New concepts in control-room design

Since the beginning of the 1980s, the role of human factors in nuclear plant instrumentation and control has taken added emphasis, mainly because of the Three Mile Island accident and advances in data processing, display equipment, and automatic programmable devices. TMI clearly showed that operators can be burdened by ''information overload'' and that more attention has to be given to the human element and actual operating experience. In the following article, Mr. Furet summarizes major steps that have been taken, and are being planned, around the world to improve the man-machine interface for safe and economic nuclear power generation