Diagnostic Alert Management for Operator Fatigue Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing complexity of machines and vehicles leads to a higher number of diagnostic trouble codes, resulting in alert fatigue for operators, where minor issues overwhelm the system, potentially causing critical alerts to be overlooked.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that manage diagnostic trouble codes by initially displaying more alerts than conventional techniques, allowing operators to control and reduce alerts, and providing selective dismissal options with timers or indefinite settings to prevent issues from going unnoticed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the system displays all diagnostic trouble codes to ensure complete information, then measurement precision is improved, but alert fatigue increases and operators may overlook critical alerts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments diagnostic alerts by severity level (critical, major, minor) and presents them in a hierarchical structure. Critical alerts are displayed prominently and cannot be dismissed, while minor alerts can be selectively dismissed or aggregated. This segmentation allows operators to focus on critical issues while reducing noise from minor problems, resolving the contradiction between complete information display and alert fatigue prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different display qualities and treatment to different types of alerts based on their severity. Critical alerts receive high-visibility treatment with mandatory acknowledgment, while minor alerts can be suppressed or aggregated. This local differentiation ensures that important information is never lost while reducing the burden of minor notifications, thereby resolving the contradiction between diagnostic completeness and operator workload.
2Measurement precision
If the system provides detailed device information in diagnostic messages, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a shared memory structure as an intermediary between the boot block and the operating system/application. This shared memory allows the boot block to access device information without direct coupling to application-specific code. The intermediary enables precise diagnostic information retrieval while maintaining modularity and reducing complexity in the boot block, as it only needs to know the memory location rather than application details.
Solution Approach 2:
The shared memory structure serves multiple functions: it stores device information for diagnostic purposes, maintains compatibility across different applications, and provides a standardized interface for the boot block. This universal structure eliminates the need for application-specific boot block code, reducing overall system complexity while enabling accurate diagnostic information retrieval for any device.
Data Source
AI summary
An alert management system and technique is provided. Substantially any diagnostic trouble code generates an alert regardless of severity. The operator is given an option to dismiss or suppress re-alert for a class of diagnostic trouble codes, such as low severity codes. Future notification of such codes can be disabled in response to a selection of the option provided. Faults occurring during boot may retrieve device information from a shared memory to improve diagnostic messaging.