THE AUTOMATION OF PEOPLE: CONTEXT MANAGEMENT IN THE NEXT GENERATION NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

摘要

The US Nuclear power industry is a rules-based organization relying heavily on procedures and checklists in order to accomplish tasks. This process has been developed due to a number of outside factors, and is a successful approach given the safety ratings of the industry as a whole. Is this the most efficient methodology though? Is there a better approach? This paper looks at the current use of automation, and context management in the future. This paper will address human-machine functional allocation under the context of the upgrade process of old technology to new technology and the development and integration within the Nuclear Domain, with a specific emphasis on automation of people through the use of procedures and human operator assistance. This presents many challenges, such as the lack of standardization, managing context, authority distribution, responsibility and accountability, static vs. dynamic allocation, and event-driven appropriate reactions vs. goal based relevant responses, electronic procedures or computer-based assistance systems in respect to the task direction in the control room. Through the use of questionnaires and on-site studies, we were able to make recommendations for future engineering. Also, the procedures in place can only address the specific contexts for which they were written. Situations such as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident are evidence that every context imaginable cannot be planned for, and thus problem-solving skills need to be developed through training in addition to procedures.