The School of

Engineering
Prof. Dr.-Waheed Afzal

Human Factors and Usability Analysis of YOKOGAWA

Human Machine Interface

for the Human Factors Engineering course in MSc Process Safety

Ahmed Abdelbary

Student Number: 523190741

February 16, 2024

Abstract

I am Ahmed Abdelbary a student at the Msc Process Safety at the University of Aberdeen. I
graduated from Alexandria University in Egypt holding a bachelor of Science in Electro-Mechanical
Engineering. I have a 3 years experience as a Safety Engineer in the Egyptian Natural Gas Company.
Working in a gas processing plant allowed me to interact with the Control Room’s DCS system
including the HMI. During this experience, I have faced alot of challenges and issues as unclear
overloaded display, designs that require a high cognitive load and counter-intuitive controls that can
lead to disastrous consequences or increase the error probability of the operator. This highlighted
the immense requirement for a user-friendly interfaces for the operators so that the critical decisions
are made accurately and efficiently. This report is a great opportunity for me to bridge the gap
between theoretical and practical application.
Choosing Yokogawa a well-known and renowned firm in the field of industrial automation and
control, provides a practical assessment of HMI design ideas in a real-world setting.
I acknowledge the use of LaTeX Editor TeXstudio to draft an outline structure and formatting for
the report and also chatGPT for generating ideas and improving tone. I Ahmed Abdelbary also
give my consent to Dr. Waheed Afzal to use my assignment for academic purposes. I confirm that
I have completed my January ”Academic Misconduct Awareness Decleration”.

Abbreviations

DCS: Distributed Control System, HMI: Human Machine Interface, ISA: International Standards
on Auditing, CAMS: Consolidated Alarm Management Software, HIS: Human interface station,
HFE: Human Factors Engineering.

Summary

In this research, we look at the design and usability of Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) in
automated processes, focusing on the ISA-101 Standard’s concepts. HMIs are tools that allow
operators to communicate with control systems and monitor processes. The research empha-
sizes the need of user-centric design, citing broad concepts such as simple navigation, appropriate
information presentation, and user-friendly displays.
The analysis addresses a variety of usability issues, including efficiency, effectiveness, satisfac-
tion, learnability, memorability, and error reduction. The use of Norman’s good design principles
is investigated, with a focus on improving operator comprehension through visibility, mapping, af-
fordance, and feedback. The design process also takes into account cognitive, psychomotor, and
anthropometric elements.
The report also discusses health and safety concerns, and the need of ergonomic design. It
analyzes YOKOGOWA HMI interface and compares it with a competitor product (ABB).

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1. Introduction

1.1. Definitions
HMI: The collection of hardware and soft-
ware used by the operator and other users to
monitor and interact with the control system
and the process via the control system. [2]
As shown in 1 It consists of console, opera-
tor station, monitor, screen, display, pop-up,
graphic elements.
ISA-101 Standard: It addresses HMI’s for au-
tomated processes to improve safety, quality,
and productivity. It identifies documentation
and design practices that will lead to more ef-
fective and maintainable HMI. [2]

1.2. General principles of HFE in HMI

Operator demands and job requirements
should drive the HMI. The needs of the many
HMI users should be taken into account dur-
ing the design process; yet, it is crucial that
the needs of the main users, or plant operators,
come first. Some general HFE concepts are as
follows [2]:

a) The user should be able to easily navigate the HMI.

Figure 1: HMI components [2]
c) Information or controls relevant to the task should
be provided by the HMI.

d) The information must be displayed in ways that are appropriate for the user’s objectives. For
example, the HMI should provide the information in inches and sixteenths, feet, centimeters,
or meters if the operator takes a field reading in those units rather than in percentages or
range.

e) The user should have easy access to supporting information (e.g., alarm response protocols,
HMI user manuals, or procedures for initiating a piece of equipment or batch operation).

f) The HMI displays’ wording ought to match the usual descriptions provided by users.

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2. Usability Analysis

2.1. Efficiency
Intuitive animations and real-time updates are examples of dynamic visual components that
can improve efficiency by giving operators instant feedback. Visual adjustments facilitate speedy
information processing, cutting down on the amount of time needed for repetitive tasks. To
highlight certain information, employ visual dynamic coding techniques including motion, blinking,
flashing, and conditional visibility. Motion is the process of simulating movement by altering the
size, location, or rotation of graphic elements or symbols. A graphic element, such a text insertion
cursor, can be made visible or invisible by blinking back and forth. The repeated switching of a
visual element’s color or intensity, such as the color of the background and foreground, is known
as flashing. Blinking, flashing, or moving too much might be annoying. The following design
principles should be used to handle animation: [2]

1. Objects that are meant to appear and vanish, like borders or symbols for alert identification,
should not be blinking.
2. To avoid making reading challenging, text and numbers should remain in their original place-
ments and should not move or blink.
3. Unless the operator requests it, no part of the display should blink or flash. Only anomalous
or operator-attention-requiring circumstances should be highlighted via visual dynamics.

In YOKOGAWA, The most recent system alarm messages are displayed first in the System
Alarm view. An alarm sounds, and the operator is alerted by the button in the System Message
banner and the LED for the key on the operating keyboard flashing simultaneously. [6]

2.2. Effectiveness
2.2.1. Auditory Signals
Auditory signals serve to alert users to various situations that demand attention, such as new
alarms, incorrect input actions, or failures in the Human Machine Interface (HMI) processing
user inputs. These signals should provide localization cues, guiding users to the specific areas
requiring attention. Care must be taken in designing auditory signals to avoid startling listeners,
contributing significantly to overall noise levels, or hindering communication among users. Signal
intensity, duration, and source location should align with the acoustical environment in the signal
area. [5]
It is crucial that the meaning of each auditory signal is clear and unambiguous. Auditory
warning signals should be audible in the normal operating position on the console. In control
rooms with multiple consoles, the auditory signal should not be overly loud to distract operators at
unrelated consoles. Additionally, a mechanism should be provided to silence an audible indication
once acknowledged by the operator.

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 In cases where operators are not required to remain in immediate proximity to the HMI, alter-
native auditory methods should be implemented to reach all expected work areas.
The effectiveness of the alarm system is increased by audible signals that are clear and indicate
the alarm’s priority. Operators are able to prioritize and react swiftly because they can distinguish
between critical and non-critical alarms rapidly. [3]
When an audio and visual signal is utilized in the HMI to help the operator choose the order of
alarm response actions, the alarm philosophy provides a se t of alarm priorities employed. To
identify the alert priority, a special mix of visual and/or audio cues should be employed. A visual
priority indication should be used in circumstances when an auditory indication is not employed as
a priority indication [2].
In YOKOGAWA case, there is a setup window which is used to control the buzzer setting, enabling
user to set volume, tone and sound source according to his needs. [6]

2.3. Satisfaction
2.3.1. Color
A well-considered use of color improves the visual experience overall and increases user happi-
ness. A well-thought-out color scheme can enhance readability, draw attention to key information,
and produce a visually pleasant atmosphere, all of which can raise operator satisfaction levels.
Design should take into account limitations in color perception, such as colorblindness or age-
related deficiencies. Color blindness in the red-green, green-yellow, and white-cyan spectrums is
common. To accommodate colorblindness, one should employ differential contrast and brightness.
Additionally, colors should be used to highlight important information, such as alarms and abnormal
circumstances. Age-related visual impairments should be taken into account since they can lead to
chromatic aberrations from lens discolouration, problems focusing on near field information, and a
reduced capacity to refocus between near and far objects. [2]
Proper placement and adjustment of the monitor should take the use of progressive, bifocal,
and trifocal lenses into account. To improve the alarm’s cognitive meaning and the operator’s
ability to react to it quickly, certain colors should only be used while presenting alarms. Color isn’t
always a reliable indicator of only sign of a significant condition and ought to be redundant with
other informational formats. [2]
When choosing colors for a display, consider how significant the information is and pick the most
conspicuous colors for the most important information. While dynamic parts on the display may
benefit from color gradients, static or non-dynamic elements shouldn’t be highlighted with them.
Information on the HMI should be denoted by color sparingly and consistently, and color and/or
flashing of symbols should draw the operator’s attention to newly emerging critical situations. [2]
In YOKOGAWA, Hardware configurations and HIS information are shown in the HIS Status Display
view. It makes it possible to distinguish between the hardware’s normal and abnormal states using

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colors, making the HIS status quickly apparent. [6]

2.3.2. Ambient Lighting and Screen Luminance

Visual comfort is enhanced by appropriate ambient illumination and screen luminance. By
lowering eye strain and fostering a comfortable working environment, this in turn improves operator
satisfaction and has a favorable effect on the operator’s overall happiness with the HMI.
The intended work environments should serve as the foundation for the HMI design. The system
and displays should be developed at acceptable performance levels for all anticipated conditions
when deploying an HMI that will be viewed in a variety of lighting conditions. The brightness of
the HMI screen should be suitable in light of the surrounding circumstances. Keep your eyes from
straining by not using too much contrast. [2]

2.4. Learnability
2.4.1. User Cognitive Limits
The interface’s learnability is enhanced by design considerations for cognitive restrictions, such
as attention span and information processing speed. For both novice and expert operators, the
interface speeds up learning by matching cognitive capacities.
Human performance depends on the cognitive processes that transform, reduce, store, recover,
and use sensory input. Task complexity, situation awareness, and workload level all have an impact
on a user’s performance and the underlying cognitive processes. Each of these factors can be ad-
justed by the the HMI’s design.
Consistent data grouping will enable the group to be cog-
nitively processed as a single item, accelerating operator re-
sponse time. Adding information to owning objects might also
expedite processing through mental grouping. When arranged
into straightforward boxes, information that cannot be imme-
diately connected to the display elements can also be processed
more quickly. Operators understand quickly that boxes are for
specific kinds of data that they can handle in a targeted man-
ner. [2]
As shown in YOKOGOWA 2, the browser bar is used to
call up operation and monitoring windows. It can display a list
of operation and monitoring windows and plant hierarchical
structures in a tree-like fashion, allowing the entire system to
be easily confirmed. In addition, if the browser bar is not used,
its display can be minimized at the end of the screen. [6]

Figure 2: Browser bar [6]

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2.5. Memorability
Good interactions between the background and foreground
make important information easier to remember. Operators are helped to remember crucial details
even after extended periods of inactivity by the memorable visual cues created by sharp divisions
between foreground and background elements.
These things have to do with interactions between the background and foreground: [2]

a) A neutral or unsaturated background color, such as light gray, will minimize chromatic aber-
rations and guarantee that the information on display is prominently shown. For instance,
in the majority of applications, it is best to steer clear of using background colors like black
that could result in excessive contrast.

b) There should be enough contrast between the colors of the background and foreground.

c) The backdrop color ought to be chosen to offer a respectable and ample contrast in the
anticipated ambient lighting circumstances.

To verify that every element combination has enough contrast for a user with color deficiency to
notice, it is useful to test a colorful image in grayscale. [2]
As shown in 3, YOKOGOWA display has light grey backgrounds with sufficient color contrast and
also without being excessive, however, the tab with the boiler overview with dark grey color can
cause some distortions. [6]

Figure 3: Color Contrast [6]

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2.6. Errors
2.6.1. Density of Displayed Information
Error reduction is aided by an ideal information density being displayed. Errors are minimized
because operators are less likely to make input errors or misinterpret important facts when infor-
mation is presented in a clear and straightforward manner.
A display’s information density should be determined by its intended use and purpose, taking into ac-
count the limitations of human vision. Avoid showing extraneous information and just show relevant
data that the operator can readily understand. To prevent clutter, display elements should be posi-
tioned consistently and spatially aligned. It might be required to redesign if the initial user require-
ments specifications lead to too much information on one display. Redesign alternatives include: [2]

a) Combining data into information with a lower total screen

density.

b) Selecting the best display style for an operator who can work
more efficiently.

c) Only offering certain information upon request.

d) Dividing the display into different displays.

Results from the task and function analyses should inform the
information that is displayed to the user. [2] Figure 4: Density of Displayed
As shown in 4, YOKOGAWA sample distillation column, exces- information [6]
sive information is provided on a single display. This can surpass human perception limits leading
to errors. [6]

3. Application of Norman’s good design principles

3.1. Visibility
Engineering can be done from a distant PC, along with plant operation and monitoring, thanks
to the server for remote operation and monitoring feature shown in 5. With a few exceptions,
plant operation and monitoring can be done from a remote PC located far from the central control
room using the same Windows as in HIS. [6]

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 Figure 5: Remote Operation and Monitoring [6]

3.2. Mapping and Affordance

Visual perspectives conform to the principle of mapping, associating elements on the screen
to their physical equivalents within the plant improves operator comprehension. By providing
dedicated views for each instrument, the design affords operators the capability to access detailed
information about individual components. The faceplate view as shown in 6 allows compact and
graphical displays of data values, the mode of function blocks, status of contact inputs, and the
like. [6]

Figure 6: Faceplate view [6]

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3.3. Feedback
Trend views provide feedback about system performance over time, allowing operators to un-
derstand how the system behaves and make informed decisions.The trend view as shown in 7 uses
graphics to show how different process data varies over time. Trend data are time-series variations
in the process data. Up to 8 or 16 pens can be selected and shown using the trend view from a
variety of trend display options. Additionally, one trend view can present trend data from several
sampling periods. Additionally, using the trend data in other apps is a breeze. [6]

Figure 7: Trend view [6]

4. Cognitive, psychomotor, and anthropometric aspects

4.1. Attention and Focus

Design should take attentional factors into account. Alarms and critical information should
draw attention in the right places so that operators may swiftly shift their attention to noteworthy
events without becoming bogged down in unimportant minutiae.The alarm occurrence status is
shown by colors and flashing of operation buttons, and the message display.
In YOKOGOWA, the System Message Banner as shown in 8 is always displayed at the top of the
display, so will never be hidden behind other windows. [6]

Figure 8: System Message Banner [6]

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4.2. Motor skills and coordination
Human motor abilities should be taken into account when designing controls and interfaces. To
guarantee precise inputs and effective control, button sizes, locations, and user-friendliness should
correspond with operators’ motor skills. Looking at figure , it can be noticed that some interfaces
are too small in size, also locations are inconsistent and overwhelming due to excess information.
[6] [4]

5. Health and Safety Risks

Visual Strain such as insufficient lighting, small fonts, or intense display glare. To reduce eye
strain, adjust font sizes, color schemes, and display settings. To encourage a comfortable and safe
viewing experience, make sure that the lighting is appropriate and reduce glare on screens.
Noise such as unintentional loud alarms or unclear audio signals can increase stress and possibly
pose a safety risk. Provide recognizable and unambiguous audio signals for warnings and alarms.
In critical situations, this helps avoid confusion and guarantees that operators can rapidly and
correctly analyze audio cues.

6. Operation Keyboard as a Functional Component

The operation keyboard uses flat keys with a functional key layout based on a one-touch
operation. It includes an eight-control-key operation keyboard and a one control key operation
keyboard. One-touch operation reduces the possibility of errors resulting from complex input
sequences. Operator confidence in their ability to carry out commands contributes to the overall
safety and reliability of the system. [6]

6.1. ABB Freelance HMI as a Competitive Product

ˆ Peripheral Compatibility: Standard PC devices like keyboards, mice, printers, and displays
that are readily accessible for Windows-compliant PCs can be used with ABB Freelance
Operations. Being able to easily connect with widely accessible peripherals improves the
user experience and may save expenses while enabling compatibility with a variety of devices.

ˆ Support in Multiple Languages: There are multiple language versions of the system avail-
able, including Brazilian Portuguese, Swedish, Chinese, German, Spanish, English, Russian,
Polish, French, and Japanese. The system’s multilingual support enables operators in various
locations to use it, catering to a variety of user bases and enabling the system’s worldwide
implementation.

ˆ Functionality of Excel Reports: Reporting operations, such as calculations like min, max,
average, or sum, can be performed with flexibility thanks to Excel’s reporting feature. By

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 integrating Excel Reporting, operators may generate reports with greater customization and
flexibility, allowing for more flexible data analysis and presentation. [1]

7. Conclusion

In conclusion, the design and usability of Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) are critical to the
efficiency, effectiveness, satisfaction, learnability, memorability, and error reduction of automated
operations. The ISA-101 Standard’s principles stress the importance of user-centered design,
ensuring that operators can easily navigate the HMI, access relevant information, and respond to
alerts in a timely manner. Visual components, aural signals, color utilization, ambient lighting,
and screen brightness are also important considerations in creating a well-rounded and user-friendly
HMI.
YOKOGOWA’s HMI system, as stated in the presented information, adheres to these standards,
indicating a commitment to user pleasure and operational efficiency. The inclusion of characteristics
such as dynamic graphic components, clear aural messages, deliberate color schemes, and adequate
ambient lighting helps to create a favorable user experience. The usage of a browser bar for
quick access to operation and monitoring windows, faceplate views for additional information, and
trend views for system performance feedback all help to improve the interface’s learnability and
effectiveness.
Furthermore, YOKOGOWA’s focus on health and safety issues, such as decreasing ocular strain and
giving recognized audible cues, demonstrates a dedication to operator well-being. The usage of a
user-friendly operation keyboard with one-touch operation improves motor skills and coordination,
boosting correct inputs and efficient control.
While YOKOGOWA’s HMI system has many excellent aspects, it is critical to solve any potential
flaws. One significant problem is the usage of dark grey for various displays, such as the boiler
overview tab. This color scheme may induce distortions and pose a challenge for users, particularly
those with specific visual impairments. Additionally, the information density on some displays, such
as the sample distillation column, looks to be overwhelming. This overflow may exceed human
perceptual limits, perhaps leading to errors in understanding critical information. To improve the
user experience, these specific difficulties should be addressed through color modifications and
information structure. Continuous user feedback and iterative design revisions can help mitigate
any flaws and ensure a more user-friendly HMI system.

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References

[1] ABB, 2019. Freelance Distributed Control System System Description.

[2] American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and International Society of Automation (ISA),
2015. ANSI/ISA-101.01-2015 Human Machine Interfaces for Process Automation Systems.
Approved 9 July 2015.

[3] Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 1999. Better Alarm Handling. URL: https://www.hse.
gov.uk/pubns/chis6.pdf.

[4] International Organization for Standardization, 2013. Ergonomic design of control centres.
URL: https://www.iso.org/standard/62723.html. iSO 11064-4:2013(E).

[5] O’Hara, J., Fleger, S., 2019. Human-System Interface Design Review Guidelines.
Brookhaven National Laboratory. Upton, NY 11973-5000. URL: https://www.example.
com/hsidesignreviewguidelines. manuscript completed; Revision 3.

[6] Yokogawa, 2020. Yokogawa Technical Information TI 33J01A11-01EN (Release 6). Technical
Report TI 33J01A11-01EN. Yokogawa. Copyright Mar. 2015 (YK).

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