OPERATOR SUPPORT SYSTEMS AND ARTIFICIAL-INTELLIGENCE

Operator support systems cover a huge area of applications. They are widely used in process plants where Distributed Control Systems (DCS) carry out many of the more basic control-functions. Operator support systems are often expected to perform higher-level functions where complex decisions (e.g. in planning, scheduling or fault diagnosis) are based on patterns of symptoms that are changing (perhaps rapidly) in real time. These systems are complex and often costly, yet the potential benefits are large. Some systems would show full pay-back if they prevented the operator from making a single incorrect safety-related decision. Artificial intelligence offers many attractive concepts, techniques and tools that help build complex operator support systems. This paper attempts to review the use of Artificial intelligence from three different perspectives within the industry.