People in Control: Human Factors in Control Room Design

As industrial processes have become more automated, there is increasing concern about the performance of the people who control these systems. Human error is increasingly cited as the cause of accidents across many sectors of industry.

This book provides state-of-the-art information on various aspects of human-machine interaction and human-centred issues encountered in the control room setting. Subject coverage includes vigilance and human error in control room situations, analysis and training of control room activities, and control room design including alarm systems.

Based on a successful multi-disciplinary IEE conference and illustrated with useful casestudies, this book is essential reading for all students, engineering professionals and managers interested in human-machine interaction and human performance and ergonomics within the control room setting.

Jan Noyes is Professor of Human Factors Psychology at the University of Bristol. Her research interests include the human factors of advanced and emerging technologies. She is a Fellow of the Ergonomics Society and an Associate Member of the IEE. In 1999, she was awarded the Otto Edholm medal for her contribution to ergonomics application and research. She has written over 120 publications including five books, and was awarded the IEE Informatics Premium Award for her paper on 'engineering psychology and system safety'. She was also Chair of the 1999 and 2001 IEE People In Control conferences.

Matthew Bransby was a leading authority on control room alarm systems. His career included four years lecturing in Control Engineering at Sheffield University, 22 years in the electricity supply industry and three years as an engineering consultant. He was involved in implementing novel control systems and running major process control projects. His work on alarm systems included carrying out research for the Health and Safety Executive in the UK, and writing an industry best practice guide. He acted as an Expert Witness in process control and was a Fellow of the IEE. He died in 2000.