Results provide important insights into functionality and usability
Berlin, May 8, 2026 – Together with its consortium partners, PSI Software SE has completed the BEAUTIFUL research project (Load-Optimized Work Design for Critical Infrastructure Network Control Centers – Cognitive Ergonomics, Assistance Systems, and Control Room Simulators). Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR), the project aimed to systematically analyze and quantify the workload of personnel at control centers in electricity and gas grids.
Based on this, the project sought to develop approaches for creating ergonomic assistance systems that support control center personnel in increasingly complex monitoring and control tasks. In order to achieve this, cognitive measurement techniques were applied and newly developed control room simulators used to examine work processes in a real-life setting and to better evaluate the potential added value of future assistance systems. The project was launched on January 1, 2023, and concluded on April 30, 2026.
As part of BEAUTIFUL, PSI focused on developing a trainee-instructor system for deployment in the gas sector. In addition, an existing trainee-instructor system from the electricity sector was utilized to conduct trials with dispatchers from Avacon Netz GmbH and to gain practical insights from realistic application scenarios.
The results provide new insights into the system’s user-friendliness and usability, helping to refine existing assumptions and better target future research and development efforts.
Thus, the data and analyses obtained in the project provide an important basis for further research and open up new perspectives both for the further development of trainee-instructor systems and for future UI and UX adaptations of the products. The recommendations for action are provided by the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA).
The PSI Group develops software products for optimizing the flow of energy and materials for utilities and industry. As an independent software producer with more than 2,300 employees, PSI has been a technology leader since 1969 for process control systems that ensure sustainable energy supply, production and logistics by combining AI methods with industrially proven optimization methods. The innovative industry products can be operated on-premises or in the cloud.
