Assistance systems with case-based reasoning

Abstract

With a range of factors are placing an increasing work load on plant operators, the use of assistance systems has become increasingly important in various areas. One of the main tasks of assistance systems is to offer multiple decision alternatives to plant operators in difficult situations. The development of situation-based solution alternative is a challenging task. In many cases, rigorous strategies to obtain a model-based solution synthesis have been too complex and time-consuming to be feasible. We describe how case-based reasoning can be used to offer alternative decision-making options to plant operators. When applying case-based reasoning in process control, the explicit knowledge of all procedure sequences including the current state of a procedure is of central importance. Moreover, an assistance system must have at its disposal a procedure database with a uniformly explorable description of procedures. On the basis of the stored procedure types as well as the archived and evaluated sequences, the assistance system can apply case-based reasoning to offer both decision options and recommended courses of action to the plant operator in specific situations.