User Research Challenges in Harsh Environments: A Case Study in Rock Crushing Industry

Abstract

Rock crushing is an atypical part of process automation industry. Process automation deals with physical processes that are continuous in time and space and in which the product flows through the operations [3]. The typical areas of the industry are electricity generation and distribution, chemical manufacturing fabrication of cloth, metal wire, paper etc. Normally these large scale. systems are run by automation which is controlled in dedicated control rooms by well trained operators. At the quarries, there are often neither control rooms nor trained operators. In fact, the operators sometimes have no formal or informal training for their task except the help from their coworkers while they are working. In some market areas, the operators cannot even read. The operators are also not necessarily dedicated to operate the process and control the automation system, but to do other tasks and react to alarms and problems when they occur. Also, while most of process automation control is done indoors, this industry operates outdoors and may also have the automation system VI under normal weather conditions, leaving little chance for the operators to use paper and pen or paper manuals.