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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.
Casey Kovesdi, Zachary Spielman, Katya LeBlanc, Brandon Rice
Nuclear Technology | Volume 202 | Number 2 | May-June 2018 | Pages 220-229
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2018.1455461
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An important element of human factors engineering (HFE) pertains to measurement and evaluation (M&E). The role of HFE-M&E should be integrated throughout the entire control room modernization (CRM) process and be used for human–system performance evaluation and diagnostic purposes to resolve potential human engineering deficiencies and other human–machine interface design issues. NUREG-0711 describes how HFE in CRM should employ a hierarchical set of measures, particularly during integrated system validation, including plant performance, personnel task performance, situation awareness, cognitive workload, and anthropometric/physiological factors. Historically, subjective measures have been primarily used since they are easier to collect and do not require specialized equipment. However, there are pitfalls with relying solely on subjective measures in M&E such as negatively impacting reliability, sensitivity, and objectivity. As part of comprehensively capturing a diverse set of measures that strengthen findings and inferences made about the benefits from emerging technologies like advanced displays, this paper discusses the value of using eye tracking as an objective method that can be used in M&E. A brief description of eye tracking technology and relevant eye tracking measures is provided. Additionally, technical considerations and the unique challenges with using eye tracking in full-scale simulations are addressed. Finally, this paper shares preliminary findings regarding the use of a wearable eye tracking system in a full–scale simulator study. These findings should help guide future full–scale simulator studies using eye tracking as a methodology to evaluate human-system performance.