Patent Application
20220108282
Certain embodiments of the invention relate to a supporting device, a display device, a supporting method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a supporting program for supporting the operation of a plant.
When a trouble with a high degree of difficulty occurs, there is a case where a plant operator asks a plant maker possessing specialized technology to investigate the cause of the trouble. The plant maker who has received the request receives process data together with the contents of the trouble from the plant operator, and checks and determines the data from a plurality of viewpoints on the basis of the know-how of process evaluation, thereby erasing candidate causes of the trouble, finding out a true cause and informing the plant operator of an estimation cause.
Additionally, as a means for finding out the cause of the trouble, it is known to identify the estimation cause of trouble by answering an interactive question by a user, for example, as in the related art.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a supporting device for supporting an operation of a plant, the supporting device including: a question output unit that outputs a question based on process data of the plant; an answer reception unit that receives an answer to the question output from the question output unit; and an estimation information output unit that outputs information that supports the operation of the plant on the basis of the answer received by the answer reception unit.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a supporting device for supporting an operation of a plant, the supporting device including: a question output unit that outputs a question regarding an operation status of the plant; an answer reception unit that receives an answer to the question output from the question output unit; an estimation information output unit that outputs estimation information that supports the operation of the plant on the basis of the answer received by the answer reception unit; and a user evaluation reception unit that receives a user evaluation on the estimation information output from the estimation information output unit.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a display device for supporting an operation of a plant. The display device is configured to display a question regarding an operation status of the plant, and the question includes information based on process data of the plant for supporting the answer to the question.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a supporting method for supporting an operation of a plant, the supporting method including: outputting a question based on process data of the plant by a question output unit; receiving an answer to the question output from the question output unit, by an answer reception unit; and outputting, by an estimation information output unit, estimation information that supports the operation of the plant on the basis of the answer received by the answer reception unit.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a supporting method for supporting an operation of a plant, the supporting method including: outputting a question regarding an operation status of the plant, by a question output unit; receiving an answer to the question output from the question output unit, by an answer reception unit; outputting, by an estimation information output unit, estimation information that supports the operation of the plant on the basis of the answer received by the answer reception unit; and receiving a user evaluation on the estimation information output from the estimation information output unit, by a user evaluation reception unit.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a supporting program that causes a computer to execute a process for supporting an operation of a plant, the process including: outputting a question based on process data of the plant by a question output unit; receiving an answer to the question output from the question output unit, by an answer reception unit; and outputting, by an estimation information output unit, estimation information that supports the operation of the plant on the basis of the answer received by the answer reception unit.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a supporting program that causes a computer to execute a process for supporting an operation of a plant, the process including: outputting a question regarding an operation status of the plant, by a question output unit; receiving an answer to the question output from the question output unit, by an answer reception unit; outputting, by an estimation information output unit, estimation information that supports the operation of the plant on the basis of the answer received by the answer reception unit; and receiving a user evaluation on the estimation information output from the estimation information output unit, by a user evaluation reception unit.
In the related art, the plant maker possessing the specialized technology received the contents of the trouble received from a business operator and its process data and analyzes the contents and the process data, thereby finally identifying the estimation cause. Therefore, there is a case where substantial time is taken from the estimation of a cause of the trouble to the restoration thereof and production efficiency decreases.
It is desirable to provide a supporting device, a display device, a supporting method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium storing a supporting program capable of estimating information related to changes in the operation status of a plant while suppressing a decrease in production efficiency.
According to the above embodiment, since the supporting device according to the present embodiment outputs a question based on the process data of the plant and outputs the estimation information that supports the operation of the plant on the basis of the answer received with respect to the output question, the user can visually and intuitively understand the contents of the question in which the actual operation status of the plant is considered. Accordingly, it is possible to estimate information related to changes in the operation status of the plant while suppressing a decrease in production efficiency.
According to the above embodiment, the question regarding the operation status of the plant is output, the estimation information that supports the operation of the plant is output on the basis of the answer received with respect to the output question, and the user evaluation is received on the estimation information. For this reason, for example, since the user himself/herself can answer and evaluate the question, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the production efficiency. Accordingly, it is possible to estimate information related to changes in the operation status of the plant while suppressing a decrease in production efficiency.
In addition, optional combinations of the above components and those obtained by substituting the components or expressions of the present invention with each other among methods, devices, systems, computer programs, data structures, recording media, and the like are also effective as embodiments of the present inventions.
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through an embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings, but the following embodiment does not limit the invention according to the claims. Additionally, all combinations of features described in the embodiment are not limited to being essential to the solution of the invention. The same or equivalent components, members, and processing shown in the respective drawings will be designated by the same reference numerals, and the redundant descriptions thereof will be appropriately omitted.
The supporting device 10 is a device that supports the operation of the plant 1. Examples of the plant 1 include power plants, incineration plants, chemical plants, or the like. Optional process data is used in the plant 1. The process data is, for example, data of process values such as temperature, pressure, air volume, concentration, or component. Specifically, the process values of the process data may include measured values detected by sensors (not shown) installed in the plant 1 and manipulated variables based on differences between set values and the measured values for points detected by the sensors. The process data obtained from the plant 1 is multidimensional data in which hundreds or more types are present.
The supporting device 10 is connected to a plurality of sensors (not shown) provided in the plant and a control device (not shown) that controls the plant, and acquires the process data acquired from the sensors and the control device. According to the supporting device 10, in a case where the acquired process data has changed, information related to the changes in the process data can be estimated.
A predetermined program necessary for executing the supporting method according to the present embodiment is pre-installed in the supporting device 10, and
The supporting device 10 may be one including a single computer or may be one including a plurality of computers distributed on a network. In the supporting device 10, for example, the CPU can execute a predetermined program (a program that defines the supporting method according to the present embodiment) stored in the above-described ROM, RAM, external storage device, or the like or downloaded via a communication network, thereby cause the supporting device 10 to function as various functional blocks or various steps to be described below.
Hereinafter, various functional blocks of the supporting device 10 will be described.
The supporting device 10 according to the present embodiment includes a process data acquisition unit 12, a change detection unit 14, a ticket issuance unit 15, a question generation unit 16, a question output unit 18, an answer reception unit 20, an estimation information output unit 22, a user evaluation reception unit 24, a ticket storage unit 26, a flowchart setting unit 28, and a flowchart learning unit 30.
The process data acquisition unit 12 acquires the process data of the plant. The process data is for operating the plant and can also be referred to as operation data. The process data is, for example, data showing changes in process values over time. In this case, the process data may be continuous changes in process values at predetermined time intervals. The process data is the multidimensional data. The process data acquired by the process data acquisition unit 12 is stored in the supporting device 10 together with the information on the timing of the plant.
The change detection unit 14 monitors the process data acquired by the process data acquisition unit 12 to detect a change in the process data. For example, the change detection unit 14 may monitor the process data and notify a user in a case where the tendency of the process data has changed as compared to the previous state, and the user may determine the presence or absence of ae change in the process data. Alternatively, the change detection unit 14 may not notify the user in a case where the tendency of the process data has changed compared to the previous state of the process data, and the change detection unit 14 may determine that the process data has changed.
The ticket issuance unit 15 issues a ticket on the basis of a fact that the change detection unit 14 detects that the process data has changed. The ticket is for managing a single incident in which it is detected that the process data has changed. The ticket is issued each time it is detected that the process data has changed. The ticket issued by the ticket issuance unit 15 is stored in the ticket storage unit 26 in association with the process data in a certain period including ticket issuance time (or time when the process data has changed). By issuing and managing such a ticket, it is possible to easily and accurately manage a plurality of incidents that occur in the plant 1.
When the change detection unit 14 detects that the process data has changed, the question generation unit 16 generates a question regarding the operation status of the plant on the basis of a determination flowchart in order to estimate a cause and a coping method for the change. The details of question generation based on the determination flowchart will be described below. The question generation unit 16 may generate a question on the basis of a fact that a change from the change detection unit 14 has been detected, or the question generation unit 16 may generate a question on the basis of the ticket issuance from the ticket issuance unit 15. Additionally, the question generation unit 16 may generate a question including information based on the process data associated with the ticket stored in the ticket storage unit 26.
When the change detection unit 14 detects that the process data has changed, the question output unit 18 outputs the question generated by the question generation unit 16. In this way, a question for identifying the cause and the coping method for the change in the process data is presented to the user. The question output unit 18 may be a display device that displays a question.
The answer reception unit 20 receives an answer to the question output from the question output unit 18. Specifically, the answer reception unit 20 receives an answer from the user regarding the question presented to the user by the question output unit 18. For example, the question output unit 18 may output some answer options corresponding to the question together, and the answer reception unit 20 may be configured to receive the answer from the user in a selection format. In this way, a series of flow from question generation to answer reception is repeated as many times as required, and the cause and the coping method for the change in the process data are estimated.
The estimation information output unit 22 outputs estimation information indicating the estimation cause, the coping method, and the like for the change in the process data. This estimation information may be generated by the question generation unit 16. In this way, the estimation information that supports the operation of the plant related to a change in the process data is presented to the user.
The user evaluation reception unit 24 receives a user evaluation on the estimation information output from the estimation information output unit 22. Specifically, after a ticket is issued from the ticket issuance unit 15, the user evaluation reception unit 24 receives the user evaluation on the estimation information related to the change in the process data associated with the ticket. For example, some options may be output, and the user evaluation reception unit 24 may be configured to receive the evaluation from the user in a selection format. The user evaluation is performed after a coping method has been executed to eliminate the cause of occurrence of the change in the process data. The user evaluation received by the user evaluation reception unit 24 is associated with the ticket related to the user evaluation and stored in the ticket storage unit 26.
The ticket storage unit 26 stores one or a plurality of tickets issued by the ticket issuance unit 15 and process data associated with each ticket. Additionally, when the user evaluation by the user evaluation reception unit 24 is completed, the user evaluation associated with each ticket is stored together in the ticket storage unit 26. In the ticket storage unit 26, a ticket ID, a score, an estimation cause, a coping method, a user evaluation, and the like may be stored in association with each ticket. In addition, the ticket ID may be a number or information on ticket issuance date and time.
Next, the details of the question generation by the question generation unit 16 will be described. The question generation unit 16 generates a question on the basis of a determination flowchart 32. Here, the determination flowchart 32 includes one or a plurality of selection-format questions according to the symptom of the change in the process data detected by the change detection unit 14. For example, in a case where the determination flowchart 32 includes a plurality of selection-format questions, each question is generated by the question generation unit 16 and output from the question output unit 18 in accordance with the order of the flowchart. In addition, as the determination flowchart 32, for example, an existing troubleshooting flowchart known to a plant designer can be used, and the specific contents thereof are omitted in the present embodiment.
The flowchart setting unit 28 sets the determination flowchart 32. In the initial stage of the supporting device 10, for example, an expert such as a plant maker engineer can combine a question element group 27, so that the flowchart setting unit 28 can set a first determination flowchart 32.
The flowchart learning unit 30 updates the determination flowchart 32 on the basis of the information stored in the ticket storage unit 26. Specifically, the flowchart learning unit 30 updates the determination flowchart 32 on the basis of the process data and the user evaluation associated with each ticket. For example, in the case of “Bad” indicating that the user evaluation regarding the estimation information output from the estimation information output unit 22 is bad, the flowchart learning unit 30 updates the determination flowchart 32 by modifying, adding, or deleting at least one question regarding the determination flowchart 32 related to this estimation information. For example, the user evaluation reception unit 24 receives the correct answers or alternative candidates regarding the reason, estimation cause, or coping method for being “Bad” from the user, and the flowchart learning unit 30 may update the determination flowchart 32 on the basis of the information. On the other hand, in the case of “Good” indicating that the user evaluation regarding the estimation information output from the estimation information output unit 22 is good, the flowchart learning unit 30 continues the contents of the determination flowchart 32 related to the estimation information. By updating or evaluating the determination flowchart 32 by the flowchart learning unit 30 in this way, the accuracy of the estimation information output from the estimation information output unit 22 can be improved. In addition, the accuracy of this estimation information is calculated as a score, and the score is associated with the related ticket and stored in the ticket storage unit 26.
In addition, the specific operation of the various functional blocks of the supporting device 10 described above will be described in more detail in the supporting method to be described below.
Hereinafter, an example of the operation using the supporting device 10 will be described as the supporting method according to the embodiment of the present invention while referring to
In
Next, the change detection unit 14 detects a change in the process data acquired from the process data acquisition unit 12 (S11). The change detection unit 14 may determine, for example, that the process data has changed when a change of a predetermined threshold value or more is detected. Alternatively, the change detection unit 14 may determine that the process data has changed on the basis of the input from the user. In addition,
Next, when it is detected that the process data of the change detection unit 14 has changed, the question generation unit 16 generates a question regarding the operation status of the plant in order to estimate the cause and the coping method for the change (S12). Here, in a first question generation, for example, when the user inputs what kind of symptom the change in the process data is caused by, the determination flowchart 32 corresponding to the symptom is read out, and the question generation unit 16 may sequentially generate a plurality of questions of the determination flowchart 32 according to the order of the read flowchart. When it is detected that the process data of the change detection unit 14 has changed, the ticket issuance unit 15 issues a ticket (refer to
After Step S12, the question generated by the question generation unit 16 is output from the question output unit 18 (S13), and the answer reception unit 20 receives an answer from the user to the question (S14).
Here,
Returning to
After that, the user evaluation reception unit 24 receives a user evaluation (S17), and in a case where the user evaluation is received, the user evaluation is stored in the ticket storage unit 26 (S18).
Next, a processing flow after the ticket issuance unit 15 issues a ticket will be described with reference to
In this way, by managing the evaluation of the coping method of the change from the time when it is detected that the process data has changed by issuing and discarding tickets, a plurality of various incidents that occur in the plant 1 can be easily and accurately managed.
As described above, since the supporting device according to the present embodiment outputs a question based on the process data of the plant and outputs the estimation information that supports the operation of the plant on the basis of the answer received with respect to the output question, the user can visually and intuitively understand the contents of the question. Accordingly, it is possible to estimate information related to changes in the operation status of the plant while suppressing a decrease in production efficiency. Additionally, since the user evaluation is received for the estimation information that supports the operation of the plant, the accuracy of the estimation information can be improved.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be applied in various modifications. In the above embodiment, a configuration including the ticket issuance unit 15 and the ticket storage unit 26 has been described, but the configuration of both may be omitted. That is, the user evaluation and the update of the flowchart may be performed without adopting the concept of the ticket. Additionally, the operation of the supporting device 10 is not limited to one in which the operation is all automated by the calculation processing of the computer but also includes one in which the manual work by the worker is interposed in at least a portion of the operation. Additionally, in the above embodiment, the display modes of
The aspects of implementation described through the embodiment of the present invention can be used by appropriately combining, altering, or improving depending on applications, and the present invention is not limited to the description of the above-described embodiment. It is apparent from the description of the claims that forms to which such combinations, alterations, or improvements are added may also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.
It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but may be modified into various forms on the basis of the spirit of the invention. Additionally, the modifications are included in the scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-113699 | Jun 2019 | JP | national |
The contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-113699, and of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2020/021562, on the basis of each of which priority benefits are claimed in an accompanying application data sheet, are in their entirety incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2020/021562 | Jun 2020 | US |
| Child | 17554915 | US |
