Process Alarm Visualization in Trend Curves for Operator Clarity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for visualizing process data and alarms in industrial plants require operators to mentally link trend curves and notification sequences, lacking abstraction and efficiency, overwhelming them with information and requiring manual filtering.
Innovation Solution
A visualization method that integrates process alarms into trend curves using encoding to highlight the highest priority alarms, allowing operators to directly identify important alarms within the graphic without needing filters, and provides additional information on acquisition periods and reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If process alarms are displayed separately from trend curves in a notification sequence, then all alarm information is provided to operators, but operators are overwhelmed with information and must mentally link alarms to trend curves, reducing efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the trend curve display and notification sequence into a single integrated graphic. Process alarms are encoded directly onto the trend curve data points, merging two previously separate displays. This allows operators to see both the process data trend and alarm status in one view, eliminating the need to mentally link separate displays while maintaining complete alarm information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses color encoding to represent alarm priorities on trend curve data points. Different colors or shading levels indicate different alarm priority levels, allowing operators to quickly identify high-priority alarms within the graphic without overwhelming text displays. This visual encoding provides complete alarm information in an easily digestible format.
2Loss of information
If all process alarm details are displayed to operators, then complete information is provided, but operators are bombarded with information and require manual filtering
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different visual properties to different parts of the display based on alarm priority. High-priority alarms receive prominent visual encoding (such as distinct colors or symbols) while lower-priority alarms have less prominent encoding. This allows operators to quickly identify critical information without being overwhelmed by all alarm details, reducing workload while maintaining information completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments alarm information by priority level within the integrated graphic. Alarms are visually separated and organized according to their priority, allowing operators to focus on high-priority items first. This segmentation provides complete alarm detail information in a structured, easy-to-navigate format that reduces operator workload.
3Ease of manufacture
If trend curves and notification sequences are displayed separately, then each display can be optimized independently, but operators must mentally link the two displays, lacking abstraction and efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the trend curve display and notification sequence into a single integrated graphic where process data points on the trend curve are encoded with alarm information. This eliminates the need for operators to mentally link separate displays while preserving the ability to optimize the display for both process monitoring and alarm notification purposes.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for visualizing process data in which a process control system controls and monitors an industrial technology plant, wherein the process control system automatically triggers a process alarm if the process data fulfills a trigger condition such a corresponding alarm message is transferred to an alarm system for output to an operator, triggered process data alarms are archived as a history, such that by selecting a process data item and specify a display period by the operator the alarm system simultaneously requests the history of the selected process data item process alarms assigned to a process object for the display period, where the alarm system outputs a time sequence of the process data item as a graphic and presents process data points in the graphic in an encoding that specifies for each process data point the highest priority with which process alarms have occurred during the acquisition period.