Operation Support System Research Articles

Mathematical modelling of operation of the hydraulic support system of the powered support sections with impulse-free continuous regulation of its resistance to the roof rock lowering

The article describes the mathematical model of a hydraulic support system of the powered support sections with impulse-free continuous regulation of its resistance to the roof rock lowering. Safety valves of the hydraulic support perform only protective functions. Mathematical modeling was carried out using the Runge-Kutta method and the Wolfram Mathematica computer algebra system. The results of modeling the transient process of the hydraulic support system with a built-in block for regulating its resistance during impulse loading of the support section with a collapsed roof rock block at “Polosukhinskaya” mine are presented.

РАЗРАБОТКА АВТОМАТА НАДЕЖНОСТИ ТЕХНИКИ (обоснование регулирования стандартизации)

Aim . This paper presents the development of the dependability automaton. The development is a conceptual description of the automaton as the term structure of a fixed complexity that shows non-contradictory interrelations and clear dependability state transitions of an item. The description of the state structure of the automaton implies subsequent development of a computing device for monitoring the dependability of items of any nature. Unlike in the standard, dependability is defined as a set of states, the measure of concordance with the purpose of an item. The purpose is defined as the property of an object attributed to the natural origin or designed application. In accordance with such definitions, alternative definitions of dependability states have been developed. An observation of the dependability states of an item can be described with a common algorithm. The problem is defined with the help of the automata theory. Methods . We will call a dependability automaton (DA) a deterministic, fully specified finite-state automaton. In the automata theory, the properties of items are examined in terms of being in states and transitioning between them. Dependability states change in terms of disruption and restoration of item purpose. Such changes can be represented as a directed graph, whose nodes correspond to states, while the edges correspond to transitions between states. As the dependability restoration states are deterministic, they can be represented as processes, i.e. planned, consisting of activities, measures, procedures, operations. The states of disrupted dependability are random, therefore they can be considered as events. Thus, the property of an entity’s purpose is observed when the states of dependability are observed that change in events and processes. The automation is described using terms and symbols from standards, as well as alternative definitions of states developed by the author. A review of the appropriate standards is to involve a new terminology. The operation of the dependability automaton reflects transitions and alternative transitions. Restoration is designed as a complete and partially incomplete processes: a) transition from the down state into the up state; b) transition from the down state into the faulty state; c) transition from the down state into the good state. The findings contributed to the development of theoretical and practical dependability of organization, social groups and individuals. The dependability automaton concept includes the development of the engineering design of an expert decision support system for flight operation of an airline. Conclusion . Technical standards require prior preliminarily philosophical, philological, logical review. Such research is to produce logical proof and substantiation of a set of coordinated, non-contradictory ontological terms: property, state, event, etc. The results will be used in technical standards for the purpose of construction and substantiation of special terms. The paper provides a theoretical and practical substantiation of applying individual provisions of the dependability theory of technology for the purpose of developing the dependability theory of non-digital entities.

AI-Guided Reasoning-Based Operator Support System for the Nuclear Power Plant Management

The decision-making process in the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) control room faces some challenges: operator incomplete knowledge, insufficient time for responding to the highly dynamic events, and a large number of indicators to monitor. Because of the complexity of the NPP system, it is hard to pre-plan all the failures/mitigative actions. An intelligent operator support system is vital to mitigate these shortcomings. In this paper, an AI declarative approach (Answer Set Programming (ASP)) is employed to represent our knowledge of the nuclear power plant in the form of logic rules. This represented knowledge is structured to form a reasoning-based operator support system. When an incident occurs, this ASP-based reasoning support system is demonstrated to be capable of fault identification (diagnosis), informing the operator of different scenarios and consequences, and generating the control options (decision making).

An operational support approach for Mining Unstructured Business Processes

The refined process mining framework contains a set of activities that use extracted information from event logs, discovered models and normative ones. Among these activities, we find those dealing with running events in a Structured Business Process (SBP) context, which are the Detect, the Predict and the Recommend activities. These three activities are nominated as an operational support system that aims at detecting deviations, predicting events and recommending actions. In this regard, operational support systems perform well on SBP while, it stills a challenging task for an Unstructured Business Process (UBP). This puts forward the difficulty of predicting events and recommending actions for UBP, because of its complex structure. In this context, simplification and structuring operations must be applied. Therefore, the intervention of other process mining activities is required for business process simplification and structuring. To this end, we present an operational support approach dealing with UBP, using the refined process mining framework activities.

Intent-based Networking for Connectivity and Cloud Services

Recent developments in networking and services technologies increased number of choices for users and complexity of networks and services. At the same time, there is substantial effort in the industry to enhance user experiences with services. The enhancement of user experiences is tightly coupled with mapping of user intents to services by shielding customers from the complexity and automating management processes involved in ordering and delivering services. The mapping is an iterative process. Its accuracy is expected to be improved as Service Providers gain experience with the process. Automating management processes in a management infrastructure with non-virtualized OSSs (Operating Support Systems) is lengthy and difficult. Virtualization and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) techniques accelerate the automation greatly. The automation improves not only user experiences with services, but also the management of networks and applications by network administrators. This paper will describe user intents, a method for mapping user intents to connectivity and cloud services, and the design process, with examples. The concepts and methods described here are expected to be used by consumers and administrators of networks and applications forming services. The intents and their mappings can be expanded for each service by adding unique capabilities and attributes for connectivity and application options of a given service.

Development of Training Support System for Heart-Lung Machine Operation.

Development of Training Support System for Heart-Lung Machine Operation.

Conceptualising and prototyping a decision support system for safer urban unmanned aerial vehicle operations

ABSTRACT Currently, there is limited discourse surrounding the safe operational planning of UAVs within complex multi-stakeholder urban environments. This paper conceptualises a methodology for prototyping a decision support system for urban UAV flight operations planning. The proposition is based on integrating urban 3-dimensional data with the physical factors of UAV flight operations. A simulated, holistic understanding of UAV usage in urban space emerges, enabling better informed decisions by planners around safe flight operations. The feasibility, applicability and benefits of the decision support system and associated policy implications for urban planners and UAV users are discussed scoping further development of this approach.

ISO Standard Application in University Management Model: A Case Study

The ISO standards have been traditionally used in the business context, specifically in manufacturing and services, to provide a framework for total quality management. Such application has now been found in the context of higher education; thus, this paper aims to look into the implementation of ISO standards in the management of a private university in Vietnam. Using a desk research approach, the study seeks to detail the application of ISO in the areas of educational support system and business operation system in the strategic management of this institution, showing the quantitative operational results that have been achieved in all aspects of HR management, teaching quality, new enrollment number and financial growth.

A Decision Support System and Warehouse Operations Design for Pricing Products and Minimizing Product Returns in a Food Plant

Aim/Purpose: The first goal is to develop a decision support system for pricing and production amounts for a firm facing high levels of product returns. The second goal is to improve the management of the product returns process. Background: This study was conducted at a food importer and manufacturer in Israel facing a very high rate of product returns, much of which is eventually discarded. The firm’s products are commonly considered to be a low-cost generic alternative and are therefore popular among low-income families. Methodology: A decision support module was added to the plant’s business information system. The module is based on a supply chain pricing model and uses the sales data to infer future demand’s distribution. Ergonomic models were used to improve the design of the returns warehouse and the handling of the returns. Contribution: The decision support system allows to improve the plant’s pricing and quantity planning. Consequently, it reduced the size of product returns. The new design of the returns process is expected to improve worker’s productivity, reduces losses and results in safer outcomes. This study also demonstrates a successful integration and of a theoretical economical model into an information system. Findings: The results show the promise of incorporating pricing supply chain models into informing systems to achieve a practical business task. We were able to construct actual demand distributions from the data and offer actual pricing recommendations that reduce the number of returns while increasing potential profits. We were able to identify key deficiencies in the returns operations and added a module to the decisions support system that improves the returns management and links it with the sales and pricing modules. Finally, we produced a better warehouse design that supports efficient and ergonomic product returns handling. Recommendations for Practitioners: This work can be replicated for different suppliers, manufacturers and retailers that suffer from product returns. They will benefit from the reduction in returns, as well as the decrease in the losses associated with these returns. Recommendation for Researchers: It is worthwhile to research whether decision support systems can be applied to other aspects of the organizations’ operations. Impact on Society: Product returns is a lose-lose situation for producers, retailers and customers. Moreover, mismanagement of these returns is harmful for the environment and may result in the case of foods, in health hazards. Reducing returns and improving the handling improves sustainability and is beneficial for society. Future Research: The decision support system’s underlying pricing model assumes a specific business setting. This can be extended using other pricing models and applying them in a similar fashion to the current application.

Operation Support System for Electric Wheelchair Using the Remaining Functions of a Thumb for Muscular Dystrophy Patients

Operation Support System for Electric Wheelchair Using the Remaining Functions of a Thumb for Muscular Dystrophy Patients

AI-based Sophistication of Robot-type Endoscope Operation Support System and Development as an Integrated Interface for Various Medical Devices

AI-based Sophistication of Robot-type Endoscope Operation Support System and Development as an Integrated Interface for Various Medical Devices

Multi-functional integrated technical support platform of aircraft maintenance

The article discusses the formation of complex tasks of information support processes of development, manufacturing and subsequent mass long-term operation of new and advanced aircraft, aimed at further development of innovative approaches to integrated cross-industry system (platform) after-sales support of technical and flight-technical operation of civil aircraft. The article reveals the content of the main tasks focused on ensuring and managing flight safety in civil aviation of Russia and interrelated with the recommendations and legislative requirements of Annex 19 to the ICAO Convention and the Safety Management Manual. The most important factor in this case is to take into account the most complex requirements for the flight safety management system associated with maintaining the airworthiness of aircraft as a mode of transport of particular risk of use. The analysis was carried out and the General Scheme of the Multifunctional Integrated Platform was developed within the framework of the Information and Analytical Support System for the technical operation of aircraft components in relation to the scientific and production enterprise "Aerosila". The developed integrated platform realized in this air enterprise and providing information support on the allocated main functional modules is presented: the module "Safety Management System"; the module "Quality System"; the module "Certification" on the allocated objects of certification. As a result, a common information and analytical system was built, taking into account the degree of its implementation in the conditions of “Aerosila” air enterprise.

Development of a diagnostic algorithm for abnormal situations using long short-term memory and variational autoencoder

It is recognized that an abnormal situation diagnosis is a challenging task for nuclear power plant (NPP) operators because of the excessive information and high workload in such situations. To help operators, several studies have proposed operator support systems using artificial intelligence techniques. However, those methods could neither assess anonymous cases as an unknown situation nor confirm whether its outputs are reliable or not. In this study, an algorithm that can confirm the diagnosis results and determine unknown situations using long short-term memory (LSTM) and variational autoencoder (VAE) is proposed. LSTM was adopted as the primary network for diagnosing abnormal situations. Meanwhile, VAE-based assistance networks were added to the algorithm to ensure that the credibility of the diagnosis is estimated via the anomaly score-based negative log-likelihood. The algorithm was tested and implemented using the compact nuclear simulator for the Westinghouse 900 MWe NPP. Furthermore, the simulation also considered noise-added data.

Development of the technology dependability automaton (substantiation of standardization regulation)

Aim . This paper presents the development of the dependability automaton. The development is a conceptual description of the automaton as the term structure of a fixed complexity that shows non-contradictory interrelations and clear dependability state transitions of an item. The description of the state structure of the automaton implies subsequent development of a computing device for monitoring the dependability of items of any nature. Unlike in the standard, dependability is defined as a set of states, the measure of concordance with the purpose of an item. The purpose is defined as the property of an object attributed to the natural origin or designed application. In accordance with such definitions, alternative definitions of dependability states have been developed. An observation of the dependability states of an item can be described with a common algorithm. The problem is defined with the help of the automata theory. Methods . We will call a dependability automaton (DA) a deterministic, fully specified finite-state automaton. In the automata theory, the properties of items are examined in terms of being in states and transitioning between them. Dependability states change in terms of disruption and restoration of item purpose. Such changes can be represented as a directed graph, whose nodes correspond to states, while the edges correspond to transitions between states. As the dependability restoration states are deterministic, they can be represented as processes, i.e. planned, consisting of activities, measures, procedures, operations. The states of disrupted dependability are random, therefore they can be considered as events. Thus, the property of an entity’s purpose is observed when the states of dependability are observed that change in events and processes. The automation is described using terms and symbols from standards, as well as alternative definitions of states developed by the author. A review of the appropriate standards is to involve a new terminology. The operation of the dependability automaton reflects transitions and alternative transitions. Restoration is designed as a complete and partially incomplete processes: a) transition from the down state into the up state; b) transition from the down state into the faulty state; c) transition from the down state into the good state. The findings contributed to the development of theoretical and practical dependability of organization, social groups and individuals. The dependability automaton concept includes the development of the engineering design of an expert decision support system for flight operation of an airline. Conclusion . Technical standards require prior preliminarily philosophical, philological, logical review. Such research is to produce logical proof and substantiation of a set of coordinated, non-contradictory ontological terms: property, state, event, etc. The results will be used in technical standards for the purpose of construction and substantiation of special terms. The paper provides a theoretical and practical substantiation of applying individual provisions of the dependability theory of technology for the purpose of developing the dependability theory of non-digital entities.

Estimating Pole Capacity From Radio Network Performance Statistics by Supervised Learning

Network dimensioning is a critical task for cellular operators to avoid degraded user experience and unnecessary upgrades of network resources with changing mobile traffic patterns. For this purpose, smart network planning tools require accurate cell and user capacity estimates. In these tools, throughput is often used as a capacity metric due to its close relationship with user satisfaction. In this work, a comprehensive analysis is carried out to compare different well-known Supervised Learning (SL) algorithms for estimating cell and user throughput in the DownLink in busy hours from radio measurements collected on a cell basis in the Operation Support System (OSS). The considered SL approaches include random forest, shallow multi-layer perceptron, support vector regression and k-nearest neighbors. Such algorithms are compared with classical multiple linear regression and deep learning approaches considered in previous works. All these algorithms are tested in two radio access technologies: High Speed DownLink Packet Access (HSDPA) and Long Term Evolution (LTE). To this end, two datasets with the most relevant performance indicators per technology are collected from live cellular networks. Results show that non-deep SL algorithms are the most appropriate option for applications with storage constraints, such as network planning tools, since they provide a higher accuracy with reduced datasets.

Balance-Of-Plant Computerized Operator Support System Implementation

A Computerized Operator Support System (COSS) is an operator assistive technology suite that aids operators in monitoring processes to detect off-normal conditions, diagnose plant faults, predict future plant states, recommend mitigation alternatives, and select appropriate mitigative actions. A COSS human-machine interface (HMI) was developed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in collaboration with an advanced prognostics engine called PRO-AID, developed at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The front-end HMI coupled with the back-end prognostics provide fault prediction to inform operators of plant faults before they occur. Historically, COSS has been focused within the control room, representing systems that are monitored and controlled solely from a centralized location. This project, however, is focused on applying the principles of previous COSS efforts to a system outside the control room, namely the boric acid concentrator and liquid radwaste (BAC/LRW) system. This effort demonstrates the applicability and usability of a COSS system in a balance-of-plant environment, and offers next steps in the development of operator support and advanced overview interfaces in existing nuclear power-generating stations, and the future advanced reactor systems.

Automatic Control of Ship Motion Conducting Search in Open Waters

Abstract In this work a search operation support system is presented, which is an additional autopilot function block. Its task is to lead a vessel included in the search by the SAR services to the datum position on the basis of the data entered by the operator into the system and then automatically to search the indicated area according to the newly defined search pattern. The set goal can be achieved thanks to the autopilot that guides the ship along a given trajectory consisting of straight lines and arcs. High control accuracy is provided by the IMC control system using a relatively simple non-linear ship model. The simulation tests of the tanker model confirmed that the indicated search area can be precisely checked in a shorter time than when using the expanding square search pattern.

Research of diagnostic of combine harvesters at levels of hierarchical structure of systems and units of hydraulic system

The problem of diagnosing by external signs of the technical conditions of hydraulic systems of combine harvesters was formulated by the authors in the following way: we need to build a decisive rule that allows us to determine the presence of individual failures in the object from the observed external sign. As an example, we made a research on four general processes, often performed by the main hydraulic system of the harvester: raising the harvesting part, lowering the harvesting part, turning the unloading auger from the transport position to the working one, and turning the unloading auger from the working to the transport one. Failures characterize the technical condition of the harvester subsystems, which in turn consist of many different aggregates and parts. To restore working capacity, it is necessary to demonstrated failures of elements at the level of the hierarchical structure of the harvest, where this restoration is most effective for the conditions of a particular enterprise. Thus, for developing universal diagnostic tools, it is more efficient to identify failures at the lower level with a certain margin of diagnosis depth. The results of research made it possible to implement an intelligent operator support system for the collection and analysis of information about the technical condition of hydraulic systems of combine harvesters and imitate the work of a highly qualified specialist in the field of technical diagnostics.

Meaningful Human Control in Autonomous Shipping: An Overview

This paper presents an overview of the aspects related to meaningful human control in autonomous shipping. Autonomy is described as a multi-faceted construct including self-sufficiency and self-directedness, which are related to a range of conditions a ship can deal with. This means that autonomy levels will vary in different operational situations. As a consequence, active operator involvement and workload will fluctuate and will sometimes be unpredictable. In case of supervising multiple ships, it is not feasible to maintain a minimal level of situation awareness of all the ships. In order to facilitate operator situation awareness recovery and other human-automation collaboration principles an Intelligent Operator Support System concept is outlined. Whether the large-scale application of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships will provide equivalent safety and resilience levels will largely depend on the intelligence of the onboard control systems, the design quality of the human-autonomy collaboration system, and the competence and training level of the SC-operators.

A RAT–31DL típusú radarok üzemeltetésének kérdései

A RAT–31DL típusú radarok sikeres üzemeltetésének alapját a beszerzés ala-pos, körültekintő előkészítése és a rendszeres kommunikáción alapuló logisztikai támogatási rendszer kiépítése és működtetése jelenti. Az új filozófia a gyártó és a felhasználó közötti kapcsolatrendszer alkalmazásával biztosítja a zökkenőmentes és hatékony üzemeltetést. A radarok hadműveleti szolgálatba állításuk óta megbízhatóan működnek.