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 in a human-centred way. The present paper presents actant modelling as a functional modelling method rooted in linguistics and semiotics. Actant modelling combines actant models from linguistics with multilevel flow modelling (MFM). Thus the semantics of MFM functions is developed further and given an 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. Actant modelling provides an open and provisional, but in no way exhaustive or final answer as to how teleological concepts like goals and functions relate 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 functional and causal knowledge in a natural way.