Using micro saint to predict performance in a nuclear power plant control room

The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requires a technical basis for regulatory actions. In the area of human factors, one possible technical basis is human performance modeling technology including task network modeling. This study assessed the feasibility and validity of task network modeling to predict the performance of control room crews. Task network models were built that matched the experimental conditions of a study on computerized procedures that was conducted at North Carolina State University. The data from the {open_quotes}paper procedures{close_quotes} conditions were used to calibrate the task network models. Then, the models were manipulated to reflect expected changes when computerized procedures were used. These models` predictions were then compared to the experimental data from the {open_quotes}computerized conditions{close_quotes} of the North Carolina State University study. Analyses indicated that the models predicted some subsets of the data well, but not all. Implications for the use of task network modeling are discussed.