ABSTRACT
Introduction As part of an overall human factors assessment of a large nuclear chemical plant, detailed assessments of the various control centres were completed in the de tailed design stage. Aspects of design were assessed by comparison against existing ergonomics guidelines (e.g. console design, control room layout, VDU system design, and environmental issues, etc . ) . It was possible to perfonn the assessment in this way as there exist precise recommendations for individual factors (e.g. anthropometric data exist to assist the design and layout of worksta tions, and recommendations exist relating to the noise levels tolerable by the operators, and the temperature range comfortable to the operators, etc . ) . How ever, the optimum manning and staffing of the control centre is not so easy to define. The number of personnel required to perfonn the necessary actions within a control centre is specifically related to the number, frequency and nature of the tasks involved. It is essential that there is an adequate provision of staff to prevent overloading in nonnal and abnonnal conditions, without also creating boredom due to lack of stimulation. This study was carried out to give an early approximate indication of the number of staff that would be required in a local control room.
