The FRAM-IA to Understand and Assess Distributed Cognition and Control

Abstract

This chapter explains how an extended FRAM model can be applied to understand the functional control structure in which operators can intervene with automated operations. We show the feasibility of the FRAM-IA (Interdependence Analysis) approach as an extension of the traditional FRAM by applying it to a pilot taking manual control when it becomes unsafe to use the autopilot or an operator activating an emergency stop in an industrial robot system. The proposed FRAM extension explained in this chapter can help achieve equal levels of functional understanding for socio-technical systems that are not yet fully comprehended. The novelty is that Interdependence Analysis is used as an additional layer of analysis in support of distributed system readability and distributed functional control.