Automated BPMN Plant Procedure Modeling via NLP
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing procedure modeling approaches are not intuitive for various parties operating and managing industrial plants, lack rich semantics to represent complex processes, and require extensive manual effort from domain experts, making it difficult to sustain modeling coherency for large numbers of procedures.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that automatically generates BPMN-based process models of plant procedures using natural language processing technologies, which extract significant syntactic and semantic information from procedure documents and represent each paragraph as one or more BPMN elements and their properties, integrating and reconstructing these elements to generate final process models.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing procedure modeling approaches (flowcharts, CPN, MFM) are used, then technical aspects of procedures can be verified, but the models are not easy to understand for various parties operating and managing the plant
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates visual copies of procedure documents using BPMN notation that mirror the original text structure and semantics. These visual representations maintain the meaning and logic of the source procedures while presenting them in an intuitive graphical format that is easier to understand for all stakeholders.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments procedure documents into discrete paragraphs and represents each paragraph as individual BPMN elements. This segmentation allows the complex procedure to be broken down into manageable, visually distinct components that can be easily understood while preserving the overall process flow.
2Adaptability or versatility
If existing procedure modeling approaches are used, then some procedural aspects can be represented, but rich semantics are required to represent complex processes in all contexts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs BPMN notation, which is a universal modeling language capable of representing diverse procedural concepts across different contexts. BPMN elements can serve multiple functions - representing actions, decisions, conditions, and processes - thereby providing rich semantic representation without requiring separate specialized models for each context.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms one-dimensional text-based procedures into two-dimensional visual BPMN diagrams. This dimensional transformation adds visual context and spatial relationships that enhance semantic representation, allowing complex processes to be understood through visual arrangement and connection patterns.
3Ease of manufacture
If existing procedure modeling approaches are used, then procedure models can be created, but extensive manual effort of domain experts is required in building and validating a large number of procedure models
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of expert-driven model building with an automated computational system. Natural language processing algorithms automatically analyze procedure documents and generate corresponding BPMN models, substituting human expert labor with algorithmic processing that is both faster and more scalable.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables procedure documents to self-convert into BPMN models through automated processing. The procedure text itself contains all necessary information, and the system extracts and transforms this information without requiring external expert intervention, allowing the procedures to essentially model themselves.
4Productivity
If existing procedure modeling approaches are used, then individual procedure models can be built, but it is not easy to sustain modeling coherency for a large number of procedures
Solution Approach 1:
By using BPMN as a universal notation standard for all procedure models, the system ensures consistency across large numbers of procedures. BPMN provides a standardized set of elements and syntax that maintains coherency while allowing unlimited scaling of the number of procedures that can be modeled.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated generation process applies consistent transformation rules and parameters across all procedure documents. This systematic application of the same processing logic to all inputs ensures that the output models maintain uniformity and coherency regardless of the number of procedures being modeled.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure provides methods and systems to generate Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) based process models for plant procedures utilizing information extracted from plant procedures via natural language processing. A process model generation system of the disclosure is configured to include an information extraction module that extracts all significant syntactic and semantic information from procedure documents and a process model generation module that generates process models of the procedures utilizing the syntactic and semantic information extracted by the information extraction module. The process model generation module includes a conversion unit that represents each paragraph of procedures into one or more BPMN elements and their properties utilizing the syntactic and semantic information extracted from procedures and a generation unit that generates the final BPMN-based process models of procedures by integrating and reconstructing the instantiated BPMN elements.