Flowchart-format emergency operating procedures-strengths and weaknesses

An increasing number of nuclear power plant licensees are converting their text-format emergency operating procedures (EOPs) to flowcharts. Findings of a recent study of the flowchart-format EOPs indicate that the flowchart format appears to solve several significant usability problems associated with text-format EOPs, but also introduces other types of usability concerns. This paper discusses some of the strengths and weaknesses of the flowchart format for presenting EOPs