HMI & operator UX:
design screens that help keep a plant safe.
The HMI & SCADA module (D11) taught the mechanics: tags, faceplates, alarms. This one teaches the design craft. How do you build a screen that a person can run a plant from at 3 a.m., under stress, without making a fatal mistake? It's a different discipline from web design, and most of its rules feel backwards until you understand them. The best industrial screens are deliberately grey and dull. Colour is rationed so abnormal conditions leap out. A single number is almost useless without its trend and limits. And the person you design for is a tired operator on hour eleven, not yourself. The module follows the High Performance HMI philosophy and the ISA-101 standard, and its aim is to replace 'the screen looks nice' with 'the operator knew something was wrong before the alarm even sounded.'
Pretty is not the goal
🎯 the goal is situational awareness: the operator can tell at a glance whether the plant is healthy and what needs attention. A gorgeous 3D screen that buries that signal in chrome is a worse screen, however good it looks in the demo.
Grey on purpose
🌫️ this is the part of modern HMI design that surprises people. Screens are dull grey with muted values, so the rare splash of colour means 'look here, now'. On a rainbow screen everything is already shouting, so the one value that needs attention has no way to stand out.