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3
Research Methodology and Management
APPLIED RESEARCH
Applied research usually is thought of in terms of the direct
transfer of knowledge to application in a particular industry. When
there is a clear objective to be met as well as a framework of
knowledge that can be brought to bear on the problem, then
it seems reasonable to sponsor specific studies that will produce
tangible results ready for application to nuclear power plants.
However, if this is the only kind of applied research sponsored by
the nuclear Industry, then the industry is hostage to the maturity
of basic research developments in a particular scientific field.
Partial knowledge and approximate models (by the standards
of basic research) can have important implications for incremental
improvements on significant problems in the applied world. This
means that one kind of applied research is the collection and
synthesis of existing research results applicable to the nuclear
power plant context. This requires people or teams of people
that have expertise or experience that spans disciplines. Although
at the time of Three Mile Island few behavioral scientists were
familiar with the world of nuclear power, this is no longer a critical
bottleneck. However, one should note that actually doing this type
of review and synthesis is difficult. Too often the result is a dilution
of the results of basic research for the noninitiated when what is
desired is a distillation of what is really essential and relevant to
the basic behavioral science questions that ultimately motivated
the research.
30
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The nuclear industry should also seek to influence research
conducted in other institutions so that the research base available
to solve the industry's problems will expand. This means that
the NRC and the nuclear industry should attempt to influence
the research agendas of organizations that perform research (e.g.,
universities, institutes, laboratories, research companies, and re-
search organizations within industrial firms) in the direction of
NRC and industry goals and needs. One way to do this is to
provide access to experienced nuclear personnel and facilities for
such researchers.
The types of applied research that should be sponsored or con-
ducted by nuclear industry organizations fall into two categories:
(1) the utilization of available research and (2) nuclear-specific re-
search activities. Activities in the utilization of available research
category begins with the decision of what behavioral science is-
sues are relevant to nuclear power plants. Research can then be
sponsored to identify, collect, and synthesize knowledge. Since the
research base changes over time, this category includes tracking
research over time. In some cases the existing knowledge base is
impoverished; as a result, there is little information to synthesize
and apply. In that case what is needed is to encourage and stim-
ulate growth on the behavioral science issues relevant to nuclear
power plants. This does not necessarily mean sponsoring nuclear-
specific research, but fostering through various means research on
the sociobehavioral issues that are seen to have relevance to nu-
clear power plants. For example, the research base on measuring
the quality of computer-based displays is thin. While some interim
results are available, the industry needs to encourage more work
to identify the elements of an effective display so that results can
be transferred to the nuclear industry.
The focus of nuclear-specific research activities is the applica-
tion of behavioral science and research methods knowledge to the
nuclear power plant. There are two parts to this activity. First,
there is the need to sponsor, encourage, and stimulate informed
innovation in developments intended directly for the nuclear in-
dustry. The words encourage and stimulate are used in addition
to sponsor because NRC policies can have strong effects on the
willingness of industrial organizations to develop new systems,
techniques, and on-line or off-line human performance aids.
Informed innovation is an open-ended creative process to con-
vert the research base into systems and techniques that have an
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impact. In today's era of computer technology, many develop
meets are possible, and it is difficult to decide a priori which will
be most effective. For example, behavioral science research can re-
veal the potential benefits of exploratory training systems. There
may be many different specific systems which could be developed
to realize that potential. The NRC and the nuclear industry too
"ether need to create an environment that supports and stimulates
this process of informed innovation.
Second, feedback is needed on the effects of changes to help
filter and focus Innovation. Feedback and evaluation complement
innovation. In many areas, changes have been introduced into the
nuclear power plant as a sociotechnical system, but the effects of
those changes have not been assessed and are not yet understood.
RECOMMENDED RESEARCH APPROACHES
There are many important considerations in managing re-
search: how to set the research agenda, how to achieve higher
quality, how to achieve more useful research results, and how to
achieve maximum leverage from available funds. Peer review of
proposals and of draft reports by behavioral scientists with exper-
tise in the broad range of disciplines required for an integrated
approach of the human-technical system is needed to ensure the
quality of sponsored research.*
To be effective, a research program must operate coherently for
an extended~period rather than change in response to each new;
immediate external demand. Since elective research ~ cumula-
tive, continuity is as unportant as level of expenditure. Timely
research is always assisted by improvement in the quality of re-
search archives. At our request the panel was supplied with a
complete list of NRC human factors reports. The amount of work
and tune required to obtain this list was substantial and reflected a
poor cataloging system. If the NRC cannot rapidly and effectively
retrieve its own research, how can it be used either for regulation
or by industry? Attention should be given to compiling an annual
review of relevant research. This review would include not only
* We are aware of at least one case where this has occurred success-
fully: the NRC-sponsored research on cognitive modeling (NUREG/CR-4862,
1987a), for which a technical review by a distinguished group of scientists
was held.
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NRC work but also work related to regulatory human factors in
general. The current NRC report on the status of its programs is
primarily for internal administrative use and does not summarize
achievements in a way that facilitates successful transfer of results
to industry.
The task of managing, directing, and conducting behavioral
and social science research in the context of the nuclear industry
is a challenging one, and our picture of the intricacies of a systems
approach supports this claim. Human factors and organizational
research requires formal training and sustained experience. It
must be conducted by qualified people and overseen by qualified
monitors. If human factors research is to be maintained at a
level of endeavor and with the quality necessary to cope with
the problems encountered, leadership at the branch head level or
above must be provided by someone with the necessary experience
and qualifications. In this connection, we believe that human
factors and social science research ~ not to be managed as a part
of human reliability research; rather, human reliability research
is one important portion of a broader human factors and social
science research program.
To date much activity and research related to human factors in
the nuclear industry has for the most part been one-shot attempts
to generate a final answer to the particular human-related issue in
question. The attitude appears to have been one of getting these
human issues resolved once and for all. While this research has
sensitized many to the importance of human-related issues, it is
now time for a serious and continuing commitment to research on
the nuclear power plant as a total sociotechnical system.
Barriers to sociotechnical research applicable to the nuclear
power plant world have as much to do with getting good re-
searchers to address behavioral science problems with relevance to
nuclear power plants as with having adequate funds for research.
Part of taking the interaction between the human and technical
systems seriously in nuclear power plant safety means that this
access to realistic settings, to facilities such as simulators, and to
people such as experienced operators must be greatly enhanced.
Research money alone will not provide the needed knowledge base
without good access to the nuclear power plant world for be-
havioral science experts. For example, actual incidents are an
important source of data to calibrate analytic models of human
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performance, yet to our knowledge no one with expertise in hu-
man performance and error is part of either the NRC's or INPO's
incident investigation teams.
Although difficult, it is important to collect data on human
performance with new interfaces and decision aids. While research
activities should not conflict with the operational needs of running
plants or meeting training requirements, one can bring together
for study experienced personnel and examples of new interfaces or
decision aids. Ways are needed to allow research and operational
needs to coexist and to assist one another. If mechanisms to
enhance researchers' access to facilities and people are put in place,
the nuclear power plant will become an application world that
offers exciting research possibilities from a scientific perspective
that can at the same time produce results that will contribute to
enhanced safety.
Several important general problems arise when conducting
research on complex human-machine systems. One is generaliz-
ability. In order for the results of a particular research project to
be generalizable to an industry population (of nuclear operators,
maintenance personnel, or managers), certain statistical criteria
must be set. A second problem is a sufficiently large number of
trials, people, and treatment conditions are needed to make the
statistical power of the results adequate and meaningful. Because
of the small population of experienced nuclear power plant person-
ne] and their demanding schedules, it is frequently difficult to find
a sufficient number of participants for experimental studies. In the
human factors area by far the greater number of research reports
published by the NRC are not experimental studies but rather
reports on methods (such as task analysis), models (such as simu-
lations or conceptual models of task allocation), or surveys. Very
few are true experiments or well designed observational studies.
How can facilities be provided for the use of researchers to
investigate important issues? Access for researchers to sites, simu-
lators, and personnel in cooperation with the utilities and industry
is critical. Pilot studies can often be conducted using part-task
simulators or in laboratories, but research that is adequate to
convince the utilities and the public and to bear the weight of
regulation must have industrial validation.
A case could also be made for a national research facility for
the study of the human factors of complex systems. A generic or
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reconfigurable simulator could be instaDed at a laboratory ded-
icated to high-technology human factors, in a national research
laboratory or university. We understand that steps have been
taken by the NRC to acquire such a facility in the form of three
simulators. In the meantime, efforts should be made to arrange
for utilities and vendors to provide facilities. Efforts should also
continue to be made to foster international cooperation as a form
of cost-effective research.
To summarize these points: the NRC and the nuclear indus-
try should try to stimulate research activity in relevant areas of
behavioral science, to use outside experts to track and synthesize
this research with an eye to opportunities to apply the results
to nuclear power plants, to use outside experts to maintain a
coherent strategy for research needs on human-related issues, to
improve the technical review of programs, to provide researchers
access to nuclear power plant personnel and facilities, to sponsor
the best people in the relevant behavioral areas, and to emphasize
continuity and long-term progress in important areas.
SOURCES AND USE OF EXISTING KNOWLEDGE
Two major sources of knowledge contain information that is
applicable to the problems of improving the human side of nuclear
safety. The first source is the published and unpublished research
literature from the areas of human factors, behavioral science,
organizational theory, management science and computer science
and engineering. The second source of knowledge is derivable
from the ongoing programs and expertise of those institutions who
sponsor or conduct research and information gathering programs
related to human performance and nuclear safety. This section
reviews these two important knowledge sources, examines current
barriers to their use, and suggests actions that, if taken, would
reduce these barriers.
The Existing Literature
Within the past fifty years a large literature has accumulated
in the fields of human factors and related behavioral and social
science areas. Some of this literature is in the form of published
journal articles, theoreticalmonographs, texts, handbooks, design
guides, and state of the art summaries. Even though much of this
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work has been done on other types of systems and organizations
than nuclear, it nevertheless constitutes a valuable knowledge base
that should be exploited by those concerned with the adm~nistra-
tion, planning, and conduct of nuclear safety research. For exam-
ple, recent state of the art summaries in the human factors area by
Doff, Kaufman, and Thomas (1986), Boff and Lincoln (1987), and
Salvendy (1987) contain fundamental data and principles related
to human performance In systems contexts that are applicable to
nuclear concerns. While it might be assumed that the published
literature would be easy to identify and access, it comes from many
fields and speciality areas and therefore is covered by many differ-
ent indexing, abstracting, and bibliographic services and housed
in many different libraries. Unless a potential user is well-versed in
information and library science, obtaining information from these
diverse sources can be a major problem.
Another important source of information exists in the form
of technical reports which are often not available from private
or federal bibliographic search services and libraries. For exam-
ple, many relevant reports published by military laboratories and
their contractors; by the NRC, the national laboratories and their
contractors; by other organizations such as the Electric Power
Research Institute (EPRI); and by the Institute for Electric and
Electronic Engineers (IEEE) on human factors standards are not
systematically covered by current abstracting and indexing ser-
vices or readily available from most libraries. Even less available
is work on performance indicators developed by the Institute for
Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) which is seldom made public
to researchers.
The inability of a typical user to quickly and easily locate,
evaluate, acquire, and apply information from these published
and technical report sources represents a barrier to the use of
knowledge that already exists and wastes resources unnecessarily
when it is duplicated.
Those responsible for the administration and conduct of the
human factors research of the type presented in the panel's agenda
should be able to access a single bibliographic data base that con-
tains abstracts of all of the published and technical report litera-
ture applicable to their needs and interests. Such an information
search and retrieval system does not now exist and should be
developed.
Those who administer and conduct research and those who
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use research results for regulatory analysis and decision making
also need access to a periodically updated review of research that
is applicable to the problems of improving the human side of
nuclear safety. Such a state of the science and art review would
distill, summarize, and synthesize research findings in a variety
of applicable fields; identify where gaps in knowledge exist; and
point to promising application areas. It would provide an objective
rather than an intuitive basis for informing regulation. While the
development of such a review would be a significant undertaking,
involving expertise from a variety of disciplines, its benefits would
outweigh its costs.
The development of the knowledge access and review mech-
anisms suggested here, if jointly undertaken by the NRC, DOE,
EPRI, and INPO, represents an ideal opportunity for these insti-
tutions to cooperate with one another in an undertaking which
does not threaten the integrity of any participant.
Ongoing Programs
Another major source of applicable information can be derived
from a knowledge of the ongoing research programs and expertise
of the institutions concerned with the human side of nuclear power
safety. We briefly describe these programs below and suggest
actions that could be taken to enhance mutual cooperation and
information exchange among them.
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
The long-standing human factors research program of EPRI
has produced a series of high quality research reports and research
products that are used widely throughout the industry. One rea-
son for the success of this program has been EPRI's emphasis
on developing mechanisms that ensure that the results of its re-
search are transferrable to the industry that EPRI supports. An
example of a widely used EPRI report is the Guide to Techni-
cal Reports Published 1972 through 1981 (EPRI, 1986a) and the
Guide to Technicat Reports Published January 1982-September 1,
1986 (EPRI, 1986b).
Because the scope and direction of its research is largely de-
fined by the industry, its program will not necessarily cover all
topics that require research from a safety perspective and is likely
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to emphasize research with a relatively short-term payoff. It Is
more likely to be concerned with the human factors aspects of
control room design, hardware, and software than with research
on management and organizational issues. However, several EPRI
studies have been concerned with the way in which work and
communications within plants is structured.
EPRI is also active in developing systems based on techniques
from the field of artificial intelligence and expert systems. The
NRC should undertake research on methods to evaluate such sys-
tems before they are incorporated into nuclear power plant oper-
ations, maintenance, and training.
Institute of Nuclear Power Operation (INPO)
INPO is an important broker for the successful transfer of
technology from research to the industry. Since it is not the intent
of INPO to undertake research, it cannot be expected to provide
significant effort in that area. However, together with the Nuclear
Utility Management and Resource Committee (NUMARC), INPO
could be the key to the application of research and, through the
monitoring of performance indicators, assess the long-term effects
of research applications on plant safety.
The conduct of several human factors projects recommended
by the pane! requires access to industry facilities, such as simula-
tors, as well as to industry personnel and industry data. INPO and
NUMARC should be encouraged to develop mechanisms where
this necessary access could occur.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers has,
through its Nuclear Power Engineering Committee (NPEC),
worked for several years on guidelines and standards activities.
Although it does not conduct research, NPEC could make use of
a well-organized data base. Moreover, the work of this kind of
group could be a source of ideas for research, which would help
the NRC to target its efforts. It is most important that guidelines
and standards agree with the NRC regulations to avoid sending
conflicting signals to industry. When they differ research results
and not regulatory fiat should resolve the conflict. NRC should
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have sufficient liaison with groups such as NPEC to ensure good
communication.
Department of Energy (DOE)
Another potentially useful source of knowledge applicable to
the commercial nuclear power industry are DOE programs con-
cerned with such topics as artificial intelligence and expert sys-
tems. We encourage the NRC to maintain an awareness of this
research and of its commercial applicability and to develop meth-
ods to evaluate these products as they emerge from DOE, EPRI,
and other programs.
Given the work of DOE on inherently safe reactor designs and
its role in identifying candidate systems for the next generation
of nuclear power plants, there should be close and continuing
cooperation between DOE and the NRC during the development
of this program. For example, the panel learned at one of its
briefings of a proposal for a small, inherently safe reactor that
might allow one operator to control several units at a single site.
As interesting as such a proposal may be, it raises questions about
the workload on the operator of such a system, maintenance, and
other human factors issues.
National Laboratories
The charter of the national laboratories is to provide support
to the NRC and DOE. Since the NRC has lacked the human fac-
tors staff to manage and direct all of its research, it has relied
on the national laboratories to provide it with the needed exper-
tise. Because of this need some national laboratories built up
human factors capabilities, which constitute a valuable resource
in some areas of human factors for the industry. If support, di-
rective, and commitment are provided by the NRC and DOE, it
can be presumed that the laboratories, as in the past, will respond
appropriately by rebuilding their programs.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
nuclear industry
