Apparatus and method for process control using people and asset tracking information
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- receiving one or more process control data elements defining a location associated with a person within a processing environment, the location based on an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag associated with the person, the processing environment comprising industrial equipment configured to manipulate one or more materials to implement an industrial process; and
managing a change to the industrial process based on the one or more process control data elements, wherein managing the change to the industrial process comprises;
identifying a request to initiate the change to the industrial process;
determining whether a personnel requirement is associated with the change to the industrial process, the personnel requirement comprising one or more specified personnel or types of personnel;
initiating the change to the industrial process when the one or more process control data elements satisfy the personnel requirement; and
controlling at least some of the industrial equipment in the processing environment to implement the change to the industrial process.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus, method, and computer program for process control using people and asset tracking information are provided. One or more process control data elements are received, which define a location associated with a person and/or an asset in a processing environment. At least part of the processing environment is controlled using the one or more process control data elements. For example, the processing environment could be controlled based on whether a specified area has been evacuated or whether one or more specified personnel or types of personnel are present in the specified area. The location can also be used to prevent the person and/or the asset from entering a restricted part of the processing environment, identify any people failing to reach specified zones of the processing environment during an incident, and identify a current actual or estimated location of at least one person to be rescued in the processing environment.
33 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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receiving one or more process control data elements defining a location associated with a person within a processing environment, the location based on an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag associated with the person, the processing environment comprising industrial equipment configured to manipulate one or more materials to implement an industrial process; and managing a change to the industrial process based on the one or more process control data elements, wherein managing the change to the industrial process comprises; identifying a request to initiate the change to the industrial process; determining whether a personnel requirement is associated with the change to the industrial process, the personnel requirement comprising one or more specified personnel or types of personnel; initiating the change to the industrial process when the one or more process control data elements satisfy the personnel requirement; and controlling at least some of the industrial equipment in the processing environment to implement the change to the industrial process. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 21, 22)
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12. An apparatus, comprising:
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at least one memory configured to store one or more process control data elements defining a location associated with a person within a processing environment, the location based on an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag associated with the person, the processing environment comprising industrial equipment configured to manipulate one or more materials to implement an industrial process; and at least one controller configured to manage a change to the industrial process based on the one or more process control data elements by; identifying a request to initiate the change to the industrial process; determining whether a personnel requirement is associated with the change to the industrial process, the personnel requirement comprising one or more specified personnel or types of personnel; initiating the change to the industrial process when the one or more process control data elements satisfy the personnel requirement; and controlling at least some of the industrial equipment in the processing environment to implement the change to the industrial process. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A computer readable storage medium embodying a computer program, the computer program comprising computer readable program code that when executed performs the following steps:
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receiving one or more process control data elements defining a location associated with a person within a processing environment, the location based on an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag associated with the person, the processing environment comprising industrial equipment configured to manipulate one or more materials to implement an industrial process; and managing a change to the industrial process based on the one or more process control data elements, wherein managing the change to the industrial process comprises; identifying a request to initiate the change to the industrial process; determining whether a personnel requirement is associated with the change to the industrial process, the personnel requirement comprising one or more specified personnel or types of personnel; initiating the change to the industrial process when the one or more process control data elements satisfy the personnel requirement; and controlling at least some of the industrial equipment in the processing environment to implement the change to the industrial process.
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Specification