Bill Hollifield, WWAC2012 Invited Speaker
The symposium committee is pleased to announce that Bill Hollifield from PAS will be our invited speaker for the 2012 WWAC symposium. He will be presenting a talk a very timely topic: how to create effective HMI (human machine interface) computer screens that promote operator effectiveness rather than hindering them in their jobs. It’s an area that we can all improve on.
He is a member of the ISA-18 Alarm Management committee, the ISA-101 HMI committee, the API-1167 Alarm Management committee, and is a co-author of the Electric Power Research Institute’s Alarm Management Guidelines. Bill is also co-author of The High Performance HMI Handbook.
The High Performance HMI – Better Graphics for Operations Effectiveness
Speaker: Bill Hollifield, PAS
Almost all industrial processes are controlled by operators using dozens of graphic screens. The graphic designs are typically little more than P&IDs covered in hundreds of numbers. This traditional, “low performance” Human Machine Interface (HMI) paradigm is typical in all processes controlled by DCS and SCADA systems, including the water and wastewater sector. It has been shown to be lacking in both providing operator situation awareness and in facilitating proper response to upsets. In many industries, poor HMIs have contributed to major accidents, including fatalities.
HMI improvement has become a hot topic. The knowledge and control capabilities now exist for creating High Performance HMIs. These provide for much improved situation awareness, improved surveillance and control, easier training, and verifiable cost savings.
This talk will cover:
- HMIs Past and Present
- Common but Poor HMI Practices
- Justification for HMI Improvement – What Can You Gain?
- High Performance HMI Principles and Examples
- Depicting Information Rather Than Raw Data
- The Power of Analog
- Proper and Improper Use of Color
- Depicting Alarm Conditions
- Trend Deficiencies and Improvements
- Display Hierarchy and the Big Picture
- The High Performance HMI Development Work Process
- Obstacles and Resistance to Improvement
- Cost-effective Ways to Make a Major Difference
Implementation of proper graphic principles can greatly enhance operator effectiveness. A High Performance HMI is both practical and achievable.
About the Speaker
Bill Hollifield – At PAS, Bill is the Principal Consultant responsible for the work processes and products, intellectual property, and software product directions for both Alarm Management and High Performance HMI. He is a member of the ISA-18 Alarm Management committee, the ISA-101 HMI committee, the API-1167 Alarm Management committee, and is a co-author of the Electric Power Research Institute’s Alarm Management Guidelines. Bill is also co-author of The High Performance HMI Handbook. Bill has international, multi-company experience in all aspects of Alarm Management. Besides that, Bill has many (many!) years of chemical industry experience with focus in project management, chemical production, and control systems. Bill holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University and an MBA from the University of Houston. He’s a pilot, and builds furniture (and the occasional log home in the Ozarks) as a hobby.
