EDF field operation computerization study

The main control room has been the subject of extensive research and actions into improved operations assistance. On the other hand, few studies concern the need for field operation improvements, which have few assistance resources adapted to working requirements. Why? Past studies have shown the inability of technology to assume job constraints (insufficient screen readability, excessive equipment weight, prohibitive response times). Nevertheless, today new technologies can be adapted to field operations, and they justify further study. Real needs exist: local operations are often complex and are led in difficult environments where conditions prevent the use of paper-based documents. The issue is a significant risk of error which might impact plant reliability. The cumbersome nature of paper procedures, the working environment and the operational feed-back of experience led us to concentrate on the field operation to identify how it may be improved by the use of these new technologies. Such equipment would allow a better traceability and quality of actions. Possibility of communications with other plant personnel and information sharing may be also immediately available for all. This paper presents a study which intends to collect assistance requirements through an analysis of working practices and organizations with local personnel. Our aim more » is to identify which of those might benefit from IT support. This collection was obtained through interviews and observations. These two methods helped us to define potential needs, constraints and consequences for work organization. This paper presents the study results and findings, identifies professions which may benefit from the use of wearable computers and describes how the reliability and efficiency of human actions would be improved. Finally we identify design requirements and criteria to be used for writing the technical specifications for a test prototype. (authors) « less