TY - GEN
T1 - Evaluating Operators’ Real-Time Mental Workload with Eye Movement Analysis in Nuclear Power Plants’ Operations
AU - Xing, Jinding
AU - Sun, Zhe
AU - Tang, Pingbo
AU - Yilmaz, Alper
AU - Boring, Ronald Laurids
AU - Edward Gibson, G.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Computing in Civil Engineering 2021 - Selected Papers from the ASCE International Conference on Computing in Civil Engineering 2021. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Nuclear power plant (NPP) operators need to have sufficient real-time cognitive ability to ensure their adherence to operational procedures and solve unexpected problems. The heavy cognitive load will degrade such ability and lead to operation errors. Previous studies show that the NPP workflows' (a network of activities) properties, such as workflow structure types, activity types, and recurring activities, can significantly impact the operators' cognitive load. However, which workflow properties could lead to a higher cognitive load are unclear. This study examines what workflow properties pose cognitive challenges to operators and quantitatively evaluates these properties' impact on the operators' cognitive load. The authors designed a simulation experiment on a nuclear reactor operation simulator called "Rancor" and recruited four students as pseudo-operators to perform reactor startup tasks. In the experiment, we collected the students' eye movement data using a mobile eye tracker. Participants' pupil diameter changes and eye movement types can indicate cognitive load and information searching strategies. The correlation analysis results indicate that workflow structure (i.e., sequential and parallel structures) and activity types correlate with participants' pupil diameter changes. Such correlation indicates that parallel structure and recurring activities demand relatively high cognitive efforts. Moreover, eye movement analysis reveals that recurring activities require more fixed attention from operators. Overall, a quantitative evaluation of the relationship between workflow properties and the cognitive process advances understanding about NPP operators' cognitive load and information searching strategies while executing different types of workflows.
AB - Nuclear power plant (NPP) operators need to have sufficient real-time cognitive ability to ensure their adherence to operational procedures and solve unexpected problems. The heavy cognitive load will degrade such ability and lead to operation errors. Previous studies show that the NPP workflows' (a network of activities) properties, such as workflow structure types, activity types, and recurring activities, can significantly impact the operators' cognitive load. However, which workflow properties could lead to a higher cognitive load are unclear. This study examines what workflow properties pose cognitive challenges to operators and quantitatively evaluates these properties' impact on the operators' cognitive load. The authors designed a simulation experiment on a nuclear reactor operation simulator called "Rancor" and recruited four students as pseudo-operators to perform reactor startup tasks. In the experiment, we collected the students' eye movement data using a mobile eye tracker. Participants' pupil diameter changes and eye movement types can indicate cognitive load and information searching strategies. The correlation analysis results indicate that workflow structure (i.e., sequential and parallel structures) and activity types correlate with participants' pupil diameter changes. Such correlation indicates that parallel structure and recurring activities demand relatively high cognitive efforts. Moreover, eye movement analysis reveals that recurring activities require more fixed attention from operators. Overall, a quantitative evaluation of the relationship between workflow properties and the cognitive process advances understanding about NPP operators' cognitive load and information searching strategies while executing different types of workflows.
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U2 - 10.1061/9780784483893.178
DO - 10.1061/9780784483893.178
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85132548852
T3 - Computing in Civil Engineering 2021 - Selected Papers from the ASCE International Conference on Computing in Civil Engineering 2021
SP - 1457
EP - 1464
BT - Computing in Civil Engineering 2021 - Selected Papers from the ASCE International Conference on Computing in Civil Engineering 2021
A2 - Issa, R. Raymond A.
PB - American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
T2 - 2021 International Conference on Computing in Civil Engineering, I3CE 2021
Y2 - 12 September 2021 through 14 September 2021
ER -