ML24170B003
| ML24170B003 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 06/22/2024 |
| From: | Niav Hughes NRC/RES/DRA/HFRB |
| To: | |
| References | |
| Download: ML24170B003 (1) | |
Text
Human Factors Considerations for Remote and Automated Operation of Nuclear Facilities Dr. Niav Hughes Green Human Factors Psychologist Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1
5th International Workshop on Autonomous Systems Safety (IWASS 2024)
Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland June 22, 2024
2 NOTE The views expressed in this presentation are those of the presenters and do not necessarily represent an official position of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This presentation material is declared as a work of the U.S.
Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States.
3 Narrowing the Problem Space
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- US NRC staff are responsible for ensuring the safe use of nuclear materials for civilian purposes, including commercial nuclear power reactors
- Advanced reactor technologies may include remote and more highly automated operations
- Changes in concepts of operation have implications for human factors engineering areas
- We must understand the regulatory and safety implications of these novel concepts for nuclear
- Gathering lessons from other high-risk domains
- The control room of the future may look very different
- Opportunity for early human-system integration 5
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC Novel Concepts
Research First Steps
- 1. Understand the range of remote and automated concepts anticipated
- 2. Identify the human factors considerations and implications across the range of remote and automated concepts
- 3. Gather research findings and lessons from experience in other high-risk domains that may serve as surrogates for similar concepts in nuclear (e.g., oil and gas, maritime, aviation, and aerospace)
- 4. Develop a taxonomy to elucidate the human factors considerations that are important to ensuring safe operation of advanced reactors 6
7 NRC Workshop on Human Factors Considerations for Remote Operation of Nuclear Facilities January 31 - February 1, 2024
The Seven Dimensions of Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) Provide a Useful Organizing Framework Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) SECY-23-0021: Proposed Rule: Risk-Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors (RIN 3150-AK31) (ADAMS ML24064A047).
Appendix A of the draft Interim Staff Guidance, Development of Scalable Human Factors Engineering Review Plans (DRO-ISG-2023-03).
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9 The role of the human may depend on the designs concept of operation
Defining Our Problem Space: A New, Diverse Range of CONOPS Simpler designs, passive safety features, and inherent safety characteristics Much higher levels of automation including potential for fully autonomous mode No traditional control room Reactor monitoring and control may be accomplished either locally or remotely Roles and responsibilities of personnel and automation expected to vary greatly 10
What have we learned so far?
Range of different strategies being considered Inherent and passive safety features combined with higher levels of automation Reliance of passive safety features and automated safety functions places great emphasis on the maintenance activities New CONOPS will have significant impacts on the roles and responsibilities of personnel, staffing levels, qualifications, and training Changes to the role of the human will affect human performance, including situation awareness, workload, response time, communication, teamwork, and vigilance Integration of early and phased validation of the design process 11
The Future Problem Space is Rapidly Evolving 12
Remote Operations Autonomous Operations Human-Robot Teaming AI in Operations 13 Credit: Dr. David Desaulniers presentation, Greatest Human Factors Challenge and Opportunity: A Risk-Informed Perspective, to the 2024 Regulatory Information Conference on March 13, 2024: Human in the Loop: The Changing Role of Humans in New and Advanced Reactor Designs The greatest human factors challenges may lie at the intersection of these areas
Outreach and Engagement
- Human Factors of Remote Operations Workshop (Jan 31 - Feb 1, 2024)
- Summary is publicly available in ADAMS at ML24061A181
- Remote Workshop Report RIL 2024-06. Will be found at LINK once released
- Human in the Loop: The Changing Role of the Humans in New and Advanced Reactor Designs (NRC Regulatory Information Conference; March 13, 2024)
- Panel description and slides available here; recording available here
- Coordination with international regulators on AI-enabled autonomy for nuclear
- Remote and Automated Operations (Intl. Workshop on Autonomous Systems Safety (iWASS) and European Safety and Reliability (ESREL); June 22-28, 2024)
- Human Performance Implications of Remote Operations in High-Risk Industries (Human Factors and Ergonomic Society Meeting; Sept 13-18, 2024) 14
15 What Lessons Can We Take from Other Industries?
- Experiences with the reliability of automation, communication networks, or sensor technologies
- Methods for determining function allocation (human vs. machine)
- Management of control and decisionmaking authority between local and remote operators or teams
- Management of communication latency
- Protocols for managing a loss of communication or loss of control from the remote station
THANK YOU!
Point of
Contact:
Niav Hughes Green, PhD Niav.hughes@nrc.gov www.linkedin.com/in/niav-hughes-green-ph-d-51b44b5 16