Improvement of PWR control room design

The design of main control rooms for PWRs in Japan was originally function-oriented, but after the Three Mile Island accident, the importance of human factors in plant operation was recognized, which led to the development of a newly designed main control room with improved man-machine interface and sophisticated habitability. The new control board design features operation mode oriented layout and a VDU (Visual Display Unit) oriented monitoring system. The conventional main board was divided into a main control console mainly for normal operation mode and auxiliary control boards for other operations. The main control console was equipped with several VDUs, and it enabled one-man operation. Prototype control boards were made and validated by plant operators using a simulator to confirm the effectiveness of the improved man-machine interface. On the other hand, efforts were also focused on better habitability of a main control room with a view to decreasing stress on the operators to enhance their overall ability. Factors which influence control room habitability such as acoustics, atmosphere and viewing circumstances were analysed and improved. Combining the latest computer techniques, human engineering design and environmental design techniques, considerable improvements in the man-machine interface of the advanced main control room are expected. (author). 5 figs