High Performance HMI Methodology

Does anyone have experience with moving an existing plant or system's graphics to follow the High Performance HMI methodology? The attached LINK contains an example.

I think the methodology seems sound. I am looking for someone that has moved from the typical schemes that I have seen such as P&ID or Faceplate based to the methodology outlined above.

Some of the questions I have are, how was the new style received by the operator? How long did it take to train an operator, and how did that compare to before the modification? Did the new graphics actually improve operator performance in abnormal conditions? Did new problems arise from the different philosophy in display etc...

I have all the same questions above for the controls folks that would maintain/troubleshoot from the new displays as well.

Any insight would be much appreciated.

I recently built an HMI for a datacenter. It allowed people to locally and remotely see all power distribution, cooling systems, emergency systems, etc.

My feelings on HMI's is "keep it simple stupid". When is an HMI most important? When **** hits the fan and your operator is sleep deprived because it is 4am. I think complex HMI's lead to scenarios that can mislead an operator and potentially lead to someone getting hurt or someone doing something to the system that potentially damages it.

What industry you looking to use this HMI?

What features do you feel you are lacking in your current setup?

-Josh

I saw that book on the desk of an engineer at a paper mill in central Oregon a couple of years ago. They had an aging Foxboro IA DCS from the mid-1980's and he was in charge of capturing all the knowledge and experience from the operators and translating that into a more effective HMI.

Send me a PM and I'll get you his contact information if you're interested (and if you're not working for a rival mill !).

I have that book and have read it (several times unfortunately).

They do have some good concepts, but I don't subscribe to all of them.

What is important is consistent look and feel throughout the system. Alarm colors should be unique to alarms, and not the same as any process coloring.

Another important key is to have an alarm indication that attracts an operators attention. That is part of the basis of having a grey scale screen that will bring focus by blinking a light or an object.

Having standards is very key to achieving a "High Performance HMI" system.

Good luck.

Thank you for the responses. We have a project where we are considering implementing this philosophy. We have a system that is been in place for about 11 years now. I was just looking for some feedback from anyone that might have gone through a change that we are considering.