Actant model of an extraction plant

Facing a growing complexity of industrial plants, we recognise the need for qualitative modelling methods capturing functional and causal complexity i n a human-centred way. The present paper presents actant modelling as a fun ctional modelling method rooted in linguistics and semiotics. Actant modell ing combines actant models from linguistics with multilevel flow modelling (MFM). Thus the semantics of MFM functions is developed further and given a n interpretation in terms of actant functions. The present challenge is to provide coherence between seemingly different categories of knowledge. Yet the gap between functional and causal modelling methods can be bridged. Act ant modelling provides an open and provisional, but in no way exhaustive or final answer as to how teleological concepts like goals and functions rela te to causal concepts. As the main focus of the paper an actant model of an extraction plant is presented. It is shown how the actant model merges fun ctional and causal knowledge in a natural way. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Lt d. All rights reserved.