Finally! ASM Consortium publishes research!

March 19, 2009

After operating as a "members only" exclusive club for many years, the ASM Consortium (Abnormal Situation Management Consortium)has reversed its policies and decided to publish its research-- the only research of its kind. This is a fantastic opportunity for people to actually see what real world operators want in display design, and more importantly, some data behind what actually helps operators work better, safer, and react more correctly to abnormal situations.

Bravo, ASM...the automation end-users of the world are thanking you!

After operating as a "members only" exclusive club for many years, the ASM Consortium (Abnormal Situation Management Consortium)has reversed its policies and decided to publish its research-- the only research of its kind. This is a fantastic opportunity for people to actually see what real world operators want in display design, and more importantly, some data behind what actually helps operators work better, safer, and react more correctly to abnormal situations.

Bravo, ASM...the automation end-users of the world are thanking you!

 Here's the press release:

ASM CONSORTIUM RESEARCH NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE   “Effective Operator Display Design” Is First Available Research, Details Real-World Experiences for Improving Plant Operations   PHOENIX, March 19, 2009 – The Abnormal Situation Management® (ASM) Consortium today announced the group will now make select research available for purchase.  Previously, this research was available only to members of the ASM Consortium, a group of 13 leading companies and universities that jointly research the root causes of abnormal situations and their effects on plant safety. The group examines a wide array of subjects, everything from the effects of organizational structures on plant operations to the maintenance of hardware and software platforms that support process control.

The first in a series of planned ASM Consortium publications, “Effective Operator Display Design” provides guidelines for improving plant operator displays. Written by and for the chemical and refining industries, the book is a compilation of real-world experiences from consortium members who have implemented human-machine interface (HMI) design best practices in their own plants.  This knowledge has been organized as a set of structured best practices to guide design and deployment of operator interfaces that enable effective operator behaviors.  In the area of HMI design, the ASM Consortium guidelines are targeted toward operations managers, operators, process engineers, system design engineers and safety and reliability engineers charged with improving interaction between automation systems and the people controlling the processes.

“Plant incidents are estimated to cost the chemical and refining industries anywhere between 3-8 percent of revenue, and poor or ineffective operator displays can play a major role in those incidents,” said Peggy Hewitt, ASM Consortium director. “Research shows that improving HMI displays using ASM guidelines improves the operator’s ability to prevent, respond to and mitigate potentially hazardous incidents. ‘Effective Operator Display Design’ shares those insights to help keep plants running safely and efficiently.”

For more information about purchasing this and future ASM Consortium research publications and for general information about the ASM Consortium, please visit www.asmconsortium.net.                         Founded in 1994, the Abnormal Situation Management Consortium seeks to create a new paradigm for the operation of complex industrial plants through research programs, development and deployment of new products and services, and information exchange that improve plant operations’ ability to prevent and respond to abnormal situations. The ASM Consortium is comprised of leading industrial manufacturing companies and led by Honeywell. For more information about the ASM Consortium, visit www.asmconsortium.net.