USE is a tool that enables you to quickly create intelligent applications or solutions that automate fault detection and diagnosis. It allows domain experts such as operators, process engineers and quality control managers to capture and execute their hypotheses about production problems, quality issues etc.
In an easy-to-understand, graphical way, techniques such as Fault detection, Model Based Reasoning, and Feedback Driven Decision Support are offered as standard functionality in USE. In most cases this obviates the need for traditional in-house IT development or external consultancy. And while UReason technology can be used generically in many situations, USE has been specifically tailored for use in the Process industry.
Domain experts such as operators, process engineers and quality control managers are continually faced with many production-related problems. This is further complicated by continually evolving plants and processes. All of which results in automated systems becoming rapidly outdated.
Required skill-set
USE requires little or no programming experience: You express (program) your rules graphically, much like drawing a picture. This is done using predefined rule-blocks (operations) which you then configure. You don't need to program using a computer language - instead you need to learn how to create, connect and configure USE rules:
You also don't need to know in detail how to create a connected model of your plant or process. You simply draw a connected schematic, and USE translates the drawn schematic into a connected model for you:
The model of your plant's topology can be then analysed by a set of graphical rules, made up of simple blocks that hide the traditional complexities of writing software to analyse connected models (complexities such as recursion).
- There is no need to concern yourself about where, when or how knowledge is saved - this is all reliably managed for you.
- Likewise the details of how to collaborate with colleagues - sharing projects, hypotheses, or plant & process models.
USE provides an user-friendly export/import facility that allows individual rules or even complete strategies (rules, models, graphs and events) to be easily shared.