Multi-Language HMI Display Configuration for Runtime Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current operator Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) in industrial process control systems are challenging to design and maintain due to increased complexity and customization needs, particularly with expanding operator responsibilities and varying plant-specific requirements, leading to difficulties in configuring and updating graphical displays in real-time without disrupting ongoing operations.
Innovation Solution
A graphical display configuration system that includes a centralized database for storing and managing display view configurations, allowing for real-time updates and customization at the operator workstation without requiring communication with the configuration environment, enabling independent customization of display views across multiple workstations without halting operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If graphical display configurations are centralized and allow real-time updates at operator workstations, then operator efficiency and ease of customization are improved, but system complexity and difficulty of managing multi-language support increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the configuration management into two independent segments: a configuration environment for creating and managing display configurations, and a runtime environment at operator workstations for executing and customizing displays. This segmentation allows each part to operate independently, reducing system complexity while enabling real-time customization at the workstation level without affecting the central configuration environment.
Solution Approach 2:
Display configurations including multi-language support are pre-configured and downloaded to operator workstations before runtime. This preliminary action enables operators to switch languages and customize displays in real-time without needing to communicate with the configuration environment during operation, simplifying the runtime system while maintaining customization capabilities.
2Productivity
If display configurations are updated in real-time without communication with configuration environment, then operational continuity is maintained, but configuration consistency and reliability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates local copies of display configurations from the central configuration environment and stores them in a database at each operator workstation. These copies enable real-time customization and language switching without communication with the configuration environment, maintaining operational continuity while ensuring reliability through the use of validated configuration copies.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where display configurations are initially created and validated in the configuration environment, then downloaded to workstations. Any runtime customizations are performed on validated configurations, ensuring that the base configuration maintains consistency and reliability while allowing operational flexibility.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple languages are supported at user interface with independent controls, then adaptability to different operators is improved, but interface complexity and difficulty of maintenance increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple language versions are merged into a single display configuration object, with each graphical element containing text in multiple languages. This merging eliminates the need for separate configuration files for each language, reducing maintenance complexity while providing full multi-language support through a unified interface.
Solution Approach 2:
Language switching is implemented as a simple parameter change rather than a structural modification. Each display configuration contains a language parameter that can be changed at runtime to switch between supported languages, simplifying the interface while maintaining adaptability to different operators' language preferences.
4Loss of time
If language changes are implemented without downloads from configuration environment, then response time is reduced, but loss of centralized control and configuration management increases
Solution Approach 1:
All language data is preliminarily loaded into the display configuration during the configuration phase and downloaded to the workstation before runtime. This preliminary action enables instant language switching without additional downloads, reducing response time while maintaining centralized control over the available language options through the initial configuration process.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for configuring and presenting multiple languages at a user interface executing in an operating environment of a process plant include configuring, in a configuration environment, a multi-language interface object to indicate a plurality of languages that may be presented at the user interface. The multi-language interface object includes a parameter whose value is changeable, within the operating environment, to indicate a desired language that is to be presented on the user interface. A configuration of the graphical display view that references the configured multi-language interface object is downloaded into the operating environment. Thus, during runtime, changes in the language utilized at the user interface are implemented without any additional downloads from or communications with the configuration environment. Independently selectable user controls may be provided to independently control the language utilized by fixtures of the user interface and the language in which graphical display view content is presented.