Review of the IEEE Standard for Computerized Operating Procedure Systems

Increasingly nuclear power plant procedures, such as emergency operating procedures, are being presented in computer form with functionality to support operator use and management of the procedures. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) currently has guidance for the review of computer-based procedures (CBPs); however, there remain CBP functions and human performance issues for which up-to-date guidance is lacking. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has initiated a standard development effort to address the human factors engineering (HFE) aspects of CBP systems. When completed, it may provide guidance to supplement the NRC staff's review criteria. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the suitability of the IEEE Standard for use in the NRC's HFE safety reviews of CBP systems and to ensure that the guidance meets the NRC's standard for scientific and engineering rigor used in its own guidance development efforts. We established the following criteria with which to evaluate the Standard: (1) it should meet an existing need of NRC reviewers, (2) it should be based in sound HFE principles, (3) it should be thoroughly peer-reviewed, and (4) it should address CBP-related human performance issues identified in the literature. This report describes the methodology we used to evaluate each criterion. Our evaluation concluded that the Standard generally does meet these criteria, however several areas were identified for which additional clarifications are needed. Thus consideration of the Standard's use by the NRC is supported. The standard evaluation methodology developed in this study can be generally applied to the review of other HFE standards being considered for possible use or endorsement by the NRC