EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis report presents preliminary research results from the investigation into the development of new models and guidance for Concepts of Operations in advanced small modular reactor (aSMR) designs. aSMRs are nuclear power plants (NPPs), but unlike conventional large NPPs that are constructed on site, aSMRs systems and components will be fabricated in a factory and then assembled on site. aSMRs will also use advanced digital instrumentation and control systems, and make greater use of automation. Some aSMR designs also propose to be operated in a multi-unit configuration with a single central control room as a way to be more cost-competitive with existing NPPs. These differences from conventional NPPs not only pose technical and operational challenges, but they will undoubtedly also have regulatory compliance implications, especially with respect to staffing requirements and safety standards.For example, the impact of aSMR designs on operational and regulatory considerations, such as workload, situation awareness, human reliability, staffing levels, and the appropriate allocation of functions between the crew and various plant systems that are likely to be highly automated is largely uncertain and will remain uncertain until empirical research data become available to support the development of sound technical bases. Experience with aSMRs outside of the US Navy is limited, existing human factors and systems engineering design standards are not current in terms of human interaction basics for automated systems, and there is a lack of a good functional allocation and staffing model that takes into account static or dynamic allocation.Given these uncertainties and other issues, new Concepts of Operations models must be researched and developed for aSMRs. Concepts of Operations describes the characteristics of a proposed system from the viewpoint of an individual who will use that system. It is used to communicate the quantitative and qualitative system characteristics of the plant to all stakeholders, provides the basis for procedures, and serves as input to Human Factors analyses. New Concepts of Operations models are developed by conducting an in-depth analysis of the characteristics and attributes of the concepts of operations of future aSMR. By doing this, insights into how the role and function of humans in the plant might be affected by advanced aSMR technologies, and, conversely, how the operation of these plants might be influenced by the need to integrate human factors principles in the design are revealed.objective of this research is to establish the technical bases for non-traditional concepts of operations for aSMRs (i.e., Develop new models and guidance for Concepts of Operations), with the goal of addressing specific human factors challenges related to non-traditional concepts of operations, and the associated changes in the allocation of functions to human and system agents. This includes the development of functional allocation principles as one of the primary decision criteria for ...

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYT his report presents the results from three key activities for FY2013 that are helping to determine the definition of new concepts of operations for advanced Small Modular Reactors (Adv SMR): a) the development of a framework for the analysis of the functional, environmental, and structural attributes of Adv SM Rs, b) the effect that new technologies and operational concepts would have on the way functions are allocated to humans or machines or combinations of the two, and c) the relationship between new concepts of operations, new function allocations, and human performance requirements.A previous report described some of the principles involved in how Adv SM Rs will use advanced digital instrumentation and control systems, and make greater use of automation. T hese advances not only pose technical and operational challenges, but will undo ubtedly have an effect on the operating and maintenance cost of new plants. It is generally assumed that automation would be the most likely way to reduce the impact of labor on operating and maintenance cost. Howe ver, the effect of automation and other advanced technology on staffing requirements and safety standards has raised many questions and very little research has been conducted to date.For example, the impact of AdvSMR designs on operational and regulatory considerations, such as workload, situation awareness, h uman reliability, staffing levels, and the appropriate allocation of functions between the crew and various plant systems that are likely to be highly automated is largely uncertain and will remain uncertain until empirical research data become available to support the development of sound technical bases. Experience with Adv SM Rs o utside of the US Navy is limited to a very few predecessor plants. In addition, existing human factors and systems engineering design standards are not current in terms of human interaction basics for automated sy stems, and there is a lack of good functional allocation and staffing models that take into account static or dynamic allocation.Given these uncertainties and other issues, it is necessary to develop new Concepts of Operations models as well as new mo dels of function allocation and human performance requirements. T his report explains the relationship between these three requirements and how old paradigm s and methodologies are no longer suitable for the analysis of evolving concepts. The report further explains how the development of new models and guidance for Concepts of Operations need to adopt a state-of-the-art approach such as Work Domain Analysis (WDA). T he primary goal of this methodology is to identify and evaluate specific human factors challenges related to non -traditional concepts of operations, and the associated changes in the allocation of functions to human and system agents. This includes developing a framework for the analysis of Adv SM R functions, structures and systems using the WDA methodology, as well as the development of functional allocation principles as one of the prima...

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The Human Event Repository and Analysis (HERA) system has been developed as a tool for classifying and recording human performance data extracted from primary data sources. This paper reviews the process of extracting data from simulator studies for use in HERA. Simulator studies pose unique data collection challenges, both in types and quality of data measures, but such studies are ideally suited to gather operator performance data, including the full spectrum of performance shaping factors used in a HERA analysis. This paper provides suggestions for obtaining relevant human performance data for a HERA analysis from a control room simulator study and for inputting those data in a format suitable for HERA.