Technology Affinity in the Nuclear Domain: An Initial Assessment of Operator Attitudes Towards Technology

Abstract: Many nuclear power plants in the U.S. and worldwide are currently monitored and controlled via control rooms outfitted primarily with analog instrumentation and controls (I&C). Due to obsolescence issues with parts for analog I&C along with a desire to leverage efficiency gains associated with digital systems, there is an increasing focus on modernization activities for both safety and non-safety systems. Digital modernization can include the addition of digital instrumentation, sensors, and control systems; some that are visible to operators and some that are not. Operator-facing digital controls include the human system interface (HSI). The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is responsible for reviewing the safety of control room designs at nuclear power plants. Part of the NRC’s review process includes an assessment of how changes to control room HSIs impact usability and support safe operations. Safety and usability are often assessed from a workload, performance, and situation awareness perspective. Recent research into the factors that influence system evaluation found that users with high affinity for technology (i.e., a user with generally positive affect towards technology) perform differently on usability tests than users with less affinity towards technology. The present study had two aims: (1) to evaluate the potential usefulness of a recently developed affinity for technology interaction (ATI) survey for usability and human factors research in the nuclear domain and (2) to determine if affinity, as measured by the ATI, is related to perceived system usability and operator performance during simulated digital control room tasks. The first phase of the research was the collection of ATI data from students and a group of control room operators to establish potential baseline differences in technology affinity between populations. The second phase of the research was the collection of ATI and system usability survey (SUS) data from a small crew of operators to determine if there was an association between technology affinity and perceived system usability (assessed via the system usability survey [SUS]) during performance of simulated operational scenarios. The results are discussed in the context of how future regulatory guidance related to operator-facing digital systems may need to consider additional usability metrics as well as the broader safety implications for individual differences in technology affinity resulting in potentially biased usability ratings on scales like the SUS.

Keywords: Technology affinity, nuclear power, digital modernization, human-system interface, individual differences, assessment development.

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005410

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