Mobile Computing for Field Operator Control: Petrochemical Plant Operations Case Study

Abstract

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS This study found that the use of a mobile computing system for field operations in a petrochemical plant allowed operators to get information “at a glance” from various process variables, which could substantially improve operators’ situational awareness. Use of mobile devices can provide an operator with the flexibility of interacting through touch and easy in/out zooming, reducing musculoskeletal stress and facilitating improved human–computer interaction. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Process control and maintenance systems have been used in the petrochemical and refining industry for improving operator performance and workforce efficiency. Design aspects, associated with retrieving and reviewing information, directly affect the ability to make timely and quality decisions in high-stakes environments, such as a petrochemical plant where time-critical decision-making contexts are involved. Hence, there is a need to understand how advances in mobile computing, sensor technologies, software algorithms, and computational methods can provide the possibility for easy access to information anytime and anywhere.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the effectiveness and use of mobile software systems in presenting information for process control and maintenance systems. This article focuses on identifying interface design of process control elements on a mobile form factor that can improve the performance of field operators. Methods: An empirical study was conducted to study the effect of information presentation of petrochemical operations control on mobile devices for field operators. Results: Results indicate that the interface designed for mobile systems is easy to use and is effective for the operator to control the elements while maintaining situational awareness of the process information. Conclusion: As mobile computing becomes ubiquitous and control operations become distributed, the adoption of mobile systems for field operations will be more prevalent in the near future. This study sets the foundation by providing design guidelines for developing a user interface for mobile devices supporting process control information. This research can be extended to integrate sensor information for device information and for intelligent information presentation based on location-based services.

KEYWORDS:

• process control system
• mobile computing
• operator performance

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We greatly appreciate the help of Mark Nixon, Emerson Process Management, for his support in conducting the study.

FUNDING

This work was supported the Center for Operator Performance (COP), a diverse group of industry, vendor, and academia representatives addressing human capabilities and limitations with research, collaboration, and human factors engineering.