A study of human performance using different alarming systems in a part-task simulation of the Clinch River Breeder Reactor nuclear control room

A set of auditory warning signals was developed using general principles and design recommendations found in Human Factors handbooks and texts. A group of university students were tested to determine how people detect, discriminate, and identify auditory alarms that have their priorities for response coded by frequency, amplitude, and modulation. Scaling techniques and statistical analysis were used to determine which of the signals made the "best" warning alarm and to determine how many alarms could be recognized in a multiple-alarm environment. Design recommendations were made for designing auditory signals for warning alarms.