Enhancing Control Room Operator Decision Making: An Application of Dynamic Influence Diagrams in Formaldehyde Manufacturing

Joseph Mietkiewicz*, Anders Læsø Madsen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to book/anthology/report/conference proceedingArticle in proceedingResearchpeer-review

Abstract

In today’s rapidly evolving industrial landscape, control room operators must grapple with an ever-growing array of tasks and responsibilities. One major challenge facing these operators is the potential for task overload, which can lead to decision fatigue and increased reliance on cognitive biases. To address this issue, we propose the use of dynamic influence diagrams (DID) as the core of our decision support system. By monitoring the process over time and identifying anomalies, DIDs can recommend the most effective course of action based on a probabilistic assessment of future outcomes. Instead of letting the operator choose or search for the right procedure, we display automatically the optimal procedure according to the model. The procedure is streamlined compared to the traditional approach, focusing on essential steps and adapting to the system’s current state. Our research tests the effectiveness of this approach using a simulated formaldehyde production environment. Preliminary results demonstrate the ability of DIDs to effectively support control room operators in making informed decisions during times of high stress or uncertainty. This work represents an important step forward in the development of intelligent decision support systems for the process industries.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSymbolic and Quantitative Approaches to Reasoning with Uncertainty : 17th European Conference, ECSQARU 2023, Arras, France, September 19–22, 2023, Proceedings
EditorsZied Bouraoui, Srdjan Vesic
Number of pages12
PublisherSpringer
Publication date2023
Pages15-26
ISBN (Print)978-3-031-45607-7
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-031-45608-4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023
EventThe 17th European Conference on Symbolic and Quantitative Approaches to Reasoning with Uncertainty - Arras, France
Duration: 19 Sept 202322 Sept 2023
https://www.cril.univ-artois.fr/ecsqaru23/

Conference

ConferenceThe 17th European Conference on Symbolic and Quantitative Approaches to Reasoning with Uncertainty
Country/TerritoryFrance
CityArras
Period19/09/202322/09/2023
Internet address
SeriesLecture Notes in Computer Science
VolumeLNCS 14294
ISSN0302-9743

Keywords

  • Decision support
  • Dynamic influence diagram
  • Process industry
  • Situation awareness
  • Workload

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