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Alarm Management Tips, Tricks, Traps

This document discusses alarm management best practices. It outlines the objectives of alarm management as providing operators with a consistent and reliable notification system to safely operate processes, rather than just reducing alarm counts. Key aspects covered include implementing dynamic alarming tailored to different operating states, and rationalizing alarms through evaluating each point's causes, consequences and operator actions. Metrics and exercises are suggested to evaluate alarm performance, but the document warns that effective alarm management is not solely about numbers.

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540 views49 pages

Alarm Management Tips, Tricks, Traps

This document discusses alarm management best practices. It outlines the objectives of alarm management as providing operators with a consistent and reliable notification system to safely operate processes, rather than just reducing alarm counts. Key aspects covered include implementing dynamic alarming tailored to different operating states, and rationalizing alarms through evaluating each point's causes, consequences and operator actions. Metrics and exercises are suggested to evaluate alarm performance, but the document warns that effective alarm management is not solely about numbers.

Uploaded by

man_y2k
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Alarm Management

Tips, Tricks, Traps


ISA Automation Week 2012
Standards
Certification
Education & Training
Publishing
Conferences & Exhibits

Presentation Agenda

Why Alarm Management?


Objective of Alarm Management
Alarm Management Philosophy
Dynamic Alarming and Rationalization
Exercises
Alarm Metrics
Potential Pitfalls
Q & A as we go

Why Alarm Management?

In the Old Days (pneumatic controls), alarms cost money


and hence numbers were limited

With DCS systems, alarms can be configured with a few


keystrokes, cheap and easy, hence many more alarms
configured

Why Alarm Management?

Each new advance in control systems technology results in


increasing sophistication & complexity of systems, more
points, more alarmable parameters, and many more
alarms
Information overload, especially during upsets, is the
natural result of excess alarm numbers

Why Alarm Management?

In a number of industrial incidents, alarm floods were


identified as a significant contributing cause to the
incident
As found by EEMUA in 1999 and CSB
The connection of alarm floods to incidents has been well
known for over 12 years with very little progress made in
industry

Why have alarms failed?

The fundamental objective of alarms has been


overwhelmed by the capabilities of the modern
distributed control system design
Easy, cost free alarms
Increased operator loads

Why have alarms failed?

Acceptance of a single point, static alarm configuration


for all possible operating modes
Logically inconsistent with the obvious fact that there is
no single operating state in a process unit

Objective of Alarm Management

The objective of alarm management is to reduce the


number of alarms annunciated to the operator

Agree?
Disagree?
NO!

Objective of Alarm Management

The objective of alarm management is to reduce the


number of alarms annunciated to the operator

NO!
Although reduction in annunciated alarm count will almost always
be a result of a well-conceived and executed AM project, this is
NOT the primary objective

So, What is It About?

Its about the QUALITY of the alarms

Objective of Alarm Management

The objective of alarm management is to provide


operators with a consistent and reliable action event
notification interface that supports their efforts to
safely and efficiently operate the process

Objective of Alarm Management

The objective of alarm management is to provide


operators with a consistent and reliable action event
notification interface that supports their efforts to
safely and efficiently operate the process

What is a Quality Alarm?

An annunciated abnormal
process condition to which the
operator can and must take
corrective action in order to
return the process to normal and
safe operation

Alarm
?

What is a Quality Alarm?

Every alarm should:


Be clear and relevant to
the operator
Indicate an abnormal
process condition that
has consequences of
inaction and defined
response
Be unique

Alarm
?

Normal and Abnormal

Normal - That which is both planned and expected


Startup/shutdown
Mode switching
Equipment swapping
Other planned operating procedures
Abnormal - That which is unplanned or unexpected
Emergency shutdown
Equipment failures
Upstream problems
Downstream problems
Other unplanned process transitions

What is a Quality Alarm?

A quality alarm that is


relevant during plant
operation at max rates
may NOT be a quality
alarm during other
conditions

Alarm
?

How to Achieve Quality Alarms?

To Achieve Consistency
Review all alarms - Rationalization
What is alarmed?
Alarm Priorities, Trip Points, Digital Alarm States
To Achieve Reliability
Add Dynamic Behavior

Reliability | Dynamic Behavior

Plant operation is not static


Alarm configuration shouldnt be either

Reliability | Dynamic Behavior

With Dynamic Configuration, all


Forgotten modes of operation
modes of operation are handled.
Dynamic alarming optimally
configures alarms for each process Most alarm system configurations
are optimized for a single process
operating state.
state. (Run)
Critical modes of operation are
Critical modes of operation are
optimized.
compromised. (S/D and Startup)
Changes of state are managed.
Alarm floods are generated on a
Operator is only given the
change of state.
information he requires depending
on the operational state.
Operators time is monopolized by

useless alarms during the most


critical operational situations.

Reliability | Dynamic Behavior

Dynamic Alarm Management


Uses key process parameters to determine operating state
for a section of the plant (system)
Alarm configuration is customized for the detected
operating state
Alarm floods minimized

Reliability | Dynamic Behavior

Reliability | Dynamic Behavior

Case transition management


Case logic includes indeterminacy rules and deadbands
to prevent chattering (rapid switches between cases)
Should not have a large quantity of alarms activated
simultaneously when entering run case enable alarms
intelligently

Reliability | Dynamic Behavior

Without Dynamic Alarming


Each alarm is stand alone and does not have knowledge of
current plant status
Normal and abnormal conditions alarmed
PC022
PVLO

AC013
PVHI
Heater S/D

TI213
PVLO
LI010
PVHI

Reliability | Dynamic Behavior

With Dynamic Alarming


Change of process state is managed
Only abnormal conditions alarmed

PC022
PVLO

AC013
PVHI
Heater S/D

TI213
PVLO
LI010
PVHI

Reliability | Dynamic Behavior

Number
of Total
Alarms

Consistency | Alarm Rationalization

Practical steps for implementation


Assemble Rationalization Team

Operations
Process Engineering
Controls Engineering
Facilitating Engineer

Consistency | Alarm Rationalization

Practical steps for implementation


Develop Alarm Philosophy

Start with enterprise or site alarm management standard


Alarm definition / criteria
Design principles
Rationalization procedures
Metrics / performance monitoring

Consistency | Alarm Rationalization

Practical steps for implementation


Develop Alarm Philosophy
Develop specific plan based on alarm type critical variables, SIS,
digital types, etc.
Finalize priority setting guideline
Bad PV alarm guidelines
MOC / continuing improvements
Repeat and escalating alarms

Consistency | Alarm Rationalization


Setting Priorities
Usually based on
Available response time
Severity of the potential event

Develop guidelines at start of the project


EEMUA and ISA provide guidance

Consistency | Alarm Rationalization

Practical steps for implementation


Collect required information
Dump control system database
Acquire recent S/D or abnormal event alarm journals and
process data
Current P&IDs and PFDs
Operating procedures / troubleshooting guides
Have process schematics & operator groups available

Consistency | Alarm Rationalization

Practical steps for implementation


Break process units into systems
A system is a set of process alarms whose process state can
be determined by a set of common logic
Systems too small - cause unnecessary overhead
Systems too large - cause lack of flexibility, agility, and
configurability

Consistency | Alarm Rationalization

Practical steps for implementation


Determine the detectable operating states
Review process knowledge and operating procedures to
determine all modes of operation
Decide which process readings best indicate each
process state
Build a logic structure for each of the process states

Consistency | Alarm Rationalization

Practical steps for implementation


Build management lists

Review every point included in a system


Which alarm (PV Hi/Lo, All, Bad PV, Dev Hi/Lo)
Determine alarm priority
When needed? (Which state, delay desired)
Document causes, consequences, actions for each alarm

Consistency | Alarm Rationalization

Practical steps for implementation


Causes, Consequences, Actions (CCA)

For each alarmed parameter, document


CCAs as an aid for the operator
Make available from the operator
station
If no consequences, or no operator
actions, an alarm is not needed

Consistency | Alarm Rationalization

Master Alarms Database


Rationalize alarm and control system settings
Review trip points, priorities, deadbands
Propose Revisions
Capture causes, consequences, and actions

Time for Group Exercises

Consistency | Alarm Rationalization


Rationalization Methodologies
Bad Actor Management- focus is to reduce rates not
evaluate or enable legit alarms
Static Rationalization centers on a single state of the
process the run state
Dynamic Rationalization adds the question when into
the discussion for each point. Considers all process
states.

Comparison of Methodologies

Point Summary

ISA 18.2
Metrics

Number of Areas
Points

Dynamic
Rationalization

Static
Rationalization

Bad Actor
Management

3641

3327

2552

3rd Qtr 2010


Avg Alarm Rate per
10 min.

0.67

0.83

4th Qtr 2010


Avg Alarm Rate per
10 min.

0.67

4.3

3rd Qtr 2010


Peak Alarm Rate per
10 min.

<=10

6.5

211

67

4th Qtr 2010


Peak Alarm Rate per
10 min.

<=10

117

159

BlocksinYellowdonotmeetISA18.2performancemetrics

Alarm Rationalization
Study of 37 consoles / 90 months of data overall
Static Rationalization peak alarm rate is not closely
correlated with the degree of rationalization

Zapata and Andow HUG 2008 Highlights from the


ASM Consortium

Alarm Performance Metrics

Typical measures of alarm performance

Average alarm rate


Peak alarm rate
Time in flood (>10 /10 min)
Number of chattering alarms
Number of stale alarms
Annunciated priority distribution

Alarm Performance Metrics

Best not go overboard with alarm metrics


Focus on providing a reliable and consistent interface for the
operator
Effective alarm management is not a numbers game!

Alarm Performance Metrics

What is the solution to pure numbers?


Zero configured alarms

Alarm Performance Metrics


Numbers can indicate a problem
Numbers cannot indicate that there is not a problem

Metrics do not replace Alarm System Design

Potential Pitfalls

Over-reliance on metrics
Lets just handle the bad actors
Just minimize configured alarms
Check the Box mentality

Potential Pitfalls

Ignoring dynamic behavior


Ignoring case transition management
Inappropriate point descriptions
Allowing Operator changes to alarms

Summary

Effective AM will aid operators in safely and efficiently


running the plant
Quality alarms
Detailed rationalization
Incorporate dynamics
AM is not a numbers game
Avoid the pitfalls

Questions?

Standards
Certification
Education & Training
Publishing
Conferences & Exhibits

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