Predicting nuclear power-plant operator performance using discrete event simulation

A study was conducted to evaluate the use of discrete event simulation (DES) to predict human performance in a nuclear power plant control room environment. Computer simulation models of two disturbance scenarios were built using a simulation software program, Micro Saint. In parallel, data were also collected at a full-scope training simulator at the Halden man-machine laboratory (HAMMLAB) in Halden, Norway, using crews of commercial nuclear power plant operators from the Loviisa nuclear power plant in Loviisa, Finland. Comparisons were made between predicted operator performance data generated by the simulation models and crew performance in the HAMMLAB experiment to determine the degree of agreement between the simulated data and the data from operators. The models were then used to extrapolate advanced control room conditions and alarm systems that were not tested in the HAMMLAB experiment. This report summarizes these findings and provides recommendations for improvements to the DES approach for use by a regulatory agency.     

应急响应环境下基于BDI模型的Agent结构研究

基于Agent的应急响应建模仿真具有优越性和现实性,通过分析应急响应体系中Agent主体所应具有的特征——反应性、推理性、互动性和能动性,构建了基于BDI模型的反应+思考+通信的混合型Agent结构,并在NetLogo仿真平台上实现。为今后进一步研究基于Agent的应急管理建模仿真奠定研究基础,同时也为在NetLogo平台下开发基于BDI模型的Agent结构提供范式和标准。     

Time windows-based team performance measures: a framework to measure team performance in dynamic environments

In this paper, we present a framework for implementing Team Performance Measures based on a temporal accuracy measure called the relative accuracy index (RAI) to evaluate and compare team performance in a command-and-control human-in-the-loop simulation. The framework allows researchers to collect and analyze team outcomes in an unbiased objective manner based on a temporal performance measure known as a Time Window. Our framework provides experimenters and subject matter experts the necessary tools to evaluate performance in terms of task demands. We also provide a sample analysis of individual and team performance using the RAI.     

Interactive computer support in decision conferencing: Two cases on off-site nuclear emergency management

In this paper, we study the new opportunities offered by the interactive use of advanced multicriteria software in decision conferencing. We analyze and make observations on this approach in two one-day decision conferences on the planning of later phase countermeasures in off-site nuclear emergency management. The participants' individual use of the software in the preference elicitation phase was an essential new characteristic of these conferences. It turned out to be a feasible and well accepted process. We shall discuss the requirements for the facilitation and computer support in this kind of an approach.     

应急培训教学模拟演练系统的设计与研究

开展突发事件的应急演练教学培训,可使应急管理培训工作更具有针对性和实用性。对应急培训教学模拟演练系统进行了需求分析;对应急培训教学模拟演练系统的结构和应急突发事件的处置流程及体系结构进行了研究和设计;给出了提高培训学员对突发事件的处置能力的基本思路和方法。     

基于UML的城市应急联动系统建模

为了加快城市应急联动系统(CERS)的开发和利用现有的开发经验,研究了城市应急联动系统的结构.组成和功能,并分析了开发的关键问题.再运用软件工程领域内成熟的统一建模语言(UML),设计了一个完整的城市应急联动系统模型,包括城市应急联动系统用例图,类图、时序图、状态图、组件图、部署图等.采用Rational Rose工具实现CERS设计模型,目的是为系统最终用户和系统开发者提供统一的描述模型,指导系统开发人员迅速、准确、全面获取需求,规范系统的开发过程,优化系统结构,提高系统的开发效率.     

Way-finding during a fire emergency: an experimental study in a virtual environment

The way-finding behaviour and response during a fire emergency in a virtual environment (VE) was experimentally investigated. Forty participants, divided into two groups, were required to find the emergency exit as soon as possible in a virtual hotel building because of a fire escape demand under condition 1 (VE without virtual fire, control group) and condition 2 (VE with virtual fire, treatment group). Compared to the control group, the treatment group induced significantly higher skin conductivity and heart rate, experienced more stress, took longer time to notice the evacuation signs, had quicker visual search and had a longer escape time to find the exit. These results indicated that the treatment condition induced higher physiological and psychological stress, and had influenced the escape behaviour compared to the control group. In practice, fire evacuation education and fire evacuation system design should consider the response characteristics in a fire emergency.     

Modeling and simulation of residents’ response in nuclear disaster

It is important to model and predict residents’ behaviors in an emergency in order to establish good evacuation schemes during disasters. This research presents modeling and simulation of residents’ behaviors in a nuclear disaster focusing on residents’ decision-making processes: information acquisition, situation assessment, and selecting actions. We selected qualitative causal relations between residents’ behaviors and the attributes of information, human, and situations from 57 reviews of the past 12 disaster cases. We then constructed a conceptual model of residents’ behaviors in a conventional stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) model of human information processing. We adopted probabilistic reasoning (Bayesian belief network) to simulate the situation assessment of a resident in a nuclear disaster. We carried out a simulation using the announcement log of the JCO criticality accident and confirmed that the model could simulate the tendencies in residents’ behaviors observed in the actual disaster and can reflect various features of the conceptual model.     

Developing a taxonomy of coordination behaviours in nuclear power plant control rooms during emergencies

Abstract

This study aims to develop a taxonomy of coordination behaviours during emergencies in nuclear power plants (NPPs). We summarised basic coordination behaviours from literature in aviation, health care and nuclear field and identified coordination behaviours specific to the nuclear domain by interviewing and surveying control crew operators. The established taxonomy includes 7 workflow stages and 24 basic coordination behaviours. To evaluate the reliability and feasibility of the taxonomy, we analysed 12 videos of operators’ training sessions by coding coordination behaviours with the taxonomy and the inter-rater reliability was acceptable. Further analysis of the frequency, the duration and the direction of the coordination behaviours revealed four coordination problems. This taxonomy provides a foundation of systematic observation of coordination behaviours among NPP crews, advances researchers’ understanding of the coordination mechanism during emergencies in NPPs and facilitate the possibility to deepen the understanding of the relationships between coordination behaviours and team performance.

Practitioner Summary: A taxonomy of coordination behaviours during emergencies in nuclear power plants was developed. Reliability and feasibility of the taxonomy was verified through the analysis of 12 training sessions. The taxonomy can serve as an observation system for analysis of coordination behaviours and help to identify coordination problems of control crews.     

Cognition and the temporal arts: Investigating audience response to dance using PDAs that record continuous data during live performance

If artists and art explore organization of the brain [Zeki, S., Lamb, M., 1994. The neurology of kinetic art. Brain 117, 607–636], then investigation of response to artistic performance holds promise as a window to perceptual and cognitive processes. A new instrument for recording real-time audience response – the portable Audience Response Facility (pARF) – is described. Twenty, hand-held, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) collect responses on customizable skin interfaces. The pARF server transmits the customizable options, synchronizes devices and collects data for export. We report two studies using the pARF that demonstrate respondent agreement of perceived emotion during particular sections of two dance works. Greater agreement was evident in continuous ratings of arousal than valence; arousal appears to be related to surface features of the dance work. Future applications of the pARF to studies of multi-modal perception and cognition are discussed.     

Modelling of human alarm handling response times: a case study of the Ladbroke Grove rail accident in the UK

The purpose of the paper was to address the timeliness of the signaller's intervention in the Ladbroke Grove rail incident in the UK, as well as to consider the utility of human performance time modelling more generally. Human performance response time modelling is a critical area for Human Factors and Ergonomics research. This research applied two approaches to the same problem to see if they arrived at the same conclusion. The first modelling approach used the alarm initiated activity (AIA) model. This approach is useful for indicating general response times in emergency events, but it cannot comment in detail on any specific case. The second modelling approach employed a multi-modal critical path analysis (CPA) technique. The advantage of the latter approach is that it can be used to model a specific incident on the basis of the known factors from the accident inquiry. The results show that the AIA model produced an estimated response time of 17 s, whereas the CPA model produced an estimated response time of 19 s. This compares with the actual response time of the signaller of 18 s. The response time data from both approaches are concordant and suggest that the signaller's response time in the Ladbroke Grove rail accident was reasonable. This research has application to the modelling of human responses to emergency events in all domains. Rather than the forensic reconstruction approach used in this paper, the models could be used in a predictive manner to anticipate how long human operators of safety-critical systems might take to respond in emergency scenarios.     

Analyses of team performance in a dynamic task environment

Teamwork, a central component of team research, is not readily observable and must be inferred from the manner in which teams operate. Of particular interest is the measurement and evaluation of teamwork. The goal of this paper is to explore the assessment of team data using a temporal accuracy measure called the Relative Accuracy Index (RAI). For the statistical analysis, the generalized mixed model was applied. This model is applicable for binomial data and takes into account the correlation structure within team members. We describe the statistical procedure in detail, aiming to guide researchers who encounter similar problems. Using our statistical analysis, we found that participants whose training focused on coordination activities outperformed those whose training did not. Moreover, we found that workload stress accentuates the difference.     

区块链在应急物流物资保障体系构建中的应用

我国应急物流物资保障体系在近两年的重大突发事件中暴露出有待完善之处.采用区块链技术构建应急物资保障体系,重点建设信息记录管理和物资调度管理系统,实现信息记录、溯源、供需匹配等功能,以期在一定程度上解决应急物资质量无法保障、供需不匹配等问题.     

An overview of a nuclear reprocessing plant Human Factors programme

This paper presents a case study of a large Human Factors programme applied in the nuclear fuel reprocessing industry (1987-1991). The paper outlines the key Human Factors issues addressed, as well as the impacts achieved, and gives an indication of the resources utilised (approximately 15 person-years of effort). It also considers the starting point of the programme, in terms of the factors that led to the need for such an extensive programme. Some general lessons learned are given at the end of the paper.     

The effect of pre-warming on performance during simulated firefighting exercise

This study examined the effect of active pre-warming on speed and quality of performance during simulated firefighting exercise. Twelve male firefighters performed two trials in counterbalanced order. They were either pre-warmed by 20-min cycling at 1.5 Watt kg⁻¹ body mass (WARM) or remained thermoneutral (CON) prior to a simulated firefighting activity. After the pre-warming, gastrointestinal temperature (P < 0.001), skin temperature (P = 0.002), and heart rate (P < 0.001) were higher in WARM than in CON. During the firefighting activity, rating of perceived exertion, thermal sensation and discomfort were higher for WARM than for CON. Finish time of the firefighting activity was similar, but the last task of the activity was completed slower in WARM than in CON (P = 0.04). In WARM, self-reported performance quality was lower than in CON (P = 0.04). It is concluded that pre-warming reduces the speed during the last part of simulated firefighting activity and reduces self-reported quality of performance.     

Influence of inspiratory resistance on performance during graded exercise tests on a cycle ergometer

Due to more stringent requirements to protect personnel against hazardous gasses, the inspiratory resistance of the present generation of respiratory protective devices tends to increase. Therefore an important question is to what extent inspiratory resistance may increase without giving problems during physical work. In this study the effects of three levels (0.24; 1.4 and 8.3 kPa s l⁻¹) of inspiratory resistance were tested on maximal voluntary performance. Nine male subjects performed a graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer with and without these three levels of inspiratory resistance. Oxygen consumption, heart rate, time to exhaustion and external work were measured. The results of these experiments showed that increasing inspiratory resistance led to a reduction of time to exhaustion (TTE) on a graded exercise test(GXT). Without inspiratory resistance the mean TTE was 11.9 min, the three levels of resistance gave the following mean TTE's: 10.7, 7.8 and 2.7 min. This study showed that TTE on a GXT can be predicted when physical fitness (VO₂-max) of the subject and inspiratory resistance are known. The metabolic rate of the subjects was higher with inspiratory resistance, but no differences were found between the three selected inspiratory loads. Other breathing parameters as minute ventilation, tidal volume, expiration time and breathing frequency showed no or minor differences between the inspiratory resistances. The most important conclusion of these experiments is that the overall workload increases due to an increase in inspiratory resistance by wearing respiratory protective devices.     

4G移动通信技术在核电应急通信中的应用

依托现有核电系统的通信资源,提出了一种基于分时长期演进（TD-LTE）的核电应急通信系统,通过建立覆盖应急区域的专用TD-LTE网络,为核电应急指挥中心提供突发应急现场音视频数据,同时也为核电通信故障恢复提供高带宽的临时通道。该应急系统的建设提高了核电系统通信应对应急事件的能力,保障核电系统的安全可靠运行。