Panel discussion: detailed control room design reviews: were they worth the effort

On March 28, 1979, the accident at Three Mile Island, Unit 2 (TMI-2) which was initiated by mechanical malfunctions was exacerbated by a combination of human errors that occurred while responding to the malfunctions. The TMI-2 control room exhibited many of the design weaknesses of the nuclear power plants at that time, including displays that were difficult to read and that did not distinguish between normal and abnormal readings, controls located far from related displays, failure to display important plant parameters in prominent positions, lack of functional display grouping, lack of mimicking to identify related controls on consoles, lack of consistent color coding and labeling, glare and reflection on displays, poor lighting, too many alarms and alarms not prioritized. The TMI-2 accident made clear the need for improved control room design.