Re-examining the role of the human in the operation of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)
SMRs are often described as “highly automated”, but what does that really mean for the people who work there?
What does it mean when an operator is assigned to “monitoring the automation”? And how can we ensure safety when automation and human tasks intertwine in complex ways?
At Risk Pilot, we have been investigating these topics, from the perspective of human reliability analysis, in a research project funded by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM). Claire Blackett, Ella Olson and Benjamin Langerak Tottie from Risk Pilot will present our latest findings at the ESREL conference in Stavanger, Norway (https://esrel2025.com/). Our study challenges the assumptions that the role of humans in SMRs is to supervise the automation, showing instead that operator roles will be more nuanced, with important safety implications.
To read the full study, click here: