Cover
Title Page
About the Author
Preface
1 Introduction to the Guide
1. 1.1 Purpose and Scope
2 HF Design Process
1. 2.1 Outline Design Process
2. 2.2 Detailed Design Process
3 Workspace Human Factors
1. 3.1 Outline Design Approach
2. 3.2 Workspace Design and Traffic Flow
3. 3.3 Workspace Design and Console Configuration
4. 3.4 Workspace and Panel Design
5. 3.5 Seating
6. 3.6 Mock‐ups and Example Workspaces
7. 3.7 Maintenance
8. 3.8 Co‐location
4 Human‐machine Interface Design
1. 4.1 Outline Design Approach
2. 4.2 HMI Operating Philosophy
3. 4.3 Detailed Workstation and Console Design
4. 4.4 Controls and Displays
5. 4.5 Alerts (Alarms and Warnings)
5 Human‐computer Interface Design
1. 5.1 Outline Design Approach
2. 5.2 General HCI Operating Philosophy
3. 5.3 Detailed Design of Controls and Displays
4. 5.4 Menus
5. 5.5 Windows
6. 5.6 Controls
7. 5.7 Machinery Controls
8. 5.8 Dialogue Boxes
9. 5.9 Use of Colour
10. 5.10 Text
11. 5.11 Symbology
12. 5.12 Mimics
13. 5.13 Touch Screens
14. 5.14 Day and Night Viewing Conditions
15. 5.15 Workload and Automation
6 Environmental Ergonomics
1. 6.1 Outline
2. 6.2 Lighting
3. 6.3 Noise
4. 6.4 Heating and Ventilation
5. 6.5 Platform Motion
7 Training
1. 7.1 Outline
2. 7.2 Training Needs Analysis and Specification
3. 7.3 Training Equipment
4. 7.4 Summary Approach to Training
8 Assessment and Acceptance Testing
1. 8.1 Method
2. 8.2 Acceptance Testing and Human Factors
3. 8.3 Control Room HF Design Process and Acceptance Planning
4. 8.4 Acceptance Testing Detail
References
Index
End User License Agreement

List of Tables

Chapter 02
1. Table 2.1 Example crew spatial link table.
2. Table 2.2 Example scripted scenario: Fire in diesel generator.
Chapter 04
1. Table 4.1 Alert response categorisation.
2. Table 4.2 Alert specification and design process.
Chapter 05
1. Table 5.1 Example recommended pastel colours for RN IPMS pipe in‐fills.
2. Table 5.2 Example text characteristics table.
3. Table 5.3 Example symbols and icons table.
4. Table 5.4 Example of DG icon presentation states.
Chapter 06
1. Table 6.1 Approximate ambient and task lighting values (lux).
2. Table 6.2 Control room surface reflectance (%).
3. Table 6.3 Approximate recommended noise levels: IMO ships.
4. Table 6.4 Relation between sound level and duration for an Leq of 85 dB(A).
5. Table 6.5 Human responses to a range of effective temperatures.
Chapter 08
1. Table 8.1 Example outline action damage mission critical task script.
2. Table 8.2 Scenario script.

List of Illustrations

Chapter 02
1. Figure 2.1 Outline HF design process.
2. Figure 2.2 HF design process.
3. Figure 2.3 Factors impacting human performance.
4. Figure 2.4 Task ‐ operator ‐ system – environment.
5. Figure 2.5 Breakdown of functions down to actions.
6. Figure 2.6 Example of functional terms.
7. Figure 2.7 HMS Vanguard on operations with the TYPE 45 Destroyer.
8. Figure 2.8 HMS Vanguard: The use of simple, reliable basic equipment is sometimes all that is required.
9. Figure 2.9 HMS Albion: Manning needs to take account of different system and operational requirements.
10. Figure 2.10 Single or multi‐screen consoles.
11. Figure 2.11 Example spatial operator link analysis.
12. Figure 2.12 Example TNA process.
13. Figure 2.13 Control room architecture example.
14. Figure 2.14 Control room staff hierarchy example.
15. Figure 2.15 The bridge of ice patrol vessel HMS Protector is pictured lit up at night during a transit in the Antarctic.
16. Figure 2.16 Example simple graphics top level HCI.
17. Figure 2.17 Example graphics top level HCI mimic.
Chapter 03
1. Figure 3.1 Outline control room layout fully manned.
2. Figure 3.2 Outline control room layout minimally manned.
3. Figure 3.3 Ramps and stairs.
4. Figure 3.4 Railings 1060 mm height advised (CDH: Clear Deck Height).
5. Figure 3.5 Ladders.
6. Figure 3.6 Fire fighting team zone envelope.
7. Figure 3.7 Key spatial dimensions to enhance traffic flow.
8. Figure 3.8 Shared screens multiple operator seated console.
9. Figure 3.9 Shared eye‐balling multiple operator seated console.
10. Figure 3.10 Seated twin operator workspace for a 1940s Lancaster.
11. Figure 3.11 Seated twin operator workspace for a modern jet.
12. Figure 3.12 Example single operator standing console.
13. Figure 3.13 Example single operator seated console.
14. Figure 3.14 Approximate control and display locations.
15. Figure 3.15 Example panel layout.
16. Figure 3.16 Example control room of a moving grate incinerator for municipal solid waste, Steag, Germany.
17. Figure 3.17 Traditional warship SCC control room circa 1980.
18. Figure 3.18 Multiple control room operations across two different platforms.
19. Figure 3.19 Example seated console requiring large screen display (LSD) viewing.
20. Figure 3.20 Approximate seat dimensions (elevation).
21. Figure 3.21 Approximate seat dimensions (plan).
22. Figure 3.22 Simple mock‐up console for trialling a twin‐screen display console.
23. Figure 3.23 Mine hunter bridge panel layout.
24. Figure 3.24 Early aircraft carrier FLYCO configuration.
25. Figure 3.25 Early FLYCO console design allowing see‐over.
Chapter 04
1. Figure 4.1 HMI design philosophy.
2. Figure 4.2 Single screen workstation.
3. Figure 4.3 Multi‐screen workstation.
4. Figure 4.4 Well designed functional watch developed for the Swiss Army.
5. Figure 4.5 Alerts in the TYPE 23 Frigate Illuminated in yellow over the permanent mimics.
6. Figure 4.6 Generic prototyping of alerts for the Royal Navy.
7. Figure 4.7 Generic prototyping (circa 1998) of a touch screen HCI based on the TYPE 23 frigate.
Chapter 05
1. Figure 5.1 HCI design philosophy.
2. Figure 5.2 Example functional software overview.
3. Figure 5.3 Example overview of HCI components on a warship platform management system (PMS).
4. Figure 5.4 Example of permanently available information at top of screen.
5. Figure 5.5 Example secondary navigation bars and hyperlinks.
6. Figure 5.6 Example overview page: power management overview.
7. Figure 5.7 Example system page: Split design – Port LV switchboard.
8. Figure 5.8 Example system page: Split design – Emergency LV switchboard.
9. Figure 5.9 Example control panel/mimic design page – Port DG1.
10. Figure 5.10 Example ring main mimic page – HPSW.
11. Figure 5.11 Example single screen HCI.
12. Figure 5.12 Example twin screen HCI.
13. Figure 5.13 Example pop‐up window.
14. Figure 5.14 Example navigation group buttons: Arrangement.
15. Figure 5.15 Example navigation group buttons: Presentation states.
16. Figure 5.16 Example system navigation buttons: Primary navigation bar arrangement.
17. Figure 5.17 Example system navigation buttons: Presentation states.
18. Figure 5.18 Example system navigation buttons: Primary navigation bar arrangement.
19. Figure 5.19 Example system navigation buttons: Presentation states.
20. Figure 5.20 Example hyperlink buttons (large and medium sizes).
21. Figure 5.21 Example hyperlink buttons (small size).
22. Figure 5.22 Example pop‐up window start/stop controls: Power management overview page.
23. Figure 5.23 Example permanently available start and stop controls on Port DG1 page.
24. Figure 5.24 Example start button: Presentation states.
25. Figure 5.25 Example mode controls: Most common states.
26. Figure 5.26 Example mode controls: Less common states.
27. Figure 5.27 Mode control and labels greyed out.
28. Figure 5.28 Example breaker controls: In true state (one in horizontal orientation and one in vertical orientation).
29. Figure 5.29 Example breaker controls: One breaker in discrepancy.
30. Figure 5.30 Example breaker button and icon: Presentation states (vertical orientation).
31. Figure 5.31 Example valve controls (two valves open and one valve closed).
32. Figure 5.32 Example valve button and icon: Presentation states.
33. Figure 5.33 Example dialogue boxes with alert borders.
34. Figure 5.34 Example dialogue boxes integrated into hyperlink.
35. Figure 5.35 Vehicle hazard warning.
36. Figure 5.36 Possible colour palette.
37. Figure 5.37 Preferred character height from subject trials.
38. Figure 5.38 Example ringmain mimic design page: HPSW.
39. Figure 5.39 Example electrical mimic design page: Power management overview.
40. Figure 5.40 Example propulsion mimic design page: Propulsion overview.
41. Figure 5.41 Example tank gauge: Lub oil tank.
42. Figure 5.42 Touch screen HCI using stylus.
43. Figure 5.43 Touch screen HCI using finger.
44. Figure 5.44 Example mimic display page: Day colour palette.
45. Figure 5.45 Example mimic display page: Night colour palette.
46. Figure 5.46 Example workload chart.
47. Figure 5.47 Functional breakdown.
48. Figure 5.48 Balanced human‐machine interaction with the human always in overall control.
Chapter 06
1. Figure 6.1 Relative humidity (R/H) vs. temperature (°C).
Chapter 07
1. Figure 7.1 Training needs analysis (TNA) process.
Chapter 08
1. Figure 8.1 HF design process aligned to assessment and acceptance.

This edition first published 2017
© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data

Names: Crampin, Tex, 1954– author.
Title: Human factors in control room design : a practical guide for project managers and senior engineers / Tex Crampin.
Description: First edition. | Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons Inc., [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016053394 | ISBN 9781118307991 (cloth) | ISBN 9781118535660 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Military engineering–Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Human engineering–Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Control rooms–Design and construction.
Classification: LCC UG150 .C73 2017 | DDC 620/.46–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016053394

Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: pozitivstudija/Gettyimages

Dedication

To my grandfather Herbert George Crampin, Managing Director of the Crampin Steam Fishing Company Ltd from 1911, whose trawling fleet fed the nation and supported the Royal Navy during two World Wars. H.G. Crampin took over and expanded the company whose origins go back to 4 June 1897, when his uncle William Wesney Crampin commissioned his first ship the Ellen Campbell after a distinguished career going back before 1890 when he was a Skipper. The later trawlers were named after famous cricketers with seven letters. Jardine, Leyland, Hammond, Hendren and Larwood were ordered as sister ships in the 1930s; Bradman, Yardley and Statham followed, with the last launched by Sir Freddie Trueman, the England fast bowler, in the 1960s. Many trawlers were sunk during the two World Wars to the extent that the company never fully recovered after the end of World War II. The Nellie Bruce, under the command of Thomas Bell, was torpedoed off Iceland on 30 October 1916. The steam trawler Yardley represented Grimsby at the Royal Navy Portsmouth Spithead Review in 1953. My dedication is also to H.G. Crampin’s uncle and mentor, Captain William Wesney Crampin and the crew of the Grimsby sailing smack Conisbro’ Castle who risked their lives rescuing the Norwegian square rigger brig Martin Luther (Master J.C. Hansen) of Drammen, Norway, on 18 March 1890, during a severe storm for which Captain Crampin was awarded a medal for bravery by the Norwegian Royal Family. W.W. Crampin had also rescued the crew of a German trawler and was presented with an ebony box, containing a pair of binoculars, by the Kaiser. Also to Herbert William Crampin, H.G. Crampin’s son, who was awarded the OBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 1964 for services to the UK fishing industry prior to its sad decline and the sale of the Crampin Steam Fishing Company to the much larger Ross Group in 1965.

Photo of the smokestack of Bradman fishing steamship, it displays the “C– of Crampin Steam Fishing Company. — **Figure 0.1** *Bradman* launched in 1950 held the Grimsby port record for catches of haddock and halibut.

*Source*: Reproduced with permission of Liveware HF Ltd.

Painting depicting the rescue of the Norwegian brig Martin Luther in 1890 by Captain W.W. Crampin. — **Figure 0.2** Rescue of the Norwegian brig *Martin Luther* in 1890 by Captain W.W. Crampin in *Conisbro’ Castle*.

*Source*: Reproduced with permission of Liveware HF Ltd.

Photo of the medal awarded to Captain W.W. Crampin by the Norwegian Royal Family. — **Figure 0.3** Medal awarded to Captain W.W. Crampin by the Norwegian Royal Family.

*Source*: Reproduced with permission of Liveware HF Ltd.

Photo of the plaque below the image of the 1890 rescue. — **Figure 0.4** Plaque below the picture of the 1890 rescue.

*Source*: Reproduced with permission of Liveware HF Ltd.

Photo of the Grimsby trawler, Statham, arriving from Bremerhaven in 1956. — **Figure 0.5** The *Statham* arriving brand new from Bremerhaven in 1956, one of the largest and most handsome Grimsby trawlers and the largest ever vessel of the Crampin Steam Fishing Fleet. Built to take the raging seas off Iceland and Greenland, she was uniquely adorned with a *Queen Mary* style funnel.

*Source*: Reproduced with permission of Liveware HF Ltd.

Preface

The title Human Factors in Control Room Design will be referred to in this document as ‘the Guide’.

The aim of the Guide is to enable rapid access to HF design information and rules of thumb. A small number of references are provided at the back of the Guide which will point readers to further guidance documentation. The intention was to avoid smothering the reader with references and to try to contain as much practical information as possible in one place.

The HF design examples in this Guide are derived from Liveware’s experience and in‐house prototyping using their software design tool. The HCIs (Human Computer Interfaces) shown are Liveware’s generic designs and do not suggest any indicative final implementation but are based mainly on experience in the design of complex Royal Navy warship control rooms. The human factors principles described are fundamentally generic and, in general, can be applied across other industries such as petrochemical, nuclear, police, fire, ambulance, coastguard, etc.

In all endeavours of Human Factors (HF) design, none is more demanding than the development of HCIs for complex systems. An HCI must accord the attention and diligence commensurate with that of a highly skilled jeweller or carpenter and the years of experience necessary in order to attain the high fidelity of design detail needed.

It has been shown that many significant disasters can be attributed to issues related to a lack of attention to human factors in some way. This can manifest itself in poor training, a hostile environment, sub‐optimal equipment or task design, or shortcomings in personnel skills and ability through ineffective operator selection. The cost of accidents is usually far more than the small investment that should have been made in human factors to reduce the risks in the first place.

It has been suggested by many experts that some past catastrophic events could have been avoided had sufficient human factors input been applied early in the design process. Examples worthy of scrutiny include:

Apollo 13, 13 April 1970;
A320 crash at Habsheim Air Show, 26 June 1988;
British Midland Boeing 737‐400 Flight 92 Kegworth, 8 Jan 1989;
Air France Brazil to Paris Flight 447, 1 June 2009;
BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico, 20 April 2010;
Costa Concordia Italian cruise ship, 13 Jan 2012;
Germanwings, 24 Mar 2015.

For further information on the subject, please see references [4, 6 and 7].

1
Introduction to the Guide

1.1 Purpose and Scope

The title Human Factors in Control Room Design – A Practical Guide for Project Managers and Senior Engineers will be referred to in this document as ‘the Guide.’

The Guide aims to provide easy access to practical and objective Human Factors (HF) data in order to achieve rapid and high fidelity control room design. It contains the rudiments of good HF design practice, based on years of experience by the author, in order to undertake complex control room designs quickly and accurately. This Guide does not replace more detailed and textual HF Guidance such as DefStan 00‐250 (Ref 1) and other standards, but it does enable a grasp of the key HF ‘rules‐of‐thumb’ in order that a busy project team can get on with the design quickly and hit the ground running within the realistic constraints of a ‘design advice needed now’ commercial and military working environment.

The scope of the Guide makes it applicable to all but the most specialised control rooms. It does not cover, for example, medical operating theatres or precision engineering manufacturing plants although it could easily be adapted to do so with sufficient Subject Matter Expertise (SME) input. It covers the spatial and Human‐computer Interface (HCI) aspects of those rapid reaction control rooms typified by teams of civil or military personnel striving for maximum efficiency in information management, safety and mission situational awareness. Thus it applies to control rooms used by Police, Fire, Ambulance or Coastguard personnel; chemical plants, industrial production plants, refineries, oil rigs, RN warships and submarines, Army and RAF tactical control rooms, tri‐service and NATO battle command rooms, air traffic control rooms, etc.

The development and advances in technology have allowed plant and equipment monitoring and control to move away from local control panels. Instead of arrays of dedicated controls and displays, modern control rooms are tending towards centralised remote control via flat screen multifunction displays, sometimes touch screen. However, some dedicated displays and controls should be retained for safety critical functions. This introduces new problems in that information, notably on overall situational awareness, is not readily available throughout the system. Easy‐to‐use screen navigation, together with easy‐to‐interpret screen information, is essential in order to maintain optimum system performance, enhanced safety, user comfort and reduced errors. Further, it is essential to determine what screen real estate (sometimes called glass area) will be required, early in the programme.