The alarm problem and directed attention in dynamic fault management

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Abstract
This paper uses results of field studies from multiple domains to explore the cognitive activities involved in dynamic fault management. Fault diagnosis has a different character in dynamic fault management situations as compared to troubleshooting a broken device that has been removed from service. In fault management there is some underlying process (an engineered or physiological process that will be referred to as the monitored process) whose state changes over time. Faults disturb the monitored process and diagnosis goes on in parallel with responses to maintain process integrity and to correct the underlying problem. These situations frequently involve time pressure, multiple interacting goals, high consequences of failure, and multiple interleaved tasks. Typical examples of fields of practice where dynamic fault management occurs include flight deck operations in commercial aviation, control of space systems, anaesthetic management under surgery, and terrestrial process control. The point of departure is the &.lsquo;alarm problem’, which is used to introduce an attentional view of alarm systems as tools for supporting dynamic fault management. The work is based on the concept of directed attention—a cognitive function that inherently involves the co-ordination of multiple agents through the use of external media. Directed attention suggests several techniques for developing more effective alarm systems.

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