An internal project was created to assess the use of large monitors in control rooms. A survey was developed and sent to companies in North America and Europe. The results show the large screens to generally be (1) dedicated for a single console, (2) have process variables for high level analyses, (3) do not utilize specialized graphics for the large screen, and (4) with content typically defined by the operators. Unequal sample sizes from different locations made statistical analyses of the results impossible.
Assess if and how large screens are effectively being used in industry. Use results to direct future research efforts.
Limited prior usage of large screens leaves many unknowns:
- What are the human factors effects/concerns?
- Can large screens be utilized ergonomically?
- What is the most effective utilization strategy?
- How are large screens currently being used?
Because operator consoles typically suffer from limited screen space, the COP was looking to fund research in area of Large Screen Usage. Advances in technology have lowered cost and improved quality of large screen displays making their use increasingly widespread. Numerous facilities are currently using and most projects are installing large displays.
It appears that operators could benefit from large screens, but significant questions and challenges regarding their use exist. The COP issued a request for a proposal for research in this area. However, upon review of competing proposals, it became clear that we didn’t know enough to know what to ask of a researcher. Each member company has different levels of usage. Decided to take step back and (internally) conduct survey of current usage in industry.
The survey results will be analyzed to identify current best practices and lessons learned, and will set the groundwork for future research to develop large display standards.