GUELPH, Ontario, Canada, September, 2019 – HSI® (HumanSystems® Incorporated) continues to expand into the electrical utility market with a new contract to help Ontario’s IESO upgrade its control-room workstations and displays.
The IESO is the Crown Corporation responsible for managing the electricity market and the day-to-day supply of electricity in the province of Ontario. Working with electricity producers, transmitters, and distributors who own and maintain the electrical grid in Canada and the United States, the IESO balances supply and demand in real time to ensure electricity is available to Ontarians 24/7.
“To make it all happen, teams of control room operators are continually screening data and balancing the grid in real time as power is generated and consumed. So it’s in everyone’s interests that the control room is configured for efficient workflows while maximizing the comfort and safety of the operators. That’s where HSI® Human Factors expertise will make a difference,” said Andrew Morton, HSI® technical lead and project manager.
For the project, HSI® is undertaking a system and task analysis of control room operations and eight workstations, each with its own unique role and function, as well as the interactions between each station. These analyses will be used to make recommendations to support the complex cognitive and collaborative decision making required of the IESO control room teams.
“The results of our work will provide IESO with independent, objective evidence for their acquisition decisions for workstations and displays. We will also be creating a training program for control room staff to configure and use their new workstations and displays effectively and efficiently.” said Morton.
The entire project is expected to be completed by December 2019.
See the full press release here.