Collaborating in a new dimension

Interactive tool makes it easy to intuitively follow the chain of effects from the problematic KPI down to the root cause

A picture, it is said, is worth more than a thousand words. Visual representation renders data instantly accessible and helps pinpoint trends and correlations. When the managers or operators of a plant meet to discuss the challenges and tasks ahead, the graphic portrayal of trends, requirements and bottlenecks is essential to the identification of priorities and actions.

How will the presentation tool of tomorrow support this? We at ABB believe this tool will automatically collect data from different sources in the field, represent key performance indicators (KPIs) in an intuitive manner in conjunction with live process data and support zooming in and “drilling down” to details.

The tool will also allow annotations to be added and freehand notes and sketches to be made, supporting the thought process of the decision team. Rather than a clunky keyboard and mouse, the tool will have a smart-phone style multitouch screen with intuitive 3-D navigation. For SCA’s pulp and paper plant in Obbola, Sweden, this tool is reality today. The proof of concept was jointly developed by ABB and the interactive institute, Umeå (Sweden), and is hailed a success by SCA.

To find out more about how this interactive tool helps managers to make the right decisions read the full article in the Trends in technology issue of the ABB Review

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About the author

Fredrik Alfredsson

I work at ABB Corporate Research in Västerås and have done that since 2004. Late 2004 I was part of starting up the usability and Human-Computer Interaction initiative within ABB Corporate Research. Between 2008-2010 I was the Research Area Coordinator (RAC) within Usability and HCI area and I was responsible for the program strategy for this research area. I also coordinate HCI projects between our research centers located in USA, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and India. At the start of 2012 I became Group Manager deputy for our research group in Västerås which expertise areas are within Software Architecture and User Experience. August 2012 I took over the Group Manager role for the Software Architecture and User Experience group and became interim Manager.
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