Applying a CSA scale to the evaluation of spatial operation ability for use of a control-display device

The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility of applying the CSA scale to measure the individual spatial operation ability of operators using a control-display device. Because competent operators may be able to reduce the possibility of serious accidents from the control room, it is important to be able to effectively measure the individual differences among operators. For this reason, we adopted a 2 (cognitive styles)x2 (control-display pairing patterns) split-plot design for our experiment. This paper examined the differences between the performances of participants with field-dependent (FD) cognitive styles and field-independent (FI) cognitive styles in control-display pairing tasks, and the correlation between CSA scores and performances. The results of the experiment indicated that the CSA scale is capable of distinguishing between employees in their capacity to operate control-display devices effectively. Therefore, it is suggested that together with other performance measurement criteria, the CSA scale should serve as a measurement criterion to help screen control room operators. This would reduce the occurrence of possible errors and help to improve control room safety.