# US 10,481,595 B2 · Method and apparatus for assessing the collective health of multiple process control systems > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,481,595 B2 - Document ID: US10481595B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/722,171 - Filed: 2017-10-02 - Published: 2018-03-15 - Granted: 2019-11-19 - Earliest claimed: 2015-10-05 - Assignees: Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. - Applicants: Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. - Inventors: Rovertzonn C. Cruz - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10481595B2 ## CPC - G05B 23/0216: {Human interface functionality, e.g. monitoring system providing help to the user in the selection of tests or in its configuration} - G05B 23/0283: {Predictive maintenance, e.g. involving the monitoring of a system and, based on the monitoring results, taking decisions on the maintenance schedule of the monitored system; Estimating remaining useful life [RUL] (preventive maintenance, i.e. planning maintenance according to the available resources without monitoring the system G06Q10/06)} - G06Q 10/20: Administration of product repair or maintenance - G05B 2223/06: Remote monitoring - G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G) - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR ## Abstract Assessing a collective health score of a plurality of process control systems includes automatically and periodically assessing a risk for each of the process control systems, scoring the health of each process control system within a health score scale fixed by an upper limit and a lower limit, the health score based on the assessed risk for each process control system, enabling a user to select a menu item within a navigation menu to specify higher and lower levels of integration of the health scores, and presenting a collective health score of the process control systems associated with the selected menu item. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of assessing a collective health of a plurality of process control systems comprising: automatically and periodically assessing a risk for each of a plurality of process control systems, wherein each process control system has one or more risk factors associated with the process control system, wherein introduction of a risk factor to a process control system each period increases the risk assessment for that process control system, and wherein elimination of a risk factor from a process control system each period decreases the risk assessment for that process control system; scoring the health of each process control system within a health score scale fixed by an upper limit and a lower limit, the health score based on the assessed risk for each process control system; displaying an integrated navigation menu having a plurality of selectable menu items specifying higher and lower levels of integration of the health scores; displaying an information view associated with the navigation menu; enabling a user to select one of the plurality of selectable menu items within the navigation menu to specify higher and lower levels of integration of the health scores; and presenting a collective health score of the process control systems associated with the selected menu item in the information view in a format for each of the plurality of selectable menu items specifying the higher and lower levels of integration of the health scores, wherein the format is a common display format for presenting the collective health scores of the process control systems associated with each of the selectable menu items specifying the higher and lower levels of integration of the health scores. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the same risk factor introduced to each of the plurality of process control systems in a period does not affect the health score of any of the plurality of process control systems, and wherein elimination of a risk factor from a process control system in a period has more of an effect on the health score for a process control system scored towards the center of the health score scale the previous period than for a process control system scored towards the upper and lower limits of the health score scale the previous period. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein each process control system is located at a plant site geographically separate from other plant sites of the plurality of other process control systems, and wherein a level of integration comprises a geographical area. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, wherein presenting a collective health score of the process control systems associated with the selected menu item in the information view comprises presenting a collective health score of the process control systems within the selected geographical area. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein each process control system is a member of a product family of process control systems from a manufacturer, the plurality of process control systems being of two or more different product families, and wherein a level of integration comprises a product family. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein presenting a collective health score of the process control systems associated with the selected menu item in the information view comprises presenting a collective health score of the process control systems of the same selected product family. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein each process control system is a member of an enterprise, the plurality of process control systems being of two or more different enterprises, and wherein a level of integration comprises an enterprise. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein presenting a collective health score of the process control systems associated with the selected menu item in the information view comprises presenting a collective health score of the process control systems of the same selected enterprise. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein each process control system is a member of the same enterprise, wherein a level of integration comprises the enterprise, and wherein presenting a collective health score of the process control systems associated with the selected menu item in the information view comprises presenting a collective health score of the process control systems of the enterprise. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein each process control system is a member of a business industry, the plurality of process control systems being of two or more different business industries, and wherein a level of integration comprises a business industry. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein presenting a collective health score of the process control systems associated with the selected menu item in the information view comprises presenting a collective health score of the process control systems of the same business industry. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the collective health score comprises an average of the health scores of the process control systems associated with the selected menu item. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, further comprising weighting the health score for each process control system, wherein the average collective health score comprises a weighted average. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein weighting the health score for each process control system comprises weighting the health score for each process control system according to the number of input device signal tags of controllers across the process control system. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein weighting the health score for each process control system comprises weighting the health score for each process control system according to the number of device tags within the process control system. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein weighting the health score for each process control system comprises weighting the health score for each process control system according to the number of devices within the process control system. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein weighting the health score for each process control system comprises weighting the health score for each process control system according to a value assigned by a user of the process control system. ### Claim 18 An apparatus for assessing a collective health of a plurality of process control systems comprising: a server adapted to register a process control system and a plurality of other process control systems to facilitate maintaining the process control systems, the process control system located at a first plant site geographically separate from other plant sites of other process control systems; an interface in communication with the server and adapted to retrieve risk factors from a database in communication with the server based on monitoring of the process control systems; a communication interface adapted to communicate risk factors to the process control systems, wherein each process control system has one or more risk factors associated with the process control system; and a processor in communication with the interface, the server and the communication interface, the processor adapted to automatically and periodically: score the health of each process control system within a health score scale fixed by an upper limit and a lower limit based on the assessed risk for each process control system; display an integrated navigation menu having a plurality of selectable menu items specifying higher and lower levels of integration of the health scores; display an information view associated with the navigation menu; enable a user to select one of the plurality of selectable menu items within the navigation menu to specify higher and lower levels of integration of the health scores; and present a collective health score of the process control systems associated with the selected menu item in the information view in a format for each of the plurality of selectable menu items specifying the higher and lower levels of integration of the health scores, wherein the format is a common display format for presenting the collective health scores of the process control systems associated with each of the selectable menu items specifying the higher and lower levels of integration of the health scores. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The system of claim 18, wherein the same risk factor introduced to each of the plurality of process control systems in a period does not affect the health score of any of the plurality of process control systems, and wherein elimination of a risk factor from a process control system in a period has more of an effect on the health score for a process control system scored towards the center of the health score scale the previous period than for a process control system scored towards the upper and lower limits of the health score scale the previous period. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The system of claim 18, wherein each process control system is located at a plant site geographically separate from other plant sites of the plurality of other process control systems, and wherein a level of integration comprises a geographical area. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The system of claim 20, wherein the processor is adapted to present a collective health score of the process control systems within the selected geographical area. ### Claim 22 (depends on 18) The system of claim 18, wherein each process control system is a member of a product family of process control systems from a manufacturer, the plurality of process control systems being of two or more different product families, and wherein a level of integration comprises a product family. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The system of claim 22, wherein the processor is adapted to present a collective health score of the process control systems of the same selected product family. ### Claim 24 (depends on 18) The system of claim 18, wherein each process control system is a member of an enterprise, the plurality of process control systems being of two or more different enterprises, and wherein a level of integration comprises an enterprise. ### Claim 25 (depends on 24) The system of claim 24, wherein the processor is adapted to present a collective health score of the process control systems of the same selected enterprise. ### Claim 26 (depends on 18) The system of claim 18, wherein each process control system is a member of the same enterprise, wherein a level of integration comprises the enterprise, and wherein the processor is adapted to present a collective health score of the process control systems of the enterprise. ### Claim 27 (depends on 18) The system of claim 18, wherein each process control system is a member of a business industry, the plurality of process control systems being of two or more different business industries, and wherein a level of integration comprises a business industry. ### Claim 28 (depends on 27) The system of claim 27, wherein the processor is adapted to present a collective health score of the process control systems of the same business industry. ### Claim 29 (depends on 18) The system of claim 18, wherein the collective health score comprises an average of the health scores of the process control systems associated with the selected menu item. ### Claim 30 (depends on 29) The system of claim 29, wherein the processor is further adapted to weight the health score for each process control system, wherein the average collective health score comprises a weighted average. ### Claim 31 (depends on 30) The system of claim 30, wherein the processor is adapted to weight the health score for each process control system according to the number of input device signal tags of controllers across the process control system. ### Claim 32 (depends on 30) The system of claim 30, wherein the processor is adapted to weight the health score for each process control system according to the number of device tags within the process control system. ### Claim 33 (depends on 30) The system of claim 30, wherein the processor is adapted to weight the health score for each process control system according to the number of devices within the process control system. ### Claim 34 (depends on 30) The system of claim 30, wherein the processor is adapted to weight the health score for each process control system according to a value assigned by a user of the process control system.