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2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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What’s the most difficult question you’ve been asked as a maintenance instructor?
Blye Widmar
"Where are the prints?!"
This was the final question in an onslaught of verbal feedback, comments, and critiques I received from my students back in 2019. I had two years of instructor experience and was teaching a class that had been meticulously rehearsed in preparation for an accreditation visit. I knew the training material well and transferred that knowledge effectively enough for all the students to pass the class. As we wrapped up, I asked the students how they felt about my first big system-level class, and they did not hold back.
“Why was the exam from memory when we don’t work from memory in the plant?” “Why didn’t we refer to the vendor documents?” “Why didn’t we practice more on the mock-up?” And so on.
Rajiv Bhatnagar, Don W. Miller, Brian K. Hajek, and, John E. Stasenko
Nuclear Technology | Volume 89 | Number 3 | March 1990 | Pages 281-317
Technical Paper | Nuclear Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT90-A34368
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An integrated Operator Advisor System (OAS) has been built using generic task methodology. The operator’s activities of plant monitoring, data interpretation, procedure execution, and diagnosis have been implemented as the four generic tasks in the system. The OAS is capable of identifying the abnormal functioning of the plant in terms of threats to safety, preenumerated abnormal events, and deviations from normality. After the identification of abnormal functioning, the system will identify the procedures to be executed to mitigate the consequences of abnormal functioning and will help the operator by displaying the procedure steps and monitoring the success of actions taken. The system also is capable of diagnosing the cause of abnormal functioning. The diagnosis is done in parallel to the task of procedure execution. The system is designed to operate in real time and can change its focus of attention depending on current priorities. The system also is designed to provide defense-in-depth in situations when there are no available procedures or the available procedures cannot be successful. The OAS has been tested with a scenario and a limited number of procedures for abnormal events and safety threats. The system responds as expected according to the procedures and knowledge incorporated in it.
