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CAN YOU HAVE TOO MANY MONITORS?

NEWSLETTER ARTICLE

A disturbing trend (not the only one) in distributed control system (DCS) conversions is the proliferation of monitors. Where at one time three monitors per operator was common, today it is not unusual to see six or more monitors per operator. Are all these monitors necessary?

On straight logic, if three monitors are adequate with an early generation DCS, why would one need more monitors with the better display capabilities of the current DCS? Shouldn't you need fewer monitors?

The counterargument (if you can call it an argument) is, "Why not have the additional monitors if they're available?" Besides the obvious and practical (why pay for something you don't need), there are potential negative effects on operator and system performance if excess monitors are present. A two-fold effect is possible: (1) display designers might feel compelled to "spread out" the display system to accommodate all the monitors (note: information systems should be 'compact') and/or (2) the operators will feel that all the monitors should be used in solving a problem (a common characteristic of problem solving is assuming all available information is relevant, and people actually do better in processing information from a single source). Another related problem is based in signal detection theory: extra, unnecessary monitors add noise to the information environment, thereby decreasing the ability of the operators to find the information they need.

Can you have too many monitors? Yes. Are most new DCSs using too many monitors? Probably. Should refineries pay more attention to monitor selection? Definitely.

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