PSAM 16 Conference Paper Overview
Welcome to the PSAM 16 Conference paper and speaker overview page.
Lead Author: Claire Blackett Co-author(s): Maren H. Rø Eitrheim, maren.eitrheim@ife.no
Andreas Bye, andreas.bye@ife.no
| The Challenge of Assessing Human Performance and Human Reliability for First-of-a-Kind Technologies |
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| There is growing interest worldwide in the potential of advanced reactor technologies such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as a more competitive and efficient means of meeting future energy needs. SMRs represent a somewhat radical departure from the design of current nuclear power plants, with the promise of unique design attributes such as a smaller physical footprint, a smaller reactor core, simplification of the design, increased use of passive and/or inherent safety systems, and modular construction. Such attributes aim to minimize the potential for severe accidents to occur. The development of first-of-a-kind (FOAK) technologies such as SMRs inevitably invite consideration of the impact of such designs on how these plants will be operated, as compared to current generation plants. For example, the NuScale design proposes a plant of up to 12 reactor modules operated by a minimum shift crew of two senior reactor operators (SROs) and one reactor operator (RO), from a single control room. This is a significant change from current reactor designs that typically feature a minimum crew of three control room operators per reactor, with only one reactor per control room. What effects will this radical change in operating philosophy have on the conduct of operations in the control room, and on human performance and human reliability? Human performance and human reliability assessments for current generation plants rely on well-defined and well-documented scenarios within which potential human failure events can be modelled and evaluated, using operating experience as a valuable input to understand how operators typically respond when things go wrong. The challenge for FOAK designs is that there is no operating experience available yet to verify and validate predictive analyses of human performance and human reliability in these new operating situations. In 2018, the Halden Reactor Project (HRP) - now called the Halden Human Technology Organisation (HTO) project - initiated a research activity to understand and investigate the intended conduct of operations for SMR control rooms, and the subsequent effects these new ways of working may have on human performance. Previous experimental studies in the Halden Man-Machine Laboratory (HAMMLAB) have also yielded results that may be analogous to the potential human performance issues associated with the anticipated changes in operation of SMRs. In this paper, we will describe how the HRP/HTO project can contribute valuable knowledge to this new area which can be used to inform human performance and human reliability assessments in the absence of actual operating experience. |
Paper CL108 Preview
Author and Presentation Info
Lead Author Name: Claire Blackett (claire.blackett@ife.no)
Bio: Dr. Claire Blackett is a Senior Research Scientist in the department of Humans and Automation at the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) in Halden, Norway. Claire’s research interests include human-automation and human-robot interaction, human performance and reliability in technologically advanced environments, and the ethical use of artificial intelligence in society. Before moving to Norway, Claire worked for several years as a human factors specialist in the UK nuclear industry, providing human factors and human reliability analysis support to nuclear safety cases, as well as conducting human factors engineering assessments and providing input to event investigations at existing nuclear sites. She continues to work within the nuclear industry today, as well as the petroleum, maritime, rail, healthcare, and process industries. Claire has a background in root cause analysis and accident investigation methods, with a PhD in this topic from University College Dublin, Ireland.
Country: Norway
Company: Institute for Energy Technology
Job Title: Senior Research Scientist
Bio: Dr. Claire Blackett is a Senior Research Scientist in the department of Humans and Automation at the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) in Halden, Norway. Claire’s research interests include human-automation and human-robot interaction, human performance and reliability in technologically advanced environments, and the ethical use of artificial intelligence in society. Before moving to Norway, Claire worked for several years as a human factors specialist in the UK nuclear industry, providing human factors and human reliability analysis support to nuclear safety cases, as well as conducting human factors engineering assessments and providing input to event investigations at existing nuclear sites. She continues to work within the nuclear industry today, as well as the petroleum, maritime, rail, healthcare, and process industries. Claire has a background in root cause analysis and accident investigation methods, with a PhD in this topic from University College Dublin, Ireland.
Country: Norway
Company: Institute for Energy Technology
Job Title: Senior Research Scientist