The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Alarm initiated activities: an analysis of alarm handling by operators using text-based alarm systems in supervisory control systems

Alarm initiated activities: an analysis of alarm handling by operators using text-based alarm systems in supervisory control systems
Alarm initiated activities: an analysis of alarm handling by operators using text-based alarm systems in supervisory control systems
Alarms constitute a significant aspect of the operator-system interface in human supervisory control tasks: they have the potential to display information that is of critical importance to overall system safety and integrity. This paper considers the trend toward the use of visual display terminals for the presentation of alarms, specifically in the use of scrolling text displays. It is suggested that this form of information display may not best serve all aspects of alarm handling. To illustrate why this is so, an analysis of human alarm handling activities is presented. The focus on text-based displays and annunciators allows the authors to concentrate on a number of problems associated with the alarm design using a specific medium. From this discussion, the alarm initiated activities model is developed. By considering the activities that people engage in when dealing with alarms, an insight is offered into the information requirements that can be used to inform the design of alarm systems.
alarms, alarm handling, alarm design, taxonomy, human supervisory control
1366-5847
2414-2431
Stanton, Neville A.
351a44ab-09a0-422a-a738-01df1fe0fadd
Baber, Christopher
4ee925b7-aca3-4dd6-b930-23ddcd47400e
Stanton, Neville A.
351a44ab-09a0-422a-a738-01df1fe0fadd
Baber, Christopher
4ee925b7-aca3-4dd6-b930-23ddcd47400e

Stanton, Neville A. and Baber, Christopher (1995) Alarm initiated activities: an analysis of alarm handling by operators using text-based alarm systems in supervisory control systems. Ergonomics, 38 (11), 2414-2431. (doi:10.1080/00140139508925276).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Alarms constitute a significant aspect of the operator-system interface in human supervisory control tasks: they have the potential to display information that is of critical importance to overall system safety and integrity. This paper considers the trend toward the use of visual display terminals for the presentation of alarms, specifically in the use of scrolling text displays. It is suggested that this form of information display may not best serve all aspects of alarm handling. To illustrate why this is so, an analysis of human alarm handling activities is presented. The focus on text-based displays and annunciators allows the authors to concentrate on a number of problems associated with the alarm design using a specific medium. From this discussion, the alarm initiated activities model is developed. By considering the activities that people engage in when dealing with alarms, an insight is offered into the information requirements that can be used to inform the design of alarm systems.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: November 1995
Keywords: alarms, alarm handling, alarm design, taxonomy, human supervisory control

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 76100
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/76100
ISSN: 1366-5847
PURE UUID: 6bd8db08-8719-40e8-bcbf-84d19b69861c
ORCID for Neville A. Stanton: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8562-3279

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 11 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:54

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Christopher Baber

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×