Human Performance Testing on Observation Capture Methods for International Nuclear Safeguards Inspections: Transferring Knowledge from the Field to Headquarters and Back

摘要

Knowledge transfer refers to the sharing of information or experience across teams or organizations. Within the field of cognitive science, knowledge transfer has been studied extensively in the contexts of long-term institutional knowledge preservation and short-term transfer of information between teams in shift work environments, where lapses in knowledge transfer can result in high-consequence accidents or errors. Both types of knowledge transfer are relevant to international nuclear safeguards, yet safeguards work also presents unique constraints that have not yet been studied. For example, studies of shift work examine real-time, face-to-face handoffs of information between individuals or teams. In the international nuclear safeguards domain, it can be days or weeks between the time an inspection team records their observations in the field and when they brief colleagues and management at headquarters, followed by additional weeks or months before that information is acted upon in the field. Further, while inspectors are restricted in the information that can leave a nuclear facility, they are generally permitted to take hand-written notes and, in some cases, can take (or request an operator to take on their behalf) digital photographs to be kept securely onsite or transferred back to headquarters. Some guidance is given to inspectors on how to record observations and utilize digital photography, but it is largely anecdotal. In response, the research team developed and conducted human performance studies in a safeguards-relevant environment to compare the efficacy of different mechanisms for recording observations in supporting the detection of different types of changes at a later time. In this paper we will describe our experimental design, results, and recommendations for additional research.