Operator Load Management during Task Execution in Process Control

The ever increasing automation and manning reductions in process control result in enormous fluctuations of the operators cognitive task load. A possible solution in keeping operator load and performance at an adequate level over time, is adaptive support. Our paper combines recently developed support functions into a new adaptive support framework. It shows which information of operator, task, system en context models can be used as input for the dynamic task allocator, which generates an optimal work plan. This work plan is carried out with use of dynamic task allocation and an adaptive interface. Finally, based on design rules and an evaluated interface concept, an adaptive interface prototype is presented and discussed.