The Intersection of Advancing Technology and Human Performance

Abstract

Today's sensory and processing technologies are perceptive and precise. They can discern the environment, solve complicated problems, make assessments, and learn from experience. Although they do not think the way humans do, they can replicate many human intellectual aptitudes. Throughout the last several decades, companies have implemented advanced technology and increasingly removed the human from many aspects of nuclear operation. There are many advantages to this transition, but, like any system modification, failures inevitably manifest. In the instance of this article, human errors have resulted and have accounted for several accidents at nuclear facilities in the United States due to this transition. The accidents at these facilities due to human error often result in plant shutdowns, unnecessary expenses, and have the capacity to be problematic for people, the facilities, and environments. This article explores the context surrounding the complexity of changing technologies at the nuclear facilities and the potential exacerbation of problems caused by human error when technology advancements concerning operator interaction with control systems are implemented. To understand the complexity surrounding the human interaction with advancing technologies, the concepts of human performance and human factors are examined and then the impact of these concepts within the framework of advancing technology are applied to the operation of nuclear facilities. This review draws attention to the vulnerabilities due to human error at nuclear facilities within the context of continually advancing technology and sheds insight on the role human performance and human factors have on system design and the resulting outcome.