Effects of Situation Awareness Training on Novice Process Control Plant Operators

Abstract

This study investigated whether situation awareness training over and above current training practices could increase novice process control operators' system performance and situation awareness. We examined the possibility of explicitly training novices in such a way that they could quickly acquire some of the functional characteristics of experts and thereby more quickly improve performance and avoid errors. To answer this question, 24 two-member crews controlled a simulated process control plant. Participants who were exposed to the situation awareness training had better overall system performance in terms of both system stability and deviation from optimal operating conditions. Surprisingly, paper and pencil measures of the operators' situation awareness showed no significant increase in situation awareness after training. It appears as if carefully designed training programs have the potential to significantly increase novice operators' performance.

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