• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.44 no.4
• /
• pp.379-386
• /
• 2012

A symptom-based procedure with a critical safety function monitoring system has been established to reduce the operator's diagnosis and cognitive burden since the Three-Mile Island (TMI) accident. However, it has been reported that a symptom-based procedure also requires an operator's cognitive efforts to cope with off-normal events. This can be caused by mismatches between a static model, an emergency operating procedure (EOP), and a dynamic process, the nature of an ongoing situation. The purpose of this study is to share the evidence of mismatches that may result in an excessive cognitive burden in conducting EOPs. For this purpose, we analyzed simulated emergency operation records and observed some operator behaviors during the EOP operation: continuous steps, improper description, parameter check at a fixed time, decision by information previously obtained, execution complexity, operation by the operator's knowledge, notes and cautions, and a foldout page. Since observations in this study are comparable to the results of an existing study, it is expected that the operational behaviors observed in this study are generic features of operators who have to cope with a dynamic situation using a static procedure.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.118-126
• /
• 2005

While emergency operating procedures (EOPs) occupy an important role in the management of various abnormal situations in nuclear power plants (NPPs), current technology for the validation of EOPs still largely depends on manual review. A validation method for EOPs of NPPs is thus proposed based on dynamic multi-level flow modeling (MFM). The MFM modeling procedure and the EOP validation procedure are developed and provided in the paper. Application of the proposed method to EOPs of an actual NPP shows that the proposed method provides an efficient means of validating EOPs. It is also found that the information on state transitions in MFM models during the management of abnormal situations is also useful for further analysis on EOPs including their optimization.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
• /
• 2003.10a
• /
• pp.199-199
• /
• 2003

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.117-124
• /
• 2013

Emergency operating procedures(EOPs) of nuclear power plants should be described considering the cognitive capability and limitation of operators and provide appropriate information in the aspect of human factors. Procedures which doesn't consider cognitive characteristics of operators can become causes of human errors. In previous researches, in order to reduce these problems related to the description of EOP, an improvement suggestion for EOP writer's guide has been proposed, which is reflected human factors aspects that should be considered when describing EOPs. The proposed items, however, have a necessity to be validated because it was listed from various documents such as standards and guidelines without any special validation process. For that reason, in this study, a validation process were performed to show that procedures, which are described in compliance with the requirement items proposed in the improved EOP writer's guide, have positive effects in the aspects of human errors and performance comparing with previous procedures. Experiments were performed to compare the performances of two tasks which are described in compliance with each writer's guide of before and after the improvement During each task was performed in experiments, changes of physiological responses such as EEG and ECG were measured to evaluate the cognitive workload and the stress of operators in each task. And also, as the performance, frequencies of errors and cognition speeds of each task were evaluated. In the results of the experiment, the portions of the ${\beta}$ wave decreased in the tasks overall after the improvement. In the case of ECG, change rates of the mean of R-R interval were decreased in the tasks after improvement. In the results of the performance, the cognition and the response time of the tasks after the improvement were predominant with statistical significancies. Error times in the tasks after improvement were decreased or same to the tasks before improvement. Conclusively, it was validated that the procedures were described in compliance with the improved EOP writer's guide had effects on the reduction of human errors and improvement of performance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.44 no.6
• /
• pp.653-662
• /
• 2012

We evaluate the technical and organizational aspects of the severe accident management guideline (SAMG), focusing on the decision-making process in the technical support center (TSC). From the technical aspects, we conclude that the present SAMG is a good tool that can assist the TSC in efficiently managing probable severe accidents. However, we suggest that the clear separation of the emergency operating procedure (EOP) and SAMG, which shifts plant control from the main control room (MCR) to the TSC, might not be an effective framework from an organizational perspective. Studies on organizational behavior demonstrate that a group decision made under a risky situation might be polarized in either a risky or cautious way. We recognize that we cannot be free from the polarization effect since the current SAMG recommends that the TSC evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of strategies to be implemented and choose the best one based on a group decision process. Illustrative examples of accident management under risky conditions are recapitulated from previous studies of the authors and we propose that the SAMG should be more proceduralized to remove this polarization from the decision-making process.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.37-50
• /
• 1993

To evaluate the sequence of event and the Thermohydraulic behavior during total loss of feedwater accident and recovery procedure, a RELAP5/MOD3 calculation is performed and compared with the LOFT L9-l/L3-3 experiment. Also, the predictability of the code for the major Thermohydraulic phenomena following the accident is assessed. As a result, it is found that a pressure control using the spray until the time the water level reaches the top of the pressurizer, an overpressure protection by pressurizer PORV, a recovery of the secondary heat removal capability by refilling steam generator, and an effective cooldown by the continued natural circulation can be performed without core uncovery. It is also found that the plant-specific evaluation is necessary to confirm the effectiveness of the current symptom-oriented emergency operating procedure, especially in an overpressure protection performance and steam generator recovery performance.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.16 no.7
• /
• pp.43-53
• /
• 2015

More than 70 percent of the Korean territory consists of mountain area so development of mountain district is essential to urbanize continuously. Thus, technological developments for risk factors and standards and manuals must be needed to prevent mountain disaster. Risk Management Manual should be made and operated in government legislation related to national disaster, but there is still no Emergency Management Standard Manual and Emergency Response-Practical Manual to prevent mountain disaster. This study suggests the improvement plans that are legislated but not established cleary in the field of disaster in urban area. The main items are like as 1) adaptable standard and practical manual to prevent mountain disaster in urban area, 2) reinforcement between managing department and interagency vertically and horizontally in central and local government organization, 3) Personal SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) not EOP (Emergency Operation Plan), 4) considering 13 items selected by Ministry of Public Safety and Security, 5) schematization with personal action plan, 6) check list to do in the event of mountain disaster, and 7) regular practice per quarter.