PlantPAx System Diagnostics

Simplifying Industrial Diagnostics for Plant Operators

Simplifying Industrial Diagnostics for Plant Operators

Simplifying Industrial Diagnostics for Plant Operators

Plant operators and maintenance engineers relied on multiple disconnected systems to diagnose and resolve issues. I led the design of a centralized diagnostics experience that improved visibility into system health, reduced context switching, and streamlined troubleshooting workflows.

Plant operators and maintenance engineers relied on multiple disconnected systems to diagnose and resolve issues. I led the design of a centralized diagnostics experience that improved visibility into system health, reduced context switching, and streamlined troubleshooting workflows.

Final PlantPAx diagnostics interface design

Role

Role

Product Designer

Timeline

October 2023 – March 2024

The Challenge

Industrial facilities generate thousands of alarms, events, and diagnostics every day. Operators were required to navigate across multiple tools to understand system health, investigate alarms, and identify root causes. This fragmented experience increased troubleshooting time and created unnecessary cognitive load during critical plant operations.

Industrial facilities generate thousands of alarms, events, and diagnostics every day. Operators were required to navigate across multiple tools to understand system health, investigate alarms, and identify root causes. This fragmented experience increased troubleshooting time and created unnecessary cognitive load during critical plant operations.

Industrial facilities generate thousands of alarms, events, and diagnostics every day. Operators were required to navigate across multiple tools to understand system health, investigate alarms, and identify root causes. This fragmented experience increased troubleshooting time and created unnecessary cognitive load during critical plant operations.

Increased downtime risk

Longer troubleshooting cycles

Reduced operator efficiency

Limited visibility into system status

Understanding the System

Before designing solutions, I needed to understand the complex ecosystem behind PlantPAx. The experience spanned PlantPAx, FactoryTalk Diagnostics, FactoryTalk Alarms & Events, controllers, and process equipment.

PlantPAx architecture and system context visual

Key observation

The challenge was not a UI problem. The challenge was helping users understand information spread across multiple systems.

The challenge was not a UI problem. The challenge was helping users understand information spread across multiple systems.

Research & Discovery

I collaborated with product managers, engineers, and domain experts to understand current workflows and pain points. Four insights shaped the direction.

Insight 1

Operators lacked a centralized view of system health.

Insight 2

Users frequently switched between multiple tools to investigate issues.

Insight 3

Critical diagnostic information was difficult to discover.

Insight 4

Alarm context was often separated from diagnostic context.

Design Principles

Centralize Information

Bring critical diagnostics into one workspace.

Prioritize Actionability

Help users understand what requires attention.

Reduce Cognitive Load

Surface relevant information while hiding complexity.

Support Fast Investigation

Enable quick access to root cause information.

From Insights to Design Decisions

Problem: Users switch between multiple tools. Decision: Create a centralized diagnostics dashboard. Tradeoff: More information increases screen density. Solution: Progressive disclosure and contextual drill-downs.

Problem: Users struggle to prioritize issues. Decision: Surface health status and severity indicators. Result: Faster identification of critical events.

Problem: Diagnostic details are buried. Decision: Connect summary views to deeper investigation paths. Result: Operators can move from alert to root cause with fewer steps.

Solution

System Diagnostics Dashboard

System Diagnostics Dashboard

System Diagnostics Dashboard

The dashboard provides a centralized view of system health, active issues, alarms, and diagnostics.

Alarm and event summary screen used in diagnostics workflow

Unified diagnostics workspace

Prioritized issue visibility

Reduced navigation complexity

Faster access to diagnostic details

Key Workflow 1 — Monitoring System Health: help operators quickly understand status, active issues, and what needs attention first.

Key Workflow 2 — Investigating an Issue: move from issue summary to root-cause information without jumping between tools.

Key Workflow 3 — Understanding Alarm Context: connect alarm data with diagnostic context so operators can decide what to do next.

Outcome

The new diagnostics experience established a foundation for centralized system monitoring within PlantPAx.

The new diagnostics experience established a foundation for centralized system monitoring within PlantPAx.

The new diagnostics experience established a foundation for centralized system monitoring within PlantPAx.

Before

Multiple disconnected systems, limited visibility, high context switching, and slower investigation.

After

A centralized experience with clear system status, reduced navigation, and faster issue discovery.

This project taught me how to design within highly complex industrial environments where understanding systems is as important as designing interfaces. The biggest challenge was translating technical infrastructure into a usable experience that supports operators during time-sensitive situations.

This project taught me how to design within highly complex industrial environments where understanding systems is as important as designing interfaces. The biggest challenge was translating technical infrastructure into a usable experience that supports operators during time-sensitive situations.