How Process Control Operators Derive, Update, and Apply Mental Models

The goal of this study was to understand how expert process control console operators interacted with their mental models. We classified this interaction into three forms: deriving, updating and applying the mental model. Ten operators were observed using ethnographic-based methods from the start to the end of their shift. Results revealed operators' strong mental models attained through experience as field operators, essential updates of these mental models at the start of their shifts through handovers and shift meetings, as well as the high frequency of operators performing mental simulations during task performance. The methods used here will be refined for other similar studies at other process control sites. Results from this study could also contribute towards understanding and bridging the expert-novice gap in process control.