Team performance in process control: influences of interface design and staffing levels

A study performed at the OECD Halden Reactor Project compared the effects of interface design and staffing levels on various aspects of team performance. Teams of nuclear power plant operators participated in challenging simulator scenarios, working in either a simulated conventional plant, with a hard-control interface, or in a simulated advanced plant, with a computerized interface. Two-team staffing levels, normal and minimum, were evaluated in each plant condition. All teams participated in the same five study conditions, lasting 1-3 h each. Several measures assessed team performance: situation awareness, workload, rated team interactions, rated overall performance and objective performance. The findings revealed that combinations of interface design and staffing levels supported different aspects of performance. Larger crews consistently performed better than smaller crews in the conventional plant. In the advanced plant, both crew types performed equally well; however, smaller crews had better situation awareness than larger crews. In general, performance was better for crews using the advanced plant interface, but workload was higher. Workload also was consistently higher in the smaller crews than in the larger crews, regardless of interface type. Links between the performance measures were also noted.