A human factors design process to integrate CANDU 9 control centre features

The next generation CANDU control centre is being designed for the 900 MWe CANDU 9 station. The design is based upon the Darlington CANDU station which is among the world leaders in capacity factor with low operation, maintenance and administration (OM&A) costs. This evolutionary design includes the enhanced functionality of existing CANDU control centres, advanced features made possible by new technology, and addresses characteristics required by HFE analysis of control centre operations to enhance awareness of system and plant status. Statistics show that up to 70% of plant significant events, which have caused plant outages, have a root cause attributable to the human from such sources as complex interfaces, procedures, maintenance and management practices. Consequently, special attention is made for the application of HFE engineering (HFE) throughout the CANDU 9 design process. The design process follows a systematic analytical approach to define operations staff information and information presentation requirements. The resultant human-system interfaces (HSI) such as those for monitoring, annunciation and control information are then verified against the system design requirements to provide a high confidence level that adequate and correct information is being provided in a timely manner to support the necessary operational tasks.