Plant Automation Cost Analysis for Operator Workload Trade-Offs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems lack a comprehensive method to evaluate and optimize the cost and efficiency of automating operator tasks in industrial plants, including the impact on workload, monitoring load, and potential risks.
Innovation Solution
An analysis apparatus and method that calculates changes in work cost and automation cost, compares these costs, and evaluates the suitability of automating specific tasks based on workload, monitoring load, and risk assessment, using a computer-readable medium to facilitate decision-making.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If work is automatized to reduce operator workload, then productivity and work cost efficiency improve, but device complexity and automation cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the automation decision-making process into distinct analytical components: work cost calculation, automation cost calculation, monitoring load calculation, and risk assessment. This allows systematic evaluation of different automation scenarios without requiring complete system redesign, thereby improving productivity analysis while managing device complexity through modular assessment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary calculations and risk assessments before implementing automation. By calculating work costs, automation costs, and monitoring loads in advance, and conducting risk assessments on potential automation targets, the system enables informed decision-making that improves productivity while avoiding unnecessary complexity from poorly planned automation.
2Ease of manufacture
If automation cost is reduced to make automation more accessible, then ease of manufacture improves, but manufacturing precision and reliability may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables partial automation by allowing selective automation of specific work tasks rather than complete system automation. The work extraction unit identifies and extracts specific automation targets from overall work processes, allowing organizations to implement automation incrementally with appropriate reliability controls for each selected task, balancing ease of implementation with maintained reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary risk assessment calculations before automation implementation. The risk assessment generation unit evaluates potential risks of automating specific work, allowing organizations to identify and mitigate reliability concerns before deployment, ensuring that cost-effective automation solutions maintain appropriate reliability levels.
3Ease of operation
If monitoring load on operators is reduced through automation, then ease of operation improves, but loss of information about system state may increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates monitoring load calculation that assesses the information and attention operators need to maintain after automation. By calculating and analyzing monitoring requirements, the system ensures that automation designs maintain appropriate feedback loops and information flow to operators, balancing ease of operation with adequate situational awareness.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an analysis apparatus, including a work cost calculation unit configured to calculate a change in a work cost of a target plant when at least some target work, among work of an operator required to operate the target plant, is automatized. The analysis apparatus may include an automation cost calculation unit configured to calculate an automation cost for automatizing the target work; and a cost comparison unit configured to compare the work cost to the automation cost.