Good interface design improves situation awareness in control room operators

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

1-1-2012

Abstract

Good interface design can improve the situation awareness level of an operator by transmitting needed information to the operator without undue cognitive effort. Situation awareness is a predictor of performance and is especially important in the design of interfaces for the petrochemical industry, given that poor performance can lead to catastrophic results. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between situation awareness and interface design for petrochemical control room operations. Twelve participants completed three simulations (30 min each) at three workload levels (low, medium, and high). Half of the participants used an improved interface, and the remaining used an unimproved interface. Nine situation awareness questions reflecting the three levels of situation awareness were embedded in the simulation at random intervals for each session. The results showed a significant interaction effect (p = .001) between interface type and workload level. The improved (gray) interface showed higher levels of situation awareness were retained at low and medium workload levels while the unimproved (black) interface only retained high situation awareness at low workload levels. Using the improved interface may result in operators having a better understanding of the system even under increasingly complex workloads, which may ultimately improve performance.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

62nd IIE Annual Conference and Expo 2012

First Page

3687

Last Page

3695

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