Interactive system and method of instrumenting a bio-manufacturing process

A computer-based method of modeling a bio-manufacturing process, comprising:

• storing in computer memory information regarding one or more bio-manufacturing processes, for each process, the information including:
• i) a sequence of steps forming workflow of the bio-manufacturing process, and
• ii) per step indications of equipment and services supporting the step according to best practice and/or experts, relating to various factors or features required to produce an amount of product specified or entered by a user;
• accessing with one or more processors the computer memory information and an image database, the image database holding digital images of certain bio-manufacturing equipment, for each of the certain pieces of bio-manufacturing equipment, the image database having digital images of different views of the piece of bio-manufacturing equipment, and the processors associating equipment indicated in the computer memory information with corresponding images of the biomanufacturing equipment in the image database;
• receiving from a user a selected subject bio-manufacturing process;
• executing a rules engine to operate a video graphic user-interface;
• applying logic rules to make right fit and best practice recommendations for equipment, components, consumables, and accessories for the bio-manufacturing process;
• and
• providing a video-graphic user-interface executed by a computer in communication with the one or more processors and enabling user interactive input regarding the subject bio-manufacturing processes, the user-interface displaying a model representation of a hypothetical bio-manufacturing facility deploying the subject bio-manufacturing process, the displayed model representation being navigated under user-control, and the user-interface interactively displaying various views of the model representation in a manner that provides to a user:
• i) an overview of candidate pieces of equipment and corresponding services for the subject bio-manufacturing process, the candidate pieces of equipment being from the image database,
• ii) a layout of equipment from the image database and corresponding services required to execute a given step in the subject bio-manufacturing process according to best practice and/or expert technical experience, wherein based on user selection at each process step, the rules engine determines alternative equipment, components, consumables, and/or accessories to accomplish a process step, and as a result of each determination render user interactive video-graphic displays of images of pertinent pieces of equipment from image database, and
• iii) a sense of scale, relationship, and physical connections between pieces of equipment used in the subject bio-manufacturing process,
• the user input resulting in a display of a set of recommended user-selected equipment from the image database for carrying out the subject bio-manufacturing process according to best practice as determined by the one or more processors from the computer memory information, wherein the user interface as supported by the image database displays individual views of the candidate pieces of equipment, and enables the user to selectively telescope (zoom) in and out of displayed views of the candidate pieces of equipment.