Albert Joseph Impink

A Computerized System for Improved Management and Execution of Plant Procedures

Industry reports attribute a high percentage of the root causes associated with significant events to human performance problems. Many of these problems are procedure related. Plant operating procedures define the methods, means and limits of plant operation and provide the operator with the information network he needs to operate a nuclear power plant safely and efficiently. These include normal operating, abnormal operating, alarm response, emergency operating, and surveillance procedures. Since the total number of plant procedures can run into the thousands, operators easily become confused and frustrated when attempting to locate and then effectively follow a particular procedure, especially in high stress situations. To address these problems, an online computerized procedures system has been developed which guides the operator through the procedures, provides necessary parallel information, selects the appropriate procedures, and alleviates the operator’s memory burden by automatically keeping track of equipment and system status.