Fault diagnosis with multi-state alarms in a nuclear power control simulator

Austin Ragsdale, Roger Lew, Brian P. Dyre, Ronald L. Boring

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

This research addresses how alarm systems can increase operator performance within nuclear power plant operations. The experiment examined the effect of two types of alarm systems (two-state and three-state alarms) on alarm compliance and diagnosis for two types of faults differing in complexity. We hypothesized three-state alarms would improve performance in alarm recognition and fault diagnoses over that of two-state alarms. We used sensitivity and criterion based on Signal Detection Theory to measure performance. We further hypothesized that operator trust would be highest when using three-state alarms. The findings from this research showed participants performed better and had more trust in three-state alarms compared to two-state alarms. Furthermore, these findings have significant theoretical implications and practical applications as they apply to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of nuclear power plant operations.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 56th Annual Meeting, HFES 2012
Pages2167-2171
Number of pages5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2012
EventProceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 56th Annual Meeting, HFES 2012 - Boston, MA, United States
Duration: Oct 22 2012Oct 26 2012

Publication series

NameProceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
ISSN (Print)1071-1813

Conference

ConferenceProceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 56th Annual Meeting, HFES 2012
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityBoston, MA
Period10/22/1210/26/12

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