eptroubleshooter details and description july 2011 troubleshoot problems quickly leverage process...

EPTroubleShooter™EPTroubleShooter™

Details and DescriptionDetails and Description

July 2011 Troubleshoot Problems Quickly Leverage Process Experience Protect Plant Equipment Decrease Process Downtime Improve Product Consistency Support Operators & Engineers

Other EP Monitoring Tools: DistillationMizer™EnergyWarden™ SOCDashboard™ P.O. Box 1383

Friendswood, Texas, 77549-1383281-585-8724 www.epmonitoring.com

http://www.epmonitoring.com/

Before We Get Started: This is our troubleshooter set up for a typical centrifugal pump. The user has selected 4 Symptoms and the technology is indicating 3 items to

check first (MPC); 4 to check 2nd and 15 to check 3rd.

© 2011 EP Monitoring, Inc.

This Slide Show Contains:

• Introduction to EP Monitoring, Inc• An overview of our EPTroubleShooter™ software• Examples of the logic tests performed by the

software• Examples of out-of-the-box (generic) applications• Snapshots of how the software is customized


Who We Are:• Developers of Expert Systems and analysis tools since

1994, started business in 2003• Software developer has 28 years actual plant operations• Exemplary track record in troubleshooting processes

What We Provide:Excel-based Automated Expert Systems

• EPTroubleShooter™ - Automated troubleshooting• DistillationMizer™ - Provides expert advice to operator to

optimize distillation towers• EnergyWarden™ - Monitor/Alarm on wasted energy

P.O. Box 1383Friendswood, Texas, 77549-1383281-585-8724 www.epmonitoring.com

http://www.epmonitoring.com/

The Problem:In the midst of a crisis situation• Technical support may not be instantly available• Troubleshooting guides, not utilized on a daily basis,

must be read through step-by-step• Due to time pressure, fatigue and/or lack of experience,

consistent, high-quality decisions are not always made

• Gather the collective wisdom and knowledge of experienced experts

• Program this knowledge and intelligence into an “automated troubleshooter”


The Solution:

EPTroubleShooter ™ Overview

Troubleshooting Speed!

• Do you have circumstances that arise which require intervention within a very short time frame to avoid downstream problems, or a process outage or incident?

• Employing automated troubleshooting will aid your employees in assuring they are not wasting time checking out low-probability potential causes.


EPTroubleShooter ™ Overview (Cont)

Instant-Focus Action List:1. To start, the user selects which symptoms are evident in

the current process2. The expert system performs 108,160 logic tests based on

programmed troubleshooting intelligence3. It then reports, on screen, a prioritized list of potential

causes to check – • Most probable cause(s) with rough % “probability”

• List of things to check second

• List of things to check third



Consistency:• A consistent, repeatable approach to quickly focusing in

on the Most Probable Cause is established

Fast Mitigation of Down-Stream Consequences:• The expert system assures that the operator will quickly

zero in on the most likely cause of the symptoms that are evident, rather than employing spontaneous, trial-and-error attempts to resolve problem



24/7 Technical Presence:• The expert system simulates having a technical resource

present in the control room at all times to come to the aid of operators for the problems programmed

Calm Under Fire:• When operations are unstable, its always nice to have

someone who is calm under fire, can think clearly and rationally under stress, and can make prompt decisions – the EPTroubleShooter™ never gets stressed out


EPTroubleShooter™ Overview (Cont)

• Drive consistency in problem resolution

• Create unit- and equipment-specific troubleshooting guides at the plant level

• Knowledge Management - Your best “process smarts” are captured forever, for all to use

• Your least experienced employee now has the same information at his disposal as the most experienced

• Supports new employees with consistent advice

• Problems are resolved quickly and consistently, resulting in less downtime and equipment damage


EPTroubleShooter™ Overview (Cont)

• Improves training in systematic problem-solving

• The system can handle complex processes with up to 12 symptoms and 24 potential causes

• Can be adapted to your unique process with your own best practices by simply changing the numbers in the decision-making matrix. Don’t like advice? Change matrix

• EP Monitoring also offers out-of-the-box, generic applications for some common equipment (currently single stage centrifugal pumps and steam turbines)

• More generic applications to come (distillation towers, desalters, centrifugal/reciprocating compressors, etc.)


Constant reminder to reduce energy costs, 24/7

What Does This Technology Do?


This patent-pending technology determines the Most Probable Cause (MPC) and secondary checklists for any problem:

•Utilizing a 288-cell matrix with 108,160 logic tests

•Identifies “cause & effect” relationships

•Can handle up to 12 Symptoms and 24 Causes

•Someone familiar with the process in question enters “Symptoms” at the top of the matrix and “Causes” at right

•Numbers are entered at the intersection of each Symptom & Cause to representing strength of cause/effect relationship

•End user selects Symptoms and technology places Causes on MPC, “Things to check 2nd“ or “Things to check 3rd“ lists

•Two distinct tests are used to determine the MPC:


Two Distinct Tests for Most Probable Cause:


1. "Signature" Test (test for distinct patterns or "fingerprints") – This test searches for distinctive patterns and is positive if both of the following are true:

• At least 66%1 of Symptoms that would be affected by a Cause are observed. • None of the Symptoms are evident that would not be affected by that Cause.

2. “Process Knowledge” Test (similar to signature test but is a weighted determination) – Causes designated most likely to affect a given Symptom based on process knowledge (experience) are awarded more weight (a higher number assigned by the developer of the matrix) than other items. This test is positive if both of the following are true:

• At least 66%1 of Symptoms (by weight) to be affected by Cause are observed.• None of the Symptoms are evident that would not be affected by that Cause.

1When determining percentages for the "Process Knowledge" and "Signature" tests, adjustments are made to the denominator to account for situations in which the user has marked a symptom as "Unknown" or if any of the symptoms are mutually-exclusive.

Blank Troubleshooter(this example set up for gastrointestinal diseases) Note: The decision-making matrix is not normally visible.


Example of “Signature Test”: 100% of appendicitis symptoms are selected so max score of 60% in MPC list


Example of “Process Knowledge Test”: Developer assigned “21” to selected symptom due to strong cause/effect relationship, MPC list with score 47%


Example of Test, “None of the Symptoms are evident that would not be affected by a Cause” - Metallic taste rules out appendicitis as MPC (put on “check 1st” list)



Would You Rather Memorize All the Symptoms of 5 Gastrointestinal Diseases (or just use an

automated troubleshooter)?


• Symptoms of Appendicitis: Abdominal pain around naval, then lower right side, extreme pain when pressure applied to lower right abdomen (very strong symptom), nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and fever

• Symptoms of Gastroenteritis (stomach flue): Generalized abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea and fever

• Symptoms of Gallstones: Pain in abdomen and right shoulder blade after eating greasy food

• Symptoms of Gastric ulcers: Abdominal pain, upper center, may move to back, nausea, dark black stool (unless taking iron or Peptol Bismol)

• Symptoms of Food Poisoning: Generalized abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea and metallic taste in mouth (strong symptom)

Set up for Single Stage Centrifugal Pump - There are 5 items on the Most Probable Cause (MPC) list due to the

lack of evidence to narrow down search


Single Stage Centrifugal Pump - MPC list is narrowed down to 3 completely different items due to additional

evidence, “Spare Pump has Same Symptoms”


This is the decision-making matrix for the previous slide (if you don’t like the advice it is giving just change the numbers in the matrix)


Set up for a Steam Turbine - There are 3 items on the Most Probable Cause (MPC) list, all concerning this one turbine due to lack of evidence to narrow down search


Steam Turbine - MPC list is narrowed down to 1 completely different item due to additional evidence,

“Other Turbines Also Won’t Run or Come up to Speed”


This is the decision-making matrix for the previous slide (if you don’t like the advice it is giving just change the numbers in the matrix)


Your system can be customized to show items on the things to check 2nd and 3rd lists but never on the MPC list if there would not be enough evidence to support it. Customizing is also available to only add items to MPC list if more

than one Symptom is checked or only if a specific Symptom is checked.


Please Note: The previous slide presentation has been an oversimplification of a rather complex system (see snapshot of the TOC of the “Instructions” sheet below

for some of the other features available in the process):


Summary – Remember This:


• Developer has 28 years plant operations experience with proven track record in troubleshooting

• 108,160 logic tests performed with each selection

• Employing automated troubleshooting will aid your employees in assuring they are not wasting time checking out low-probability potential causes

• Your best “process smarts” are captured for all to use (least experienced employee now has the same information at his disposal as the most experienced)

• Out-of-the-box troubleshooters are available or you can customize your own for your unique process

eptroubleshooter details and description july 2011 troubleshoot problems quickly leverage process...

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