WHY MODERN HUMAN-MACHINE INTERFACES ARE NOW A PLANT’ S MOST CRITICAL SAFEGUARD
BY ERIK ARNSTEN, PRODUCT MANAGER, ABB MACHINES.
Industrial plants are getting quieter. Where operators once walked the line, listening to motors and reading gauges, many now oversee fleets of machines from a control room or even from their own homes.
Yet when something goes wrong, the human – machine interface( HMI) panel instantly becomes the first and most important line of defense. This shift makes the HMI more than a cosmetic concern. It’ s now a safety and cybersecurity issue.
However, the old model – with operators stationed at the panel, knowing every button by feel – is fading. Higher staff turnover, multi-site responsibilities, and hybrid work mean many users interact with an HMI much less often.
In those moments, the HMI must do several things at once: give a fast, accurate picture of machine status; help operators find the correct function within seconds; and minimize the risk of incorrect or unsafe actions by someone who might not have used that specific panel for months, if at all.
The recent redesign of the application running on ABB’ s standard CP600 Control Panel-here, adapted for use with large synchronous machines and excitation systems – provides a concrete example of what this means in practice, and why it matters for any modern plant.
Designing around real behavior
The CP600 redesign began with observation, not technical specs. ABB engineers and UX specialists interviewed commissioning teams and customers, then tested prototypes in simulated environments. They recorded how people’ s eyes moved, where they hesitated, and which elements they misinterpreted.
Several outcomes highlight core principles for any industrial HMI. One is the clear separation between navigation and action. On the new CP600 screens, page-change controls look distinct from start / stop controls. This reduces the chance of triggering a process while just trying to find information.
32 AUTOMATION, CONTROL & ENGINEERING