TEAM TRANSPARENCY IN COMPUTERISED NPP CONTROL ROOMS

摘要

One challenge with respect to increased computerization of NPP control rooms is the ability for the control room crewmembers to obtain overview of the activities performed by the individual operators. A study exploring team members' awareness of individual operator activities, that is, Team Transparency, in computer-based control rooms, was conducted in the HAlden Man Machine Laboratory (HAMMLAB). The purpose of the study was to i) obtain user input on a set of Team Transparency design initiatives; ii) obtain data on team communication, and iii) obtain data indicating potential impact on a set of performance dimensions. Six crews with licensed operators participated in four scenarios. Two different control room configurations were tested: the Team Transparency configuration was designed with the purpose of maximizing the transparency of operator activities, while the Baseline configuration did not include any Team Transparency initiatives. The main data collection techniques were interviews, a usability questionnaire and online scoring of communication. In addition, the operators and a process expert made supplementary quantitative ratings. The findings showed that the operators preferred the Team Transparency configuration. The usability ratings of the Team Transparency initiatives were generally high, but they were considered most beneficial for the shift supervisors. The communication analyses indicated that the crews generally communicated well, but the nature of communication was somewhat different in the two configurations. However, there were no significant differences in communication ratios and no significant performance differences between the Team Transparency configuration and the Baseline configuration.