Comparing Rate-of-Change Cues in Trend Displays for a Process Control System

This study explored whether explicitly presenting rate-of-change cues, an information that is otherwise only implicitly derived in today’s process control operations, would benefit operator performance. Operators rely on rate-of-change (ROC) information to help anticipate and arrest problems and take early action. Currently ROC is derived implicitly via Trends displays, which plot historical data over time. A simulated experiment conducted using university undergraduates presented explicit rate-of-change (ROC) information, either in numerical or linear-shape format, into a modified Trends displays. Findings revealed performance improvement patterns and particularly strong performance benefits when ROC was presented in linear-shape format. Results provide first step towards integrating ROC representation into industry displays.