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Human Factors

The role that humans play in the operation of a nuclear power plant is an important consideration for ensuring nuclear safety. Human factors engineering is the technical discipline concerned with applying knowledge about human capabilities, characteristics, and limitations to the design and operation of systems. Factors that can influence human performance and affect nuclear safety include the design and layout of the control room, usefulness of the audio and visual alarm systems, lighting, use of procedures, communication, and training.

The NRC’s human factors staff perform licensing reviews and conduct research to ensure state-of-the-art human factors principles are incorporated into nuclear power plant control room designs to support safe operation.

On this page:

Human Factors Guidance Documents

NRC staff use several guidance documents to help assess if applicable regulations related to the use of human factors principles in control room design, such as 10 CFR 50.34 (f)(2)(iii), are met. The primary guidance documents include:

  • NUREG-0800, Chapter 18, “Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition – Human Factors Engineering”
  • NUREG-0711, “Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model”
  • NUREG-0700, “Human-System Interface Design Review Guidelines”

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Human Factors Research Activities

NRC staff conduct research on human performance in nuclear operations, including simulator studies, to support licensing reviews and regulatory decisionmaking. Research products are used to inform the development and maintenance of the NRC’s guidance for conducting human factors reviews consistent with state-of-the-art human factors principles.

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Human Factors Information System (HFIS)

In the 1990s, the NRC created the Human Factors Information System (HFIS) database to gather information about human performance issues in operating nuclear power plants. The database consists of data from NRC inspection reports, licensed operator examination reports, and from Licensee Event Reports (LERs). The information in the HFIS database is not considered all-inclusive but rather is intended to provide a general overview of the types and approximate numbers of performance issues documented in these reports.

Using defined criteria, descriptions of human performance issues are sorted into the following eight categories and assigned codes:

  1. Training
  2. Procedures and Reference Documents
  3. Fitness for Duty
  4. Oversight
  5. Problem Identification & Resolution
  6. Communication
  7. Human-System Interface and Environment
  8. Work Planning and Practices

Each category is further divided into areas, and each area contains a series of details that describe the human performance issue.

Reports from the database from 1998 through 2010 for each nuclear facility are available in the Electronic Reading Room. Reports after 2010 are currently unavailable. The NRC staff are exploring new ways to improve efficiency in maintaining and managing the database and making data available to the public.

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Page Last Reviewed/Updated Friday, September 20, 2024