Human Factors Standards and implementation plan for waste management programs

The Department of Energy (DOE) is dedicated to assuring safety and public confidence by conducting a thorough assessment and upgrade of its nuclear policies and procedures. To ensure that DOE field operations protect the health and safety of employees, the general public and the environment, new operational procedures, standards, and implementation plans are both required and forthcoming from DOE Headquarters, NE-74. Part of this effort requires the establishment and integration of human factors engineering design standards and implementation methods to reduce the probability of human error, human injury and radiological exposure. Human Factors professionals work to assure that technology is designed and utilized safely and efficiently to serve the needs and capabilities of the people who must use this technology. The primary goal of human factors engineering is to ensure compatibility and congruence between the people, equipment, tasks, procedures and training so as to minimize human error and assure that ``total systems performance and reliability`` are achieved.