Aspects of Control Room Operation; Air Traffic Control
This suggests how working in a control room (industrial, air traffic control, etc.) is multi-aspectual functioning and why it is that things can fail for a number of reasons. This concerns the immediate on-going activity by operators in the control room, rather than design of the control room, supply to the room, etc. We give the aspect, then its kernel meaning in brackets, then an example or two of life in the control room as seen from that aspect.
- Quantitative: (to do with quantity, amount) - Something is present in wrong numbers.
- Spatial: (to do with continuous extension, space) - Machines, pipes and people take up space.
- Kinematic: (to do with flowing movement) - People, fluids and air need to move around.
- Physical: (to do with energy + mass) - Heavy machinery needs special foundations, cables can trip people up, etc.; all electrical connections must be good.
- Biotic: (to do with life functions) - Ill-ventilated rooms.
- Sensitive: (to do with sense, feeling, emotion) - Claustrophobic rooms; poor font on displays not easily recognisable (NATS?).
- Analytical: (to do with distinguishing) - Operators being able to distinguish important from unimportant events.
- Formative: (to do with history, culture, technology: shaping and creativity) - Operators making plans or achieving goals.
- Lingual: (to do with symbolic communication) - Operators communicating with each other, and understanding information on computers; computers having appropriate information and not suppressing what they should reveal (NATS?).
- Social: (to do with social interaction and institution) - Good relationships amongst operators and appropriate structures of command and responsibility.
- Economic: (to do with frugal use of resources) - Time limits in which responses must be made.
- Aesthetic: (to do with harmony, surprise, fun) - All operators harmonizing; ensuring appropriate times for rest; keeping a sense of humour.
- Juridical: (to do with what is due; 'retribution', rights and responsibilities) - Every operator doing their duty; 'respecting' the equipment.
- Ethical: (to do with self-giving love) - Generosity rather than self-seeking or defensiveness among all operators.
- Pistic: (to do with vision, aspiration, commitment, creed, religion) - Air traffic controllers seeing their mission as keeping aircraft safe.
(The above list was compiled out of inspiration by John Wood, MD of CCD Design and Ergonomics Ltd., after he gave a talk on control room failures at the IEE People In Control Conference, June 2001.)
This page provides examples illustrating various things within The Dooyeweerd Pages, which explain, explore and discuss Dooyeweerd's interesting philosophy. Email questions or comments would be welcome.
Copyright (c) 2004 Andrew Basden.
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Created: 3 August 2002.
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