Technical Meeting on Instrumentation and Control Aspects of Human Factors Engineering: Design and Analysis

The personnel at a nuclear power plant (NPP) play a vital role in the safe and efficient generation of power. Personnel performance and the resulting plant performance are influenced by many aspects of plant design, including the level of automation, personnel training, and the human–system interfaces (HSIs) provided for personnel to interact with the plant. These interfaces include alarms, displays and controls that are located in the main control room, as well as numerous local control positions situated throughout the plant.

The purpose of the meeting is to serve as an international forum for sharing best practices and strategies used in the application of human factors engineering principles in the design of HSIs, as well as for discussing the challenges and issues that need to be resolved in this area. An additional goal of the meeting is to disseminate information on the lessons learned through the work carried out so far on a new IAEA Nuclear Energy Series report, provisionally entitled Instrumentation and Control Aspects of Human Factors Engineering: Design and Analysis, and to review the latest draft of this document.

Objectives

The meeting has the following primary objectives:

• Provide an international forum for presentations and discussions on the subject of the meeting;
• Strengthen Member States’ capabilities for improved understanding of the I&C aspects of human factors engineering;
• Disseminate the experience that has been gained while developing the new IAEA Nuclear Energy Series report provisionally entitled Instrumentation and Control Aspects of Human Factors Engineering: Design and Analysis;
• Review the draft version of that report; and
• Support the IAEA in defining future activities in the field of I&C system design for NPPs.

Presentations are invited on all approaches that are related to the I&C aspects of human factors engineering in the design of NPPs. A list of examples of presentation topics that would be appropriate for the meeting is included in the Information Sheet.

Participation

In view of the topics addressed the meeting, participation is limited to IAEA Member States that currently operate NPPs or are constructing their first NPP units. Participation is solicited from representatives of NPPs and regulatory bodies, utilities, technical support organizations, designers, developers, vendors, and research organizations engaged in the field of HSI design for NPPs. To ensure maximum effectiveness in the exchange of information, participants should be persons actively involved in the subject matter of the meeting.