Recent instrumentation system safety instrumentation and man-machine interface

The industrial processes have become complicated on a large scale bacause of improvement of productivity, research of efficiency, and shortage of locations to be suited for foundation of factories. Consequently, the instrumentation and control systems for operating these industrial processes have also been highly improved with the development of mass information means. In order to operate these large-sized and complicated industrial processes safely, the man-machine interface for correspondence between man and machines and the instrumentation system regarding process fault processing are playing an important role increasingly. This paper describes recent instrumentation system in the water purifying plant as an example of these industrial processes, and covers both man-machine interface and process fault processing. The annual water supply quantity and diffusion were 2, 000, 000, 000m$^{3}$ and 25.0% in 1950 inJapan, but they amounted to 12, 000, 000, 000m$^{3}$ and 86.7% in 1974, respectively. The demands of water will increase incessantly, while it becomes gradually difficult to secure water sources. Accordingly, local self-governing bodies such as municipal cooperation, towns, and villages often construct a large-scale water purifying plant at one place in common, as required, without constructing respective plants independently. It is an absolute requirement for the water purifying plant to avoid stopping water supply to fullfil its social responsibility from the viewpoints of its public utility enterprise, and also it has gradually become difficult to secure skilled operators enough to cover such water purifying plants that are additionally provided in various districts. Thus, the importance of the man-machine interface for assuring safety operation of the water purifying plant irrespective of unskillfulness of operators as well as the instrumentation system regarding process fault processing, or, safety instrumentation, is more and more increasing as the water purifying plants are on a large scale.