The Best Practises in Alarm Management

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The Best Practises in Alarm Management
Process control alarms are designed to employ
automation to support human operators in
monitoring and controlling processes and to warn
them of unusual circumstances. Careful planning
is necessary for good process alarm management,
which has a big impact on a control system's
overall efficacy. The value of each incoming
process signal is continuously checked, and if it
goes into an abnormal range, an alarm will sound
and/or be visible to the operator. This seems
like a straightforward idea that doesn't require
a second thought, but regrettably, alarm
configuration in control systems doesn't always
receive the attention it requires. This article
will address the recommended or best practices
for setting up an alarm management system for
efficient process control as well as the history
of process alarms in manufacturing. Each alarm
indicator required a specific illumination and
some physical wiring before digital process
control came into existence. It means that
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• Due to the work involved, the given alarm's needs
  were carefully examined, which in some ways
  reduced the overall number of alarms.
• Once the alarm was installed, it had a permanent
  "home" where an operator could get used to where
  it was and what it meant.
• The Introduction of Digital Alarms Management
  Systems
• The development and presentation of alarms
  changed substantially as control systems
  transitioned to digital technology. First,
  whereas a "traditional" control panel would be
  many square feet in size, human-machine
  interfaces (HMIs) for digital control systems
  were made up of a few computer monitors that
  showed a representation of the process in a
  space that was more appropriately measured in
  square inches than square feet.
• Second, altering some programme configuration was
  all that was required to create an alert event.
  It is simple to attach different alarm levels (hi
  hi-hi, lo lo-lo) to a single process
  parameter. As a result, there were more potential
  process alarm notifications.
• Finally, when an alarm was triggered, it was
  displayed as a flashing icon or text on a screen
  showing a process schematic before being recorded
  in an alarm list that was located somewhere
  among the numerous display displays. The old
  physical lamp had the stability of placement and
  obvious meaning, but the digital alarm lacked
  these qualities when it was displayed.
• The Dilemma With Digital Alarms
• For single alarms and mild disruptions, the
  digital alarm systems performed acceptably well.
  However, for big disturbances, the constrained
  visual space and the requirement to interpret
  and cognitively place each alarm created
  obstacles to recognising and appropriately
  responding to numerous alarms in a brief period
  of time.
• For example, if an essential component
  malfunctions for a process, such as the
  lubricating pump on a large induction fan, this
  can result in alarm flooding." The first wave of
  alarms is associated with factors like an
  instantaneous failure, low lube oil pressure,
  poor lube oil flow, and high-bearing
  temperatures.
• The second wave of alarms is related to the
  interlocks that shut down the fan, high inlet
  pressure, low airflow, and low downstream
  pressure. Without an ID fan, the upstream boiler

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• will quickly begin to shut down and produce
  multiple alarms, which will most likely be
  followed by issues with the process or processes
  that the boiler serves.
• While analysing the cases of serious industrial
  accidents, misinterpretations due to alarm
  flooding are considered the major contributor.
  This is because, due to numerous alarms, the
  operators were not able to understand and
  interpret the gravity of the inbound crisis.
• To understand more about the crisis and how to
  solve it, research was conducted to study the
  general issue of alarm management and abnormal
  situation management. This research further
  documented the operator's situation awareness,
  operator effectiveness, and alarm management.
  Upon examination and assessment, a series of
  remediation actions and the best practices for
  alarm management was issued.
• Process Alarm Management Best Practises
• The primary action for the best practices of
  process alarm management is to assemble it with
  the same level of cautiousness and consideration
  as the rest of the control system. Giving each
  incoming process variable a high and low limit
  and calling it excellent is not good enough. A
  number of procedures can increase an alarm
  system's usability and efficacy. While some
  strategies are very easy to use, others are more
  difficult and require more work.
• Planning
• Start by examining each alarm while developing a
  new system or assessing an old one. Check to see
  whether it is set properly and if it is actually
  necessary. For instance, a pump motor can have
  an alarm that activates if the motor fails.
  However, if a flow sensor downstream of the pump
  also has an alarm. Two alarms will sound if the
  pump fails. It seems reasonable to keep the
  alarm that indicates pump failure because the
  real impact on the operation is a loss of flow.
• Prioritisation
• Alarms need to be given priority. Some alarms
  should be conveyed to the operator, emphasising
  their relevance since they are safety-related.
  High-priority alarms should be displayed on a
  specific alarm display in a fixed position. This
  enables operators to notice them right away and
  respond appropriately in emergency situations. It
  is exceedingly challenging to read, interpret,
  and respond swiftly to an alarm when it is only
  presented in a scrolling list of alarms that
  will be steadily expanding during a process
  disruption.
• Grouping and suppression

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Correctly determining the necessary alarms and
prioritising them are helpful, but these
techniques alone cannot prevent an increase in
alarms during a crisis. Alarm grouping and alarm
suppression techniques are required to
dramatically limit the rising numbers of crisis
alarms. A single point of failure might result in
multiple abnormal process conditions and thus
multiple alerts, as was described in the ID fan
example above. Additionally, these patterns can
be predicted, allowing for the creation of
control logic that can skillfully manage the
situation. In the case of the ID fan, it makes
sense to present the operator with a virtual
alarm of "Fan down" rather than a dozen different
alarms that are all presented to him or her
within seconds of one another. This is because if
the inlet pressure to the fan increases and the
outlet flow decreases, the fan should shut off.
The upstream boiler may trip out as the operator
tries to make sense of a jumble of different
alarms to determine that the fan is down. With
a single, clear alarm of a lost fan, the operator
can react to the boiler and possibly keep that
unit running at a lower rate until the fan can be
restored. The system continues to record all
alarms for diagnosis and troubleshooting, but the
operator is only shown simplified useful
information. Manual grouping and suppression of
this kind is also an option. It makes sense for
the group to silence all of the alarms related to
the operation of a processing unit that is
occasionally bypassed or taken offline. An
operator who is aware that a line has no flow
should not be required to recognise low flow
alarms on a continuous basis. 4. Human
Administration The fact that the system is
actually managed by humans is perhaps the most
crucial aspect of alarm management. Any system's
purpose and function must be made very clear to
the operators who use it, regardless of how it
was created. Training operators in the usage of
alarms and how to react to them is just as
crucial as initial system design. Process alarm
management is a dynamic activity. As users
continue to use the alarm management system, they
will have sufficient feedback for the design
enhancements. This is because every system needs
to be audited on a regular basis to look for
weak points and potential development areas. The
alarm configuration will need updating when
processes change. With continuous attention, the
alarm management system will become more stable
and effectively prevent critical process-related
catastrophes.
Looking Ahead
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Process alarm configuration and maintenance need
careful planning and implementation that can lay
a big impact on a control system's overall
effectiveness. Best practices for process alarm
management state that the alarm component of a
digital control system should be constructed
with the same care and attention to detail as the
rest of the control system. References
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