Semi-automatic assessment of lack of control code documentation in automated production systems

Abstract

This paper first examines the current state of industrial practice of documentation in automated production systems based on a large-scale survey in machine and plant manufacturing proving that companies still face major challenges in documentation. However, insufficient documentation creates friction since it may increase the risk of malfunction and high costs, and impede system development due to lack of traceability, especially for control software being one of the main functionality carriers. Therefore, secondly, a risk priority indicator RPI4DD is proposed to systematically capture the lack of control code documentation to avoid undesired costs due to inadequate documentation.

Including validation of process control systems’ engineering into the technical debt classification

“…The presented TD classification could assist a simple TD prioritisation method since the cost to handle the TD found in the later stages of the life cycle might be higher than in the earlier stages. A starting point for further work may be the results of [47] proposing a risk priority indicator.…”

“…For instance, [46] reported TD related to work instructions at an electrical/electronics manufacturer. The quantitative findings in [47] revealed some potential triggers of TD related to the documentation at machine or plant manufacturers. Thus, a decent degree of generalisation could be achieved.…”