DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIAL SKILLS OF POWER PLANT INSTRUCTORS (CASE STUDY)

Abstract

In recent years we have conducted different psychological examinations of control-room operators in a power plant in Hungary. One of the results of the examinations was that the operators´ co-operation in the control-room was obstructed by the lack or insufficient development of certain social skills. We received a new task from the power plant, the aims of our work were: I. To identify these social skills, called `soft skills´, skills of communication, co-ordination and co-operation meaning clear verbal communication, identification of non-verbal communication, team -building, control-room stress management, conflict handling, etc. II. The power plant provides simulator training for the operators. We worked out the development program for the instructors of the simulator training centre, because the instructors are responsible for developing the operators´ `soft skills´. The instructors´ development program consisted of three steps: - knowing and understanding, - recognizing and evaluating, - developing these skills. Each step had three parts: to know the skills, to use methods fitting to the greatest degree the operators´ behaviour in the control-room, and to be able to develop these skills. III. We collected scientific material on the theory of the skills, presented the skills and provided training for the instructors. The instructors´ training activities in the simulator centre was coached and evaluated during the whole period of their work. We composed a special scoring sheet evaluating the performance of the instructors and the operators during the training, the results were fed back to the participants. Conclusions: Developing, stabilizing and preserving `soft skills´ all require continuous coaching and evaluation.