AHFE Open AccessHuman Factors in Energy: Oil, Gas, Nuclear and Electric Power
Editors: Ron Boring, Robert McDonald
Topics: Human Factors in Energy
Publication Date: 2022
ISBN: 978-1-958651-30-8
DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1002213
Articles
A Review of Historical Street Lighting Solutions
Aside from food, clothing and shelter, one of the essential needs of man is light. Unfortunately, the early man had to rely on natural light alone until the possible accidental discovery of fire. This discovery led to the invention of other basic technologies such as torches, candles, wicks and the like. Providing a lighting system suitable for enclosed spaces, open spaces, streets, and tunnels have been a subject of research over the years as more efficient methods are catechized to give way to the currently used systems. This report looks to explore two analogous objectives. The first is to provide a retrospective insight into the origin of lighting systems. The second objective highlights the significant progress made over the years to create an efficient lighting system for domestic and industrial use. This paper takes a deep dive into the lighting technologies used as far back as ancient Egypt, Rome, and the Benin Kingdom of current-day Nigeria.
Olaoluwa Akinshipe, Clinton Aigbavboa
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Progress on Attempts to Reduce Energy Consumption Used for Road Illumination
Street lighting has become cheaper, more efficient, and easier to maintain due to the quality of research within this field.This report provides an exploratory account of the importance of an energy-efficient system suitable for highways and regular streets. Also, it evaluates the need for further research in the field of road lighting.The paper uses data sources from various geographical locations, including; South Africa, the United States and the Netherlands. This approach is adopted to discover a broader perspective of the constraints and methodologies employed to solve the same or similar problem, as results vary over different geographical locations worldwide.Judging by the amount of money spent, a typical home spends approximately 15% of its total electricity consumption on lighting. This makes the type of technology used for illumination to become increasingly essential. The introduction of energy-efficient Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) has made it much easier to shrink these consumption numbers. Considering all this in perspective, Artificial Intelligence may need to be widely adopted to reduce these numbers further.
Olaoluwa Akinshipe, Clinton Aigbavboa
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Understanding Procedure Development in Nuclear Domain with Practice Theory
According to some estimates, a majority of the accidents in the nuclear domain have been associated with failures in the use of procedures. A traditional model of procedure design and usage is based on the idea that because procedures represent the best understanding people have of the way their work has to be conducted, safety results from operator following procedures in a conscientiousness manner. However, procedure guidance and operator competencies are not conflicting views, but something that are aligned in safe and efficient operator practices. According to these views, even though procedures are resources for action, they cannot guarantee safety as such, and people need skills to apply procedures successfully. Our aim is to build a better understanding of the procedure design practices in one Finnish nuclear power plant, and outline a Human Factors Engineering (HFE) framework for procedure design based on theoretical work and on ethnographic case study approach. Procedures are designed through a series of steps (i.e., task analysis, format selection, draft preparation, verification and validation, and approval for release). These steps are similar to the phases of the Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model (O’Hara et al., 2012), but procedure design is not always described in terms of HFE. The paper describes the development of a method for the analysis of procedure design practice and some examples of the application of the method. We monitor and follow up the procedure development from the kick-off meeting to verification and validation (V&V) and approval for release through an ethnographic approach. The procedure design process includes familiarizing ourselves with the company’s procedure design guidance, participating in design meetings, interviewing procedure writers, reviewing the draft versions of the procedure, and observing procedure V&V activities at the simulator. A toolkit to study practice at work is used (Nicholini, 2013), which is based on a palette of sensitizing research questions, the answers to which are sought by the above-mentioned methods of data collection.The research work is still in the beginning stages, with procedure writer interviews conducted. According to these interviews, procedure design process can be seen as a social practice which itself is under constant development. For example, even though procedure writing has mainly been deskwork, simulators and simulation models play an increasing role in procedure development. It is very difficult to imagine all possible sequences of events while working at desk; when you test the procedure in the simulator, it is possible to see how the events unfold in real world. Also, co-creation is nowadays a key concept in process development. In co-creation workshops, experts from different domains are involved and can participate in the design activities. Also, engagement of end-users was seen as very important, and feedback from end-users is nowadays increasingly collected and reviewed several times during the development process. ReferencesNicholini, D. (2013). Practice Theory, Work, & Organization. An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.O’ Hara, J. M. et al. (2012). Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model. NUREG-0711, rev. 3. Washington, D. C.: Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
Jari Laarni, Hanna Koskinen, Marja Liinasuo, Tuisku-Tuuli Salonen, Satu Pakarinen, Kristian Lukander, Tomi Passi
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Using Computer Vision to Reduce Human Errors of Operating on the Wrong Control Valves in Nuclear Power Plants
Nuclear power plants are complex systems that have many modules for errors to occur. Each year in the United States, an average of approximately 80 accidents happen, of which 50 (or 62%) are related to human errors (Nuclear Energy Agency, 2020). These errors reduce the efficiency of plants and have cost, safety, and environmental consequences. Nuclear operators manipulate control objects, like valves, to complete maintenance procedures involved in power generation by directing water around a plant (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021). However, there are many identical valves in a small area which can lead to errors handling the wrong valve. In practice, valves are identified using lockout tags that can contain as little as its normal position, or large blocks of information on its use, position, or contents. (Occupational Health and Safety Administration, 2011). This method of differentiating valves is insufficient because tags may be damaged and hard to read, or contain inadequate information to be useful in an emergency. Current efforts to reduce valve operation errors use AI tools to diagnose faults, like valve damage, and suggest best practice procedures. However, no existing solution identifies valves to prevent operational errors due to misidentification. Computer vision techniques that use machine learning, like object detection algorithms, can provide a solution to this problem. This paper explores the integration of computer vision and real-time sensors monitoring water systems to reduce errors operating on the wrong valves. This approach analyzes sensor data and uses object detection algorithms to identify control valves as workers are walking through a power plant to minimize the possibility of mixing them up. The sensor log analysis algorithm identifies critical valves that require action, then the computer vision algorithm, the YOLO version 3 object detection algorithm, highlights them in real-time. While developing the sensor data algorithm, we created a simulation that models valves controlling water flow between tanks. Within a nuclear power plant the simulation represents the long cycle cleanup operation where boiled feedwater cannot contaminate cooled feedwater. It captures random noise and is a virtual environment for testing operators on how they react to system errors like tank overflows or sudden influxes of water. For example, one valve oscillates around its input value to represent the uncertainty from imperfect or leaky valves. Other noise from large influxes of water is created by an oscillation of the inflow with a pulse function. Testing the developed algorithms on data from a mechanical room in Posner Hall at Carnegie Mellon University indicates their potential for reducing real-time operation errors. Specifically, testing results confirmed that control object operation is an issue and that computer vision provides a promising solution to this problem. Although this project is limited to merely recognizing control valves due to the method of object detection, it can have significance in reducing emission leakage, improving efficiency and reliability, and advancing technology for safety. Such limitations necessitate future work using other object detection algorithms to compare results as well as integrating spatial data to differentiate between identical valves.ReferencesNuclear Energy Agency, and International Atomic Energy Agency. “Nuclear Power Plant Operating Experience from the IAEA/NEA International Reporting System for Operating Experience 2015-2017.” Nuclear Power Plant Operating Experience, 2020, doi:10.1787/2bdd0383-en.“1910.147 - The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout).” (2011). Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, <https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.147> (Nov. 3, 2021). “51-8011 Nuclear Power Reactor Operators.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 31 Mar. 2021, www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes518011.htm.
Sophie Kochanek, Jinding Xing, Alper Yilmaz, George Edward Gibson, Pingbo Tang
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Foreseeing the Potential of Virtual Reality in Nuclear Power Plant Field Operator Training
In the 21st century, advanced technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) solutions have found their way to a variety of industrial applications and settings. The nuclear domain does not make an exception, and thus there has been an increasing interest to investigate how these technologies could be of use in different operative activities in nuclear field. Radiation visualization provides one good example of the use of VR that may facilitate planning of maintenance activities and thus enable to minimize the personnel’s time spent in contaminated spaces. One potential application area for VR in the nuclear domain is operator training. Nowadays the operator training is organized most often as classroom and simulator training. New advanced technologies may enable to enrich the conventional training facilities so that, for example, more hands-on training of teamwork and collaboration between the control room and the field operators becomes possible.In this paper, we concentrate on the training of field operators and especially, how VR-based solutions could facilitate and advance this process. We have conducted an interview study about the training of field operators in two Finnish nuclear power plants. Altogether 12 interviews were carried out with personnel responsible of field operations and the training of field operators. The interview study aimed to improve understanding on how the field operator training is currently arranged, and what expectations there are for the development of field operators’ training programme. Based on the results of the interview study, a summary is made on how the field operator training is organized in the two Finnish nuclear power plants and what are the benefits and limitations of the current training practices. We also report how the field operators foresee the potential of VR technologies in their training. Furthermore, suggestions are provided on concrete VR applications that may benefit the training and work of field operators. Finally, we will present some practical design implications for developing such training systems.
Hanna Koskinen, Tuisku-Tuuli Salonen, Jari Laarni, Marja Liinasuo, Satu Pakarinen, Kristian Lukander, Tomi Passi
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Operator Insights and Usability Evaluation of Machine Learning Assistance for Power Grid Contingency Analysis
Introducing machine learning (ML) assistance into any established process comes with adoption barriers, including entrenched procedures, technological and human readiness levels, human-machine trust, and work culture resistance to change. These barriers are even greater in critical operations such as operating a national or regional power grid, in which both regulatory frameworks and the importance of maintaining reliability levels causes additional resistance to the adoption of new computational support. Developers of future systems and job aides must consider not only technical aspects, but also whether new systems are usable by power system operators. This work presents the methodology and results of a study to evaluate the usability and readiness of a prototype recommender system for power grid contingency analysis. We explore operator cognitive load and evaluate operator performance when solving a collection of scenarios both with and without recommender assistance. We also examine operator trust in the system. We report insights gained on the readiness of the system using a collection of evaluation techniques.
John Wenskovitch, Alexander Anderson, Slaven Kincic, Corey Fallon, Danielle Ciesielski, Jessica Baweja, Molly C Mersinger, Brett Jefferson
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Addressing Function Allocation for the Digital Transformation of Existing Nuclear Power Plants
The existing nuclear power plants in the United States (U.S.) have a vital role in providing carbon-free electricity. However, these existing plants are being economically challenged due to changes in the U.S. energy market. In order for the existing nuclear power plant fleet to remain economically viable, a significant digital transformation that fundamentally changes the way in which these plants are operated, maintained, and supported ought to be seriously considered. Adopting advanced digital technologies is an important element of the digital transformation, and includes adding new automation capabilities like control automation, computer-based procedures (CBPs), advanced alarms, decision support, and digital human-system interfaces (HSIs). Moreover, safe and effective adoption of automation requires addressing human and technology integration considerations that come along with making significant changes to the existing plants’ concept of operation. For example, task responsibilities are likely to change for control room operators to a more supervisory role; crew coordination may be impacted from the use of automation, digital HSIs, and associated capabilities that are available from a modern control system. This work describes important considerations and challenges that come with function allocation for the adoption of new automation at existing nuclear power plants, based on continuing research from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program. Specifically, this work reviews the state-of-the-art in function allocation guidance within the U.S. nuclear industry along, identifies current challenges in interpreting and applying this guidance within the context of making significant modifications to existing plants, and identifies emerging methods that may support function allocation for these cases based on a review of the literature combined with ongoing discussions with a utility partner. An objective of this work is to raise awareness of these current challenges and proposed approaches to the human factors community to support future research and development that ultimately supports the effective use of function allocation in the digital transformation of existing nuclear power plants.
Casey Kovesdi
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Humans With/As Big Data in Nuclear Energy
Data are considered big when they contain significant variety, volume, and velocity in comparison with standard datasets. Big data are used by humans, but humans are also potential sources of big data. In nuclear power, much of the current research and application of big data principles focuses on instrumenting additional sensors or analyzing and visualizing the resulting data in useful ways. Gathering data on hardware enables enhanced diagnoses, planning, and prognoses, leading to greater efficiency through reduced maintenance costs and optimized power production. In this paper, we explore human interactions with big data, as well as potential ways that human performance data can inform nuclear power operations. This latter case considers humans as sources of big data.
Ronald Boring, Torrey Mortenson, Thomas Ulrich, Roger Lew
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
A Prospective Design Method for Nuclear Power: The Evaluation, Requirements, and Goals Outline for Nuclear (ERGON) Method
Human factors researchers at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have worked on projects spanning control room modernization, operator support systems, visualization design, and novel system creation. These projects demonstrated the need for an explicit design method for nuclear power. Human factors teams found a high standard in the Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model (NUREG-0711) and needed a design methodology which could be successful in gaining approval. Previous work has been synthesized as the Evaluation, Requirements, and Goals Outline for Nuclear (ERGON) method here. Design tasks are broken into four phases: Context and Orientation, Human Factors Review, Prototyping and Evaluation, Iteration and Improvement. ERGON is intended as a flexible and direct design method for many applications in nuclear power. ERGON has been vetted through collaborative research and development with nuclear utilities and as such, the ERGON method can assist utilities to achieve approval from a NUREG-0711 summative evaluation for HSI implementations.
Torrey Mortenson, Ronald Boring, Roger Lew, Thomas Ulrich
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings