The Simulator - Based Halden Man - Machine Laboratory ( Hammlab ) and Its Application in Human Factor Studies

The OECD Halden Reactor Project is a joint undertaking of national nuclear organisations in 20 countries, who together sponsor a research programme under the auspices of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency. One important research area addresses control room design and the role of the operator within such an environment. The simulator-based Halden Man-Machine Laboratory (HAMMLAB) has, since its establishment in 1983, been the main facility for conducting research in this area. It’s overall objective is to provide knowledge for improving today’s control rooms, through the introduction of computer-based solutions for effective and safe control of the plant, across all process conditions. The paper will introduce the facility and the recent upgrades carried out, and also provide an overview of the breadth of the research topics addressed within the programme. This breadth will be illustrated with results from recent studies, focusing on the design of usable systems and staffing levels within an advanced control room. The establishment of a virtual reality centre at Halden has further extended the capabilities and possibilities for control room design and evaluation. The Halden approach of combining human factors knowledge and virtual reality technology in control room design, will be illustrated by projects from the nuclear and electrical distribution industries. THE HAMMLAB AND VIRTUAL REALITY FACILITIES Halden Man-Machine Laboratory HAMMLAB is a focal point for the Halden Project’s human-machine systems research. The human factors programme relies upon HAMMLAB for performing the experimental programmes. Operator support systems are tested, evaluated and demonstrated in a realistic environment, and prototypes of advanced control rooms are developed. The NORS full-scope PWR simulator, based upon the Loviisa nuclear power plant in Finland, is the nucleus of HAMMLAB. The NORS process information is presented to the operators through a fully screen based unified human-machine interface. This interface consists of overview displays, alarm information displays, specific operator support system displays, and detailed process mimic displays. Process control actions are performed via interaction with process components in the process mimic displays. See Figure 1. An experimenter’s gallery is located so that experimenter staff can directly overlook the control room and easily monitor and control the experiments. The experimenters have advanced data collection equipment at their disposal, in order to collect experimental data for post-session analysis. The experimental equipment consists of video cameras and recording equipment, wireless microphones, audio mixing and recording equipment, eye movement tracking equipment, and computerised logs of all operator actions, alarms and key process events. A relatively modular and flexible hardware and software infrastructure is available in HAMMLAB for configuration of experimental set-ups, integration of new software systems, and adaptation of advanced experimental equipment. Computerised operator support systems are integrated in HAMMLAB and can be utilised as part of the set-up, depending upon the nature of the experimental studies. A substantial extension of HAMMLAB is presently in progress. Three new simulators will be introduced, and the laboratory space will be extended in the year 2000. The following additional processes will be simulated: a French Pressurised Water Reactor, a Swedish Boiling Water Reactor and an oil production field in the North Sea. Halden Virtual Reality Centre (HVRC) HVRC is a new complementary extension to HAMMLAB. Some activities in the VR-centre are connected to on-going research at the Halden Project, but most are development projects for industry such as