Automatic Fault Tree Generation from Assembly and Ladder Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for generating fault trees are time-consuming and require extensive collaboration among different design teams, especially for newly designed equipment or lines, where past fault event information is not available.
Innovation Solution
An automatic fault tree generation system that utilizes conventional design documents such as mechanical design drawings and control programs, without relying on pre-existing causal information, by connecting the upper and lower parts of the fault tree based on assembly tree structures and control logic.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual fault tree generation is performed by different design teams using equipment architecture and control logic, then comprehensive fault analysis can be achieved, but enormous amount of time is required and collaboration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic self-generation of fault trees by extracting equipment architecture from assembly data and control logic from ladder programs, eliminating the need for manual collaboration between different design teams while maintaining comprehensive fault analysis coverage
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the previously separate tasks of mechanical engineers (equipment architecture analysis) and electrical/control engineers (control logic analysis) into a single automated process that simultaneously processes both assembly data and ladder programs to generate the complete fault tree
2Productivity
If causal relationship database is built using past fault event information, then efficient fault tree construction can be achieved, but it cannot be applied to newly constructed equipment or line where past information does not exist
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary extraction of equipment architecture and control logic during the design phase, creating a foundation that enables automatic fault tree generation for new equipment without requiring historical fault data to be available first
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the mechanical approach of accumulating historical fault data with an automated information processing approach that extracts necessary data directly from design documents (assembly data and ladder programs), enabling fault tree generation for new equipment from first principles
3Reliability
If causal relationship database is built from scratch, then accurate causal relationships can be established, but it takes a great deal of time to build the database in the first place
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts equipment architecture information from assembly data and control logic information from ladder programs, taking out only the necessary causal relationship data needed for fault tree generation without requiring to build a comprehensive causal database from scratch
Data Source
AI summary
Example implementations as described herein are directed to generate a fault tree with a design document and minimized rules or database. The fault tree generation system may utilize assembly data and ladder programs as input and generates a fault tree by connecting an upper part of the fault tree generated from an assembly tree structure in the assembly data and a lower part of a fault tree from control logic in the ladder program. The fault tree is generated by connecting the lower part of the tree of the fault tree from the logic.