched fuel (80% enriched), construction of reactor converter outside the reactor vessel, improved control system by two measuring start-up channels, construction of system for heavy water leak detection, new inter phone connection between control room and other reactor rooms. This report includes description of reactor building with installations, rector vessel, reactor core, heavy water system, control system, safety system, dosimetry and alarm systems, experimental channels, neutron converter, reactor operation. Safety aspects contain analyses of accident reasons, method for preventing reactivity insertions, analyses of maximum hypothetical accidents for cores with natural uranium, 2% enriched and 80% enriched fuel elements. Influence of seismic events on the reactor safety and well as coupling between reactor and the converter are parts of this document.

  18. Room air conditioner load control under summer comfort constraint

    OpenAIRE

    Da Silva , David; Brancaccio , M; Duplessis , Bruno; Adnot , J

    2010-01-01

    International audience; Load control options interest is growing because it can represent a response to future network investments and to congestion problems. In this frame, the present paper gives a methodology to quantify the value of load control for heat pumps (room air conditioners), in small tertiary and residential buildings, considering the occupant's comfort and the electrical grid needs for load shift. This methodology was applied to a small office building where simulations were ma...

  19. Operational Strategy of CBPs for load balancing of Operators in Advanced Main Control Room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Seunghwan; Kim, Yochan; Jung, Wondea

    2014-01-01

    With the using of a computer-based control room in an APR1400 (Advanced Pressurized Reactor-1400), the operators' behaviors in the main control room had changed. However, though the working environment of operators has been changed a great deal, digitalized interfaces can also change the cognitive tasks or activities of operators. First, a shift supervisor (SS) can confirm/check the conduction of the procedures and the execution of actions of board operators (BOs) while confirming directly the operation variables without relying on the BOs. Second, all operators added to their work the use of a new CBP and Soft Controls, increasing their procedural workload. New operational control strategies of CBPs are necessary for load balancing of operator's task load in APR1400. In this paper, we compared the workloads of operators in an APR1400 who work with two different usages of the CBP. They are SS oriented usage and SS-BO collaborative usage. In this research, we evaluated the workloads of operators in an advanced main control room by the COCOA method. Two types of CBP usages were defined and the effects of these usages on the workloads were investigated. The obtained results showed that the workloads between operators in a control room can be balanced according to the CBP usages by assigning control authority to the operators

  20. Operational Strategy of CBPs for load balancing of Operators in Advanced Main Control Room

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Seunghwan; Kim, Yochan; Jung, Wondea [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-05-15

    With the using of a computer-based control room in an APR1400 (Advanced Pressurized Reactor-1400), the operators' behaviors in the main control room had changed. However, though the working environment of operators has been changed a great deal, digitalized interfaces can also change the cognitive tasks or activities of operators. First, a shift supervisor (SS) can confirm/check the conduction of the procedures and the execution of actions of board operators (BOs) while confirming directly the operation variables without relying on the BOs. Second, all operators added to their work the use of a new CBP and Soft Controls, increasing their procedural workload. New operational control strategies of CBPs are necessary for load balancing of operator's task load in APR1400. In this paper, we compared the workloads of operators in an APR1400 who work with two different usages of the CBP. They are SS oriented usage and SS-BO collaborative usage. In this research, we evaluated the workloads of operators in an advanced main control room by the COCOA method. Two types of CBP usages were defined and the effects of these usages on the workloads were investigated. The obtained results showed that the workloads between operators in a control room can be balanced according to the CBP usages by assigning control authority to the operators.

  1. NFL Films music scoring stage and control room space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berger, Russ; Schrag, Richard C.; Ridings, Jason J.

    2003-04-01

    NFL Films' new 200,000 sq. ft. corporate headquarters is home to an orchestral scoring stage used to record custom music scores to support and enhance their video productions. Part of the 90,000 sq. ft. of sound critical technical space, the music scoring stage and its associated control room are at the heart of the audio facilities. Driving the design were the owner's mandate for natural light, wood textures, and an acoustical environment that would support small rhythm sections, soloists, and a full orchestra. Being an industry leader in cutting-edge video and audio formats, the NFLF required that the technical spaces allow the latest in technology to be continually integrated into the infrastructure. Never was it more important for a project to hold true to the adage of ``designing from the inside out.'' Each audio and video space within the facility had to stand on its own with regard to user functionality, acoustical accuracy, sound isolation, noise control, and monitor presentation. A detailed look at the architectural and acoustical design challenges encountered and the solutions developed for the performance studio and the associated control room space will be discussed.

  2. Va-Room: Motorcycle Safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keller, Rosanne

    One of a series of instructional materials produced by the Literacy Council of Alaska, this booklet provides information about motorcycle safety. Using a simplified vocabulary and shorter sentences, it offers statistics concerning motorcycle accidents; information on how to choose the proper machine; basic information about the operation of the…

  3. Railing for safety: job demands, job control, and safety citizenship role definition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Nick; Chmiel, Nik; Walls, Melanie

    2005-10-01

    This study investigated job demands and job control as predictors of safety citizenship role definition, that is, employees' role orientation toward improving workplace safety. Data from a survey of 334 trackside workers were framed in the context of R. A. Karasek's (1979) job demands-control model. High job demands were negatively related to safety citizenship role definition, whereas high job control was positively related to this construct. Safety citizenship role definition of employees with high job control was buffered from the influence of high job demands, unlike that of employees with low job control, for whom high job demands were related to lower levels of the construct. Employees facing both high job demands and low job control were less likely than other employees to view improving safety as part of their role orientation. Copyright (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved.

  4. Design of the control room of the N4-type PWR: main features and feedback operating experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peyrouton, J.M.; Guillas, J.; Nougaret, Ch.

    2004-01-01

    This article presents the design, specificities and innovating features of the control room of the N4-type PWR. A brief description of control rooms of previous 900 MW and 1300 MW -type PWR allows us to assess the change. The design of the first control room dates back to 1972, at that time 2 considerations were taken into account: first the design has to be similar to that of control rooms for thermal plants because plant operators were satisfied with it and secondly the normal operating situation has to be privileged to the prejudice of accidental situations just as it was in a thermal plant. The turning point was the TMI accident that showed the weight of human factor in accidental situations in terms of pilot team, training, procedures and the ergonomics of the work station. The impact of TMI can be seen in the design of 1300 MW-type PWR. In the beginning of the eighties EDF decided to launch a study for a complete overhaul of the control room concept, the aim was to continue reducing the human factor risk and to provide a better quality of piloting the plant in any situation. The result is the control room of the N4-type PWR. Today the cumulated feedback experience of N4 control rooms represents more than 20 years over a wide range of situations from normal to incidental, a survey shows that the N4 design has fulfilled its aims. (A.C.)

  5. Safety-related control air systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1977-01-01

    This Standard applies to those portions of the control air system that furnish air required to support, control, or operate systems or portions of systems that are safety related in nuclear power plants. This Standard relates only to the air supply system(s) for safety-related air operated devices and does not apply to the safety-related air operated device or to air operated actuators for such devices. The objectives of this Standard are to provide (1) minimum system design requirements for equipment, piping, instruments, controls, and wiring that constitute the air supply system; and (2) the system and component testing and maintenance requirements

  6. Demand control on room level of the supply air temperature in an air heating and ventilation system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Polak, Joanna; Afshari, Alireza; Bergsøe, Niels Christian

    2017-01-01

    air heating and ventilation system in a high performance single family house using BSim simulation software. The provision of the desired thermal conditions in different rooms was examined. Results show that the new control strategy can facilitate maintaining of desired temperatures in various rooms......The aim of this study was to investigate a new strategy for control of supply air temperature in an integrated air heating and ventilation system. The new strategy enables demand control of supply air temperature in individual rooms. The study is based on detailed dynamic simulations of a combined....... Moreover, this control strategy enables controlled temperature differentiation between rooms within the house and therefore provides flexibility and better balance in heat delivery. Consequently, the thermal conditions in the building can be improved....

  7. Quality control, mean glandular dose estimate and room shielding calculation in mammography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rakotomalala, H.M.

    2014-01-01

    This study focuses in the importance of Radiation Protection in mammography. A good control of the radiological risk depends on the dose optimization, room shielding calculation and the quality of equipment. The work was carried out in the three private medical centers called A, B, and C. Dosimetry estimates were made on the equipment of the three centers. Values has been compared with the Diagnostic Reference Levels established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Conformity control of the radiological devices has also been done with the Mammographic Quality Control Kit of the INSTN-Madagascar. Verifications of shields of the room containing the mammography equipment were done by theoretical calculations using the method provided by NCRP 147. [fr

  8. Demonstration of visualization techniques for the control room engineer in 2030

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marinelli, Mattia; Heussen, Kai; Strasser, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    Deliverable 8.1 reports results on analytics and visualizations of real time flexibility in support of voltage and frequency control in 2030+ power system. The investigation is carried out by means of relevant control room scenarios in order to derive the appropriate analytics needed for each spe...

  9. Control room annunciation - problem assessment and selection of improvement priorities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartley, P.; Yaraskavitch, E.; Davey, E.

    1998-01-01

    In 1997, Pickering B undertook a project to examine current annunciation practice and identify improvement opportunities and priorities. The objectives and scope of the study were to: document the deficiencies with control room annunciation and the subsequent operational and financial impacts to station operations, develop an operations-based definition of the requirements for annunciation to adequately support control room staff, propose annunciation improvements based on a comparison of the annunciation deficiencies identified and the operational needs to be met, assess the relative operational impact, and financial benefits and costs of the improvement initiatives proposed, and recommend annunciation improvement priorities that offer a mix of operational and financial return for improvement investment. This paper discusses the rationale for the project, outlines the approaches applied in achieving the assessment objectives, reviews the key assessment findings and describes the improvement initiatives recommended. (author)

  10. Controlled laser biochemistry in room-temperature polar liquids by ultrashort laser pulses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gruzdev, Vitaly; Korkin, Dmitry; Mooney, Brian P.

    2018-01-01

    Traditional laser methods to control chemical modifications of biomolecules are not applicable under biologically relevant conditions. We report controlled modifications of peptides and insulin by femtosecond laser in water, methanol, and acetonitrile at room temperature...

  11. Evaluation of shielding capability of controlled area for CT examination room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suzuki, Shoichi; Asada, Yasuki; Nakai, Takayo; Takeuchi, Kichito; Kinoshita, Kazuo; Watanabe, Nobuyuki; Koga, Sukehiko

    2002-01-01

    With the revision of the law in April, 2001, the effective dose at the boundary of the controlled area was set at 1.3 mSv/3M. Whether the shielding capability of the CT room satisfied the provisions of the law or not was confirmed by actual measurements. Both thermo luminescence dosemeter (TLD) and electronic dosemeter were used to measure the radiation doses. The shielding capability of the gantry was studied both inside and outside the room for a week as a basic experiment. On the basis of the data thus obtained doses accumulated in 3 months were estimated. According to the results of 3 month-measurement, the doses outside the wall of the CT room were about 200μ Sv. This numerical value was comparable to the background level of the evaluation point. The results above assured that the shielding capability of the CT room satisfied the provisions of the law well. (author)

  12. Influence of room heating on ambulatory blood pressure in winter: a randomised controlled study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saeki, Keigo; Obayashi, Kenji; Iwamoto, Junko; Tanaka, Yuu; Tanaka, Noriyuki; Takata, Shota; Kubo, Hiroko; Okamoto, Nozomi; Tomioka, Kimiko; Nezu, Satoko; Kurumatani, Norio

    2013-06-01

    Previous studies have proposed that higher blood pressure (BP) in winter is an important cause of increased mortality from cardiovascular disease during the winter. Some observational and physiological studies have shown that cold exposure increases BP, but evidence from a randomised controlled study assessing the effectiveness of intensive room heating for lowering BP was lacking. The present study aimed to determine whether intensive room heating in winter decreases ambulatory BP as compared with weak room heating resulting in a 10°C lower target room temperature when sufficient clothing and bedclothes are available. We conducted a parallel group, assessor blinded, simple randomised controlled study with 1:1 allocation among 146 healthy participants in Japan from November 2009 to March 2010. Ambulatory BP was measured while the participants stayed in single experimental rooms from 21:00 to 8:00. During the session, participants could adjust the amount of clothing and bedclothes as required. Compared with the weak room heating group (mean temperature ± SD: 13.9 ± 3.3°C), systolic morning BP (mean BP 2 h after getting out of bed) of the intensive room heating group (24.2 ± 1.7°C) was significantly lower by 5.8 mm Hg (95% CI 2.4 to 9.3). Sleep-trough morning BP surges (morning BP minus lowest night-time BP) in the intensive room heating group were significantly suppressed to about two thirds of the values in the weak room heating group (14.3 vs 21.9 mm Hg; pheating decreased morning BP and the morning BP surge in winter.

  13. Control room conceptual design of nuclear power plant with multiple modular high temperature gas-cooled reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jia Qianqian; Qu Ronghong; Zhang Liangju

    2014-01-01

    A conceptual design of the control room layout for the nuclear power plant with multiple modular high temperature gas-cooled reactors has been developed. The modular high temperature gas-cooled reactors may need to be grouped to produce as much energy as a utility demands to realize the economic efficiency. There are many differences between the multi-modular plant and the current NPPs in the control room. These differences may include the staffing level, the human-machine interface design, the operation mode, etc. The potential challenges of the human factor engineering (HFE) in the control room of the multi-modular plant are analyzed, including the operation workload of the multi-modular tasks, how to help the crew to keep situation awareness of all modules, and how to support team work, the control of shared system between modules, etc. A concept design of control room for the multi-modular plant is presented based on the design aspect of HTR-PM (High temperature gas-cooled reactor pebble bed module). HFE issues are considered in the conceptual design of control room for the multi-modular plant and some design strategies are presented. As a novel conceptual design, verifications and validations are needed, and focus of further work is sketch out. (author)

  14. Evaluation of safety-parameter display concepts. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woods, D.D.; Wise, J.A.; Hanes, L.F.

    1982-02-01

    New control room equipment designed to improve operator performance must be evaluated before adoption and installation. Two experimental concepts for a Safety Parameters Display System (SPDS) were evaluated to assess benefits and potential problems associated with the SPDS concept and its integration into control room operations. Participants were licensed utility operators undergoing retraining on a nuclear power plant simulator. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed on crew response to seven simulated accident conditions

  15. Three alternatives to a full scope control room simulator for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roman, C.P.

    1988-01-01

    Many utilities are purchasing full scope control room simulators for training purposes. But, depending upon training requirements and finances, an alternative to a full scope control room simulator may be a viable option. Westinghouse has recently built and delivered two styles of alternative simulators. This paper discusses the design and operation of both of these simulators, including advantages and limitations of each design. In addition, the design of a hybrid system which combines features from both of these designs is presented

  16. Radiation safety in welding and testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    King, B.E.; Malaxos, M.; Hartley, B.M.

    1985-01-01

    There are a number of ways of achieving radiation safety in the workplace. The first is by engineering radiation safety into the equipment, providing shielded rooms and safety interlocks. The second is by following safe working procedures. The National Health and Medical Research Council's Code of practice for the control and safe handling of sealed radioactive sources used in industrial radiography (1968) sets out the standards which must be met by equipment to be used in industrial radiography

  17. Response times of operators in a control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Platz, O.; Rasmussen, J.; Skanborg, P.Z.

    1982-12-01

    A statistical analysis was made of operator response times recorded in the control room of a research reactor during the years 1972-1974. A homogeneity test revealed that the data consist of a mixture of populations. A small but statistically significant difference is found between day and night response times. Lognormal distributions are found to provide the best fit of the day and the night response times. (author)

  18. Design of control rooms. Collaboration between different actors during the design of new and modernized control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johansson, Bjoern J. E.; Gonzalez, Natalia

    2012-01-01

    Swedish nuclear power industry is currently undergoing, as well as planning, a number of upgrades of their control rooms. When changes are made to an NPP, they are conducted within the frame of a design process. The design process controls a number of different domains, such as technical solutions etc, but also affects and is affected by the interactions between Man, Technology and Organisation (MTO). MTO is central for creating safe system solutions. However, in the design process, unplanned events often occur in comparison to what was originally planned. This work aimed to analyse the design process and the involved actors' roles using activity theory with the purpose of creating an understanding of the design process. Activity theory can be seen as a way of understanding individuals and groups and the context they create by analysing the structure and process that their activities are part of. It can therefore be a good tool for analysing the complexity of the design process of a control room. The study has shown that many actors are involved in the design process and that all of them partly drive their own agendas, which may lead to contradictions within the design process. Important conclusions are that it perhaps not is necessary to eliminate all contradictions, but it is important to be aware of them. It is considered, among the informants in the study, that a working communication exists between the actors in the design process, but it is also evident that there is no given method for this, something that also counts for MTO-questions and the communication regarding those. A number of recommendations on how to support the communication process are given. Although there were some difficulties in using activity theory, it is believed that it could be useful for creating an overview of the design process and its actors from different organisations. Activity networks could be bound together in different ways and this provided opportunities to identify possible

  19. Changes in control room at Swedish nuclear power plants; Kontrollrumsfoeraendringar vid svenska kaernkraftverk

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kecklund, Lena [MTO Psykologi, Huddinge (Sweden)

    2005-09-15

    The Swedish nuclear power plants were commissioned during a period between 1972 and 1985 and the instrumentation and control equipment are basically from that period. For several years there have been plans made for changes in all the nuclear power plants and to a certain extent the changes in control equipment and monitoring rooms have also been implemented. The object of this project was to make a comprehensive review of the changes in control room design implemented in the Swedish nuclear power plants and to describe how the MTO- (Man-Technology-Organisation) and (Man-Machine-Interface) -issues have been integrated in the process. The survey is intended to give an overall picture of the changes in control room design and man-machine-interface made in the Swedish control rooms, in order to get a deeper knowledge of the change management process and its results as well as of the management of MTO-issues in these projects. The units included in this survey are: Oskarhamn reactor 2 and 3; Ringhals reactor 2, 3 and 4; Forsmark reactor 1, 2 and 3. The Oskarshamn 1 unit has not been included in this report as it has recently undergone an extensive modernisation program as well as a detailed inspection by the SKI (Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate). At Ringhals 2 the modernisation work is carried out at present and the unit is also subjected to extensive inspection activities carried out by SKI and is therefore not part of this survey. This report also includes a short description of relevant standards and requirements. Then follows a presentation of the results of the plant survey, presented as case studies for three companies OKG, Ringhals and FKA. Control room changes are summarized as well as the results on specific MTO issues which has been surveyed. In all the power companies there is a joint way of working with projects concerning plant modifications. This process is described for each company separately. In the concluding of the report the strengths and

  20. Mental workload measurement in operator control room using NASA-TLX

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugarindra, M.; Suryoputro, M. R.; Permana, A. I.

    2017-12-01

    The workload, encountered a combination of physical workload and mental workload, is a consequence of the activities for workers. Central control room is one department in the oil processing company, employees tasked with monitoring the processing unit for 24 hours nonstop with a combination of 3 shifts in 8 hours. NASA-TLX (NASA Task Load Index) is one of the subjective mental workload measurement using six factors, namely the Mental demand (MD), Physical demand (PD), Temporal demand (TD), Performance (OP), Effort (EF), frustration levels (FR). Measurement of a subjective mental workload most widely used because it has a high degree of validity. Based on the calculation of the mental workload, there at 5 units (DTU, NPU, HTU, DIST and OPS) at the control chamber (94; 83.33; 94.67; 81, 33 and 94.67 respectively) that categorize as very high mental workload. The high level of mental workload on the operator in the Central Control Room is a requirement to have high accuracy, alertness and can make decisions quickly

  1. Evaluation of awareness concerning fire prevention and control methods among personnel of operating room in a hospital

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: There are risk of fire accidents in Operating rooms during surgery. Experts estimate annually around 100 fire accidents occur in the operating rooms of United States’s hospitals. 10 to 20 of these accidents lead to severe injuries and about 1 to 2 lead to death. Despite such accidents rarely happen, but they can lead to serious injury or death of patients. .Material and Method: This Cross-sectional questionnaire based survey was conducted among several hospitals belonged to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. In this study, all personnel of operating rooms were investigated. Questionnaire were used to collect information and the chi-square test was applied to examine the relationship between the Knowledge of operating room personels on fire prevention and control methods, jobs and work experience. For statistical analysis SPSS14 were used. .Result: In this study from 220 participants, about 19.72% had full awareness, 19.62% had partial knowledge, 19.37% had low awareness and 40.97% had no knowledge on fire prevention methods, concerning fire control methods. However, 76% of the participate had full awareness and 24% had no knowledge. Test result Statistically showed that the relationship between the awareness of operating room personnel to fire control methods and work experience were significant (P-value <0.05. But, the relationship between the knowledge of operating room to fire control methods and the type of jobs were not significant. Also no significant relationship were found between the level of awareness in operating room personnel to fire prevention methods, work experience and job title. .Conclusion: The results indicated that the operating room staff awareness of fire prevention and control methods are low. The results also showed that awareness of fires prevention are lower than the awareness of fire control among the studied personel. Regarding to the potential risk of fire in the operating room, it is suggested

  2. Two aspects of the technical and ergonomical evaluation of the advanced control-room of the new French PWR units

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montmayeul, R.; Lestien, A.; Dien, Y.; Bozec, J.

    1987-01-01

    In 1981 EDF decided to design a computerized control-room to improve operations. The first unit will be put on the grid in 1991. In order to get a rapid feed-back of operating experience from the design of the new control-room, a full scope simulator has been built for validation by operating teams in 1987-1988. An evaluation plan has been designed. The evaluation goal is to show operation feasibility under any condition and evaluate ergonomy of the control-room. Various aspects have been defined for evaluation: workstation ergonomy, man-machine dialogue and workstation management, work distribution within an operating team, visual and medical aspects, work place and physical environment of the control-room. For each aspect hypothesis have been set up and will be validated. Validation is based on record of operators'actions, observations of behaviour during simulations and interviews. Several series of simulations under normal, incidental and accidental situations are planned. One of the most specific aspects of the new control-room is the computerized man-machine dialogue which needs workstation management actions to get information and actuate controls. Hypothesis concerning this aspect of the validation have been set up from design documentation, before any observation of work was possible, and was based on knowledge of potential problems of this kind of interface in process-control. The validation method is comparative between various simulations, between operators, between a computerized control-room and a classical one. Another aspect concerns the tasks allocation between shifts members and work organization in the control-room. For this part of the evaluation, hypothesis and experimental protocoles were made on the basis of a detailed analysis of work conditions in the present control-rooms. These two aspects of the control-room evaluation are presented. (author)

  3. Lightning protection design of nuclear power plants. KTA safety code, version 6/99

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-06-01

    This KTA safety code does not cover calculation methods for determination of lightning-induced voltage inputs to control room systems within the reactor building, as the literature presents a variety of applicable methods, which however cannot be directly applied to any power plant, due to the great diversity of geometries of the electrical systems and control room systems in nuclear power plants. Compliance with the design requirements of this safety code for shielding of buildings, and installation and shielding of cables, can be considered to offer the appropriate protection. (orig./CB) [de

  4. Use of the Human Centered Design concept when designing ergonomic NPP control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skrehot, Petr A.; Houser, Frantisek; Riha, Radek; Tuma, Zdenek

    2015-01-01

    Human-Centered Design is a concept aimed at reconciling human needs on the one hand and limitations posed by the design disposition of the room being designed on the other hand. This paper describes the main aspects of application of the Human-Centered Design concept to the design of nuclear power plant control rooms. (orig.)

  5. Critical safety parameters: The logical approach to refresher training

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, A.R.; Pilkington, W.; Turner, S.

    1991-01-01

    Nuclear power plant managers must ensure that control room staff are able to perform effectively. This is of particular importance through the longer term after initial authorization. Traditionally refresher training has been based on delivery of fragmented training packages typically derived from the initial authorization training programs. Various approaches have been taken to provide a more integrated refresher training program. However, methods such as job and task analysis and subject matter expert derived training have tended to develop without a focused clear overall training objective. The primary objective of all control room staff training is to ensure a proper and safe response to all plant transients. At the Point Lepreau Nuclear Plant, this has defined the Critical Safety Parameter based refresher training program. The overall objective of the Critical Safety Parameter training program is to ensure that control room staff can monitor and control a discrete set of plant parameters. Maintenance of the selected parameters within defined boundaries assures adequate cooling of the fuel and containment of radioactivity. Control room staff need to be able to reliably respond correctly to plant transients under potentially high stress conditions,. utilizing the essential knowledge and skills to deal with such transients. The inference is that the knowledge and skills must be limited to that which can be reliably recalled. This paper describes how the Point Lepreau Nuclear Plant has developed a refresher training program on the basis of a limited number of Critical Safety Parameters. Through this approach, it has been possible to define the essential set of knowledge and skills which ensures a correct response to plant transients

  6. Anthropometric Considerations in the Modernized Main Control Room: Application to a Virtual Nuclear Power Plant Control Panel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Chih Wei; Cheng, Tsung Chieh; Lin, Chiuhsiang Joe

    2011-01-01

    This study investigates the anthropometric considerations in the main control room (MCR) application to a virtual nuclear power plant (NPP) control panel. Influences of working postures and physical demands on the operational performance are also discussed. Finally, the present research provides a case example to illustrate the influences of anthropometric considerations on the control panel design for MCR operators by applying virtual reality (VR) technology. The MCR design primarily evolved in different countries. The datasets available is usually insufficient or inconsistent for the end users. To solve the upper mentioned problem, this study put emphasis on applying VR technology to anthropometric considerations support control panel design in the modernized MCR. Although the concept of applying VR technology on anthropometric considerations in this paper is related to the MCR in NPPs, it could be easily applied for the purposes of any type of control room in a similar manner

  7. Anthropometric Considerations in the Modernized Main Control Room: Application to a Virtual Nuclear Power Plant Control Panel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Chih Wei; Cheng, Tsung Chieh [Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Taoyuan (China); Lin, Chiuhsiang Joe [Chung-Yuan Christian University, Chung Li (China)

    2011-08-15

    This study investigates the anthropometric considerations in the main control room (MCR) application to a virtual nuclear power plant (NPP) control panel. Influences of working postures and physical demands on the operational performance are also discussed. Finally, the present research provides a case example to illustrate the influences of anthropometric considerations on the control panel design for MCR operators by applying virtual reality (VR) technology. The MCR design primarily evolved in different countries. The datasets available is usually insufficient or inconsistent for the end users. To solve the upper mentioned problem, this study put emphasis on applying VR technology to anthropometric considerations support control panel design in the modernized MCR. Although the concept of applying VR technology on anthropometric considerations in this paper is related to the MCR in NPPs, it could be easily applied for the purposes of any type of control room in a similar manner.

  8. Ergonomic principles of control rooms in nuclear power plants. Vol. 1 and 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becker, G.; Bohr, E.; Thau, G.

    1983-03-01

    This report describes the findings of a study on the present status and possible improvements in the design of nuclear power plant control rooms according to ergonomic principles and criteria. The findings have been acquired by observing the performance of control room operators, by interviewing operators and management personnel, and by analyzing major characteristics of the man-machine interface. The methods currently used for developing and designing control rooms have also been examined, and the pertinent scientific and technical literature has been reviewed. The results of the study indicate that there is a growing awareness and consideration of physical factors affecting operator performance and reliability whereas less attention is paid to the essential cognitive characteristics of work in the control room. The tasks of operators thus may contain avoidable hindrances and error possibilities that may adversely affect their contribution to reliable plant operation. Major areas of possible ergonomic advancements are set out in the study, and most of them are discussed in depth. Ergonomic requirements are identified for further improving the situation, and approaches, ways and means for solving of mitigating individual problems are indicated wherever possible. A more deliberate consideration of factors affecting operator performance and reliability is suggested, based on a systems ergonomics approach. Design objectives and criteria as well as specific design recommendations for individual areas are given separately. In conclusion, gaps in our existing knowledge are identified which require further research. (orig.) [de

  9. To stay or to go? Balancing the risk of reprocessing plant control room evacuation following a criticality alarm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Love, Suzanne; McCrindle, David; Harris, Neil; Haworth, Justin

    2003-01-01

    Following a criticality alarm within the Magnox Separation Plant at Sellafield, there is a conflict of interest between the risks associated with complete evacuation versus continued manning of the control room. The historic emergency response policy would be to completely evacuate the control room upon a criticality alarm. If, however, the alarm was found to be false, the inevitable loss in control over the plant could have environmental, operational and radiological release consequences. Maintaining control room manning following a genuine alarm might, however, result in an avoidable high dose to an operator. Based upon the estimated dose equivalent to a control room operator for a range of criticality incident morphologies a risk analysis was undertaken. The results indicate that the differential risk between an operator who evacuates immediately and an operator who remains for a short time to complete diagnostic checks is very small. As a consequence a new emergency policy was therefore developed on plant which results in a relatively low risk to control room operators, but still allows control over the plant to be retained following a false criticality alarm. (author)

  10. Evaluation of radiation protection in x rays room design in diagnostic radiography department in Omdurman locality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adam, Ahmed yusif Abdelrahman

    2013-03-01

    The purpose of this study is conducted in order to evaluate the application of radiation protection in x-ray rooms design in diagnosis radiology department, evaluate personal monitoring devices, to assess primary scatter and leakage radiation dose, to assess monitoring devices if available, in period from March 2013 to August 2013. The design data included room size, control room size, manufacture of equipment, room surrounding areas, workload of all equipment rooms, type of x-ray equipment, radiation worker's in all hospital, number of patient in each shift, structural material and shielding, K vp and m As used in x-ray room department during examination testing. The results of this study show that there is x-ray room design, the design of x-ray equipment is accepted according to the radiation safety institute team of quality control. Also the study shows that the radiation protection devices are available and in a good condition and enough in number. The study shows that there are not personal monitoring devices and services. the radiological technologist are well trained. Also the study investigation the radiation protection in x-ray room in diagnostic department in Omdurman locality. Finally the study shows that there is compact able to ICRP recommended and National quality control in Sudan Atomic Energy Council exception, Alwedad, Abusied and Blue Nile there are have not control room concludes that there is only in relationship hospital have a window without shield.(Author)

  11. Physical environment design criteria for the new control room in the ENEA TRIGA-RC1 plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alberti, M.; Di Giulio, A.

    1986-01-01

    Parallelly to the plant modifications, many changes of the instrumentation in the Control Room (CR) were necessary in order to deal with the various aged components and the completion and integration needs turning out from the experience in reactor running. In the room, besides the control activity of the RC1 plant, continuous training and updating activities are currently performed which are intended for the operators working in the control rooms of nuclear power plants. The design of the physical environment of the new CR - carried out in a more general research project between ENEA and Politecnico di Milano - was based on the following fundamental criteria: - to ensure conditions fit for the performance of the suspervision, diagnosis and control tasks the operators are entrusted with; - to set up a model of control room for the more complex power plants. First of all a detailed analysis of the environmental conditions relating to microclimate, lighting and noise was accomplished. Afterwards, the goals to be attained were defined as well as the technical means necessary for providing the operators with comfortable working conditions

  12. Quantitative safety assessment of air traffic control systems through system control capacity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Jingjing

    Quantitative Safety Assessments (QSA) are essential to safety benefit verification and regulations of developmental changes in safety critical systems like the Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems. Effectiveness of the assessments is particularly desirable today in the safe implementations of revolutionary ATC overhauls like NextGen and SESAR. QSA of ATC systems are however challenged by system complexity and lack of accident data. Extending from the idea "safety is a control problem" in the literature, this research proposes to assess system safety from the control perspective, through quantifying a system's "control capacity". A system's safety performance correlates to this "control capacity" in the control of "safety critical processes". To examine this idea in QSA of the ATC systems, a Control-capacity Based Safety Assessment Framework (CBSAF) is developed which includes two control capacity metrics and a procedural method. The two metrics are Probabilistic System Control-capacity (PSC) and Temporal System Control-capacity (TSC); each addresses an aspect of a system's control capacity. And the procedural method consists three general stages: I) identification of safety critical processes, II) development of system control models and III) evaluation of system control capacity. The CBSAF was tested in two case studies. The first one assesses an en-route collision avoidance scenario and compares three hypothetical configurations. The CBSAF was able to capture the uncoordinated behavior between two means of control, as was observed in a historic midair collision accident. The second case study compares CBSAF with an existing risk based QSA method in assessing the safety benefits of introducing a runway incursion alert system. Similar conclusions are reached between the two methods, while the CBSAF has the advantage of simplicity and provides a new control-based perspective and interpretation to the assessments. The case studies are intended to investigate the

  13. Human Factors Engineering Aspects of Modifications in Control Room Modernization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hugo, Jacques [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Clefton, Gordon [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Joe, Jeffrey [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2017-06-01

    This report describes the basic aspects of control room modernization projects in the U.S. nuclear industry and the need for supplementary guidance on the integration of human factors considerations into the licensing and regulatory aspects of digital upgrades. The report pays specific attention to the integration of principles described in NUREG-0711 (Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model) and how supplementary guidance can help to raise general awareness in the industry regarding the complexities of control room modernization projects created by many interdependent regulations, standards and guidelines. The report also describes how human factors engineering principles and methods provided by various resources and international standards can help in navigating through the process of licensing digital upgrades. In particular, the integration of human factors engineering guidance and requirements into the process of licensing digital upgrades can help reduce uncertainty related to development of technical bases for digital upgrades that will avoid the introduction of new failure modes.

  14. Empirical investigation of workloads of operators in advanced control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Yochan; Jung, Wondea; Kim, Seunghwan

    2014-01-01

    This paper compares the workloads of operators in a computer-based control room of an advanced power reactor (APR 1400) nuclear power plant to investigate the effects from the changes in the interfaces in the control room. The cognitive-communicative-operative activity framework was employed to evaluate the workloads of the operator's roles during emergency operations. The related data were obtained by analyzing the tasks written in the procedures and observing the speech and behaviors of the reserved operators in a full-scope dynamic simulator for an APR 1400. The data were analyzed using an F-test and a Duncan test. It was found that the workloads of the shift supervisors (SSs) were larger than other operators and the operative activities of the SSs increased owing to the computer-based procedure. From these findings, methods to reduce the workloads of the SSs that arise from the computer-based procedure are discussed. (author)

  15. System design description for the CPDF Cascade Control Room: SDD-7

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1980-05-01

    The Cascade Control Room (CCR) is the nerve center of the Centrifuge Plant Demonstration Facility (CPDF). The components within the CCR monitor and control those variables necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the cascade during normal and emergency operation. The CCR interfaces with all the process systems and most of the support systems, receiving and transmitting data signals at frequent intervals during all phases of cascade operation. The main component in the CCR is the control room computer (CRC), which serves as the primary interface between the CCR and the process and support systems. The other components in the CCR are: (1) instrumentation cabinets; (2) operator control panel; (3) mass spectrometer - tails (MST); (4) mass spectrometer - product (MSP); (5) product light gas analyzer (PLGA); and (6) the operator. CCR instrumentation provides audible and visual alarms of abnormal events detected by process and utilities instrumentation or by the CRC. Records of alarms and process and utility variables are continuously generated in the CCR. Operator control functions are performed through the CRC or at the various instrument cabinets. Analysis of the current operating status of the plant is aided by the CRC and CCR instrumentation. 14 figs., 2 tabs

  16. Strategy to safety grade systems replacements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stimler, M.; Sullivan, K.E.; Trebincevic, I.

    1993-01-01

    The introduction of digital instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power plants is characterized by the need to satisfy the requirements of safety, reliability and man-machine ergonomics. Today digital instrumentation and control systems meet these requirements and the trend in Europe is towards full digital based nuclear power plant control systems. This paper describes Siemens (KWU) experience in nuclear power plants and development in trends within Europe. Topics which are the subject of major concern to NPP operators addressed in this paper are: human performance factors - man-machine interface; operating philosophy; safety, availability and reliability. Other aspects addressed are: Siemens open-quotes defense in depthclose quotes concept, description of Siemens digital I ampersand C systems, safety requirements and systems, I ampersand C qualification, control room ergonomics, information systems and retrofitting experience

  17. Re-envisioning the operator consoles for Dhruva control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaur, S.; Sridharan, P.; Nair, P.M.; Diwakar, M.P.; Gohel, N.; Pithawa, C.K.

    2012-01-01

    Control Room design is undergoing rapid changes with the progressive adoption of computerization and Automation. Advances in man-machine interfaces have further accelerated this trend. This paper presents the design and main features of Operator consoles (OC) for Dhruva control room developed using new technologies. The OCs have been designed so as not to burden the operator with information overload but to help him quickly assess the situation and timely take appropriate steps. The consoles provide minimalistic yet intuitive interfaces, context sensitive navigation, display of important information and progressive disclosure of situation based information. The use of animations, 3D graphics, and real time trends with the benefit of hardware acceleration to provide a resolution independent rich user experience. The use of XAML, an XML based Mark-up Language for User Interface definition and C for application logic resulted in complete separation of visual design, content, and logic. This also resulted in a workflow where separate teams could work on the UI and the logic of an application. The introduction of Model View View-Model has led to more testable and maintainable software. (author)

  18. Room acoustic analysis of blower unit and noise control plan in the typical steel industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: In the steel industry,air blowers used to supply compressed air are considered as sources of annoying noise. This study aims to acoustics analysis of theairblower workroomand sound source characteristics in order to present noise controlmeasuresinthe steel industry. .Material and Method: Measurement of noiselevel and its frequency analysis was performed usingsound levelmetermodelof CASELLA-Cell.450. Distribution of noise level in the investigated workroom in form of noise map was provided using Surfer software. In addition, acoustic analysis of workroom and control room was performed in view point of soundabsorption andinsulation. Redesignofdoor and window of controlroom and installation of soundabsorbing materialson theceiling of the workroom were proposed and the efficiency of these interventionswasestimated. .Result: The totalsound pressurelevelin the blower workroom was 95.4 dB(L and the dominant frequency was 2000Hz. Sound pressure level inside the room control was 80.1dB(A. The average absorption coefficient and reverberation time in the blower workroom was estimated equal to 0.082 Sab.m2 and 3.9 seconds respectively. These value in control room was 0.04 Sab.m2 and 3/4 seconds respectively. In control room, sound transmission loss between the two parts of the wall dividing was 13.7 dB(A. The average of noise dose in blower operators was 230%. With the installation of sound absorber on ceiling of workroom, average of absorption coefficient can increase to 0.33 Sab.m2 and sound transmission loss of the new designed door and window was estimated equal to 20dB. . Conclusion: The main cause of noise leakage in the control room was insufficient insulation properties of door and windows. By replacing the door and window and installation of sound absorbing on ceiling of workroom, the noise dose can reduce to 49.6%. New Improved door and window of control room can reduce noise dose to 69.65% solely.

  19. The application of a "6S Lean" initiative to improve workflow for emergency eye examination rooms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nazarali, Samir; Rayat, Jaspreet; Salmonson, Hilary; Moss, Theodora; Mathura, Pamela; Damji, Karim F

    2017-10-01

    Ophthalmology residents on call at the Royal Alexandra Hospital identified workplace disorganization and lack of standardization in emergency eye examination rooms as an impediment to efficient patient treatment. The aim of the study was to use the "6S Lean" model to improve workflow in eye examination rooms at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. With the assistance of quality improvement consultants, the "6S Lean" model was applied to the current operation of the emergency eye clinic examination rooms. This model, considering 8 waste categories, was then used to recommend and implement changes to the examination rooms and to workplace protocols to enhance efficiency and safety. Eye examination rooms were improved with regards to setup, organization of supplies, inventory control, and maintenance. All targets were achieved, and the 5S audit checklist score increased by 33 points from 44 to 77. Implementation of the 6S methodology is a simple approach that removes inefficiencies from the workplace. The ophthalmology clinic removed waste from all 8 waste categories, increased audit results, mitigated patient and resident safety risks, and ultimately redirected resident time back to patient care delivery. Copyright © 2017 Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. 75 FR 56972 - Pipeline Safety: Control Room Management/Human Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-17

    ... for certain pipelines where controllers use supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems..., for all substantive provisions in the rule. Justification PHMSA periodically reviews its pipeline... expediting the implementation deadlines for the selected paragraphs will have significant impact to pipeline...

  1. Improving the safety of room air pneumoperitoneum for diagnostic laparoscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikechebelu, J I; Okeke, C A F

    2008-06-01

    Laparoscopic examination is a useful investigation in the evaluation of infertile women. To perform this test, pneumoperitoneum is required to distend the abdomen, improve visibility and displace the intestines out of the pelvis. Several gases have been used to achieve this purpose including Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Carbondioxide (CO2), Helium, Xenon andAir. This was a prospective study in a private fertility centre in Nnewi, Nigeria aimed at reducing the morbidities inherent in the use Room Air pneumoperitoneum for diagnostic laparoscopy. This was sequel to an earlier study, which revealed that women who had Room Air pneumoperitoneum had a higher port wound infection rate, abdominal discomfort (feeling of retained gas in the abdomen) and shoulder pain with resultant delayed return to normal activity than women who had Co2 pneumoperitoneum. This study demonstrated that the use of soda lime to purify the Room Air and a low pressure suction pump to evacuate the air after the procedure significantly reduced the wound infection rate and virtually eliminated the abdominal discomfort and shoulder pain associated with Room Air pneumoperitoneum. This was followed by early return to normal activity. Therefore, use of Room Air for pneumoperitoneum is safe and affordable. It is recommended for low resource settings.

  2. A Business Case for Nuclear Plant Control Room Modernization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, Ken; Lawrie, Sean; Niedermuller, Josef M.

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a generic business case for implementation of technology that supports Control Room Modernization (CRM). The analysis presented in two forms; 1) a standalone technology upgrade, and 2) a technology upgrade that is built upon and incremental to a prior business case created for Mobile Work Packages (MWP). The business case contends that advanced communication and networking and analytical technologies will allow NPP to conduct control room operations with improved focus by reducing human factors and redundant manpower, and therefore operate with fewer errors. While some labor savings can be harvested in terms of overtime, the majority of savings are demonstrated as reduced time to take the plant off line and bring back on line in support of outages. The benefits are quantified to a rough order of magnitude that provides directional guidance to NPPs that are interested in developing a similar business case. This business case focuses on modernization of the operator control room and does not consider a complete overhaul and modernization of a plants instrument and control systems. While operators may be considering such an investment at their plants, the sizable capital investment required is not likely supported by a cost/benefit analysis alone. More likely, it is driven by obsolescence and reliability issues, and requires consideration of mechanical condition of plant systems, capital depreciation, financing, relicensing and overall viability of the plant asset over a 20-year horizon in a competitive market. Prior studies [REF] have indicated that such a modernization of plant I&C systems, alone or as part of a larger modernization effort, can yield very significant reductions in O&M costs. However, the depth of research and analysis required to develop a meaningful business case for a plant modernization effort is well beyond the scope of this study. While CRM as considered in this study can be easily integrated as part of grander plant

  3. A Business Case for Nuclear Plant Control Room Modernization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thomas, Ken [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Lawrie, Sean [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Niedermuller, Josef M. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2016-06-01

    This paper presents a generic business case for implementation of technology that supports Control Room Modernization (CRM). The analysis presented in two forms; 1) a standalone technology upgrade, and 2) a technology upgrade that is built upon and incremental to a prior business case created for Mobile Work Packages (MWP). The business case contends that advanced communication and networking and analytical technologies will allow NPP to conduct control room operations with improved focus by reducing human factors and redundant manpower, and therefore operate with fewer errors. While some labor savings can be harvested in terms of overtime, the majority of savings are demonstrated as reduced time to take the plant off line and bring back on line in support of outages. The benefits are quantified to a rough order of magnitude that provides directional guidance to NPPs that are interested in developing a similar business case. This business case focuses on modernization of the operator control room and does not consider a complete overhaul and modernization of a plants instrument and control systems. While operators may be considering such an investment at their plants, the sizable capital investment required is not likely supported by a cost/benefit analysis alone. More likely, it is driven by obsolescence and reliability issues, and requires consideration of mechanical condition of plant systems, capital depreciation, financing, relicensing and overall viability of the plant asset over a 20-year horizon in a competitive market. Prior studies [REF] have indicated that such a modernization of plant I&C systems, alone or as part of a larger modernization effort, can yield very significant reductions in O&M costs. However, the depth of research and analysis required to develop a meaningful business case for a plant modernization effort is well beyond the scope of this study. While CRM as considered in this study can be easily integrated as part of grander plant

  4. Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program A Reference Plan for Control Room Modernization: Planning and Analysis Phase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jacques Hugo; Ronald Boring; Lew Hanes; Kenneth Thomas

    2013-09-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program is collaborating with a U.S. nuclear utility to bring about a systematic fleet-wide control room modernization. To facilitate this upgrade, a new distributed control system (DCS) is being introduced into the control rooms of these plants. The DCS will upgrade the legacy plant process computer and emergency response facility information system. In addition, the DCS will replace an existing analog turbine control system with a display-based system. With technology upgrades comes the opportunity to improve the overall human-system interaction between the operators and the control room. To optimize operator performance, the LWRS Control Room Modernization research team followed a human-centered approach published by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NUREG-0711, Rev. 3, Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model (O’Hara et al., 2012), prescribes four phases for human factors engineering. This report provides examples of the first phase, Planning and Analysis. The three elements of Planning and Analysis in NUREG-0711 that are most crucial to initiating control room upgrades are: • Operating Experience Review: Identifies opportunities for improvement in the existing system and provides lessons learned from implemented systems. • Function Analysis and Allocation: Identifies which functions at the plant may be optimally handled by the DCS vs. the operators. • Task Analysis: Identifies how tasks might be optimized for the operators. Each of these elements is covered in a separate chapter. Examples are drawn from workshops with reactor operators that were conducted at the LWRS Human System Simulation Laboratory HSSL and at the respective plants. The findings in this report represent generalized accounts of more detailed proprietary reports produced for the utility for each plant. The goal of this LWRS report is to disseminate the technique and provide examples sufficient to

  5. Summary Of Session 5: How Should We Handle Safety?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Albert, M.; Roy, G

    2001-07-01

    This session was originally titled 'Safety: Who cares?' in a fairly provocative way. A clear conclusion of this session and discussions that were held at the workshop is that there is a wide concern for safety among the people in charge of control room operations. This was shown as well by the quality of the seven talks presented in this session on subjects ranging from safety standards to a practical case of a safety incident. (author)

  6. Summary Of Session 5: How Should We Handle Safety?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albert, M.; Roy, G.

    2001-01-01

    This session was originally titled 'Safety: Who cares?' in a fairly provocative way. A clear conclusion of this session and discussions that were held at the workshop is that there is a wide concern for safety among the people in charge of control room operations. This was shown as well by the quality of the seven talks presented in this session on subjects ranging from safety standards to a practical case of a safety incident. (author)

  7. Analysis of man-machine interaction for control and display system in main control room of light water reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santosa, Kussigit; Supriatna, Piping; Karlina, Itjeu; Widagdo, Suharyo; Darlis; Sudiono, Bambang

    1998-01-01

    One of potential hazard in Nuclear Power Plant is the failure of its operation. The accident or operation failure in the reactor must be concerned event its probability is low. The important thing should be concerned is 'Analysis of Man-Machine Interaction (MMI) for Control and Display System in Main Control Room (MCR) of Nuclear Power Reactor', especially LWR type. Control and Display System in MCR of Reactor is the main part of MMI link process in Reactor MCR work system. Signal from display system showed performance process in reactor, while this signal will be received by operator. This signal will be described through central nerve for making decision what kind must be done. Then the operator manage the next process of reactor operation through control system. So by knowing Analysis of Man-Machine Interaction for Control and Display System in Main Control Room of Power Reactor, we can understand human error probability of the operator in reactor operation

  8. Energetically optimized air conditioning systems for rooms with high internal heat load and enhanced safety requirements, e.g. server rooms or control rooms of the communications industry; Energetisch optimierte Klimasysteme fuer Raeume mit hoher innerer Waermelast und erhoehten Sicherheitsanforderungen, wie z.B. Serverraeumen, Controlrooms der Kommunikationsindustrie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bertuleit, R. [Bertuleit und Boekenkroeger GmbH, Hameln (Germany)

    2003-07-01

    High safety requirements and high constant internal heat loads require sophisticated air conditioners. As computer capacities are commonly divided up into several rooms for safety reasons, a central air conditioning unit is not the optimal solution, so free cooling modules and special computer air conditioning cabinets are used. Design improvements and a consequent raising of the room temperature helped to reduce the 100 percent free cooling operation temperature from 2 to 14 degrees centigrade. This is the basis for energetic optimisation. Modern blowers helped to reduce the annual energy consumption of the secondary aggregates. Optimisation of the system and mode of operation reduced the annual energy consumption from 441,000 kWh to 128,000 kWh per 100 kW of refrigeration power. A further improvement of the energy balance was achieved by installing a water-to-water heat pump using the waste heat of the air-conditioned rooms. The life cycle cost (10 years at an assumed electricity rate of 10 cent per kWh) are reduced from 666,000 EUR to 411,000 EUR per 100 kW of installed refrigeration capacity. In spite of the higher investment cost, energy-optimised systems will result in an overall cost reduction. (orig.) [German] Hohe sicherheitstechnische Anforderungen und konstante innere Waermelasten stellen hohe Anforderungen an die Ausfuehrung der klimatechnischen Systeme. Aus Sicherheitsgruenden erfolgt eine Aufteilung der Rechnerkapazitaeten auf mehrere Raeume. Somit ist der Einsatz eines zentralen Klimasystems nicht sinnvoll. Zum Einsatz kommen Freikuehlmodule und spezielle EDV-Klimaschraenke. Durch konstruktive Verbesserungen und konsequente Anhebung der Raumtemperaturen konnte der 100% Freikuehlbetrieb von + 2 C auf +14 C angehoben werden und damit die Basis fuer energetische Optimierung geschaffen werden. Durch den Einsatz moderner Ventilationssysteme konnte der Jahresenergieverbrauch der Nebenaggregate wesentlich gesenkt werden. Die System- und Nutzungsoptimierung

  9. Interim results of the study of control room crew staffing for advanced passive reactor plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hallbert, B.P.; Sebok, A.; Haugset, K.

    1996-01-01

    Differences in the ways in which vendors expect the operations staff to interact with advanced passive plants by vendors have led to a need for reconsideration of the minimum shift staffing requirements of licensed Reactor Operators and Senior Reactor Operators contained in current federal regulations (i.e., 10 CFR 50.54(m)). A research project is being carried out to evaluate the impact(s) of advanced passive plant design and staffing of control room crews on operator and team performance. The purpose of the project is to contribute to the understanding of potential safety issues and provide data to support the development of design review guidance. Two factors are being evaluated across a range of plant operating conditions: control room crew staffing; and characteristics of the operating facility itself, whether it employs conventional or advanced, passive features. This paper presents the results of the first phase of the study conducted at the Loviisa nuclear power station earlier this year. Loviisa served as the conventional plant in this study. Data collection from four crews were collected from a series of design basis scenarios, each crew serving in either a normal or minimum staffing configuration. Results of data analyses show that crews participating in the minimum shift staffing configuration experienced significantly higher workload, had lower situation awareness, demonstrated significantly less effective team performance, and performed more poorly as a crew than the crews participating in the normal shift staffing configuration. The baseline data on crew configurations from the conventional plant setting will be compared with similar data to be collected from the advanced plant setting, and a report prepared providing the results of the entire study

  10. A comparison of the difference of requirements between functional safety and nuclear safety controllers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, C.K.; Lee, C.L.; Shyu, S.S. [Inst. of Nuclear Energy Research, Taoyuan, Taiwan (China)

    2014-07-01

    In order to establish self-reliant capabilities of nuclear I&C systems in Taiwan, Taiwan's Nuclear I&C System (TNICS) project had been established by Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER). A Triple Modular Redundant (TMR) safety controller (SCS-2000) has been completed and gone through the IEC 61508 Safety Integrity Level 3 (SIL3) certification of Functional Safety for industries. Based on the certification processes, the difference of requirements between Functional Safety and Nuclear Safety controllers in term of hardware and software are addressed in this study. Besides, the measures used to determine and verify the reliability of the safety control system design are presented. (author)

  11. A Pilot Study Investigating the Effects of Advanced Nuclear Power Plant Control Room Technologies: Methods and Qualitative Results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    BLanc, Katya Le [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Powers, David [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Joe, Jeffrey [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Spielman, Zachary [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Rice, Brandon [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Fitzgerald, Kirk [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2015-08-01

    Control room modernization is an important part of life extension for the existing light water reactor fleet. None of the 99 currently operating commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. has completed a full-scale control room modernization to date. Nuclear power plant main control rooms for the existing commercial reactor fleet remain significantly analog, with only limited digital modernizations. Upgrades in the U.S. do not achieve the full potential of newer technologies that might otherwise enhance plant and operator performance. The goal of the control room upgrade benefits research is to identify previously overlooked benefits of modernization, identify candidate technologies that may facilitate such benefits, and demonstrate these technologies through human factors research. This report describes a pilot study to test upgrades to the Human Systems Simulation Laboratory at INL.

  12. The measure and control system of mini-type radon room based on PC104

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Shumin; East China Inst. of Technology, Fuzhou; Tang Bin; Sun Yamin

    2005-01-01

    Radon room is one of the standard equipment which demarcates radon measure instrument. The paper discusses the dynamic method and mathematic model which keeps the radon consistence stability in radon room. The system is developed on PC104. The system can monitor the radon consistence and replenishment radon according the radon control parameter. (authors)

  13. Measuring Situation Awareness of Operating Team in Different Main Control Room Environments of Nuclear Power Plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seung Woo Lee

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Environments in nuclear power plants (NPPs are changing as the design of instrumentation and control systems for NPPs is rapidly moving toward fully digital instrumentation and control, and modern computer techniques are gradually introduced into main control rooms (MCRs. Within the context of these environmental changes, the level of performance of operators in a digital MCR is a major concern. Situation awareness (SA, which is used within human factors research to explain to what extent operators of safety-critical systems know what is transpiring in the system and the environment, is considered a prerequisite factor to guarantee the safe operation of NPPs. However, the safe operation of NPPs can be guaranteed through a team effort. In this regard, the operating team's SA in a conventional and digital MCR should be measured in order to assess whether the new design features implemented in a digital MCR affect this parameter. This paper explains the team SA measurement method used in this study and the results of applying this measurement method to operating teams in different MCR environments. The paper also discusses several empirical lessons learned from the results.

  14. Results of control-room annunciator-systems evaluations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banks, W.W.

    1981-01-01

    Annunciator systems in nuclear power plants tax the operator's ability to cope with large amounts of information. Conventional annunciators do not provide the information in an acceptable way for efficient response, but computer-generated CRT displays have the potential for rectifying this situation. A multidisciplinary team of human factors engineers from EG and G Idaho conducted a study to (a) identify problem areas in reactor control rooms associated with annunciator display systems, (b) provide specific and generic solutions to the problems identified, and (c) provide recommendations and direction for future improvements and research focused on the man/display interface from a human factors engineering perspective

  15. Relationship Between Operating Room Teamwork, Contextual Factors, and Safety Checklist Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singer, Sara J; Molina, George; Li, Zhonghe; Jiang, Wei; Nurudeen, Suliat; Kite, Julia G; Edmondson, Lizabeth; Foster, Richard; Haynes, Alex B; Berry, William R

    2016-10-01

    Studies show that using surgical safety checklists (SSCs) reduces complications. Many believe SSCs accomplish this by enhancing teamwork, but evidence is limited. Our study sought to relate teamwork to checklist performance, understand how they relate, and determine conditions that affect this relationship. Using 2 validated tools for observing and coaching operating room teams, we evaluated the association between checklist performance with surgeon buy-in and 4 domains of surgical teamwork: clinical leadership, communication, coordination, and respect. Hospital staff in 10 South Carolina hospitals observed 207 procedures between April 2011 and January 2013. We calculated levels of checklist performance, buy-in, and measures of teamwork, and evaluated their relationship, controlling for patient and case characteristics. Few teams completed most or all SSC items. Teams more often completed items considered procedural "checks" than conversation "prompts." Surgeon buy-in, clinical leadership, communication, a summary measure of teamwork overall, and observers' teamwork ratings positively related to overall checklist completion (multivariable model estimates from 0.04, p < 0.05 for communication to 0.17, p < 0.01 for surgeon buy-in). All measures of teamwork and surgeon buy-in related positively to completing more conversation prompts; none related significantly to procedural checks (estimates from 0.10, p < 0.01 for communication to 0.27, p < 0.001 for surgeon buy-in). Patient age was significantly associated with completing the checklist and prompts (p < 0.05); only case duration was positively associated with performing more checks (p < 0.10). Surgeon buy-in and surgical teamwork characterized by shared clinical leadership, open communication, active coordination, and mutual respect were critical in prompting case-related conversations, but not in completing procedural checks. Findings highlight the importance of surgeon engagement and high-quality, consistent

  16. Ergonomic configuration of control rooms in nuclear power stations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becker, G.

    1984-01-01

    Human possibilities and limits of performance can be taken into account by work configuration measures, in order to make the optimum contribution to the total output of the human being/machine system. The results of and considerations for the level ergonomic configuration of the control room, for the elements of the information carrier, for the structuring of the work field and for communication centres are introduced. (DG) [de

  17. Human error mode identification for NPP main control room operations using soft controls

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Seung Jun; Kim, Jaewhan; Jang, Seung-Cheol

    2011-01-01

    The operation environment of main control rooms (MCRs) in modern nuclear power plants (NPPs) has considerably changed over the years. Advanced MCRs, which have been designed by adapting digital and computer technologies, have simpler interfaces using large display panels, computerized displays, soft controls, computerized procedure systems, and so on. The actions for the NPP operations are performed using soft controls in advanced MCRs. Soft controls have different features from conventional controls. Operators need to navigate the screens to find indicators and controls and manipulate controls using a mouse, touch screens, and so on. Due to these different interfaces, different human errors should be considered in the human reliability analysis (HRA) for advanced MCRs. In this work, human errors that could occur during operation executions using soft controls were analyzed. This work classified the human errors in soft controls into six types, and the reasons that affect the occurrence of the human errors were also analyzed. (author)

  18. Uncertainty Analysis of In leakage Test for Pressurized Control Room Envelop

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, J. B. [KHNP Central Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-10-15

    In leakage tests for control room envelops(CRE) of newly constructed nuclear power plants are required to prove the control room habitability. Results of the in leakage tests should be analyzed using an uncertainty analysis. Test uncertainty can be an issue if the test results for pressurized CREs show low in leakage. To have a better knowledge of the test uncertainty, a statistical model for the uncertainty analysis is described here and a representative uncertainty analysis of a sample in leakage test is presented. A statistical method for analyzing the uncertainty of the in leakage test is presented here and a representative uncertainty analysis of a sample in leakage test was performed. By using the statistical method we can evaluate the test result with certain level of significance. This method can be more helpful when the difference of the two mean values of the test result is small.

  19. Uncertainty Analysis of In leakage Test for Pressurized Control Room Envelop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, J. B.

    2013-01-01

    In leakage tests for control room envelops(CRE) of newly constructed nuclear power plants are required to prove the control room habitability. Results of the in leakage tests should be analyzed using an uncertainty analysis. Test uncertainty can be an issue if the test results for pressurized CREs show low in leakage. To have a better knowledge of the test uncertainty, a statistical model for the uncertainty analysis is described here and a representative uncertainty analysis of a sample in leakage test is presented. A statistical method for analyzing the uncertainty of the in leakage test is presented here and a representative uncertainty analysis of a sample in leakage test was performed. By using the statistical method we can evaluate the test result with certain level of significance. This method can be more helpful when the difference of the two mean values of the test result is small

  20. Safety critical application of fuzzy control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schildt, G.H.

    1995-01-01

    After an introduction into safety terms a short description of fuzzy logic will be given. Especially, for safety critical applications of fuzzy controllers a possible controller structure will be described. The following items will be discussed: Configuration of fuzzy controllers, design aspects like fuzzfiication, inference strategies, defuzzification and types of membership functions. As an example a typical fuzzy rule set will be presented. Especially, real-time behaviour a fuzzy controllers is mentioned. An example of fuzzy controlling for temperature control purpose within a nuclear reactor together with membership functions and inference strategy of such a fuzzy controller will be presented. (author). 4 refs, 17 figs

  1. EDP supported control room simulation for training of fault cases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weber, P.

    1984-01-01

    The picture used for simulation was the model of a power station control room designed by KWU for the German Museum, the cooling water circuit of which is illustrated, in order to avoid long training times by a manageable problem setting. A process video system equipped with a light pen made by KRUPP ATLAS was available for the VDU representation of simulation, which is used in industry, for the control and supervision of technical system. This process video system was controlled by a Digital PDP 11/40, which has several great advantages over stand-alone operation. (orig./DG) [de

  2. Human factors evaluation of the engineering test reactor control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banks, W.W.; Boone, M.P.

    1981-03-01

    The Reactor and Process Control Rooms at the Engineering Test Reactor were evaluated by a team of human factors engineers using available human factors design criteria. During the evaluation, ETR, equipment and facilities were compared with MIL-STD-1472-B, Human Engineering design Criteria for Military Systems. The focus of recommendations centered on: (a) displays and controls; placing displays and controls in functional groups; (b) establishing a consistent color coding (in compliance with a standard if possible); (c) systematizing annunciator alarms and reducing their number; (d) organizing equipment in functional groups; and (e) modifying labeling and lines of demarcation

  3. Supplementary control points for reactor shutdown without access to the main control room (International Electrotechnical Commission Standard Publication 965:1989)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubalek, J.; Hajek, B.

    1993-01-01

    This standard establishes the requirements for supplementary Control Points provided to enable the operating staff to shut down the reactor and maintain the plant in a safe shut-down condition when the main control room is no longer available. This standard covers the functional selection, design and organization of the man/machine interface. It also establishes requirements for procedures which systematically verify and validate the functional design of supplementary control points. The requirements reflect the application of human engineering principles as they apply to man/machine interface. This standard does not cover special emergency response centres (e.g. a Technical Support Centre). It also does not include the detailed equipment design. Unavailability of the main control room controls due to intentionally man-induced events is not considered

  4. French concepts of ''passive safety''

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dennielou, Y.; Serret, M.

    1990-01-01

    N 4 model, the French 1400 MW PWR of the 90's, exhibits many advanced features. As far as safety is concerned, the fully computerized control room design takes advantage of the operating experience feedback and largely improves the man machine interface. New post-accident procedures have been developed (the so-called ''physical states oriented procedures''). A complete consistent set of ''Fundamental Safety Rules'' have been issued. This however doesn't imply any significant modification of standard PWR with regard to the passive aspects of safety systems or functions. Nevertheless, traditional PWR safety systems largely use passive aspects: natural circulation, reactivity coefficients, gravity driven control rods, injection accumulators, so on. Moreover, probability calculations allow for comparison between the respective contributions of passive and of active failures. In the near future, eventual options of future French PWRs to be commissioned after 2000 will be evaluated; simplification, passive and forgiving aspects of safety systems will be thoroughly considered. (author)

  5. Integrated application of human factors to a power plant control room information system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fish, H.C. Jr.; Gutierrez, R.

    1988-01-01

    The human factors plan was developed as a methodology to apply human factors from the conceptual design of the EPIC system to the functional verification conducted at the plant. An integral part of the Human Factors Plan was the Functional Verification Plan. Developed in parallel, this second plan and its resultant programs verified functional appropriateness of the SPDS display, NSSS displays, EOP displays, man-machine interfaces (MMI), and workstation designs. The functional verification process was performed at the hardware/software developer's factory and at the JAFNPP, following installation of the EPIC system. Because the EPIC system replaces existing control room equipment, it is important that human factors be applied in a systematic manner consistent with other control room displays and controls. To ensure that this goal was met, a human factors plan was developed

  6. Control room modernization at Finnish nuclear power plants - Two projects compared

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laarni, J.; Norros, L.

    2006-01-01

    The modernization of automation systems and human-machine interfaces is a current issue at both of the two nuclear power plants (i.e., Fortum's Loviisa plant and TVO's Olkiluoto plant) in Finland. Since the plants have been launched in the 1970's or 1980's, technology is in part old-fashioned and needs to be renewed. At Olkiluoto upgrades of the turbine operator systems have already been conducted; at Loviisa the first phase of the modernization project has just started. Basically, there is a question of the complete digitalization of the information streams at the two plants, and transition from a conventional hard-wired or hybrid control room to a screen-based one. The new human-machine interfaces will comprise new technology, such as PC workstations, soft control, touch screens and large-screen overall displays. The modernization of human-system interfaces is carried out in a stepwise manner at both plants. At both plants the main driver has not been the need to renew the user interfaces of the control room, but the need to upgrade the automation systems. In part because of this, there is a lack of a systematic top-down approach in which different aspects of human factors (HF) engineering are considered in relationship to higher level goals. Our aim here is to give an overview description of the control room modernization projects at the two plants and provide a preliminary evaluation of their progress to date. The projects are also compared, for example, in terms of duration, scope and phasing, and who is responsible for the realization of the project. In addition, we also compare experiences from the Finnish projects to experiences from similar projects abroad. The main part of the data used in this study is based on designers' and project members' interviews. (authors)

  7. Engineering human factors into the Westinghouse advanced control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Easter, J.R.

    1987-01-01

    By coupling the work of the Riso Laboratory in Denmark on human behaviour with new digital computation and display technology, Westinghouse has developed a totally new control room design. This design features a separate, co-ordinated work station to support the systems management role in decision making, as well as robust alarm and display systems. This coupling of the functional and physical data presentation is now being implemented in test facilities. (author)

  8. Human factors inspection of current control room panel in Jose Cabrera NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almeida, P.; O'Hara, J.; Higgins, J.

    2002-01-01

    Within the process of renewal of Exploitation Permit of Jose Cabrera Nuclear Power Plant, UNION FENOSA GENERACIO, S. A. (UFG) has carried out an analysis and evaluation project regarding human factors implications of current control room panel arrangement. The project has been developed in two phases. In the first phase, leaded by EPRI and carried out by experts from SAIC, an independent review from a double viewpoint of human reliability and human factors was developed. In the second phase, a multidisciplinary team (composed by human factors, risk analysis, operation, engineering, training and instrumentation and controls experts) has developed a study on human factors implications of current panel arrangement, following the methodology pointed out in NUREG-0711. The project has been developed under the direction of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), organisation that has authored the aforementioned methodology, with the participation of UFG and SOLUZIONA Ingenieria. For the development of the second study the following steps were taken: Firstly, the potential effects of panel arrangement on crew performance were identified its real evidence was analysed and the goals for the improvement of control room operation were established; following NUREG-0711. After this, several design alternatives that addressed these goals were identified and were analysed along three dimensions: human factors, risk analysis and economic costs. Finally the results of these evaluations were combined using a multi-attribute decision method to arrive at a recommended alternative as he best proposal to incorporate human factors criteria and good practices in the design of control room panels. (Author)

  9. Criticality safety evaluation in Tokai Reprocessing Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shirai, Nobutoshi; Nakajima, Masayoshi; Takaya, Akikazu; Ohnuma, Hideyuki; Shirouzu, Hidetomo; Hayashi, Shinichiro; Yoshikawa, Koji; Suto, Toshiyuki

    2000-04-01

    Criticality limits for equipments in Tokai Reprocessing Plant which handle fissile material solution and are under shape and dimension control were reevaluated based on the guideline No.10 'Criticality safety of single unit' in the regulatory guide for reprocessing plant safety. This report presents criticality safety evaluation of each equipment as single unit. Criticality safety of multiple units in a cell or a room was also evaluated. The evaluated equipments were ones in dissolution, separation, purification, denitration, Pu product storage, and Pu conversion processes. As a result, it was reconfirmed that the equipments were safe enough from a view point of criticality safety of single unit and multiple units. (author)

  10. A demonstrated method for upgrading existing control room interiors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brice, R.M.; Terrill, D.; Brice, R.M.

    1991-01-01

    The main control room (MCR) of any nuclear power plant can justifiably be called the most important area staffed by personnel in the entire facility. The interior workstation configuration, equipment arrangement, and staff placement all affect the efficiency and habitability of the room. There are many guidelines available that describe various human factor principles to use when upgrading the environment of the MCR. These involve anthropometric standards and rules for placement of peripheral equipment. Due to the variations in plant design, however, hard-and-fast rules have not and cannot be standardized for retrofits in any significant way. How then does one develop criteria for the improvement of a MCR? The purpose of this paper is to discuss, from the designer's point of view, a method for the collection of information, development of criteria, and creation of a final design for a MCR upgrade. This method is best understood by describing the successful implementation at Tennessee Valley Authority's Sequoyah nuclear plant

  11. Job Demands-Control-Support model and employee safety performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Nick; Stride, Chris B; Carter, Angela J; McCaughey, Deirdre; Carroll, Anthony E

    2012-03-01

    The aim of this study was to explore whether work characteristics (job demands, job control, social support) comprising Karasek and Theorell's (1990) Job Demands-Control-Support framework predict employee safety performance (safety compliance and safety participation; Neal and Griffin, 2006). We used cross-sectional data of self-reported work characteristics and employee safety performance from 280 healthcare staff (doctors, nurses, and administrative staff) from Emergency Departments of seven hospitals in the United Kingdom. We analyzed these data using a structural equation model that simultaneously regressed safety compliance and safety participation on the main effects of each of the aforementioned work characteristics, their two-way interactions, and the three-way interaction among them, while controlling for demographic, occupational, and organizational characteristics. Social support was positively related to safety compliance, and both job control and the two-way interaction between job control and social support were positively related to safety participation. How work design is related to employee safety performance remains an important area for research and provides insight into how organizations can improve workplace safety. The current findings emphasize the importance of the co-worker in promoting both safety compliance and safety participation. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Advanced control rooms and crew performance issues: Implications for human reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Hara, J.M.; Hall, R.E.

    1991-01-01

    Recent trends in advanced control room (ACR) design are considered with respect to their impact on human performance. It is concluded that potentially negative influences exist, however, a variety of factors make it difficult to model, analyze, and quantify these effects for human reliability analyses (HRAs)

  13. Predicting the Room Air Temperature of the Containment Spray Pump Room for the Loss of HVAC Accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoon, Churl; Park, Jin Hee; Lim, Ho Gon; Han, Sang Hoon

    2007-01-01

    In PSA Models, the HVAC system is essential for the various vital mitigation safety systems operating during a mission time. So far, the unavailability of the safety system when the HVAC system is unavailable, has been applied conservatively or optimistically based on operating experience and expert judgment, so the total core damage frequency could be unrealistic. In this paper, we performed a heat up calculation for the Containment Spray Pump Room at Kori 3 and 4 Units using a CFD code to estimate the operability of the CS pump and its support systems in the pump room under the situation of a loss of the HVAC. The result of this calculation could be applied the PSA Model for Risk Informed Regulation for Kori Units 3 and 4

  14. Job satisfaction among control room operators of electrical systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macaia, Amanda A Silva; Marqueze, Elaine C; Rotenberg, Lúcia; Fischer, Frida Marina; Moreno, Claudia R C

    2012-01-01

    Shift workers from control centers of electrical systems are a group that has received little attention in Brazil. This study aimed to compare workers' job satisfaction at five control centers of a Brazilian company electrical system, and according to their job titles. The Organization Satisfaction Index (OSI) questionnaire to assess job satisfaction was used. ANOVA was used to compare OSI means, according to job title and control center. The results showed that there is no difference in job satisfaction among job titles, but a significant difference was found according to the control center. A single organizational culture cannot be applied to several branches. It is required to implement actions that would result in job satisfaction improvements among workers of all studied control rooms centers. The high level of education of operators working in all centers might have contributed to the similar values of perceived satisfaction among distinct job titles.

  15. 77 FR 74275 - Pipeline Safety: Information Collection Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-13

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [Docket No.... These regulations require operators of hazardous liquid pipelines and gas pipelines to develop and... control room. Affected Public: Operators of both natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline systems. Annual...

  16. Simon van der Meer in the AA Control Room

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN PhotoLab

    1984-01-01

    Simon van der Meer, spiritus rector of the Antiproton Accumulator, in the AA Control Room. Inventor of stochastic cooling, on which the AA was based, and of the magnetic horn, with which the antiprotons were focused, he also wrote most of the software with which the AA was controlled, and spent uncountable numbers of hours in this chair to tickle the AA to top performance. 8 months after this picture was taken, he received, in October 1984, the Nobel prize, together with Carlo Rubbia, the moving force behind the whole Proton-Antiproton Collider project that led to the discovery, in 1983, of the W and Z intermediate bosons.

  17. Control Technologies for Room Air-conditioner and Packaged Air-conditioner

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ito, Nobuhisa

    Trends of control technologies about air-conditioning machineries, especially room or packaged air conditioners, are presented in this paper. Multiple air conditioning systems for office buildings are mainly described as one application of the refrigeration cycle control technologies including sensors for thermal comfort and heating/ cooling loads are also described as one of the system control technologies. Inverter systems and related technologies for driving variable speed compressors are described in both case of including induction motors and brushless DC motors. Technologies for more accurate control to meet various kind of regulations such as ozone layer destruction, energy saving and global warming, and for eliminating harmonic distortion of power source current, as a typical EMC problem, will be urgently desired.

  18. Safety parameter display system for Kalinin NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andreev, V.I.; Videneev, E.N.; Tissot, J.C.; Joonekindt, D.; Davidenko, N.N.; Shaftan, G.I.; Dounaev, V.G.; Neboyan, V.T.

    1995-01-01

    The paper discusses the safety parameter display system (SPDS), which is being designed for Kalinin NPP. The assessment of the safety status of the plant is done by the continuous monitoring of six critical safety functions and the corresponding status trees. Besides, a number of additional functions are realized within the scope of KlnNPP, aimed at providing the operator and the safety engineer in the main control room with more detailed information in accidental situation as well as during the normal operation. In particular, these functions are: archiving, data logs and alarm handling, safety actions monitoring, mnemonic diagrams indicating the state of main technological equipment and basic plant parameters, reference data, etc. As compared with the traditional scope of functions of this kind of systems, the functionality of KlnNPP SPDS is significantly expanded due to the inclusion in it the operator support function ''computerized procedures''. The basic SPDS implementation platform is ADACS of SEMA GROUP design. The system architecture includes two workstations in the main control room: one is for reactor operator and the other one for safety engineer. Every station has two CRT screens which ensures computerized procedures implementation and provides for extra services for the operator. Also, the information from the SPDS is transmitted to the local crisis center and to the crisis center of the State utility organization concern ''Rosenergoatom''. (author). 3 refs, 6 figs, 1 tab

  19. Do safety checklists improve teamwork and communication in the operating room? A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russ, Stephanie; Rout, Shantanu; Sevdalis, Nick; Moorthy, Krishna; Darzi, Ara; Vincent, Charles

    2013-12-01

    The aim of this systematic review was to assess the impact of surgical safety checklists on the quality of teamwork and communication in the operating room (OR). Safety checklists have been shown to impact positively on patient morbidity and mortality following surgery, but it is unclear whether this clinical improvement is related to an improvement in OR teamwork and communication. A systematic search strategy of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Database for Systematic Reviews was undertaken to obtain relevant articles. After de-duplication and the addition of limits, 315 articles were screened for inclusion by 2 researchers and all articles meeting a set of prespecified inclusion criteria were retained. Information regarding the type of checklist, study design, assessment tools used, outcomes, and study limitations was extracted. Twenty articles formed the basis of this systematic review. All articles described an empirical study relating to a case-specific safety checklist for surgery as the primary intervention, with some measure of change/improvement in teamwork and/or communication relating to its use. The methods for assessing teamwork and communication varied greatly, including surveys, observations, interviews, and 360° assessments. The evidence suggests that safety checklists improve the perceived quality of OR teamwork and communication and reduce observable errors relating to poor team skills. This is likely to function through establishing an open platform for communication at the start of a procedure: encouraging the sharing of critical case-related information, promoting team coordination and decision making, flagging knowledge gaps, and enhancing team cohesion. However, the evidence would also suggest that when used suboptimally or when individuals have not bought in to the process, checklists may conversely have a negative impact on the function of the team. Safety checklists are beneficial for OR teamwork and

  20. Improvement on main control room for Japanese PWR plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumiya, Masayuki

    1996-01-01

    The main control room which is the information center of nuclear power plant has been continuously improved utilizing the state of the art ergonomics, a high performance computer, computer graphic technologies, etc. For the latest Japanese Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) plant, the CRT monitoring system is applied as the major information source for facilitating operators' plant monitoring tasks. For an operating plant, enhancement of monitoring and logging functions has been made adopting a high performance computer

  1. Investigation on the advanced control room design for next generation nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Seong Soo

    1998-02-01

    An advanced human-machine interface (HMI) has been developed to enhance the safety and availability of a nuclear power plant (NPP) by improving operational reliability. The key elements of the proposed HMI are the large display panels which present synopsis of plant status and the compact, computer-based work stations for monitoring, control and protection functions. The work station consists of four consoles such as a dynamic alarm console (DAC), a system information console (SIC), a computerized operating-procedure console (COC), and a safety system information console (SSIC). The DAC provides clean alarm pictures, in which information overlapping is excluded and alarm impacts are discriminated, for quick situation awareness. The SIC supports a normal operation by offering all necessary system information and control functions over non-safety systems. In addition, it is closely linked to the other consoles in order to automatically display related system information according to situations of the DAC and the COC. The COC aids operators with proper operating procedures during normal plant startup and shutdown or after a plant trip, and it also reduces their physical/mental burden through soft automation. The SSIC continuously displays safety system status and enables operators to control safety systems. With regard to automation, the automating strategies of emergency operation are developed for achieving safe shutdown in pressurized water reactors. These strategies can make emergency operation optimal, and as well they considerably lengthen the operator response time. Decision-making and control are investigated in order to develop the automating strategies. In decision-making, diagnostic trees are established to automate the diagnostic tasks for selecting appropriate emergency operations, and the decision-making procedure is developed to automate some decisions which must be made on a plant- and event-specific basis. In control, cooldown is planned by

  2. Defect controlled room temperature ferromagnetism in Co-doped barium titanate nanocrystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ray, Sugata; Kolen'ko, Yury V; Watanabe, Tomoaki; Yoshimura, Masahiro; Itoh, Mitsuru; Kovnir, Kirill A; Lebedev, Oleg I; Turner, Stuart; Erni, Rolf; Tendeloo, Gustaaf Van; Chakraborty, Tanushree

    2012-01-01

    Defect mediated high temperature ferromagnetism in oxide nanocrystallites is the central feature of this work. Here, we report the development of room temperature ferromagnetism in nanosized Co-doped barium titanate particles with a size of around 14 nm, synthesized by a solvothermal drying method. A combination of x-ray diffraction with state-of-the-art electron microscopy techniques confirms the intrinsic doping of Co into BaTiO 3 . The development of the room temperature ferromagnetism was tracked down to the different donor defects, namely hydroxyl groups at the oxygen site and oxygen vacancies and their relative concentrations at the surface and the core of the nanocrystal, which could be controlled by post-synthesis drying and thermal treatments.

  3. Improving The Safety Of Room Air Pneumoperitoneum For ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    N2O), Carbondioxide (CO2), Helium, Xenon and Air. Study Design and Method: This was a prospective study in a private fertility centre in Nnewi, Nigeria aimed at reducing the morbidities inherent in the use Room Air pneumoperitoneum for ...

  4. Criteria for safety-related operator actions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gray, L.H.; Haas, P.M.

    1983-01-01

    The Safety-Related Operator Actions (SROA) Program was designed to provide information and data for use by NRC in assessing the performance of nuclear power plant (NPP) control room operators in responding to abnormal/emergency events. The primary effort involved collection and assessment of data from simulator training exercises and from historical records of abnormal/emergency events that have occurred in operating plants (field data). These data can be used to develop criteria for acceptability of the use of manual operator action for safety-related functions. Development of criteria for safety-related operator actions are considered

  5. Metal-Controlled Magnetoresistance at Room Temperature in Single-Molecule Devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aragonès, Albert C; Aravena, Daniel; Valverde-Muñoz, Francisco J; Real, José Antonio; Sanz, Fausto; Díez-Pérez, Ismael; Ruiz, Eliseo

    2017-04-26

    The appropriate choice of the transition metal complex and metal surface electronic structure opens the possibility to control the spin of the charge carriers through the resulting hybrid molecule/metal spinterface in a single-molecule electrical contact at room temperature. The single-molecule conductance of a Au/molecule/Ni junction can be switched by flipping the magnetization direction of the ferromagnetic electrode. The requirements of the molecule include not just the presence of unpaired electrons: the electronic configuration of the metal center has to provide occupied or empty orbitals that strongly interact with the junction metal electrodes and that are close in energy to their Fermi levels for one of the electronic spins only. The key ingredient for the metal surface is to provide an efficient spin texture induced by the spin-orbit coupling in the topological surface states that results in an efficient spin-dependent interaction with the orbitals of the molecule. The strong magnetoresistance effect found in this kind of single-molecule wire opens a new approach for the design of room-temperature nanoscale devices based on spin-polarized currents controlled at molecular level.

  6. Control-room operator alertness and performance in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, T.l.; Campbell, S.C.; Linder, K.D.; Moore-Ede, M.C

    1990-02-01

    All industries requiring round-the-clock operation must deal with the potential problem of impaired alertness, especially among those who work night shifts. In the nuclear power industry, maintaining optimal alertness and performance of control room operators at all times of day is critical. Many of the toot causes of reduced alertness are straightforward and can be easily remedied with tangible solutions; this manual both discusses the reasons for the problem and suggests solutions. The manual surveys factors that influence operator alertness and performance, including shift schedules, caffeine and alcohol use, diet and family lifestyle factors, the control room enviornment, staffing and overtime practices, and work task design. Specific recommendations are made in each of these areas. The project team, consisting of experts on managing round-the-clock operations and scientists who study human alertness and performance, prepared this manual using the latest scientific research and direct input from shift supervisors and operators via interviews, on-site observation, and questionnaires distributed to every nuclear power station. The material contained within is relevant to shiftwork managers, shift supervisors, and operators, each of whom plays a vital role in maintaining optimal alertness and performance on the job. 90 refs., 35 figs

  7. Team interaction skills evaluation criteria for nuclear power plant control room operators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montgomery, J.; Gaddy, C.; Toquam, J.

    1991-01-01

    This paper reports on previous research which has shown the value of good team interaction skills to group performance, yet little progress has been made in measuring such skills. Dimensions of team interaction skills developed in an earlier study were extensively revised and cast into a Behaviorally anchored Rating scales (BARS) and a Behavioral Frequency scale format. Rating data were collected using training instructors at a nuclear plant, who rated videotape scenarios of control room performance and later rated control room crews during requalification training. High levels of interrater agreement on both rating scales was, although the hypothesized factor structure did not emerge. Analysis of ratings of the videotapes using Cronbach's components of accuracy indicted that BARS ratings generally exhibited less error than did the Behavioral Frequency ratings. This paper discusses results in terms of both field and research implications

  8. Multilevel interfaces for power plant control rooms I: An integrative review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vicente, K.J.

    1992-01-01

    Events that are unfamiliar to operators and that have not been anticipated by designers pose the greatest threat to system safety in nuclear power plants. The abstraction hierarchy has been proposed as a representation framework that can be adopted to design interfaces that support operators in dealing with these unanticipated events. This multilevel representation format represents a plant in terms of both physical and functional constraints. This article reviews, for the first time, the work that has been done in academia, industry, and research laboratories on multilevel interfaces based on the abstraction hierarchy. The review indicates that there are many degrees of freedom in designing an interface based on the abstraction hierarchy but that very little systematic work has been done in evaluating how best to deal with those degrees of freedom. As a result, there is very little defensible guidance to provide designers. As a first step in overcoming this barrier, a companion paper uses the results of the review presented here to develop a preliminary design space for multilevel interfaces based on the abstraction hierarchy. This space serves several worthwhile purposes relevant not only to research but also to design and regulation as well. Consequently this complementary set of papers should be of interest to researchers, designers, and regulators concerned with nuclear power-plant control rooms. 53 refs., 8 figs

  9. Evaluation of team skills for control room crews

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaddy, C.D.; Koontz, J.L.

    1987-01-01

    Although team training has received considerable attention throughout industry, a systematic approach to team skills training has only recently been proposed for control room crews. One important step of the approach to team skills training is evaluation of team skills. This paper describes methods and resources, and program considerations in team skills evaluation. The three areas pertaining to methods and resources are: development of evaluation criteria, preparation of event scenarios, and instructor training and additional resources. The program considerations include sequencing and coordination of team skills evaluation in the context of an overall operator training program

  10. Incorporating Traffic Control and Safety Hardware Performance Functions into Risk-based Highway Safety Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zongzhi Li

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Traffic control and safety hardware such as traffic signs, lighting, signals, pavement markings, guardrails, barriers, and crash cushions form an important and inseparable part of highway infrastructure affecting safety performance. Significant progress has been made in recent decades to develop safety performance functions and crash modification factors for site-specific crash predictions. However, the existing models and methods lack rigorous treatments of safety impacts of time-deteriorating conditions of traffic control and safety hardware. This study introduces a refined method for computing the Safety Index (SI as a means of crash predictions for a highway segment that incorporates traffic control and safety hardware performance functions into the analysis. The proposed method is applied in a computation experiment using five-year data on nearly two hundred rural and urban highway segments. The root-mean square error (RMSE, Chi-square, Spearman’s rank correlation, and Mann-Whitney U tests are employed for validation.

  11. Controlled versus automatic processes: which is dominant to safety? The moderating effect of inhibitory control.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yaoshan Xu

    Full Text Available This study explores the precursors of employees' safety behaviors based on a dual-process model, which suggests that human behaviors are determined by both controlled and automatic cognitive processes. Employees' responses to a self-reported survey on safety attitudes capture their controlled cognitive process, while the automatic association concerning safety measured by an Implicit Association Test (IAT reflects employees' automatic cognitive processes about safety. In addition, this study investigates the moderating effects of inhibition on the relationship between self-reported safety attitude and safety behavior, and that between automatic associations towards safety and safety behavior. The results suggest significant main effects of self-reported safety attitude and automatic association on safety behaviors. Further, the interaction between self-reported safety attitude and inhibition and that between automatic association and inhibition each predict unique variances in safety behavior. Specifically, the safety behaviors of employees with lower level of inhibitory control are influenced more by automatic association, whereas those of employees with higher level of inhibitory control are guided more by self-reported safety attitudes. These results suggest that safety behavior is the joint outcome of both controlled and automatic cognitive processes, and the relative importance of these cognitive processes depends on employees' individual differences in inhibitory control. The implications of these findings for theoretical and practical issues are discussed at the end.

  12. Instrumentation and control systems important to safety in nuclear power plants. Safety guide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-01-01

    This Safety Guide was prepared under the IAEA programme for establishing safety standards for nuclear power plants. It supplements Safety Standards Series No. NS-R-1: Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Design (the Requirements for Design), which establishes the design requirements for ensuring the safety of nuclear power plants. This Safety Guide describes how the requirements should be met for instrumentation and control (I and C) systems important to safety. This publication is a revision and combination of two previous Safety Guides: Safety Series Nos 50-SG-D3 and 50-SG-D8, which are superseded by this new Safety Guide. The revision takes account of developments in I and C systems important to safety since the earlier Safety Guides were published in 1980 and 1984, respectively. The objective of this Safety Guide is to provide guidance on the design of I and C systems important to safety in nuclear power plants, including all I and C components, from the sensors allocated to the mechanical systems to the actuated equipment, operator interfaces and auxiliary equipment. This Safety Guide deals mainly with design requirements for those I and C systems that are important to safety. It expands on paragraphs of Ref in the area of I and C systems important to safety. This publication is intended for use primarily by designers of nuclear power plants and also by owners and/or operators and regulators of nuclear power plants. This Safety Guide provides general guidance on I and C systems important to safety which is broadly applicable to many nuclear power plants. More detailed requirements and limitations for safe operation specific to a particular plant type should be established as part of the design process. The present guidance is focused on the design principles for systems important to safety that warrant particular attention, and should be applied to both the design of new I and C systems and the modernization of existing systems. Guidance is provided on how design

  13. Room design in dental radiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Achalli, Sonika

    2013-01-01

    Radiography and radiographic examination of the patient form most valuable diagnostic tool in providing comprehensive dental care. The safe and effective use of the X-ray equipment is important for the protection of the patient, other members of the public and all members of the dental team. For patients, the risk that is associated with exposure to X-rays must always be weighed against the clinical benefit of an accurate diagnosis. The risks associated with the exposure to the X-rays during the radiographic examination of the patient must be minimised by meticulously adhering to good practice and thus carefully managing the use of dental radiological procedures. The dentist or the personnel who is the license holder for the X-ray equipment is ultimately responsible for the radiation safety at the workplace. One important method in limiting the possible risk of radiation exposure at workplace is the correct design of an X-ray room. This paper is aimed at discussing the guidelines and recommendations on X-ray room designs in dental radiology in order to facilitate radiation control and safe working conditions for radiation workers as well as the public. (author)

  14. Development of digital safety system logic and control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishikawa, H.; Sakamoto, H.

    1995-01-01

    Advanced-BWR (ABWR) uses total digital control and instrumentation (C and I) system. In particular, ABWR adopts a newly developed safety system using advanced digital technology. In the presentation the digital safety system design, manufacturing and factory validation test method are shortly overviewed. The digital safety system consists of micro-processor based digital controllers, data and information transmission by optical fibers and human-machine interface using color flat displays. This new developed safety system meet the nuclear safety requirements such as high reliability, independence of divisions, operability and maintainability. (2 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.)

  15. Hotels Make Room for Fitness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koszuta, Laurie Einstein

    1986-01-01

    Hotels, in hopes of gaining a competitive edge, are offering workout rooms, exercise equipment, fitness trails, and jogging tracks, but no standards have been set for safety of the facilities or staff preparedness in exercise screening, equipment use, injury prevention, or first aid. (MT)

  16. An analysis of safety control effectiveness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Son, K.S.; Melchers, R.E.; Kal, W.M.

    2000-01-01

    The cost of injuries and 'accidents' to an organisation is very important in establishing how much it should spend on safety control. Despite the usefulness of information about the cost of a company's accidents, it is not customary accounting practice to make these data available. Of the two kinds of costs incurred by a company through occupational injuries and accidents, direct costs and indirect costs; the direct costs are much easier to estimate. However, the uninsured costs are usually more critical and should be estimated by each company. The authors investigate a general model to estimate the above costs and hence to establish efficient safety control. One construction company has been a pilot for this study. By analysing actual company data for three years, it is found that the efficient safety control cost should be 1.2-1.3% of total contract costs

  17. Safety climate and self-reported injury: assessing the mediating role of employee safety control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yueng-Hsiang; Ho, Michael; Smith, Gordon S; Chen, Peter Y

    2006-05-01

    To further reduce injuries in the workplace, companies have begun focusing on organizational factors which may contribute to workplace safety. Safety climate is an organizational factor commonly cited as a predictor of injury occurrence. Characterized by the shared perceptions of employees, safety climate can be viewed as a snapshot of the prevailing state of safety in the organization at a discrete point in time. However, few studies have elaborated plausible mechanisms through which safety climate likely influences injury occurrence. A mediating model is proposed to link safety climate (i.e., management commitment to safety, return-to-work policies, post-injury administration, and safety training) with self-reported injury through employees' perceived control on safety. Factorial evidence substantiated that management commitment to safety, return-to-work policies, post-injury administration, and safety training are important dimensions of safety climate. In addition, the data support that safety climate is a critical factor predicting the history of a self-reported occupational injury, and that employee safety control mediates the relationship between safety climate and occupational injury. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating organizational factors and workers' characteristics in efforts to improve organizational safety performance.

  18. Dose assessment method for control room habitability in accident condition in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Dong; Tang Shaohua; Wang Jianhua

    2012-01-01

    Based on the NRC. technical requirements on NPP control room habitability assessment, and considering the characteristics of the improved second generation NPPs in China, this paper developed a complete dose assessment model for control room habitability. Contrasting to the existing model in China, this model is applicable for DBA and sever accident, and the short term atmospheric diffusion factor can be calculated using the combined wake mode. By considering the zoning of habitable area and the design characteristics of the ventilation system, the effects of un-filtrated air leakage from the building and the ventilation system on the assessment calculation can be considered. (authors)

  19. Safety-related control air systems - approved 1977

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1978-01-01

    This standard applies to those portions of the control air system that furnish air required to support, control, or operate systems or portions of systems that are safety related in nuclear power plants. This standard relates only to the air supply system(s) for safety-related air operated devices and does not apply to the safety-related air operated device or to air operated actuators for such devices. The objectives of this standard are to provide (1) minimum system design requirements for equipment, piping, instruments, controls, and wiring that constitute the air supply system; and (2) the system and component testing and maintenance requirements

  20. Radiological safety system based on real-time tritium-in-air monitoring in room and effluents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bidica, N.; Sofalca, N.; Balteanu, O.; Stefan, I. [National Institute of Cryogenics and Isotopes Technologies, Ramnicu Valcea (Romania)

    2006-07-01

    The conceptual design of the radiological safety system based on real time-in-air monitoring in room and effluents is intended to provide the maximum achievable safety level, basing no the ALARA concept. the capabilities of this system are not only to inform any time personnel about tritium in air concentration level, but it will be able to: initiate the shut down procedure and drain off the plant, as well to start the Air cleaning System when the tritium-in-air concentration exceed pre-established threshold; estimate tritium effective dose rate before starting an activity into the monitored area, or during this activity, or soon as the activity was finished; estimate tritium effective dose and instantly record and update individual effective doses, using a special computer application called 'dose record'; lock access into the radiological area for individuals when tritium dose rate in the monitoring area will exceed the pre-established thresholds, or when any individual dose data provided by 'dose records' application ask for, or for other protection consideration; calculate the total tritium activity released to the environment (per day, week, or month). (N.C.)

  1. Radiological safety system based on real-time tritium-in-air monitoring in room and effluents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bidica, N.; Sofalca, N.; Balteanu, O.; Stefan, I.

    2006-01-01

    The conceptual design of the radiological safety system based on real time-in-air monitoring in room and effluents is intended to provide the maximum achievable safety level, basing no the ALARA concept. the capabilities of this system are not only to inform any time personnel about tritium in air concentration level, but it will be able to: initiate the shut down procedure and drain off the plant, as well to start the Air cleaning System when the tritium-in-air concentration exceed pre-established threshold; estimate tritium effective dose rate before starting an activity into the monitored area, or during this activity, or soon as the activity was finished; estimate tritium effective dose and instantly record and update individual effective doses, using a special computer application called 'dose record'; lock access into the radiological area for individuals when tritium dose rate in the monitoring area will exceed the pre-established thresholds, or when any individual dose data provided by 'dose records' application ask for, or for other protection consideration; calculate the total tritium activity released to the environment (per day, week, or month). (N.C.)

  2. Proceedings of the International Atomic Energy Agency specialists' meeting on advanced information methods and artificial intelligence in nuclear power plant control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-01-01

    The main objective of the meeting is to provide a forum for exchange of information among the participating experts both at this meeting and later through the publication of the meeting's proceedings. The following topics are considered: experiences from use of information technology in the control room, including operator interfaces, operator support systems and complete control rooms; human aspects of introducing information technology in the control room; design and evaluation of advanced control rooms. 26 papers were presented at the meeting. A separate abstract was prepared for each of these papers. Refs, figs and tabs

  3. Study of the thermal comfort, of the energy consumption and of the indoor environment control in surgery rooms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Melhado, M.D.A.; Beyer, P.O.; Hensen, J.L.M.; Siqueira, L.F.G.

    2005-01-01

    In this research were investigated the influence of different layouts of operating rooms on thermal comfort, on the indoor environment control and on energy consumption. The layouts studied were: Case 1 (a surgery room and a hallway); Case 2 (a surgery room and two hallways); and Case 3 (a surgery

  4. System architecture of Detector Control and safety for the ATLAS Inner Detector Upgrade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferrere, D.; Kersten, S.

    2011-01-01

    In the current ATLAS Upgrade plan a new Inner Detector (ID) based upon silicon sensor technology is being considered. The operational monitoring and control of the ID will be very demanding. The Detector Control System (DCS) is a common tool that is essential for the operational safety of a system. Even at this early stage the DCS system architecture has to be defined such that it is well integrated and optimized for its later implementation and use. For example the DCS diagnostics for the front-end (FE) chips is a serious option being considered that needs an early requirement and specification definition. In addition one of the main constraints is the service reuse between the service patch panels of the ATLAS ID and the counting room that limits the number of electrical lines to be reused. Conceptual differences in terms of readout architecture and layout have been identified between the strip and the pixel detector that lead to two distinct architectures. Nevertheless, the limitation of available electrical lines going to the counting room as well as the low material budget requirements inside the ID volume are two major constraints that lead the ID to consider an on-detector radiation hard integrated circuitry for the slow control. At this stage of the project, the definitions of the logical actions and protocol for the ADCs of such a chip are still being specified. In addition the experience gained from the current ID will be essential for the guidance of tuning the future DCS architecture in the coming years.

  5. Evaluation on the habitability of a reactor control room for a 1300 MWe PWR following a LOCA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Si Young; Ha, Chung Woo

    1988-01-01

    An evaluation on the habitability of a reactor control room for a French 1300 MWe P'4 type PWR following a LOCA has been performed through exposure dose assessment for a reactor operator. A computer code COREX calculating the time-integrated exposure dose has been developed to provide a reasonable basis in this evaluation. Using COREX the exposure dose reduction factors in the reactor control room, the time--integrated radioactivities released into the atmosphere and the time-integrated exposure dose up to 30 days following the LOCA can be also calculated. From the exposure dose assessment, the time-integrated exposure dose to whole body and thyroid of a reactor operator were 0.36 mSv(0.036 rem) and 480 mSv(48.0 rem), respectively after 30 days following the LOCA. The thyroid dose of 480 mSv was nearly 10 times greater than the dose equivalent limit of 50 mSv(5.0 rem) set by the ICRP. Regarding the habitability of a reactor control room, this exceeding thyroid exposure dose could be reduced to 1.2 mSv(0.12 rem), which is 400 times less than the original, by considering the practical 4 work-shifts a day, and by improving the iodine removal efficiency of the filtration system n the reactor control room through the reinforcement of charcoal bed filters for iodine removal. The radiological habitability of a reactor control room, therefore, could be assured by comparing with the dose equivalent limit of the ICRP

  6. The gas grid control room, provider of external and internal services; Die Gasnetzleitwarte. Ein Dienstleister nach innen und aussen?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brychcy, Andreas [NBB Netzgesellschaft Berlin-Brandenburg mbH und Co. KG, Berlin (Germany)

    2010-05-15

    The main task of the control room is the maintenance and extension of competence in a dynamically developing market environment. Grid control rooms must be able to react flexibly to changes in the market and accompany them in an active manner. (orig.)

  7. The collaborative tokamak control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schissel, D.P.

    2006-01-01

    Magnetic fusion experiments keep growing in size and complexity resulting in a concurrent growth in collaborations between experimental sites and laboratories worldwide. In the US, the National Fusion Collaboratory Project is developing a persistent infrastructure to enable scientific collaboration for all aspects of magnetic fusion energy research by creating a robust, user-friendly collaborative environment and deploying this to the more than 1000 US fusion scientists in 40 institutions who perform magnetic fusion research. This paper reports on one aspect of the project which is the development of the collaborative tokamak control room to enhance both collocated and remote scientific participation in experimental operations. This work includes secured computational services that can be scheduled as required, the ability to rapidly compare experimental data with simulation results, a means to easily share individual results with the group by moving application windows to a shared display, and the ability for remote scientists to be fully engaged in experimental operations through shared audio, video, and applications. The project is funded by the USDOE Office of Science, Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) Program and unites fusion and computer science researchers to directly address these challenges

  8. Safety Evaluation Approach with Security Controls for Safety I and C Systems on Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, D. H.; Jeong, S. Y.; Kim, Y. M.; Park, H. S.; Lee, M. S.; Kim, T. H.

    2016-01-01

    This paper addresses concepts of safety and security and relations between them for assessing effects of security features in safety systems. Also, evaluation approach for avoiding confliction with safety requirements and cyber security features which may be adopted in safety-related digital I and C system will be described. In this paper, safety-security life cycle model based confliction avoidance method was proposed to evaluate the effects when the cyber security control features are implemented in the safety I and C system. Also, safety effect evaluation results using the proposed evaluation method were described. In case of technical security controls, many of them are expected to conflict with safety requirements, otherwise operational and managerial controls are not relatively. Safety measures and cyber security measures for nuclear power plants should be implemented not to conflict with one another. Where safety function and security features are both required within the systems, and also where security features are implemented within safety systems, they should be justified

  9. Safety Evaluation Approach with Security Controls for Safety I and C Systems on Nuclear Power Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, D. H.; Jeong, S. Y.; Kim, Y. M.; Park, H. S. [KINS, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, M. S.; Kim, T. H. [Formal Works Inc., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    This paper addresses concepts of safety and security and relations between them for assessing effects of security features in safety systems. Also, evaluation approach for avoiding confliction with safety requirements and cyber security features which may be adopted in safety-related digital I and C system will be described. In this paper, safety-security life cycle model based confliction avoidance method was proposed to evaluate the effects when the cyber security control features are implemented in the safety I and C system. Also, safety effect evaluation results using the proposed evaluation method were described. In case of technical security controls, many of them are expected to conflict with safety requirements, otherwise operational and managerial controls are not relatively. Safety measures and cyber security measures for nuclear power plants should be implemented not to conflict with one another. Where safety function and security features are both required within the systems, and also where security features are implemented within safety systems, they should be justified.

  10. 'Defense-in-Depth' Laser Safety and the National Ignition Facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    King, J.J.

    2010-01-01

    The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the largest and most energetic laser in the world contained in a complex the size of a football stadium. From the initial laser pulse, provided by telecommunication style infrared nanoJoule pulsed lasers, to the final 192 laser beams (1.8 Mega Joules total energy in the ultraviolet) converging on a target the size of a pencil eraser, laser safety is of paramount concern. In addition to this, there are numerous high-powered (Class 3B and 4) diagnostic lasers in use that can potentially send their laser radiation travelling throughout the facility. With individual beam paths of up to 1500 meters and a workforce of more than one thousand, the potential for exposure is significant. Simple laser safety practices utilized in typical laser labs just don't apply. To mitigate these hazards, NIF incorporates a multi layered approach to laser safety or 'Defense in Depth.' Most typical high-powered laser operations are contained and controlled within a single room using relatively simplistic controls to protect both the worker and the public. Laser workers are trained, use a standard operating procedure, and are required to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as Laser Protective Eyewear (LPE) if the system is not fully enclosed. Non-workers are protected by means of posting the room with a warning sign and a flashing light. In the best of cases, a Safety Interlock System (SIS) will be employed which will 'safe' the laser in the case of unauthorized access. This type of laser operation is relatively easy to employ and manage. As the operation becomes more complex, higher levels of control are required to ensure personnel safety. Examples requiring enhanced controls are outdoor and multi-room laser operations. At the NIF there are 192 beam lines and numerous other Class 4 diagnostic lasers that can potentially deliver their hazardous energy to locations far from the laser source. This presents a serious and complex potential

  11. Modeling Human Error Mechanism for Soft Control in Advanced Control Rooms (ACRs)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aljneibi, Hanan Salah Ali [Khalifa Univ., Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates); Ha, Jun Su; Kang, Seongkeun; Seong, Poong Hyun [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-10-15

    To achieve the switch from conventional analog-based design to digital design in ACRs, a large number of manual operating controls and switches have to be replaced by a few common multi-function devices which is called soft control system. The soft controls in APR-1400 ACRs are classified into safety-grade and non-safety-grade soft controls; each was designed using different and independent input devices in ACRs. The operations using soft controls require operators to perform new tasks which were not necessary in conventional controls such as navigating computerized displays to monitor plant information and control devices. These kinds of computerized displays and soft controls may make operations more convenient but they might cause new types of human error. In this study the human error mechanism during the soft controls is studied and modeled to be used for analysis and enhancement of human performance (or human errors) during NPP operation. The developed model would contribute to a lot of applications to improve human performance (or reduce human errors), HMI designs, and operators' training program in ACRs. The developed model of human error mechanism for the soft control is based on assumptions that a human operator has certain amount of capacity in cognitive resources and if resources required by operating tasks are greater than resources invested by the operator, human error (or poor human performance) is likely to occur (especially in 'slip'); good HMI (Human-machine Interface) design decreases the required resources; operator's skillfulness decreases the required resources; and high vigilance increases the invested resources. In this study the human error mechanism during the soft controls is studied and modeled to be used for analysis and enhancement of human performance (or reduction of human errors) during NPP operation.

  12. Modeling Human Error Mechanism for Soft Control in Advanced Control Rooms (ACRs)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aljneibi, Hanan Salah Ali; Ha, Jun Su; Kang, Seongkeun; Seong, Poong Hyun

    2015-01-01

    To achieve the switch from conventional analog-based design to digital design in ACRs, a large number of manual operating controls and switches have to be replaced by a few common multi-function devices which is called soft control system. The soft controls in APR-1400 ACRs are classified into safety-grade and non-safety-grade soft controls; each was designed using different and independent input devices in ACRs. The operations using soft controls require operators to perform new tasks which were not necessary in conventional controls such as navigating computerized displays to monitor plant information and control devices. These kinds of computerized displays and soft controls may make operations more convenient but they might cause new types of human error. In this study the human error mechanism during the soft controls is studied and modeled to be used for analysis and enhancement of human performance (or human errors) during NPP operation. The developed model would contribute to a lot of applications to improve human performance (or reduce human errors), HMI designs, and operators' training program in ACRs. The developed model of human error mechanism for the soft control is based on assumptions that a human operator has certain amount of capacity in cognitive resources and if resources required by operating tasks are greater than resources invested by the operator, human error (or poor human performance) is likely to occur (especially in 'slip'); good HMI (Human-machine Interface) design decreases the required resources; operator's skillfulness decreases the required resources; and high vigilance increases the invested resources. In this study the human error mechanism during the soft controls is studied and modeled to be used for analysis and enhancement of human performance (or reduction of human errors) during NPP operation

  13. Active low frequency sound field control in a listening room using CABS (Controlled Acoustic Bass System) will also reduce the sound transmitted to neighbour rooms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Sofus Birkedal; Celestinos, Adrian

    2012-01-01

    Sound in rooms and transmission of sound between rooms gives the biggest problems at low frequencies. Rooms with rectangular boundaries have strong resonance frequencies and will give big spatial variations in sound pressure level (SPL) in the source room, and an increase in SPL of 20 dB at a wall...... Bass System) is a time based room correction system for reproduced sound using loudspeakers. The system can remove room modes at low frequencies, by active cancelling the reflection from at the rear wall to a normal stereo setup. Measurements in a source room using CABS and in two neighbour rooms have...... shown a reduction in sound transmission of up to 10 dB at resonance frequencies and a reduction at broadband noise of 3 – 5 dB at frequencies up to 100 Hz. The ideas and understanding of the CABS system will also be given....

  14. Operating room teamwork among physicians and nurses: teamwork in the eye of the beholder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makary, Martin A; Sexton, J Bryan; Freischlag, Julie A; Holzmueller, Christine G; Millman, E Anne; Rowen, Lisa; Pronovost, Peter J

    2006-05-01

    Teamwork is an important component of patient safety. In fact, communication errors are the most common cause of sentinel events and wrong-site operations in the US. Although efforts to improve patient safety through improving teamwork are growing, there is no validated tool to scientifically measure teamwork in the surgical setting. Operating room personnel in 60 hospitals were surveyed using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire. Surgeons, anesthesiologists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and operating room nurses rated their own peers and each other using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = very low, 5 = very high). Overall response rate was 77.1% (2,135 of 2,769). Ratings of teamwork differed substantially by operating room caregiver type, with the greatest differences in ratings shown by physicians: surgeons (F[4, 2058] = 41.73, p teamwork exist in the operating room, with physicians rating the teamwork of others as good, but at the same time, nurses perceive teamwork as mediocre. Given the importance of communication and collaboration in patient safety, health care organizations should measure teamwork using a scientifically valid method. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire can be used to measure teamwork, identify disconnects between or within disciplines, and evaluate interventions aimed at improving patient safety.

  15. Virtual reality verification of workplace design guidelines for the process plant control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Droeivoldsmo, Asgeir; Nystad, Espen; Helgar, Stein

    2001-02-01

    Early identification of potential human factors guideline-violations and corrective input into the design process is desired for efficient and cost-effective control room design. Virtual reality (VR) technology makes it possible to perform evaluation of the design of the control room at an early stage of the design process, but can we trust the results from such evaluations? This paper describes an experimental validation of a VR model against the real world in five different guideline verification tasks. Results indicate that guideline verification in the VR model can be done with satisfactory accuracy for a number of evaluations. However, some guideline categories require further development of measurement tools and use of a model with higher resolution than the model used in this study. (Author). 30 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

  16. Technical safety requirements control level verification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    STEWART, J.L.

    1999-01-01

    A Technical Safety Requirement (TSR) control level verification process was developed for the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) TSRs at the Hanford Site in Richland, WA, at the direction of the US. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (RL). The objective of the effort was to develop a process to ensure that the TWRS TSR controls are designated and managed at the appropriate levels as Safety Limits (SLs), Limiting Control Settings (LCSs), Limiting Conditions for Operation (LCOs), Administrative Controls (ACs), or Design Features. The TSR control level verification process was developed and implemented by a team of contractor personnel with the participation of Fluor Daniel Hanford, Inc. (FDH), the Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC) integrating contractor, and RL representatives. The team was composed of individuals with the following experience base: nuclear safety analysis; licensing; nuclear industry and DOE-complex TSR preparation/review experience; tank farm operations; FDH policy and compliance; and RL-TWRS oversight. Each TSR control level designation was completed utilizing TSR control logic diagrams and TSR criteria checklists based on DOE Orders, Standards, Contractor TSR policy, and other guidance. The control logic diagrams and criteria checklists were reviewed and modified by team members during team meetings. The TSR control level verification process was used to systematically evaluate 12 LCOs, 22 AC programs, and approximately 100 program key elements identified in the TWRS TSR document. The verification of each TSR control required a team consensus. Based on the results of the process, refinements were identified and the TWRS TSRs were modified as appropriate. A final report documenting key assumptions and the control level designation for each TSR control was prepared and is maintained on file for future reference. The results of the process were used as a reference in the RL review of the final TWRS TSRs and control suite. RL

  17. The development of a model of control room operator cognition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harrison, C. Felicity

    1998-01-01

    The nuclear generation station CRO is one of the main contributors to plant performance and safety. In the past, studies of operator behaviour have been made under emergency or abnormal situations, with little consideration being given to the more routine aspects of plant operation. One of the tasks of the operator is to detect the early signs of a problem, and to take steps to prevent a transition to an abnormal plant state. In order to do this CRO must determine that plant indications are no longer in the normal range, and take action to prevent a further move away from normal. This task is made more difficult by the extreme complexity of the control room, and by the may hindrances that the operator must face. It would therefore be of great benefit to understand CRO cognitive performance, especially under normal operating conditions. Through research carried out at several Canadian nuclear facilities we were able to develop a deeper understanding of CRO monitoring of highly automated systems during normal operations, and specifically to investigate the contributions of cognitive skills to monitoring performance. The consultants were asked to develop a deeper understanding of CRO monitoring during normal operations, and specifically to investigate the contributions of cognitive skills to monitoring performance. The overall objective of this research was to develop and validate a model of CRO monitoring. The findings of this research have practical implications for systems integration, training, and interface design. The result of this work was a model of operator monitoring activities. (author)

  18. Large screen mimic display design research for advanced main control room in nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng Mingguang; Yang Yanhua; Xu Jijun; Zhang Qinshun; Ning Zhonghe

    2002-01-01

    Firstly the evolution of mimic diagrams or displays used in the main control room of nuclear power plant was introduced. The active functions of mimic diagrams were analyzed on the release of operator psychological burden and pressure, the assistance of operator for the information searching, status understanding, manual actuation, correct decision making as well as the safe and reliable operation of the nuclear power plant. The importance and necessity to use the (large screen) mimic diagrams in advanced main control room of nuclear power plant, the design principle, design details and verification measures of large screen mimic display are also described

  19. Problems related to design and construction of industrial radiography exposure room - an experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siti Madiha Muhammad Amir; Mohd Khairi Mohd Said; Abdul Nassir Ibrahim; Ab Razak Hamzah

    2009-01-01

    In Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), especially in radiography method, inspections of components are executed either on-site or in-house. For in-house inspections, work must be performed in a specially constructed exposure room. The design of the exposure room must be according to specific requirements described in various documents related to radiation safety. Stringent requirements specified for the exposure room is for the purpose of ensuring the safety of public and radiation workers. These requirements are never compromised. One of the AELB requirements that need to be complied is that the permissible dose limit anywhere outside the room must be less than 0.25 mR/hr. In designing and constructing the exposure room, many factors must be taken into account such as shielding thickness, density of shielding, thickness of lead door, the roof design of the exposure room and many more. This paper highlights problems encountered and the considerations taken to design and construct the exposure room so that the exposure room will comply with the permissible dose limit set by the regulatory body. (Author)

  20. Tritium Room Air Monitor Operating Experience Review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    L. C. Cadwallader; B. J. Denny

    2008-09-01

    Monitoring the breathing air in tritium facility rooms for airborne tritium is a radiological safety requirement and a best practice for personnel safety. Besides audible alarms for room evacuation, these monitors often send signals for process shutdown, ventilation isolation, and cleanup system actuation to mitigate releases and prevent tritium spread to the environment. Therefore, these monitors are important not only to personnel safety but also to public safety and environmental protection. This paper presents an operating experience review of tritium monitor performance on demand during small (1 mCi to 1 Ci) operational releases, and intentional airborne inroom tritium release tests. The tritium tests provide monitor operation data to allow calculation of a statistical estimate for the reliability of monitors annunciating in actual tritium gas airborne release situations. The data show a failure to operate rate of 3.5E-06/monitor-hr with an upper bound of 4.7E-06, a failure to alarm on demand rate of 1.4E-02/demand with an upper bound of 4.4E-02, and a spurious alarm rate of 0.1 to 0.2/monitor-yr.

  1. Digitized operator evaluation system for main control room of nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Yu; Yan Shengyuan; Chen Wenlong

    2014-01-01

    In order to evaluate the human-machine system matching relation of main control room in nuclear power plant accurately and efficiently, the expression and parameters of operator human body model were analyzed, and the evaluation required function of digital operator was determined. Based on the secondary development technology, the digital operator evaluation body model was developed. It could choose generation, gender, operation posture, single/eyes horizon, and left/right hand up to the domain according to the needs of specific evaluation, it was used to evaluate whether display information can be visible and equipment can be touch, and it also has key evaluation functions such as workspace and character visibility at the same time. The examples show that this method can complete the evaluation work of human-machine matching relation for main control room of nuclear power plant accurately, efficiently and quickly, and achieve the most optimal human-machine coordination relationship. (authors)

  2. Data collection on the unit control room simulator as a method of operator reliability analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holy, J.

    1998-01-01

    The report consists of the following chapters: (1) Probabilistic assessment of nuclear power plant operation safety and human factor reliability analysis; (2) Simulators and simulations as human reliability analysis tools; (3) DOE project for using the collection and analysis of data from the unit control room simulator in human factor reliability analysis at the Paks nuclear power plant; (4) General requirements for the organization of the simulator data collection project; (5) Full-scale simulator at the Nuclear Power Plants Research Institute in Trnava, Slovakia, used as a training means for operators of the Dukovany NPP; (6) Assessment of the feasibility of quantification of important human actions modelled within a PSA study by employing simulator data analysis; (7) Assessment of the feasibility of using the various exercise topics for the quantification of the PSA model; (8) Assessment of the feasibility of employing the simulator in the analysis of the individual factors affecting the operator's activity; and (9) Examples of application of statistical methods in the analysis of the human reliability factor. (P.A.)

  3. Numerical simulation of manual operation at MID stand control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doca, C.; Dobre, A.; Predescu, D.; Mielcioiu, A.

    2003-01-01

    Since 2000 at INR Pitesti a package of software products devoted to numerical simulation of manual operations at fueling machine control room was developed. So far, specified, designed, worked out and implemented was the PUPITRU code. The following issues were solved: graphical aspects of specific computer - human operator interface; functional and graphical simulation of the whole associated equipment of the control desk components; implementation of the main notation as used in the automated schemes of the control desk in view of the fast identification of the switches, lamps, instrumentation, etc.; implementation within PUPITRU code of the entire data base used in the frame of MID tests; implementation of a number of about 1000 numerical simulation equations describing specific operational MID testing situations

  4. The design and operation of the THORP central control room: a human factors perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reed, Julie.

    1996-01-01

    The new Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) at British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) Sellafield Site is now operational. This paper describes the Central Control Room (CCR), focusing on the control system components. Throughout the design, commissioning and operation of THORP, human factors played an important part. (author)

  5. FOCUS: the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists' initiative to improve quality and safety in the cardiovascular operating room.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbeito, Atilio; Lau, William Travis; Weitzel, Nathaen; Abernathy, James H; Wahr, Joyce; Mark, Jonathan B

    2014-10-01

    The Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA) introduced the FOCUS initiative (Flawless Operative Cardiovascular Unified Systems) in 2005 in response to the need for a rigorous scientific approach to improve quality and safety in the cardiovascular operating room (CVOR). The goal of the project, which is supported by the SCA Foundation, is to identify hazards and develop evidence-based protocols to improve cardiac surgery safety. A hazard is anything that has the potential to cause a preventable adverse event. Specifically, the strategic plan of FOCUS includes 3 goals: (1) identifying hazards in the CVOR, (2) prioritizing hazards and developing risk-reduction interventions, and (3) disseminating these interventions. Collectively, the FOCUS initiative, through the work of several groups composed of members from different disciplines such as clinical medicine, human factors engineering, industrial psychology, and organizational sociology, has identified and documented significant hazards occurring daily in our CVORs. Some examples of frequent occurrences that contribute to reduce the safety and quality of care provided to cardiac surgery patients include deficiencies in teamwork, poor OR design, incompatible technologies, and failure to adhere to best practices. Several projects are currently under way that are aimed at better understanding these hazards and developing interventions to mitigate them. The SCA, through the FOCUS initiative, has begun this journey of science-driven improvement in quality and safety. There is a long and arduous road ahead, but one we need to continue to travel.

  6. Segmentation Scheme for Safety Enhancement of Engineered Safety Features Component Control System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Sangseok; Sohn, Kwangyoung; Lee, Junku; Park, Geunok

    2013-01-01

    Common Caused Failure (CCF) or undetectable failure would adversely impact safety functions of ESF-CCS in the existing nuclear power plants. We propose the segmentation scheme to solve these problems. Main function assignment to segments in the proposed segmentation scheme is based on functional dependency and critical function success path by using the dependency depth matrix. The segment has functional independence and physical isolation. The segmentation structure is that prohibit failure propagation to others from undetectable failures. Therefore, the segmentation system structure has robustness to undetectable failures. The segmentation system structure has functional diversity. The specific function in the segment defected by CCF, the specific function could be maintained by diverse control function that assigned to other segments. Device level control signals and system level control signals are separated and also control signal and status signals are separated due to signal transmission paths are allocated independently based on signal type. In this kind of design, single device failure or failures on signal path in the channel couldn't result in the loss of all segmented functions simultaneously. Thus the proposed segmentation function is the design scheme that improves availability of safety functions. In conventional ESF-CCS, the single controller generates the signal to control the multiple safety functions, and the reliability is achieved by multiplication within the channel. This design has a drawback causing the loss of multiple functions due to the CCF (Common Cause Failure) and single failure Heterogeneous controller guarantees the diversity ensuring the execution of safety functions against the CCF and single failure, but requiring a lot of resources like manpower and cost. The segmentation technology based on the compartmentalization and functional diversification decreases the CCF and single failure nonetheless the identical types of controllers

  7. Segmentation Scheme for Safety Enhancement of Engineered Safety Features Component Control System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Sangseok; Sohn, Kwangyoung [Korea Reliability Technology and System, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Junku; Park, Geunok [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-05-15

    Common Caused Failure (CCF) or undetectable failure would adversely impact safety functions of ESF-CCS in the existing nuclear power plants. We propose the segmentation scheme to solve these problems. Main function assignment to segments in the proposed segmentation scheme is based on functional dependency and critical function success path by using the dependency depth matrix. The segment has functional independence and physical isolation. The segmentation structure is that prohibit failure propagation to others from undetectable failures. Therefore, the segmentation system structure has robustness to undetectable failures. The segmentation system structure has functional diversity. The specific function in the segment defected by CCF, the specific function could be maintained by diverse control function that assigned to other segments. Device level control signals and system level control signals are separated and also control signal and status signals are separated due to signal transmission paths are allocated independently based on signal type. In this kind of design, single device failure or failures on signal path in the channel couldn't result in the loss of all segmented functions simultaneously. Thus the proposed segmentation function is the design scheme that improves availability of safety functions. In conventional ESF-CCS, the single controller generates the signal to control the multiple safety functions, and the reliability is achieved by multiplication within the channel. This design has a drawback causing the loss of multiple functions due to the CCF (Common Cause Failure) and single failure Heterogeneous controller guarantees the diversity ensuring the execution of safety functions against the CCF and single failure, but requiring a lot of resources like manpower and cost. The segmentation technology based on the compartmentalization and functional diversification decreases the CCF and single failure nonetheless the identical types of

  8. Safety Management System in Croatia Control Ltd.

    OpenAIRE

    Pavlin, Stanislav; Sorić, Vedran; Bilać, Dragan; Dimnik, Igor; Galić, Daniel

    2009-01-01

    International Civil Aviation Organization and other international aviation organizations regulate the safety in civil aviation. In the recent years the International Civil Aviation Organization has introduced the concept of the safety management system through several documents among which the most important is the 2006 Safety Management Manual. It treats the safety management system in all the segments of civil aviation, from carriers, aerodromes and air traffic control to design, constructi...

  9. 46 CFR 61.30-20 - Automatic control and safety tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Automatic control and safety tests. 61.30-20 Section 61... TESTS AND INSPECTIONS Tests and Inspections of Fired Thermal Fluid Heaters § 61.30-20 Automatic control and safety tests. Operational tests and checks of all safety and limit controls, combustion controls...

  10. Evaluation of new control rooms by operator performance analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mori, M; Tomizawa, T.; Tai, I.; Monta, K.; Yoshimura, S.; Hattori, Y.

    1987-01-01

    An advanced supervisory and control system called PODIA TM (Plant Operation by Displayed Information and Automation) was developed by Toshiba. Since this system utilizes computer driven CRTs as a main device for information transfer to operators, thorough system integration tests were performed at the factory and evaluations were made of operators' assessment from the initial experience of the system. The PODIA system is currently installed at two BWR power plants. Based on the experiences from the development of PODIA, a more advanced man-machine interface, Advanced-PODIA (A-PODIA), is developed. A-PODIA enhances the capabilities of PODIA in automation, diagnosis, operational guidance and information display. A-PODIA has been validated by carrying out systematic experiments with a full-scope simulator developed for the validation. The results of the experiments have been analyzed by the method of operator performance analysis and applied to further improvement of the A-PODIA system. As a feedback from actual operational experience, operator performance data in simulator training is an important source of information to evaluate human factors of a control room. To facilitate analysis of operator performance, a performance evaluation system has been developed by applying AI techniques. The knowledge contained in the performance evaluation system was elicited from operator training experts and represented as rules. The rules were implemented by employing an object-oriented paradigm to facilitate knowledge management. In conclusion, it is stated that the feedback from new control room operation can be obtained at an early stage by validation tests and also continuously by comprehensive evaluation (with the help of automated tools) of operator performance in simulator training. The results of operator performance analysis can be utilized for improvement of system design as well as operator training. (author)

  11. Safety precautions in atomic pile control (1962)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Furet, J.

    1962-01-01

    We have been led to study the problem of safety in atomic pile control as a result of our participation on the one hand in the planning of C.E.A. atomic piles, and on the other hand in the pile safety sub omission considering atomic pile safety of operational or planned C.E.A. piles. We have thus had to consider the wishes occurring in piles during their operation and also their behaviour in the dynamic state The present work deals mainly with the importance of intrinsic safety devices, with the influence of reactivity variations on the power fluctuations during accidental operation, and with the development of robust and reliable safety appliances. The starting p accident has been especially studied both for low-flux piles where a compromise is necessary between the response time of the safety appliances and the statistical fluctuations and for high lux piles where xenon poisoning has an effect on the lower limit of the velocity of reactivity liberation. The desirability has been stressed of automation as a safety factor in atomic pile control. The details required for an understanding of the diagrams of the apparatus are given. (author) [fr

  12. Design and modernization of the control room with of the new digital I and C systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez, L. A.; Ortega, F.; Rejas, L.

    2011-01-01

    The use of the new digital I and c systems in the design of the new nuclear power plants, as well as the modernization of the existing ones, implies relevant changes in the control room design. New I and C systems provide new features that affect the control room operating concept, therefore a detailed analysis is required to take into consideration all the operating and human factor aspects. based on Tecnatom's experience, this article presents the methodological approach used as well as the most relevant aspects of this kind of project. (Author)

  13. The Prevessin Control Room during LEP's start up in 1989.

    CERN Multimedia

    1989-01-01

    The Prévessin Control Room saw its first momentous event when the 400 GeV beam for the SPS was commissioned in the presence of Project Leader John Adams. It was also here that the first proton-antiproton collisions were observed, in 1981. Eight years later, in 1989, operators and directors alike jumped for joy at the announcement of the first electron-positron collisions at the start up of LEP, the biggest accelerator in the world.

  14. Fires in rooms containing electrical components - incident planning, fire fighting tactics, risks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Magnusson, Tommy; Ottosson, Jan; Lindskog, BertiI; Soederquist Bende, Evy; Eriksson, Fredrik; Haffling, Stefan

    2006-12-01

    On July 1, 2005 a fire occurred within an electrical switch room at Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant. At the evaluation of the incident it was identified that the pre-fire plans did not give sufficient information in order to make the appropriate decisions. Questions raised based on the incident are how decisions are made and orders are delegated with respect to the incident command, which fire fighting tactic should be used, which types of extinguishing media should be used, what are the risks with respect to safety of staff and safety of the reactor. Lessons learned from the fire at Forsmark were that pre-incident planning was at hand but the information was not sufficient to make the correct initial decisions that might be critical for life and property. One of the most crucial ingredients in all safety related work is to utilize previous experience in order to maintain a high degree of safety. Lessons learnt are also the foundation on which the ability to construct or create strong barriers against a certain fault phenomena, fault mechanism or type of initial event. In the case of nuclear processes, fire is considered as an important and critical initial event which has to be recognized in a number of cases in order to maintain a safe process. The likelihood for a fire to represent an initial event should not be underestimated and can therefore not be neglected, probabilistically or deterministically, unless the inherent safety systems can not control the event in an acceptable manner. Regardless of safety measures and lessons learnt from previous experiences in the construction and the operation of the nuclear facility, fires can occur. Previous experiences point out that process system, e.g. systems that are part of the turbine, are more frequently subject to fire incidents compared to ordinary safety systems. Fires in electrical components, often electrical cabinets, can be difficult to handle and to extinguish quickly. This report presents the background work

  15. Cognitive allocation and the control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paradies, M.W.

    1985-01-01

    One of the weakest links in the design of nuclear power plants is the inattention to the needs and capabilities of the operators. This flaw causes decreased plant reliability and reduced plant safety. To solve this problem the designer must, in the earliest stages of the design process, consider the operator's abilities. After the system requirements have been established, the designer must consider what functions to allocate to each part of the system. The human must be considered as part of this system. The allocation of functions needs to consider not only the mechanical tasks to be performed, but also the control requirements and the overall control philosophy. In order for the designers to consider the control philosophy, they need to know what control decisions should be automated and what decisions should be made by an operator. They also need to know how these decisions will be implemented: by an operator or by automation. ''Cognitive Allocation'' is the allocation of the decision making process between operators and machines. It defines the operator's role in the system. When designing a power plant, a cognitive allocation starts the process of considering the operator's abilities. This is the first step to correcting the weakest link in the current plant design

  16. Revised accident source terms and control room habitability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lahti, G.P.; Hubner, R.S.; Johnson, W.J.; Schwartz, B.C.

    1993-01-01

    In April 1992, the NRC staff presented to the Commissioners the draft NUREG open-quotes Revised Accident Source Terms for Light-Water Nuclear Power Plants.close quotes This document is the culmination of more than ten years of NRC-sponsored research and represents the first change in the NRC's position on source terms since TID-14844 was issued in 1962. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the revised source terms on the current approach to analyzing control room habitability as required by 10 CFR 50. Sample calculations are presented that identify aspects of the model requiring clarification before the implementation of the revised source terms. 6 refs., 4 tabs

  17. Safety parameter display systems' effect on operator performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cerven, F.; Ford, R.E.; Blackman, H.S.

    1983-01-01

    Computer generated displays are a powerful and flexible tool for presenting data to the operators of nuclear power plants. Such displays are currently being developed in industry for use as safety parameter displays and for use in advanced control rooms. There exists a need for methods to objectively evaluate the effect of these displays, positive or negative, on the performance of control room personnel. Results of developing one such method, noninteractive simulation, and the two experiments that were performed to determine if it can be used as a method for evaluating computer displays are presented. This method is more objective and powerful than pencil and paper methods because it measures human performance rather than opinion or perference, has excellent control of the experimental variables, and has a higher fidelity to the control room environment. The results of these experiments indicates that the present methodology does not differentiate among the display types tested at a statistically significant level. In other words, all display types tested worked equally well in providing operators needed information

  18. Fire risk assessment for hydrogen at EDG/battery room

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jee, Moon Hak; Hong, Sung Yull; Choi, Kwang Hee; Jung, Hyun Jong; Park, Kyung Hyum [Korea electric Power Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Song, Jin Bae [KHNP, Wolsong (Korea, Republic of)

    2004-07-01

    At the design stage of Nuclear Power Plant, the fire hazard analysis for the fire zone or compartment is implemented according to the fire protection requirement and the document is required for the licensing approval. On the basis of fire hazard analysis, the evaluation for the safe shutdown capability is preceded for each fire zone that contains safety-important systems and facilities. The primary philosophy for the fire safety is to secure fire defense-in-depth at Nuclear Power Plants that represents fire prevention, fire protection, and mitigation from fire damage. One of the concerning fire zones that need quantitative fire hazard analysis as well as qualitative fire evaluation at Nuclear Power Plants is the battery room at Emergency Diesel Generator (EDG) Room. For an example, Emergency Power Supply System called as EPS at Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant generates emergency power and supply the electric power to the safety-related systems and essential facilities during the loss of on-site and off-site AC power. For the start of emergency power generator, it needs DC power from the battery units inside the EPS room. For the emergency supply of DC power, the battery at EPS room should be recharged during the standby period to compensate the reduced chemical energy that was converted to the electric energy or depleted through the natural process. During the recharge process, especially at the time of charging current becoming greater than the nominal floating current or at the time of over-charging period, the hydrogen and the oxygen are generated from the positive plate and cathodic part respectively and escaped through the vent holes or crevices. In this context, the fire hazard assessment should be done for the EPS/battery room with quantitative approach and the fire safety evaluation for the explosion of hydrogen gas must be done under the specific fire protection program at Nuclear Power Plants.

  19. Fire risk assessment for hydrogen at EDG/battery room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jee, Moon Hak; Hong, Sung Yull; Choi, Kwang Hee; Jung, Hyun Jong; Park, Kyung Hyum; Song, Jin Bae

    2004-01-01

    At the design stage of Nuclear Power Plant, the fire hazard analysis for the fire zone or compartment is implemented according to the fire protection requirement and the document is required for the licensing approval. On the basis of fire hazard analysis, the evaluation for the safe shutdown capability is preceded for each fire zone that contains safety-important systems and facilities. The primary philosophy for the fire safety is to secure fire defense-in-depth at Nuclear Power Plants that represents fire prevention, fire protection, and mitigation from fire damage. One of the concerning fire zones that need quantitative fire hazard analysis as well as qualitative fire evaluation at Nuclear Power Plants is the battery room at Emergency Diesel Generator (EDG) Room. For an example, Emergency Power Supply System called as EPS at Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant generates emergency power and supply the electric power to the safety-related systems and essential facilities during the loss of on-site and off-site AC power. For the start of emergency power generator, it needs DC power from the battery units inside the EPS room. For the emergency supply of DC power, the battery at EPS room should be recharged during the standby period to compensate the reduced chemical energy that was converted to the electric energy or depleted through the natural process. During the recharge process, especially at the time of charging current becoming greater than the nominal floating current or at the time of over-charging period, the hydrogen and the oxygen are generated from the positive plate and cathodic part respectively and escaped through the vent holes or crevices. In this context, the fire hazard assessment should be done for the EPS/battery room with quantitative approach and the fire safety evaluation for the explosion of hydrogen gas must be done under the specific fire protection program at Nuclear Power Plants

  20. Analysis results for the stereotypes regarding colors applied to the nuclear power plant control room

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Oh, In Seok; Lee, Yong Hee; Lee, Hyun Chul [KAERI, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Dhong Ha [Suwon Univ., Suwon (Korea, Republic of)

    2003-01-01

    The general public not engaged in the nuclear power plant industry have no idea of the color usage in the nuclear control room. So we converted the specific color usage situation into similar but general situations. In questionnaire, we gave subjects the general situation where color coding is applied and alternative colors which were applied to the HF010 guidelines. And we asked the subjects to choose the colors proper to the situation and to rank the colors according to the degree of suitability. Two hundred fifty college students participated in the experiment. The results suggest that we can use any color coding system in the conventional control room and the CRT in the control deck because most people have no special previous color-meaning association but red-emergency relation.