The Command Team Experimental Test-Bed Phase Two: Assessing Cognitive Load and Situation Awareness in a Submarine Control Room

The Command Team Experimental Test-Bed (ComTET) is a body of work examining the functionality of submarine command teams with an emphasis upon future ways of working. 10 teams of 8 participants (80 participants in total) received extensive training at one of the operator stations in the submarine control room simulator (e.g. sonar or periscope operator). The teams then completed 3 different scenarios under higher and lower work demand conditions. The Work Load (WL) and Situation Awareness (SA) of the command team was assessed using a variety of standardized subjective rating scales (e.g. NASA TLX), physiological measures (e.g. ECG), in play cognitive capacity assessments (e.g. duel task paradigm) and SA assessments. The communication(s) between all team members were recorded allowing the use of the Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork (EAST) method to examine performance. Preliminary results indicate that the WL of operators in a submarine command team varied as a result of scenario type and scenario demand. The initial results are discussed alongside future analysis plans.