Human factors engineering program plan for the Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant

The Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant (HWVP) is being designed to process radioactive liquid waste stored at the Hanford Site into a borosilicate glass matrix, which is then encapsulated into steel containers. Some of the processes require remote-handling operations that involve master-slave manipulators or operator interactions with remote cranes to handle canisters and tools. Control rooms and equipment control panels are designed to comply with human factors criteria. Human Factors verification is an integral part of the design process and will be accomplished with multi-disciplinary teams at three distinct points during the conceptual and preliminary design stages, utilizing the model, design requirements, design checklists and talk-throughs of numerous operational scenarios. This practice shall continue throughout detailed design, utilizing the baseline flow-sheeting, interim design workshops and final group reviews as forums to verify the human factors aspects of the design