Stuational Awarness Library standard

Hi Luca,

The concept of situational awareness in HMI design is about ensuring that operators can perceive, understand, and predict states within the automation system effectively. Color coding is a critical component of this, as it helps in quickly conveying the status of equipment and processes. However, specific color choices can vary between implementations and may be influenced by industry practices, company policies, or even regional preferences. A good HMI need not be black & white & grey, but can use muted tones to be visually attractive while still promoting situational awareness. Consider for instance a "dark themed" HMI...

The most relevant guidelines and standards are:

• ISA-101, "Human Machine Interfaces for Process Automation Systems": Focuses on effective HMI design for safety, efficiency, and reliability. It emphasizes consistency and user-centered design but does not specify color codes for all scenarios.

• ANSI Z535 series: Deals with safety signs and colors, providing guidance on safety communication but not specifically tailored to HMI color schemes for operational states.

• The High Performance HMI Handbook by Hollifield and Habibi offers design principles for enhancing situational awareness but doesn't dictate color codes.

A lot of the capabilites of System Platform, OMI and Industrial Graphics were designed do enable the concepts described in the The High Performance HMI Handbook. For instance, the Situational Awareness Library was build around these concepts. So, it is probably the best place to start if you are looking for good information on the topic.

Hi Luca,

The concept of situational awareness in HMI design is about ensuring that operators can perceive, understand, and predict states within the automation system effectively. Color coding is a critical component of this, as it helps in quickly conveying the status of equipment and processes. However, specific color choices can vary between implementations and may be influenced by industry practices, company policies, or even regional preferences. A good HMI need not be black & white & grey, but can use muted tones to be visually attractive while still promoting situational awareness. Consider for instance a "dark themed" HMI...

The most relevant guidelines and standards are:

• ISA-101, "Human Machine Interfaces for Process Automation Systems": Focuses on effective HMI design for safety, efficiency, and reliability. It emphasizes consistency and user-centered design but does not specify color codes for all scenarios.

• ANSI Z535 series: Deals with safety signs and colors, providing guidance on safety communication but not specifically tailored to HMI color schemes for operational states.

• The High Performance HMI Handbook by Hollifield and Habibi offers design principles for enhancing situational awareness but doesn't dictate color codes.

A lot of the capabilites of System Platform, OMI and Industrial Graphics were designed do enable the concepts described in the The High Performance HMI Handbook. For instance, the Situational Awareness Library was build around these concepts. So, it is probably the best place to start if you are looking for good information on the topic.

Thank you for the exhaustive answer Ernst!