System 800xA Training

Chapter 3 Operation

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 3 Operation ............................................................................................................................................................... 1

3.1 General Information ..................................................................................................................................................... 2
3.1.1 Objectives.............................................................................................................................................................. 2
3.1.2 Legend .................................................................................................................................................................. 2
3.1.3 Reference Documentation ...................................................................................................................................... 2
3.2 Overview ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3
3.2.1 Application Bar...................................................................................................................................................... 4
3.2.2 Display Area / Display Bar..................................................................................................................................... 4
3.2.3 Status Bar .............................................................................................................................................................. 4
3.3 Navigation.................................................................................................................................................................... 5
3.3.1 Highlighting an Object ........................................................................................................................................... 5
3.3.2 Left Clicking on Buttons and Objects ..................................................................................................................... 6
3.3.3 Right Clicking on Buttons and Objects ................................................................................................................... 7
3.3.4 Display Navigation ................................................................................................................................................ 8
3.3.5 Application Navigation Bar.................................................................................................................................. 10
3.3.6 Faceplate Navigation for Object Control............................................................................................................... 11
3.3.7 How to Add Operator’s Notes .............................................................................................................................. 12
3.3.8 Log Over between Users ...................................................................................................................................... 13
3.4 Alarm and Event Presentation..................................................................................................................................... 14
3.4.1 Alarm List ........................................................................................................................................................... 14
3.4.2 Graphic Display................................................................................................................................................... 15
3.4.3 Faceplates............................................................................................................................................................ 16
3.4.4 Alarm Band ......................................................................................................................................................... 17
3.4.5 Event List ............................................................................................................................................................ 17
3.5 Alarm Operations ....................................................................................................................................................... 18
3.5.1 Stop/Start Alarm and Event Updates..................................................................................................................... 18
3.5.2 Acknowledge Alarms........................................................................................................................................... 19
3.5.3 Silence Alarms..................................................................................................................................................... 20
3.5.4 Sorting Columns .................................................................................................................................................. 20
3.5.5 Runtime Filtering Columns .................................................................................................................................. 21
3.5.6 Navigation ........................................................................................................................................................... 22
3.5.7 Adding Operator Comments................................................................................................................................. 23
3.6 Trend Displays ........................................................................................................................................................... 24
3.6.1 Trend Display Layout .......................................................................................................................................... 24
3.6.2 Tool Bar on Main View / Top View ..................................................................................................................... 26
3.6.3 Magnifying Glass................................................................................................................................................. 27
3.6.4 Changing the Time Scope / Display Time............................................................................................................. 27
3.6.5 Important Trend Table Columns........................................................................................................................... 29
3.6.6 XY Plot ............................................................................................................................................................... 30
3.6.7 Moving Trend Data to MS Excel.......................................................................................................................... 31

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3.1 General Information

3.1.1 Objectives
On completion of this chapter you will be able to:
• Describe the workplace areas
• Navigate in the Operator Workplace
• Operate objects through faceplates
• Handle and acknowledge alarms
• Operate trend displays

3.1.2 Legend
> Indicates when you go from one menu to a sub-menu
Italic Indicates object and file names
“ “ Indicates dialog box buttons, tabs, menus etc.
Bold Indicates important topics
Indicates start/explanation of student activity

3.1.3 Reference Documentation

3BSE036903 Industrial IT 800xA – System
Basic Operation
3BSE036904 Industrial IT 800xA – System
Extended Operation

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3.2 Overview
There are some pre-defined workplaces that are installed with the 800xA system:
Engineering Workplace
The Engineering Workplace is used by the application engineers for configuration,
troubleshooting, etc. We will use this extensively throughout this course.
Operator Workplace
The Operator Workplace presents data to operators, as well as appropriate interaction
points including operator input. Operator input includes selection of screens and
control actions sent to the controllers using the mouse and keyboard.
NOTE! Thus operators have their view of the plant, making it
easy to navigate to operator functions, and application
engineers have their view for configuration.

The default Operator Workplace is shown below, prior to configuration.

Application Bar

Display Bar

Display Area

Status Bar

Typically, Operator Workplaces are configured based upon the needs of the user, with
no limit on the number of custom Operator Workplaces that can be configured.

F Left click on the “My ePlant” icon and a list of the workplaces that have already been
configured is presented.

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3.2.1 Application Bar

The top portion of the workplace is the Application Bar. It is used to display
information that must be visible all the time. By adding display shortcuts to it, the
Application Bar can be used to achieve fast and convenient access to a number of
frequently used and related displays.

Fixed Displays

Application Navigation Bar

The application bar has two sub areas:

Fixed Displays
This area (in our case) contains the system alarm list and a clock display. The Fixed
Display area may contain other items and may be fully configured by an engineer.
Application Navigation Bar
This is situated directly below the fixed display area. It contains navigation tools for
moving around the application.

3.2.2 Display Area / Display Bar

This area presents the main graphical display to the operator. It is from here that the
process status is observed.
The display area has its own navigation bar associated with a given display. Note that
while the Application Navigation Bar remains fixed for the whole time the workplace
is open, the Display Bar may change depending upon which display is currently being
viewed.

3.2.3 Status Bar

The Status Bar occupies the area at the bottom of the Operator Workplace window.

It is always visible and allows the user fast access to information. It can be configured
just like the Application Bar.

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3.3 Navigation
In most cases, an operator will navigate through the plant process by using the mouse
to select screen areas.

3.3.1 Highlighting an Object

When the cursor hovers over an object it will become highlighted. This is shown as a
‘raised’ appearance on the screen.
The cursor is near to but not over the high level switch on the vessel.

Note the difference in appearance when the cursor moves over the object. Note also
that a ‘tool tip’ text appears identifying the name of the signal for that object.

NOTE! In both the cases, the mouse has not been clicked, just
moved.

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3.3.2 Left Clicking on Buttons and Objects

When a button is left clicked, one of several things can happened depending on the
type of the button. Some examples include:
• The display changes
• A faceplate is opened in a separate window
• Another Windows application is launched e.g. Word, Excel
• A web page might be displayed
- Users may prefer to restrict access to their company’s internal web (Intranet)

If an object is clicked in graphical displays, the default aspect of that object is

displayed.

All objects have multiple aspects. The engineer who configures the application will
usually configure one of these aspects as the default aspect. For example a valve
graphic has the faceplate set as the default aspect because clicking on a valve usually
means that an operator wants to control that valve.

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3.3.3 Right Clicking on Buttons and Objects

The right click action always displays a context menu listing the aspects of the object
that has been selected. This allows easy navigation from one aspect to another for a
given object.

The included aspects depend on the user security configuration and user roles. For
example, an operator does not need configuration aspects that an engineer requires,
hence they are not included.
The aspect that appears in bold letters in the context menu is the default aspect.

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3.3.4 Display Navigation

There are many ways to navigate in System 800xA. The workplace is configurable,
hence any particular installation may be different in terms of what is on the toolbar.
The below example is typical of many installations.
Navigating from one graphic to another or from a graphic to an alarm list or trend
display can be done in several ways.

Display History List

Shortcuts Aspect Menu
(graphics)

Previous/Next Display Drop Target

Previous/Next Display
As the user navigates through graphic displays, a record is kept such that
the user can navigate to the previous and next displays.

Drop Target
This is used in association with the Aspect Browser and Find Tools (in the
Application navigation toolbar).

When an object is selected using the Find Tool, aspects of Graphic Display type
support drag and drop. Once selected, the graphic display must be dragged over the
Drop Target icon, and will then be displayed in the Workplace.

Aspect Menu of Current Display

Clicking on the arrow gives a context menu from where any aspect of this
display may be selected. Note that this icon changes depending on what
object is selected.

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Aspect History List

The history list keeps track of what graphic displays have

been viewed. They can then be selected from the drop down
list for viewing.

References
Another way to call a graphic is to view the references for an object. If the same object
exists in several displays, you will find a list of those displays in the “References”
section.

Link in a Display to another Display

Sometimes there are so called aspect links in the display. When you
click on these links the display will change. These are also referred to
as hotspots by some engineers.

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3.3.5 Application Navigation Bar

Some of the standard features of the Application Navigation Bar include:
Print Screen
If a printer has been configured than clicking the print button will print a copy
of the current screen. This is a very good way of saving a record of a process
situation.

Toggle Browser
It can be used to explore all available structures in System 800xA (provided
that the user has appropriate permissions). It is commonly used by engineers
and advanced operators.

Object Selector
If the name of an object is known it may be typed into the Object Selector. Hitting the
<Enter> key on the keyboard will display the default aspect for that object. At the
right side there are buttons for the faceplate, the trend display and alarm list of this
object.

As an operator navigates to different objects in the system, a history list of the last
places visited is built up.

Display Mode
This tool is used to set the display mode strategy. When a user navigates
to a new graphic, it can either replace the existing one (Replace option),
or be displayed in a new window (Preserve option).

Close all overlaps

This button is very useful if many faceplates are open (often operators
neglect to close down faceplates as they have been used).

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3.3.6 Faceplate Navigation for Object Control

When an object is selected, a faceplate is usually opened. The three sizes of faceplates
each have different uses.

Reduced

Covers as little as possible

of the screen area

Faceplate

Extended

Although the reduced faceplate is usually displayed by default, this behavior is fully
configurable, and can be changed to one of the other views.

Faceplate Functions
Depending on permissions different operations on a process object can be performed.

Start/Stop
Open/Close
On/Off

Man
Control
Mode:
Auto

Input of Values:

Setpoint
Output Signal
Increase
Decrease

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3.3.7 How to Add Operator’s Notes

For each object the operator can create an Operator Note for notation of important
events related to the object in question.
If an object does not have a note yet, select the “Add Note” option from the object’s
context menu.

1. From a faceplate select the Operator Note icon, or from the context menu of an
object, select the “Operator Note” option.

2. The note can now be entered in the “Operator Note” dialog.

3. The note is now available for reading or adding new information form any point
where the object is visible.

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3.3.8 Log Over between Users

The log over function enables a fast and temporary switch between users in a running
Workplace. For example if an operation requires a permission not held by an operator,
another user (e.g. a system engineer) that holds the required permission, can log on to
perform that operation.
The log over changes the permissions and user roles but keeps all open windows with
their present contents. The permitted actions in the open windows are controlled by
the permissions of the logged over user.

Right click on the user in the Operator Workplace and select “Change User…”

Type the username and password, click “OK”.

NOTE! The log over only affects the System permission.

Windows security is still the same as the user logged in. This means that
the access to files is still controlled by the user logged in.

To return to the first user right-click on the user name again and select “Revert To..”.
The revert user operation requires authentication in order to change back to the
original user.

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3.4 Alarm and Event Presentation

There are many indications of an alarm in the operator workplace. You can access the
alarm functionality as part of the configuration (Application Bar, Status Bar, display
shortcuts) or through aspects selectable from a Workplace.

3.4.1 Alarm List

An alarm list only includes the alarms that an operator needs to pay attention to,
normally: unacknowledged and/or still active alarms. The designers of the system can
filter an alarm list so that only a selection of the alarms for the system show up if they
want to.
This is the most familiar presentation, alarms end events are presented in a list format
with one line for each alarm:

The alarm state can show the following abbreviations:

• MBL = Manually blocked, also known as Disabled
• ABL = Automatically blocked, also known as AutoDisabled or BlockedRepetitive
• HID = Hidden
• ACT = Active
• RTN = Inactive (Return-to-normal)

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3.4.2 Graphic Display

Process and object alarms are normally also indicated on the process graphic displays
by red blinking.

Alarm Line

Red Blinking

The figure shows that there are alarm indications in the graphic display, and there is an
alarm line in the Application Bar at the top of the screen.

Alarm Line
The alarm line indications are the most important because the only alarms visible in a
graphic will be the set of tag objects in that graphic.
It is very similar to any other alarm list, but it is always on the screen, usually in the
Application Bar. The number of alarms visible may be configured but is set to three as
a default.
The designers of the system can filter this alarm line so that only a selection of the
alarms show up if they want to.

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3.4.3 Faceplates
Faceplates provide a set of symbols for alarm status. Of course this is only an
indication that the object is in alarm or not. The operator would normally take a closer
look to see whether it is a high alarm, low alarm, deviation alarm, etc

Alarm Indication

The color of the icon indicates the priority level only, whereas the icon indicates the
alarm status:

Auto block

Not acknowledged, symbol is flashing

Acknowledged, Active

Not active, Unacknowledged

No alarm

Manually blocked

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3.4.4 Alarm Band

The Alarm Band Aspect is usually configured to appear in the Application Bar of the
workplace. It appears as a group of buttons, each button represents one alarm list.
Click on the alarm band (button) to call up the associated alarm list.

The number within the button represents the number of unacknowledged alarms. The
color of the button indicates the highest priority alarm that is active in that list. If the
button is flashing, at least one alarm is not acknowledged.

3.4.5 Event List

The event list is the log book that shows what happened in the plant. It is similar to the
alarm list, but events cannot (and do not need to) be acknowledged.

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3.5 Alarm Operations

The picture below displays a typical view of an Alarm and Event List aspect. The
information presented in each list is organized in a way defined by its configuration
(what columns show up in what order and how the list is sorted).

A short overview about the icons used in the Tool Bar. Use the “Page Down” button
to show the next 500 alarms in the list.

3.5.1 Stop/Start Alarm and Event Updates

You can stop or restart list updates using the “Stop” button in the tool bar.

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3.5.2 Acknowledge Alarms

You can acknowledge alarms for an object in the following ways:
• Click on the “Ack State” box in the alarm list to acknowledge this one alarm.

• It is possible to acknowledge multiple alarms, when the alarm list update is

stopped.

or
• Select a group of individual alarms and then,
- select “Acknowledge Selected” in the context menu or
- press the “Acknowledge” button (green check mark)
• Right click on an object in, for example, a process display or process graphic, then
click on “Acknowledge” in the context menu.

• Click on the alarm status icon in a faceplate.

NOTE! To be allowed to acknowledge an alarm you need to be

granted permission for this operation.

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3.5.3 Silence Alarms

To silence an audible alarm, click on the “Silence” button. This is a one shot type
action that silences the current audible alarm. If a new audible alarm then occurs, that
alarm must be silenced again.

NOTE! To silence an alarm does not mean that the alarm is

acknowledged.

3.5.4 Sorting Columns

To sort a column, double click on the column header. Repeat this action to reverse the
sorting. For example, sorting Source Name once may cause the items in the list to be
sorted in alphabetical order (A...Z). Sorting a second time will cause the sorting to be
reversed (Z...A). The directions are indicated by a triangular arrow in the header.

These changes are not remembered. Each time the lists are called up again they will
come up as the default order they are configured with. You can also return to this
order by clicking the “Reset” button on the toolbar.

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3.5.5 Runtime Filtering Columns

It is possible to filter columns in process alarm lists. For example you only want to see
alarms within a certain time interval or alarms that belong to one dedicated object.
NOTE! If more than one column has a column filter activated,
the list will show the intersection of the conditions.
(i.e. AND-conditions)

Right-click on the column header to display the filter dialog. In this example we
clicked on the “ObjectName” column:

• Expression 1 - equal, less than or larger than.

• Expression 2 - you may add a second condition which shall be fulfilled together
with the first (select And) or the first or second alone (select Or).

The filter dialog allows queries using the wildcards “?” (matches one character) and
“*” (matches zero or more characters). This allows easy queries for example all
objects that starts with P12 by writing P12* as condition.

A much more powerful and advanced method is available by quoting the query
between quotes. That allows specifications of queries like: list all alarms on objects
with a name starting with A followed by one digit in the range 2-3 and ends with
_Valve. This query is expressed as “A[2-3]_Valve”.
NOTE! Please refer to the Online help for further details.
Together with a good naming standard for process objects could this advanced query
method be very useful applied to the column “ObjectName”.

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3.5.6 Navigation
If you double-click on an alarm line in the alarm list the default aspect for the process
object/alarm will appear, most common a faceplate.

Context Menu
You can right-click on an alarm line in the alarm list to bring up the context menu. By
using the context menu you can perform some actions on this alarm line for example
acknowledge the selected alarm, silence the audible alarm or add a note.

References
You can navigate from the alarm list straight to a process display. “References” in the
context menu contains a list of graphic displays the object has references to.

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3.5.7 Adding Operator Comments

To add a comment for an alarm, right-click on the alarm to which you want to add a
comment. Select “Comment” from the context menu and type your message.

It is now possible to see the comment in the event list.

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3.6 Trend Displays

Trend Display aspects are used to present both historical data AND live data to the
operator. The history data and run-time data are seamlessly integrated.
Any OPC property can be logged. That means more than just typical process data can
be displayed in a trend display. Diagnostic and system data can also be trended, but of
course the most common trends will be process data.

3.6.1 Trend Display Layout

There are four different layouts for the trend display:
1. Main View (standard layout)

Trace Area

Tool Bar

Trend Table

2. Top View (same as above but with the Trend Table on top)

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3. Left View

Top Toolbar

Trace Area

Item Area

Bottom Toolbar

4. Right View (same as above with the Item Area to the right)

NOTE! Placing a cursor on a trend causes a text box (tool tip) to

pop up providing detailed information.

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3.6.2 Tool Bar on Main View / Top View

The Tool Bar contains buttons for frequently used functions to operate the trend display.

Move Ruler
Help Button
Ruler
XY plot
Print Trend
Magnifying Glass
Block / Unblock
Zooming In/Out
Move Scope Time Scope Selected time
Show / Hide Table
Reset to template
Cancel Changes

Save Configuration

• The Show/Hide Table button shows or hides the Trend Table. When the table is
hidden, it is replaced by a small table, showing trace colors and logged object in
the form object:property,log name. This state is part of the configuration and can
be saved with the “Save” button.
• The Block/Unblock button toggles the updating of the graphical view. A pressed
button means the view updating is paused. By clicking the button again the view is
unblocked.
• Use the Move Scope left/right buttons, to pan the graphical view in the selected
direction. The buttons move the scope by 25% of the current time scope.
• Zoom in/out buttons let you zoom in or zoom out around the center point of the
scope. Zooming out increases the scope by 50%. Zooming in decreases the scope
by a third.

There is a vertical green line on the Trace Area which is called the ruler. It can be
moved anywhere on the display by left clicking on point in time.
• Clicking the Ruler button turns on the selected ruler.
• Move Ruler: Only the applicable buttons are available, depending on selected
ruler. These buttons moves the ruler left, right, up or down.

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3.6.3 Magnifying Glass

The “Magnifying Glass“ button toggles the magnifying glass mode. It will set up the
magnifying glass area with a default start time and end time, using 35 percent of the
area for the magnifying glass. It is very useful to analyze a process upset.

3.6.4 Changing the Time Scope / Display Time

Using the direct entry of a time scope and display time is another way to pan and
zoom. It can be much faster than using buttons when the time is far in the past.

The time scope can be changed in two different ways:

• Choose from the drop-down menu

• Type your own time scope, then press “Enter”

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The display time can also be changed in two different ways:

• Mark the wanted part of the time, then use the up/down arrows

• Type the time you want, then press “Enter”

Note that changing the display time automatically (same as the Block/Unblock button)
pauses the view updating. This is indicated by a red/yellow frame.

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3.6.5 Important Trend Table Columns

Below is a description of some important columns in the table part of the trend
display. Details can be found in the On-line help or in the product manuals.
Data collection status

Trace Color Logged property Time scope for

current trend display

Visible Click the check box to show or hide a trace in the Trace Area. This allows the operator to temporarily
show only one trace for the sake of clarity in the case of overlapping lines. Un-checking the box does
not deactivate collection of the data. It only clears the trace from the display.
Status It shows different colors depending on the status of the data communication:
- Green or white = OK
- Blinking yellow = waiting for data
- Red = no communication with server
Trace The trace color is set as you do a configuration of the trend template. It is not possible to change it
individually for each trend display.
Object Name These columns indicate the trend data source. It is possible to remove a trace by deleting the name
Aspect in the Trend Table.
Property Depending on the trend template configuration, an object description is shown in addition.
Log Name It shows what kind of data is displayed for the object and property.
Current Value The current value of the selected object property is shown. The value is continuously updated even if
the trend display is in “blocked“ mode.
Low Range These columns are used for the Y-axis in the Trend Area. By default the range is between -100 to
High Range +100 (in actual unit). You can change these ranges by typing another value or use the arrows.
Ruler Time These columns indicate the ruler time and value corresponding to the current ruler position (when the
Ruler Value vertical ruler is active). Note that if a time offset has been applied to one or several traces, the times
in this column will differ for each trace.
Min Value The Min and Max Value columns show the minimum and maximum value of the current time scope.
Max Value
Time Offset The time offset used for the trace. The default is zero (0). The format used by the cell is yy:mm:dd
HH:MM:SS.
If this offset is positive, the trace is shifted right. If the offset is negative, the trace is shifted left.
Style To change the trace style, select from the drop-down menu of available styles.

In addition to these, there is Normal. If this style is selected, the actual style depends on what is
specified for the display mode presentation attribute in the Log Configuration aspect.

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3.6.6 XY Plot
An XY-plot is a trend that uses a trend variable instead of time on the X-axis. It draws
one signal as a function of another signal (instead of plotting it as a function of the
time).

Use the column “Pair Property” to define an index used for pairing XY plot.

If we are creating an XY plot template, we can select a picture (jpg, bmp, wmf, gif,
etc) to appear as the background for the plot. A good use for this capability is to have
an ideal curve as the background picture. The actual curve is then plotted against this
ideal. Or we could have tolerance limits as the background picture.

For instance the pressure and flow of a pump can be measured and shown in an XY
plot. Using the pump curve from the supplier as background picture, you can then
verify that the pump runs under good conditions.

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3.6.7 Moving Trend Data to MS Excel

The capture data function lets you copy data from the Trend Area, and then paste the
copied data into a third party software such as Microsoft Excel.
1. Use zooming and move the scope to display the desired interval in the Trend Area.
2. Left click in the trace area of the Trend Area.
3. Copy the data into the Windows clipboard by pressing Ctrl+C.

Now you can paste the selected data to an external application (for instance, Microsoft
Excel). Go to the external application and use the Paste function to copy the data. If
the trend display is zoomed out you can not be sure to get the sampled data, instead it
might be interpolated.
An example of captured data being pasted into Microsoft Excel is shown below.

The columns display time, value and status word for each point in the trace.

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