INRAT-H study plan
INRAT-H · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Human Performance Fundamentals and Error Mechanisms & Cognitive Processes: Attention, Perception, Memory, and Decision Making
Explain how sensory input, attention, and perception convert into a situation assessment, using at least three concrete control-room examples
Map the main human error classes (slip, lapse, mistake, violation) onto operator tasks and state which error class each example illustrates
Describe the limits of working memory and attention and predict two ways those limits produce operating errors
Build a personal glossary of at least 30 domain-1 and domain-2 terms with one-line definitions in your own words
Your checkpoint
A one-page error-classification table listing 10 control-room scenarios, the error type, the underlying mechanism, and one prevention measure for each
Human-System Interface and Control Room Design & Procedures, Human Factors Engineering, and Task Analysis
Identify the human-factors principles behind alarm presentation, display layout, and control labeling, and justify each principle from first principles
Analyze a described control-room layout for at least five design weaknesses and propose a specific fix for each
Outline the steps of a task analysis and apply them to one routine operating task, listing inputs, decisions, and outputs
Distinguish procedure design qualities (sequence, verification steps, wording) that reduce versus invite error
Your checkpoint
A written task analysis of one operating task with an annotated list of five interface or procedure weaknesses and matching design recommendations
Human Performance Fundamentals and Error Mechanisms & Fatigue, Stress, Workload, and Shift Work
Explain the physiological mechanisms of fatigue and stress and connect each to a measurable performance decrement
Compare shift-work schedules and identify the circadian and sleep-loss risks each creates
Calculate or estimate workload using at least one recognized method and interpret the result
List countermeasures for fatigue and stress and state the evidence-based limits of each
Your checkpoint
A two-page fatigue and workload assessment for a sample 12-hour rotating shift, naming risks, affected tasks, and prioritized countermeasures
Teamwork, Communication, and Crew Resource Management & Safety Culture, Human Reliability, and Event Investigation
Describe the components of effective crew communication and identify breakdowns in a written scenario
Explain how safety culture, reporting systems, and just-culture principles interact to shape operator behavior
Walk through an event-investigation method from data collection to causal factors and corrective actions
Separate human, technical, and organizational contributors in a case description and rank them by influence
Your checkpoint
A structured event-investigation report on a supplied or self-written scenario, with a causal-factor map, ranked contributors, and three corrective actions
Safety Culture, Human Reliability, and Event Investigation & Training, Competence, and Licensing of Control Room Personnel
Apply human-reliability concepts such as performance-shaping factors and error probability to a task sequence
Design a competence framework for control-room personnel covering knowledge, skills, and behaviors, with assessment methods for each
Explain how licensing and recurrent training requirements connect to demonstrated competence
Critique a sample training program for gaps in scenario design, feedback, and evaluation
Your checkpoint
A competence matrix for one control-room role with at least eight competencies, each paired with an assessment method and an evidence standard
Cognitive Processes: Attention, Perception, Memory, and Decision Making & Teamwork, Communication, and Crew Resource Management
Analyze decision-making under time pressure and uncertainty, naming biases and the conditions that trigger them
Construct a communication exercise that tests closed-loop briefing and challenge-and-respond behavior
Explain how shared mental models and team monitoring reduce error in high-workload phases
Produce de-biasing and communication prompts an operator could realistically use in the control room
Your checkpoint
A 20-minute team exercise script with observer checklist, covering at least four communication or decision failure modes and their correct responses
Human Performance Fundamentals and Error Mechanisms & Human-System Interface and Control Room Design & Fatigue, Stress, Workload, and Shift Work
Integrate human-performance, interface, and workload content by diagnosing compound failure scenarios
Write and answer 60 original practice questions spanning the three domains, then score and analyze errors by cause
Revisit every missed concept and rewrite the explanation in your own words
Time yourself under exam conditions for at least one full practice set
Your checkpoint
A scored 60-question practice set with an error log that classifies each miss as knowledge gap, misreading, or reasoning error, plus a remediation note per miss
Procedures, Human Factors Engineering, and Task Analysis & Safety Culture, Human Reliability, and Event Investigation & Training, Competence, and Licensing of Control Room Personnel
Synthesize procedures, investigation, and training content into a coherent picture of organizational safety
Complete a second timed practice set of at least 60 questions and compare error patterns with week 7
Close remaining gaps by re-teaching the three weakest topics aloud or in writing
Assemble a final one-page summary sheet of high-yield facts and decision rules
Your checkpoint
A final readiness report showing practice scores, error trends across both sets, remaining weak areas, and a one-page summary sheet
Milestones
Week 2: Can classify 10 unseen error scenarios by type and mechanism and justify each classification without notes
Week 4: Can complete a full event-investigation walkthrough on a new scenario, naming causal factors and corrective actions, in under 45 minutes
Week 6: Scores 70% or higher on a self-written 30-question mixed set covering domains 1 through 6
Week 7: Scores 75% or higher on the timed 60-question practice set and has a written remediation note for every miss
Week 8: Scores 80% or higher on the second timed practice set with fewer than 10 unresolved weak concepts on the final summary sheet