Persuasive technologies in the interface of a high-risk chemical plant production processes management system

This paper describes how persuasive technologies have been introduced in the interface (HCI) of a production processes management system (PPMS) adopted into a high-risk chemical plant, making the operators' tasks safer and less afflicted by human errors. The hypothesis that persuasive technologies can contribute to improve safety was empirically confirmed in a study carried out on a real PPMS. It has been observed that this PPMS implements a persuasion strategy called tunnelling, aimed at forcing the operators to strictly follow a step-by-step and start-to-end execution of the tasks. First, a survey was conducted on a sample of 13 operators in order to investigate the role played by the PPMS, comparing it with the "functional triad" proposed by Fogg (Persuasive technology. Using computers to change what we think and do. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, San Francisco, 2002). Then, an analysis on production volumes and accidents revealed that the PPMS actually encourages safer behaviours and contributed to a reduction of the number of dangerous slips and lapses since its adoption.