In process and discrete manufacturing plants, Control systems may run the machines, but it's the control rooms that can most impact the personnel who need to keep the plants running. If your control room hasn’t been upgraded since you moved out the green screens, you could be encountering several problems that can now be easily remedied, particularly in the area of human factor engineering.. Also called “ergonomics,” human factor engineering attempts to counter stress-causing elementsCONTROL ENGINEERING China版权所有, which

often go hand-in-hand with high-speed production.
　　“Advancements in hardware and software have ensured us nearly 100% reliability in terms of the information that is captured and relayed back into the control room. So why do we still experience so much inefficiency and so many errors in our control room?” asks Steve WhitleyCONTROL ENGINEERING China版权所有, managing partner of DesignMatters LLC. “Because we often ignore not only the existing elements that can cause immediate mistakes (miscommunication控制工程网版权所有, misunderstandingwww.cechina.cn, and improper recognition of information), but also the many antagonizing elements within a control room that cause operator fatigue and make it almost impossible for operators to perform at the levels that are expected of them.”

　　Motiva's central control room (left), which consolidated five rooms into one控制工程网版权所有, was a focal point of its Norco refinery modernization project. The design radiates from the operator outward, increasing his or her awareness. Source: Emerson. But sometimes simpler is better (right) as seen on this mapboard in the control room for the Hoover Dam. Source: Red Lion
　　DesignMatters, and its sister company Command & Control Environments (CCE), specialize in reducing operator fatigue and the errors and inefficiencies it can cause. Whitley explains: “In simple terms, fatigue management, at least within the control room, refers to keeping operators as aware and as focused as possible.”
　　The fatigue-producing “antagonizing elements” Whitley mentions include poor lighting