A blackboard architecture for control
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence
Practical planning: extending the classical AI planning paradigm
Practical planning: extending the classical AI planning paradigm
Information modeling: the EXPRESS way
Information modeling: the EXPRESS way
Research Frontiers in Object Technology
Information Systems Frontiers
Integrating product models with engineering analysis applications: Two case studies
Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing
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The Intelligent Real-Time Maintenance Management system helps process-plant engineers and owners perform value-based plant maintenance. With IRTMM, they can inspect subsystems, identify component operating parameters, and review and make notes regarding component performance or operational and maintenance history.The maintenance objective for any manufacturing or power plant is that plant systems should always be available to support plant function, without ever limiting plant production. More precisely, the cost of any maintenance activity should be less than the expected marginal value of production enabled by the planned activity. In planning maintenance to meet this time-varying objective, a plant's operating engineers and owner need to share information about current plant component status and the business situation.Supporting this objective is difficult. Assessing the risk posed by an observed noncritical problem to future production is challenging. There are multiple goals, goals change and conflict, and indicator data are almost never completely reliable or adequate. Furthermore, the problem has multiple aspects: interpretation of observed data, problem diagnosis, repair and maintenance planning, and business evaluation of different repair and maintenance options. Finally, interpreting available engineering and business data demands good judgment, and the ability to define the value of maintenance requires a clear business policy.As this article shows, our Intelligent Real-Time Maintenance Management (IRTMM) system helps process-plant owners perform value-based plant maintenance--not simply periodic maintenance or repairs following a breakdown, but maintenance motivated by engineering or business concerns. Implemented using object-oriented software with associated objects; displays; and systems-interface utilities, rules, and methods, the system performs three coupled functions--situation assessment, planning, and value analysis--each implemented as an independent software module. The modules share a symbolic plant model that describes plant components, their attributes, and their connectivity. IRTMM has performed successfully on test cases from power company utilities and from a large process plant.