A Technique for Human ErrorAnalysis (ATHEANA) (NUREG/CR-6350)
On this page:
Download complete document
Publication Information
Manuscript Completed: April 1996
Date Published: May 1996
Prepared by:
S.E. Cooper, SAIC
A.M. Ramey-Smith, NRC
J. Wreathall, WWG
G.W. Parry, NUS
D.C. Bley, WWG
W.J. Luckas, J.H. Taylor, M.T. Barriere, BNL
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Upton, NY 11973
Subcontractors:
Science Applications International Corporation
Reston, VA 22090
Halliburton NUS Corporation
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
The WreathWood Group
Dublin, OH 43016
A.M. Ramey-Smith, NRC Project Manager
Prepared for:
Division of Systems Technology
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001
NRC Job Code L2415
Availability Notice
Abstract
Probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) has become an important tool in the nuclear power industry, both for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the operating utilities. Human reliability analysis (HRA) is a critical element of PRA; however, limitations in the analysis of human actions in PRAs have tong been recognized as a constraint when using PRA.
A multidisciplinary HRA framework has been developed with the objective of providing a structured approach for analyzing operating experience and understanding nuclear plant safety, human error, and the underlying factors that affect them. The concepts of the framework have matured into a rudimentary working HRA method. A trial application of the method has demonstrated that it is possible to identify potentially significant human failure events from actual operating experience which are not generally included in current PRAs, as well as to identify associated performance shaping factors and plant conditions that have an observable impact on the frequency of core damage.
A general process was developed, albeit in preliminary form, that addresses the iterative steps of defining human failure events and estimating their probabilities using search schemes. Additionally, a knowledge-base was developed which describes the links between performance shaping factors and resulting unsafe actions.
Page Last Reviewed/Updated Wednesday, March 24, 2021