Control Room Annunciation - Problem Assessment and Selection of Improvement Priorities

Abstract

In 1997, Pickering B undertook a project to examine current annunciation practice and identify improvement opportunities and priorities. The objectives and scope of the study were to: Document the deficiencies with control room annunciation and the subsequent operational and financial impacts to station operations, Develop an Operations-based definition of the requirements for annunciation to adequately support control room staff, Propose annunciation improvements based on a comparison of the annunciation deficiencies identified and the operational needs to be met, Assess the relative operational impact. and financial benefits and costs of the improvement initiatives proposed, and Recommend annunciation improvement priorities that offer a mix of operational and financial return for improvement investment. This paper discusses the rationale for the project, outlines the approaches applied in achieving the assessment objectives, reviews the key assessment findings and describes the improvement initiatives recommended.