Product category:
Plantwide control
News Release from: Cambridge Consultants | Subject: Decision support systems
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 05 May 2004
Decision support systems aid real-time
automation
At Urban Transport 2004, Cambridge Consultants will demonstrate the role of decision support systems for optimising the efficiency of real-time control rooms.
At Urban Transport 2004, Cambridge Consultants will demonstrate the role of decision support systems for optimising the efficiency of real-time control rooms Using a model developed in conjunction with a major European metro operator, Cambridge Consultants' agent software demonstrator shows how intelligent tools help controllers to combat the real-life stresses of centralised control strategies, and to remain focused on strategic issues
As the level of real-time automation increases, and centralised control rooms in areas such as processing plants or mass transit networks become linked to more and more sensors and systems, it becomes easy for the typical exception-handling workload to be swamped by events.
A common result is that the attention of supervisory staff can be diverted from core or critical operations.
"If it's not implemented carefully, automation can funnel unworkable quantities of data and decisions into a centralised control room, where it becomes easy for operators lose sight of the goals", notes Jon Garnsworthy, Head of Transport Systems at Cambridge Consultants.
"We expect decision support systems to become increasingly relevant for automation suppliers and end-users, and we anticipate rapid growth for the technology in areas including mass transit, plant control, utilities and defence".
Cambridge Consultants' decision support system (DSS) demonstrator, which runs on a Windows platform, uses the Jack Agent language system to provide interactive decision support for the control of a city metro network.
This prototype application interactively assists controllers on the detailed implementation of their chosen recovery strategy following an incident.
By presenting operators with relevant and timely advice and options, the DSS has the potential to allow less skilled operators to reach similar conclusions to the most experienced operators, in the same timescales.
In the mass transit environment, the support provided by Cambridge Consultants' DSS demonstrator embodies experience of a wide range of emergency conditions ranging from bomb scares to train breakdowns, with their enormous implications ranging from passenger safety to revenue and customer satisfaction.
A forward simulation tool additionally helps the operators to anticipate short and longer-term performance issues and propose refinements.
Each agent has an internal structure based on beliefs, desires and intentions.
Cambridge Consultants' overall decision support system for metro management has three layers of functionality: the user presentation layer which is targeted toward decision-making activities; the service layer which helps operators to determine the overall strategies that should be considered; and a layer which interfaces with railway resources including crew and train scheduling, and station announcements.
Cambridge Consultants is one of a few commercial organisations in Europe with practical experience of building decision support systems for real-time applications.
The consultancy has worked in this area for 20 years, and has created its own methodology for managing knowledge based engineering projects, based on KADS.
Its project framework extends the KADS methodology with models that bridge the design and the process, speeding and simplifying the production of systems.
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