Generating checklists in a process control environment

• US 10,152,031 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2013
• Issued: 12/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Nixon, Mark J., Beoughter, Ken J., Christensen, Daniel D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Repsher, III, John T
• Application Number:
  US14/028,949
• Publication Number:
  US 20140282257A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,911 Days
• Field of Search: 715835
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 11/01 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A method executed in a process control environment automatically generates, displays, and tracks check lists according to assigned work items. The work items include information such as required equipment, required safety equipment, required tools, target function, and target equipment. The target function and/or target equipment information can be associated, together or separately, with the required equipment, required safety equipment, and required tools if the required equipment and tools are not specifically included in the work items. The check lists indicate the required equipment, tools, devices, parts, maintenance materials, manuals, and/or documents, that are necessary to perform the target function on the target equipment. A check list is displayed on a user interface device, which tracks, internally or in cooperation with a supervisor engine, whether a user of the user interface device has checked off the items on the check list.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for facilitating task completion in a process plant, the method comprising:

receiving at an expert system data from a plurality of field devices in the process plant;

analyzing in the expert system the data received from the plurality of field devices to determine an analytical result;

receiving at a supervisor engine the analytical result;

generating a work item according to the analytical result determined by the expert system, the work item specifying at least (i) target equipment to which the work item pertains, the target equipment including a one of the plurality of field devices and (ii) a task or function to complete with respect to the specified target equipment;

storing the work item in a database of work items;

receiving, from a mobile device associated with a person, a selection of the work item from work items stored in the database of work items, the selection indicating a work item to be assigned to the person as a result of the selection, the mobile device (i) communicatively coupled to a process controller controlling at least a portion of the process plant and (ii) operable to cause the process controller to change the operation of the process plant;

determining, from data received from the mobile device, that the mobile device associated with a person who selected the work item is in a particular location, the particular location either related to preparation for completing the work item or proximate the target equipment specified by the work item, wherein the data received from the mobile device are determined according to a circuit in the mobile device operable to detect a proximity of the mobile device to an external device;

determining from the selected work item one or more items required for the execution of the task or function specified by the work item;

generating a checklist of the one or more items for display to the person who selected the work item; and

displaying the checklist to the person who selected the work item.

2. A computer implemented method according to claim 1, wherein determining from the selected work item one or more items required for the execution of the work item comprises reading one or more fields of the work item.

3. A computer implemented method according to claim 2, wherein reading one or more fields of the work item comprises one or more of:

reading a required equipment field, reading a required safety equipment field, reading a required tool field, and reading a field indicating a location of a target piece of equipment within the process plant.

4. A computer implemented method according to claim 2, wherein reading one or more fields of the work item comprises reading a field specifying a target task to be completed.

5. A computer implemented method according to claim 2, wherein reading one or more fields of the work item comprises reading a field specifying a target task to be completed and a target equipment or a target equipment type.

6. A computer implemented method according to claim 1, wherein determining from the selected work item one or more items required for the execution of the work item comprises determining the task to be completed, the equipment on which the task to be completed will be performed, or both.

7. A computer implemented method according to claim 1, wherein generating the checklist of one or more items for display to the person who selected the work item comprises generating a checklist including one or more of the following:

(i) a piece of safety equipment;

(ii) a tool;

(iii) a process control device;

(iv) a part for a process control device; and

(v) a maintenance material.

8. A computer implemented method according to claim 1, wherein generating the checklist of one or more items for display to the person who selected the work item comprises retrieving information from one or more of the following:

(i) an equipment manual associated with a process control device associated with the work item;

(ii) an equipment manual associated with a tool required to execute the work item;

(iii) a safety document;

(iv) a standard operating procedure; and

(v) a document associated with a location of a process control device associated with the work item.

9. A computer implemented method according to claim 1, wherein displaying the checklist to the person executing the work item comprises receiving an indication that a user assigned to execute the work item has activated a mobile user interface device and displaying the checklist to the user.

10. A computer implemented method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the selection of the work item comprises receiving the selection on a first user interface device, and wherein displaying the checklist to the person who selected the work item comprises:

receiving an indication that a state of the first user interface device has been transferred to a second user interface device; and

displaying the checklist on the second user interface device.

11. A computer implemented method according to claim 7, further comprising receiving, for each of the one or more items on the checklist, an indication that a person viewing the displayed checklist has the one or more items.

12. A process control system for facilitating task completion in a process plant, the process control system comprising:

a first process control device, configured for use in controlling the process plant;

an expert system receiving data from a plurality of field devices that includes the first process control device, and analyzes the data received from the plurality of field devices to determine an analytical result;

a supervisor engine configured to retrieve or receive the analytical result and to generate a work item according to the analytical result, the work item specifying at least (i) target equipment to which the work item pertains, the target equipment including the first process control device and (ii) a task or function to complete with respect to the specified target equipment;

a database storing the work item;

a checklist generation system configured to;

(i) access the database to determine, from the stored work item, one or more items required for execution of the stored work item, (ii) generate a checklist including the one or more items, and (iii) transmit via a network the generated checklist; and

a user interface device comprising a processor and a display, the user interface device configured to;

(i) receive a selection, from a plurality of work items stored in the database, of the work item, the selection indicating the work item is to be assigned to a person associated with the user interface device, (ii) receive via the network the generated checklist, and (iii) display via the display the checklist,

wherein the checklist generation system transmits the generated checklist to the user interface device upon determining, from data received from the mobile device, that the user interface device is in a particular location, the particular location either related to preparation for completing the work item or proximate the first process control device, wherein the data received from the user interface device are determined according to a circuit in the user interface device operable to detect a proximity of the user interface device to an external device,

wherein the user interface device is (i) communicatively coupled to a process controller controlling at least a portion of the process plant and (ii) operable to cause the process controller to change the operation of the process plant.

13. A process control system according to claim 12, wherein the checklist generation system comprises one or more checklist generation modules in one or more computing devices in the process control system.

14. A process control system according to claim 12, wherein the checklist generation system is further configured to determine the one or more items required for execution of the work item in response to at least one of:

the checklist generation system receiving from the user interface device a selection of the stored work item;

or

the checklist generation system monitoring one or more activities associated with the user interface device to predict that a user of the user interface device will execute the work item.

15. A process control system according to claim 12, wherein the checklist generation system is further configured to receive a notification that the stored work item has been created, wherein accessing the database to determine one or more items required for execution of the stored work item occurs in response to receiving the notification.

16. A process control system according to claim 14, wherein monitoring one or more activities associated with the user interface device to predict that the user of the user interface device will execute the work item includes at least one of:

detecting a transfer of state between the user interface device and a second user interface device;

or

receiving a report of a location of the user interface device from at least one of;

the user interface device or a context identification device.

17. A process control system according to claim 14, wherein monitoring one or more activities associated with the user interface device to predict that the user of the user interface device will execute the work item includes:

receiving analysis results from an analysis performed by an expert system.

18. A process control system according to claim 12, wherein the checklist includes one or more of the following:

(i) a piece of safety equipment;

(ii) a tool;

(iii) a process control device;

(iv) a part for a process control device; and

(v) a maintenance material.

19. A process control system according to claim 12, wherein generating a checklist including the one or more items comprises retrieving from a memory device information relating to one or more of the following:

(i) an equipment manual associated with a process control device associated with the work item;

(ii) an equipment manual associated with a tool required to execute the work item;

(iii) a safety document;

(iv) a standard operating procedure or a set of instructions; and

(v) a document associated with a location of a process control device associated with the work item.

20. A process control system according to claim 12, wherein the first process control device is a context identification device.