AM-11-44 Modularizing Emergency Procedures for Increased Ease of Use and Updating

Description:

Current procedural information on emergency actions is generally organized along two dimensions: (1) unit and (2) upset type. In some cases, there may be a distinction on board versus field actions within the procedures. This can lead to cases where an operator whose responsibility covers multiple units is expected to simultaneously utilize multiple procedures during an upset. The actions specified in each of the procedures is often the same, either because one procedure is a subset of another (e.g., loss of compressor is a subset of power failure) and/or the procedures eventually converge on a common set of tasks (e.g., shutdown unit). The industry is rapidly increasing an emphasis on procedures, expanding both depth and breadth of procedure coverage. The result is a large volume of information that at times is unwieldy and hard to keep current. The Center for Operator Performance commissioned a study at Penn State University to examine new options to improve emergency procedures. Heuristics were developed to enable automatic chunking and grouping of emergency procedures into a modular format. The procedure modules or elements can be recombined in various arrangements to match user needs, such as multiple units in one procedure for operators with multiple units or expanded detail for training versus normal use. Since the modules are used in multiple procedures, updating the information only needs to be done once and all associated procedures automatically compliant. Methods to extract and codify tacit information on procedure use (e.g., “shutdown fin fans as needed) are being evaluated and tested.