Honeywell Process Solutions recently announced the successful implementation of its new Experion Orion control room console. Riikinvoima Oy, a Finnish company specializing in renewable sustainable energy, tested the new technology in its Leppävirta, Finland, waste incineration plant. The new control room console aims to improve efficiency by engaging more effectively with its human operators.
A detailed study of human responses to the working conditions common to control rooms informed the design of the Experion Orion console. The new platform features new graphics that Honeywell hopes will be more intuitive to operate and allow for greater repeatability. These display changes are evident in nearly all the Experion Orion console’s interfaces, from process startups to standard runs to abnormal activity alarms. The console’s external build used observations from the human response study to boost ergonomic compatibility with operators. In theory, this design should heighten operator awareness by reducing fatigue.
Juha Räsänen, managing director at Riikinvoima Oy, indicated that the company’s work with Honeywell prior to implementation helped guide the new technology. He described a “joint workshop” in which the most important aspects of human machine interface (HMI) design were isolated and prioritized. The new control room console can help standardize processes by bringing any changes in plant activity to the attention of the human operator quickly. The display improvements are helping workers to perform their jobs by bringing correctable issues to their attention quickly.
The new control module could also help broaden the scope of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) at Riikinvoima Oy and beyond. The Finnish company already uses a number of applications to monitor and adjust its boilers, which should be able to integrate with the new console. Ideally, human operators will have access to an intuitive interface that brings correctable issues to their attention in real time. The Experion Orion console could help operators utilize the information made available by IIoT connectivity.
A combination of software reconfigurations that should make it easier for operators to absorb information and hardware designs that make it possible for operators to retain their focus for longer periods have made the Experion Orion console successful in early trials. The device could help address the current need for companies to process the increasing volume of data . To learn more about how manufacturers can make adjustments to respond to this increase in data, check out this article on how companies can best leverage the change.