Greg A. Jamieson

Evaluation of Ecological Interface Design for Nuclear Process Control: Situation Awareness Effects

Objective: We determine whether an ecological interface display for nuclear power plant operations supports improved situation awareness over traditional and user-centered displays in a realistic environment. Background: Ecological interface design (EID) has not yet been fully evaluated with real operators facing realistic scenarios. Method: Ecological displays were evaluated alongside traditional and user-centered “advanced” displays in a full-scope nuclear power plant simulation. Licensed plant operators used the displays in realistic scenarios that either had procedural support or did not have procedural support. All three displays were evaluated for their ability to support operator situation awareness. Results: A significant three-way interaction effect was observed on two independent measures of situation awareness. For both measures, ecological displays improved situation awareness in scenarios that did not have procedural support, primarily in the detection phases of those scenarios. No other pronounced effects appeared across both measures. Conclusions: The observed improvement was sufficiently large to suggest that EID could improve situation awareness in situations where procedures are unavailable. However, the EID displays did not lead to improved situation awareness in the other conditions of the evaluation, and participants using these displays occasionally underperformed on single measures of situation awareness. This suggests that the approach requires further development, particularly in integrating EID with procedural support. Application: This research has important findings for the ongoing development of the EID approach, the design of industrial operator displays, and design to support situation awareness.

Trust and Reliance on an Automated Combat Identification System

Objective: We examined the effects of aid reliability and reliability disclosure on human trust in and reliance on a combat identification (CID) aid. We tested whether trust acts as a mediating factor between belief in and reliance on a CID aid. Background: Individual CID systems have been developed to reduce friendly fire incidents. However, these systems cannot positively identify a target that does not have a working transponder. Therefore, when the feedback is “unknown”, the target could be hostile, neutral, or friendly. Soldiers have difficulty relying on this type of imperfect automation appropriately. Method: In manual and aided conditions, 24 participants completed a simulated CID task. The reliability of the aid varied within participants, half of whom were told the aid reliability level. We used the difference in response bias values across conditions to measure automation reliance. Results: Response bias varied more appropriately with the aid reliability level when it was disclosed than when not. Trust in aid feedback correlated with belief in aid reliability and reliance on aid feedback; however, belief was not correlated with reliance. Conclusion: To engender appropriate reliance on CID systems, users should be made aware of system reliability. Application: The findings can be applied to the design of information displays for individual CID systems and soldier training.

A test of Rasmussen's risk management framework in the food safety domain: BSE in the UK

In 1986, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was identified in the UK. Millions of BSE-infected cows were slaughtered and over 150 people contracted variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, an inevitably fatal human form of BSE. Tragic incidents such as this provide valuable opportunities to understand and improve the safety of complex socio-technical systems. By studying accidents, knowledge can be gained that can improve system safety. The purpose of this article is to test the usefulness of Rasmussens risk management framework for explaining how and why accidents occur in the food production domain. This was accomplished by using the framework to retrospectively investigate how and why BSE was transmitted through the human and animal food supply in the UK from 1986 to 1996. More specifically, an AcciMap and Conflict Map were constructed to represent contributing factors of the epidemic according to the structure of Rasmussens framework. These factors were used to test the seven predictions made by the framework. All seven predictions were supported by the evidence, indicating that Rasmussens risk management framework shows promise as a theoretically driven explanation of how and why accidents happen in complex socio-technical systems, particularly in the food production domain.

Integrating Task- and Work Domain-Based Work Analyses in Ecological Interface Design: A Process Control Case Study

In this paper, we present a case study wherein several work analysis methods were incorporated in the design of a graphical interface for a petrochemical production process. We follow this case from the application of the work analysis methods, through the consolidation of information requirements, to the design of a novel interface that integrates the requirements. The findings confirm earlier assertions that task-based and work domain-based analysis frameworks identify unique and complementary requirements for effective information systems that are intended to support supervisory control of complex systems. It further provides the first industrial demonstration of ecological interface forms based on integrated task-and work domain-based work requirements.

Ecological interface design for petrochemical applications: supporting operator adaptation, continuous learning, and distributed, collaborative work

Abstract Future support systems for operators of petrochemical refineries will have to support operator adaptation to unanticipated events, foster continuous learning, and facilitate distributed, collaborative work. This paper describes Ecological Interface Design, a candidate framework for human–computer interface design that has the potential to fulfill these diverse demands. Support for adaptation and continuous learning is demonstrated though the design of a novel operator interface for a fluid catalytic cracking unit. While the framework forms a basis upon which a distributed, collaborative support system may be built, no such design is presented here. The process of the application of the framework is described in detail, including the domain modelling activity and a description of the resulting graphical user interface. Limitations to applying the design approach to operational plants are discussed.

Ecological Interface Design for Petrochemical Process Control: An Empirical Assessment

Abnormal events in process plants cost the petrochemical industry billions of dollars annually. In part, these events are difficult to deal with because contemporary interfaces do not adequately inform operators about the state of the process. Laboratory simulator studies have shown that, in comparison with contemporary interfaces, ecological interfaces can lead to more effective monitoring and control behavior. However, ecological interfaces derived from work-domain analysis differ from more traditional human-centered interfaces that use a task analysis to inform the design process. A companion paper demonstrated an ecological interface that integrates both work-domain- and task-based information. A second ecological interface was created, drawing exclusively from the traditional work-domain-based analysis. Professional operators used the novel interfaces in an industrial petrochemical process simulator to monitor for, diagnose, and respond to several types of process events. Operators using the work-domain-based ecological interface completed trials more quickly and executed fewer control actions than their counterparts using the current process displays. Operators using the integrated (task- and work-domain-based) ecological interface also showed these benefits and, in addition, showed improved fault diagnoses and better performance scores. The implications and opportunities for introducing ecological interfaces into industrial control rooms are discussed.

The MPC elucidator: a case study in the design for human-automation interaction

In this paper, we describe the design of a decision support system for operators of model-based predictive controllers (MPC). MPC is a form of advanced automatic control that is increasingly common in process operations due to its ability to control and optimize large sections of a process. A cognitive task analysis revealed that current operating displays, which rely on displaying tables of numeric information across several display pages, do not effectively support human operator monitoring, diagnosis, and control of MPC. This case study shows how we applied representation aiding and workspace management design principles to better support the human-automation interaction requirements of monitoring, understanding, and adjusting these complex, semi-autonomous; process controllers. We show how effective user interface design can significantly reduce the complexity of operating with advanced automation, and can lead to improved understanding of how the automation works.

Designing Effective Human-Automation-Plant Interfaces: A Control-Theoretic Perspective

In this article, we propose the application of a control-theoretic framework to human-automation interaction. The framework consists of a set of conceptual distinctions that should be respected in automation research and design. We demonstrate how existing automation interface designs in some nuclear plants fail to recognize these distinctions. We further show the value of the approach by applying it to modes of automation. The design guidelines that have been proposed in the automation literature are evaluated from the perspective of the framework. This comparison shows that the framework reveals insights that are frequently overlooked in this literature. A new set of design guidelines is introduced that builds upon the contributions of previous research and draws complementary insights from the control-theoretic framework. The result is a coherent and systematic approach to the design of human-automation-plant interfaces that will yield more concrete design criteria and a broader set of design tools. Applications of this research include improving the effectiveness of human-automation interaction design and the relevance of human-automation interaction research.

Ecological Interface Design in the Nuclear Domain: An Empirical Evaluation of Ecological Displays for the Secondary Subsystems of a Boiling Water Reactor Plant Simulator

Laboratory studies have shown that ecological interfaces can enhance operator performance in process control. However, limited verification and validation studies in representative settings are impeding the adoption of the Ecological Interface Design (EID) framework in the nuclear domain. A companion article presents an application of EID to the secondary side of a boiling water reactor plant simulator, demonstrating that the framework can lead to display features and verification criteria relevant to supporting operators in both anticipated and unanticipated situations. This article presents an empirical study as a first step towards the validation of EID in the nuclear domain. The results suggest that ecological displays have a marked advantage in supporting operator performance during monitoring for unanticipated events as compared to mimic-based displays. The ecological displays did not support operator performance differently for other types of tasks. This study provides supporting or validation evidence that EID is effective at a scale and level of complexity that is representative of nuclear power plant operations. The implications for introducing ecological displays into NPP control rooms are discussed.

Making the most of ecological interface design: the role of individual differences.

As advanced control rooms for new process control plants are being designed, the question arises as to whether operators of the future need to have a particular set of cognitive characteristics to make the most of those advanced control rooms. This issue was investigated by examining the interaction between ecological interface design (EID) and individual differences in the context of a process control microworld. A number of potential predictors of performance were investigated, including: demographic data, type of interface, type of instruction, and data from two cognitive style tests. Eight linear regression analyses were conducted to determine which variables were the strongest predictors of performance. The results indicate that the strongest and most consistent predictor of performance was the interaction between a holist cognitive style score and an interface based on the principles of EID. That is, individuals who used an EID interface and who had high holist scores were the best performers. It seems that these individuals have the relational thinking ability that is required to exploit the value of the higher-order functional information provided by an EID interface. This empirical result has practical implications for operator selection.