Research Conference Proposal: "Foundations of Computer Aided Process Operations" July 5-10, 1987 - Park City, Utah

化工过程工业的现状表明，不是在不久的将来建造许多新的化工厂，而是将更多的注意力放在现有工厂的操作、改进和改造上，其中许多工厂的设计较旧，具有多产品和/或间歇性质。这种对业务问题日益关注的刺激是多方面的，包括：1.传统市场的国际竞争加剧，导致对产品成本和质量的日益重视；2.低成本计算机技术、通信网络和电子仪器的可获得性；3.专家系统、机器人、数据库技术和复杂的人机界面等新方法的迅速发展；4.离散零件制造业在自动化和电脑化计划和运作方面的努力广为人知。5.最近国际上注重制造设施的安全运作，特别是那些处理或加工危险材料的设施。然而，尽管工厂操作日益成为讨论和管理关注的主题，但无论是在工业界还是在学术界，计算机辅助工厂操作还没有得到化学工程研究界的高度重视。化学工程师的学术培训继续强调设计，几乎完全排除了操作。这次会议的目的是通过提供一个论坛，深入审查这一化学工程研究和应用的新领域的问题和需求，以纠正这种情况，从而刺激研究活动，并鼓励在学术项目中引入操作问题。这次会议将是第一次专门关注计算机和计算机技术在化学过程操作中的应用的研究会议。与会者将举行为期一周的会议，评估计算机集成过程操作的现状和未来方向。整个计划分为八个主题：过程数据采集和接口、过程安全、操作计划、维护计划、过程模拟、过程优化、工厂网络和数据库以及工厂运营中的专家系统。

The present status of the chemical process industries indicates that rather than build many new chemical plants in the near future, more attention will be focused on the operation, improvement, and modification of existing plants, many of them of older design and of a multiproduct and/or batch nature. The stimuli for such growing concerns with operational issues are numerous and include: 1. heightened international competition for traditional markets resulting in increased emphasis on product cost and quality; 2. the availability of low cost computer technology, communications networks, and electronic instrumentation; 3. rapid progress in new methodologies such as expert systems, robotics, database techniques, and sophisticated man-machine interfaces; 4. the well-publicized efforts towards automation and computerized planning and operation in the discrete parts manufacturing industries. 5. recent international focus on safe operation of manufacturing facilities, especially those handling or processing hazardous materials. However, in spite of the rising prominence of plant operations as a subject for discussion and management concern, computer aided plant operation has not yet been given a high level of attention by the chemical engineering research community, either in industry or in academia. The academic training of chemical engineers continues to emphasize design at the almost toatl exclusion of operations. The purpose of this conference is to redress this situation by providing a forum for an in-depth review of the problems and needs in this new area of chemical engineering research and application and to thus stimulate research activity and encourage the introduction of operations issues in academic programs. This conference will be the first research conference focused specifically on the applications of computers and computer technology to chemical process operations. The attendees will meet for one week to assess the current status and future directions of computer integrated process operations. The overall plan is a program arranged into eight themes: process data acquisition and interfaces, process safety, operations planning, maintenance planning, process simulation, process optimization, plant networks and data bases, and expert systems in plant operations.