Integrated application of human factors to a power plant control room information system

The authors describe the integrated application of human factors to the New York Power Authority´s Emergency and Process Information Computer (EPIC) system. The human-factors plan ensured that the Safety Parameter Display System (SPDS). Emergency Operating Procedures (EOP), and Nuclear Steam Supply System (NSSS) plant information displays specified in the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission control-room design guidelines, NUREG-0700, were integrated into the EPIC system and plant control room. This integration also included custom-designed operator and shift supervisor workstations. The human-factors plan was developed as a methodology to apply human factors from the conceptual design of the EPIC system to the functional verification (FV) conducted at the plant. The FV plan and its resultant programs verified functional appropriateness of the SPDS display. NSSS displays, EOP displays, man-machine interfaces (MMI), and workstations designs. The authors present an overview of the methodologies and the task performed to implement these two plans.<>