From hard desk to soft desk-the changing operator interface

Operator interfaces to control systems are moving rapidly with the changes in technology-away from traditional 'hard desks' to totally computer based systems with VDU displays and 'mouse' input (soft desks). Such a transition represents a major cultural change for operating staff. The paper describes some of the issues associated with such a change, the overall approach taken within National Power and the detailed implementation as applied to a number of power station refurbishments.