Design Development and Implementation of the Human-System Interface for Lungmen Nuclear Project

The Lungmen Nuclear Power Project (LMNPP), under construction in Taiwan, consists of two GE Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) units, each with 1350 MW electrical output. Major Human-System Interfaces (HSIs) of LMNPP are different from traditional operating BWRs or ABWRs. Video display units (VDUs) are the main human-system interface for operators to manipulate and to know the status of the equipment and plant information. Based upon NUREG-0711, the applicable human factors engineering (HFE) guideline in the design of HSIs has been adopted. An important aspect of the Lungmen HFE program has been the direct involvement of the end user, Taiwan Power Company (TPC), throughout the design development and implementation to ensure that the process for the design is compliant with the HFE principles, and that the necessary displays, control, and alarms are provided to support the identified personnel tasks. This paper reviews the applicable HFE principles and the HSI design process including verification and validation (V&V) process in the design of HSIs for the LMNPP. This paper also presents three topics of interest in the LMNPP HSI design development and implementation process-validation with simulator, alarm auto reset, and VDU operational configuration strategy. The objective for developing the VDU operational configuration strategy was, after appropriate V&V, to reinforce operation discipline and optimize operator crew task assignments and workload during typical operations, and to confirm the need for an intensive training program that addresses the knowledge and skill requirements of the operators to meet the task characteristics and the responses of the plant processes. The results to date and implications for going forward from this process are also presented.