Quality review system with metadata collection

A quality review system for use in monitoring the operation of a process being implemented by process equipment, comprising:

• a rules database;
• a configuration system including a configuration application that executes on a processor, the configuration system communicatively coupled with a user interface and the rules database, wherein the configuration application executes to enable a user to create, via the user interface, one or more rules, wherein each of the one or more rules includes logic defining an exception associated with the operation of the process, process data to use during the execution of the logic to determine if an exception occurs during the operation of the process based on the process data, and process metadata to store pertaining to a determined exception, wherein the configuration application further executes to store the one or more rules in the rules database;
• and
• an exception engine that processes process data received from the process using the rules in the rules database to determine if the process data defines an exception as defined by any of the rules, wherein the exception engine, upon identifying an exception based on one of the rules, stores information about the exception as an exception record and stores the process metadata collected from the process for the exception.

A method of performing review of the operation of a process being implemented by process equipment, comprising:

• enabling a user, via a user interface and a computer processing device, to create a set of rules, wherein each of the rules includes logic defining an exception related to the operation of the process and indications of process data to be applied to the logic to determine if the exception occurs based on the process data, and a definition of a set of process metadata associated with the exception;
• storing the created rules in a rules database;
• obtaining, via a communication network, process data from one or more data sources within the process, at different times during operation of the process;
• obtaining, via a communication network, process metadata associated with the one or more exceptions during operation of the process;
• processing the process data from the one or more data sources using the logic associated with the rules in the rules database to determine if an exception occurs as defined by any of the rules;
• upon identifying an exception based on one of the rules, creating an exception record for the determined exception, storing the exception record in an exception record database, and storing the process metadata for the exception in the exception record database;
• and
• enabling a user, via a user interface device, to review the exceptions stored as the exception records in the exception record database, including accessing the exception record database via a communication network, presenting information to a user via a user interface regarding one or more accessed exceptions and providing the user via a user interface with at least some of the process metadata stored for the accessed exception.

A quality review system, comprising:

• a user interface application that enables a user to take actions with respect to the operation of a process;
• a rules database that stores a plurality of rules, wherein each of the plurality of rules includes logic that identifies conditions associated with one or more predefined exceptions within the process;
• a process data collection system that receives process data from one or more data sources associated with the process during operation of the process;
• and
• an exception engine that processes the process data using the rules in the rules database during operation of the process to determine if an exception exists as defined by any of the plurality of rules, wherein the exception engine, upon identifying an exception based on one of the rules, creates an exception record that identifies the exception, and wherein the exception engine, for at least one of the identified exceptions, notifies a user via the user interface application of the exception during the operation of the process.

A method of performing quality review of the operation of a process, comprising:

• enabling a user, via a user control application and user interface, to take actions with respect to the operation of a process;
• storing a plurality of rules in a rules database, wherein each of the plurality of rules includes logic that identifies conditions associated with one or more exceptions within the process;
• collecting process data from one or more data sources associated with the process during operation of the process;
• and
• processing the process data using the rules in the rules database during operation of the process to determine if an exception exists as defined by any of the plurality of rules;
• and
• upon identifying an exception based on one of the rules, creating an exception record that identifies the exception, and for at least one of the identified exceptions, notifying the user via the user interface application of the exception during the operation of the process.