Transferring Knowledge Through Decision Support: A Case Study in Drilling

Abstract

The new generation is primed to take on this challenge and lead the industry into the future. However, the industry will not simply pass the reigns to an unready resource, as experience is a critical component to success. Decision support systems can be an important source for sharing knowledge and experience, but they need to provide the right information at the right time. We discuss how decision support software can and should both enhance the situation awareness of its users, as well as help transfer knowledge. Our view is based on Mica Endsley's model of situation awareness. We explain how oil well drilling monitoring can be understood according to this model, and we seek to define what exactly a situation related to the oil well drilling process is. Furthermore, we discuss knowledge transfer in relation to oil well drilling and the situation awareness model. Then, we show how the software we have developed performs in this regards both through an analysis and a use case that describes a commercial trial. Finally, the results of the commercial trial are discussed and some future work is considered.

Situational Awareness in the Context of Clinical Practice

“…The framework of situational awareness (SA) refers to SA as an evolving state of knowledge about the dynamically interacting elements of a given situation [7,9]. According to this framework, all situational knowledge is generated by sequential cognitive steps that promote information processing, and it enables predictions of the immediate future state of an evolving situation (Figure 1) [7,20]. SA can be viewed as a comprehensive and coherent internal representation of any current situational actualities; it is continuously assessed and updated in accordance with the dynamic state of the situation [10,21] and is imprinted in the consciousness of the decision maker (in our case, the clinician) [3,20].…”

“…According to this framework, all situational knowledge is generated by sequential cognitive steps that promote information processing, and it enables predictions of the immediate future state of an evolving situation (Figure 1) [7,20]. SA can be viewed as a comprehensive and coherent internal representation of any current situational actualities; it is continuously assessed and updated in accordance with the dynamic state of the situation [10,21] and is imprinted in the consciousness of the decision maker (in our case, the clinician) [3,20]. A simplified diagram showing the cognitive information processing pathway that is used in the development of situational awareness, decision making, and clinical operations.…”

“…In the context of clinical practice, the specifications of what is considered to be an adequate state of knowledge that constitutes a fully developed SA are not well defined [20]; therefore, it is difficult to measure and assess this clinical phenomenon [25]. Further, in order to have operational meaning, SA has to facilitate the understanding and the meaning of the interactions among the clinical situational elements (signs, symptoms, etc.)…”