A prototype microcomputer-based decision support system for industrial hygienists

A prototype Industrial Hygiene Decision Support System (IH-DSS) was designed and implemented in a microcomputer environment using an integrated knowledge management system as the implementation vehicle. The heart of the system is a relational data base designed to minimize redundant data entry and to support flexible retrieval. An industrial hygienist's routine and ad hoc requirements for information retrieval and analysis support are met by screen displays, printed reports, and graphical summaries which may be presented on the screen, in a printed form, or as multicolored plots. A petroleum refinery was selected as the application environment for the prototype system because of the variety of processes, agents, and sampling methodologies involved in industrial hygiene support in that environment.