The organisational requirements for technology selection are often found in policies, standards, design style guides, cost-economic considerations and vendor preferences. These requirements may also influence operational requirements. Control room staffing is one of the aspects of power plant operations that is strictly regulated by

US Code of Federal Regulations and any deviation from the regulation is subject to scrutiny and proof of concept. This has a direct influence on the way control rooms, HSIs and automation systems are designed.

As indicated before, the underlying assumption of new designs is that higher levels of automation will enable multi-module as well as single-module plants to be controlled by fewer operators than are required for conventional LWR or boiling water reactor (BWR) plants. When this is verified, it may to lead to staffing strategies where a single operator may be able to handle multiple modules or multiple processes under normal operating conditions. In addition, the physical layout of the plant, the reduced need for LCSs and manual controls in the plant, and the availability of remote surveillance equipment, may mean that fewer field operators will be required.

However, in the absence of sufficient operating experience and proven technical bases, the only reliable way to estimate the number of operators required under varying operational conditions would be to use advanced task analysis and modelling methods and tools such as computational human performance modelling. Predictive human performance information produced in this way could eventually be verified in the full scope plant simulator.