Human performance in control rooms of nuclear power plants: A survey study

Abstract

Abstract Driven by the increasing demand for reliable and clean energy, the nuclear industry is booming worldwide three decades after the Three Mile Island accident. The transition of technology in nuclear power plants has raised many important human performance issues in every aspect of control systems. To obtain insights on how to meet the challenges imposed by new technologies, a survey was conducted to examine the causal factors of the human–system interface–related human errors in NPP plant control rooms. The survey results can help us identify error categories in terms of the interrelationships among the error causal factors. Moreover, an investigation of the error causal factors can enable us to better understand the nature of the errors and then propose effective corrective action guidelines to mitigate their consequences and enhance human reliability. A five‐factor structure was identified through an exploratory factor analysis: Invisibility of System Status, Incorrect System Interface Design, Insufficient Support for System Diagnosis and Decision Making, Misoperations, and Manual Actions. The five factors are discussed in the context of the decision–action model developed in this study to derive corrective actions for each type of potential human error. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.