Research & Development

Shaping the control room of the future

We work with universities and industry on research into Human Factors, digitalisation and the interaction between people and technology.

Research projects

Digitalisation with people in focus

HF Specialist has taken part in research projects together with universities, research institutes and industry, bringing our Human Factors experience from real control rooms. Our focus: how new technology can support operators' wellbeing and build digitalisation know-how in Swedish industry.

DIG IN Chalmers University of Technology

DIG IN: Digitalised Wellbeing

A research project with Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. New technology brings many opportunities and challenges, and running future production systems means managing the interaction between humans and technology successfully.

The project built a demonstrator showing that operator wellbeing can be measured digitally, in a simple and relevant way and in real time, so that strain can be seen and acted on.

Our involvementHF Specialist was involved in DIG IN, contributing Human Factors expertise on how operators experience strain and wellbeing in their daily work.

Partner: Chalmers, Production Systems
Funding: Vinnova, Production2030

Watch: experiment results from DIG IN, by Csi Lab (in Swedish).

edig Knowledge platform

E-DIG: Industrial digitalisation in practice

edig is a knowledge platform that builds digitalisation expertise in Swedish industry. It is aimed at people working in development, operation and production change, and training providers can benefit too.

The platform shares examples from companies and research, and offers training modules that can be adapted to each organisation's needs.

Our involvementHF Specialist was involved in E-DIG, sharing Human Factors knowledge so that digitalisation in industry is designed around the people who use it.

For: Development, operation & production change
Format: Articles, guides & training modules

Visit edig.nu

Watch: the smart digital factory, by RISE IVF (in Swedish).

Workshop

Human Factors workshop for ABB

HF Specialist was in charge of planning and leading a Human Factors workshop for ABB. We brought together Human Factors specialists from around the world, experts in control room design, HMI, alarm management and operator performance who work with leading industries.

Together they shared experience across borders and industries, exploring how putting the operator at the centre leads to safer, more efficient control rooms and better design decisions.

United States
United Kingdom
Norway
Sweden
Germany

Client: ABB
Our role: Planning and leading the workshop
Participants: International Human Factors specialists
Expertise: Control rooms, HMI, alarm management & more

Watch: highlights from the Human Factors workshop we led for ABB.

Publications

ABB Review articles we were involved in

HF Specialist has been involved in these ABB Review articles on Human Factors, plant safety and the operator's role in an increasingly digital control room.

ABB Review · 2018

Making sense of complexity

Industry 4.0 is reshaping process control through digitisation, the Internet of Things, big data, AI and virtual reality. These technologies promise to make complex tasks like fault detection, diagnosis and process optimisation easier to understand and manage.

Read the article (PDF)

ABB Review · 2017

Human factors and their impact on plant safety

Operators in modern plants juggle many activities, which makes abnormal conditions hard to handle. Research shows that an intelligent, ergonomic workspace can both reduce risk and increase productivity.

Read the article (PDF)

“In tomorrow's central control rooms, operators' roles will evolve from reactive to predictive problem solving and analytics.”

ABB Review: Making sense of complexity