Levels of Digitization, Digitalization, and Automation for Advanced Reactors

• Published in: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting Vol. 67; no. 1; pp. 207 - 213
• Main Authors: Boring, Ronald L., Ulrich, Thomas A., Lew, Roger
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.09.2023
• Subjects: advanced reactor; automation; computer-based procedure; digitalization; digitization; GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS; human factors; level; level of automation; advanced reactors; level of digitalization; human factors; level of digitization
• ISSN: 1071-1813; 2169-5067; 2169-5067
• DOI: 10.1177/21695067231192575

Much has been written about levels of automation (LOA), but comparatively little has been written about levels of digitization (LODi) and levels of digitalization (LODa). Digitization is a digital representation of analog information and is typical of migration from analog to digital control systems, digitalization involves enhancing the functionality of digital information, and automation changes control from humans to machines. Each of these technology implementations has its own scales, and each forms a viable type of functionality that should be considered not as a continuum toward automation but rather as separate categories of solutions that meet the needs of advanced reactors. In this paper we develop separate LODi, LODa, and LOA scales and demonstrate how conflation of these technologies, using the example of computer-based procedures, can lead to confusion in the design process. With the race to develop advanced reactors, the surest metric of success and safety is proper consideration of the right technology requirements for different control systems.