The Case Study Situation

DOE-HDBK-1116-98

4.2 The Case Study Situation

Establish a situation that illustrates the focus of the case study. This requires the instructional

developer to draw upon actual events or their own experience to develop typical problems. The

situation should provide an appreciation that the event occurred and has the potential to occur at

the facility. The situation can be introduced in an overview of the case study like this:

resulted in high air flow rates through the

OVERVIEW

wall.

The commercial nuclear power plant

The effects of the fire on the plant were

experienced a serious cable tray fire.

almost immediate. All Unit 1 emergency

The fire was started by an engineer

core cooling systems were lost, as well as

who was using a candle to check for air

the capability to monitor core power. To

leaks through a fire wall penetration

remove decay heat, low pressure water

seal. The fire spread and was fought

from the condensate pumps and manual

on both sides of the reactor building

operation of primary relief valves were

and cable spreading room wall by plant

used until normal decay heat removal

and local community fire fighting

systems could be made operational.

personnel. Efforts to put out the fire

Control power to motor operators and

were made difficult by several factors

pump controls was established using

including: delay in notifying personnel

temporary jumpers to allow the plant to be

of the exact location of the fire, physical

brought to a stable shutdown condition.

location of the fire in the cable trays,

There was no release of radioactivity.

and the high differential pressure

between the cable spreading room and

the reactor building that

In other types of case studies, a "humbnail sketch"of the situation can be provided to the

instructor within the lesson plan to aid in lesson preparation.

4.3 The Case Study Symptoms

The symptoms are the basic building material of the case study. No matter what kind of case

study the instructional developer chooses, the symptoms must be provided to the trainees.

Instructional developers should provide evidence or clues that will give the symptoms to the

trainee. Depending on the trainee's experience with using case studies, as well as the learning

objective the case study supports, some clues may need to be more obvious than others.

Looking at the example case study in this text, the clues and symptoms include:

An engineer who used a candle to check for air leaks.

Various plant personnel who delayed notifying the control room of the fire.

The location of the fire in an area difficult to access.

The use of flammable materials to seal wall penetrations.