Aiding the operator's anticipatory behaviour: The design of process state information

Spenkelink, G.P.J.

doi:10.1016/0003-6870(90)90003-g

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…A third possibility is that trend displays are simply not very effective representational formats. Spenkelink (1990) investigated the utility of trend displays for the detection of faults in a chemical plant simulation. He concluded that "the presence of historical [temporal] information, in the form of trends, seriously hampers the early detection of oncoming offnormals" (p. 199).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite their intuitive appeal and widespread use, there has been surprisingly little research conducted on trend displays in dynamic settings. At least one study has produced negative findings (Spenkelink, 1990). From a theoretical perspective, one potential drawback to trend displays is that they are essentially "separable" in nature: Each variable has its own unique representation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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An Evaluation of a "Time Tunnel" Display Format for the Presentation of Temporal Information

2005

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The time tunnel display design technique combines the benefits of configural displays (salient visual properties corresponding to critical domain semantics) with the benefits of temporal information (i.e., the value of variables and properties over time). In Experiment 1 a baseline configural display and a time tunnel display were evaluated using real-time measures of system control, fault detection, and state estimation in a simulated process control task. The results provided little evidence in support of the time tunnel format. In Experiment 2 access to the temporal context was limited: Participants performed the detection and estimation tasks with static "snapshots" of system states that had been generated in Experiment 1. The overall pattern of results indicates that the time tunnel display was more effective for state estimation tasks than was the baseline configural display and or a trend display. Issues in the design of temporal displays are discussed, including representational formats and the choice of temporal time frames. Issues in the evaluation of temporal displays are also discussed, including the role of temporal information and the critical nature of participants' access to this information. Actual or potential applications of this research include design techniques for improving graphical displays and methodological insights to guide future evaluations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

An Evaluation of a "Time Tunnel" Display Format for the Presentation of Temporal Information

2005

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“…It might be thought that portraying historical trends is always advantageous, and such displays are indeed in widespread use. Yet the little empirical research that has been done has thrown up some negative findings (Bennett et al 2005;Spenkelink 1990). A less equivocal picture emerges for predictive displays, with benefits reported in many domains ranging from medicine to aviation .…”

Section: Display Design and User Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homeward Bound: Ecological Design of Domestic Information Systems

Wastell

Sauer²,

Schmeink

2008

IFIP – The International Federation for Information Processing

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“…Hence trend data that originated a month ago may not have the required detail in the DCS that might be crucial to the operators. Hansen (1995) and Spenkelink (1990)…”

Section: Using Historical Trends As Additional Aidmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering the limitations of alarm systems for routine supervision, expert process controllers may opt to engage in proactive monitoring during normal plant operations (Mumaw et al, 2000;Meyer & Bitan, 2002;Shaw, 1993;Spenkelink, 1990). Meyer & Bitan (2002) noted how -better operators receive worse warnings‖, and that the diagnostic value of the alarm system decreases for expert operators, as they take preemptive actions to reduce the probability of abnormal situations.…”

Section: Proactive Monitoring -Reducing Critical Situationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proactive monitoring in process control using predictive trend displays

Yin¹

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Process control such as that in the petrochemical industry is inherently difficult for humans to operate and monitor. Console operators need to manage hundreds of interrelated components using sluggish controls in a high-risk environment. They need to keep the process stable while optimizing production, which puts variables near plant operating limits. Any anomaly or upset has to be resolved quickly before the severity of the problem escalates. All these tasks are performed using a control console called the Distributed Control System (DCS). This project was initiated with the goal of exploring viable information visualizations on DCS displays to support proactive monitoring in console operators. While operators may choose to be alerted of and react to problems through the alarms on the DCS, expert operators prefer to stay proactive, and seize the problem before it disrupts the stability of the process. Being proactive requires prediction, a mental process which is not well understood and difficult to perform accurately. A series of literature reviews was conducted to find out more about the concepts related to the psychology of prediction, followed by various engineering elements, particularly in The author would like to thank some special people: Prof. Martin Helander, who had the major task of supervising this project Prof. Chris Wickens and Dr. Dal-Vernon Reising, who contributed immensely as external knowledge experts Mr. Jason Laberge and Mr. Andrew Trenchard of Honeywell International, as well as Mr. Brian Thompson of Engen Petroleum Ltd., who frequently participated in project discussions and provided insights into process control Mr. Pang Hong-Xiang for his good work as an assistant The good folks at the Centre for Human Factors and Ergonomics at NTU, who gave support in one way or another Parts of this research were supported by the ASM Consortium, a group of leading companies and universities involved with process industries that jointly invest in research and development to create knowledge, tools, and products designed to prevent, detect, and mitigate abnormal situations that affect process safety in the control operations environment. Much of the contributions and collaborations would not have happened without the Consortium's support and sponsorship.

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Aiding the operator's anticipatory behaviour: The design of process state information

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

An Evaluation of a "Time Tunnel" Display Format for the Presentation of Temporal Information

An Evaluation of a "Time Tunnel" Display Format for the Presentation of Temporal Information

Homeward Bound: Ecological Design of Domestic Information Systems

Proactive monitoring in process control using predictive trend displays

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