An Introduction to AlarmInsight. Agenda Alarm Management Overview –Definition –Scope of the...

An Introduction to AlarmInsight

Agenda

• Alarm Management Overview– Definition– Scope of the Problem– Causes of the Problem– Consequences of the Problem

• Alarm Management Lifecycle• Alarm Management Solutions for ABB’s System 800xA

– ProcessGuard– Alarm MOCCA– AlarmInsight

• Putting the Pieces Together

Alarm Management Overview

Matrikon’s Alarm Management Definition

Process by which alarms are engineered, monitored, and managed to ensure safe, reliable operations

The Scope of the Problem• Operators typically monitor more than

5,000 devices• Each device typically has 4 to 5

alarms configured on it• Devices x alarms results in Operators

having to manage 20,000 to 25,000 alarms

• The average Operator gets 1,200 alarms per day, approximately 1 per minute!

• Engineering Equipment & Materials Users’ Association (EEMUA) recommends no more than 6 alarms per hour

The Causes of the Problem

• Historically, alarms were expensive and difficult to add resulting in careful review before implementation– Each had to be hardwired– Limited space in control panels

• Today, hardware and software advances has made it possible to alarm most devices at minimal cost– Large increase in the quantity of alarms– Less review resulting in reduced quality

The Causes of the Problem

• Alarms are continuously added– Often after incident reviews

• Changes in process– After de-bottlenecking projects

• Equipment changes and degrades– Different vendors with different

normal operating conditions– Wear resulting in reduced efficiency

• Seasonal changes to process

Common Problem Alarms Types

• Standing– No dynamic process logic

• Frequent– Poor TP value/s– Possible control problem

• Redundant• Improperly Prioritized

– EEMUA recommends process alarm priorities of:• 80% low• 15% medium• 5% high

Consequences of the Problem

• There are many negative consequences of poor alarm systems, some common ones include:

– Avoidable incidences– Regulatory fines– Off-spec product– Reduced safety– Reduced process optimization– Reduced plant reliability– High Operator stress

Alarm Management Lifecycle

Maintenance

ContinuousImprovement

Benchmarking & Assessment


AlarmPhilosophy

AlarmRationalization

Implementation& Execution

• Alarm management is a process, not a product

• Matrikon recommends that the alarm management process be divided into six major areas


AlarmPhilosophy



Benchmarking &Assessment • Analyze your system and

understand your problems

• Determine key performance metrics– Operator workload– Problem alarms– Compare facility performance

• Gap analysis (you cannot improve what you cannot measure)

Maintenance


AlarmPhilosophy




Benchmarking &Assessment • Corporate document that

specifies

– Objectives of alarms

– Assign roles & responsibilities

– Procedures for defining alarms

– How to assign priorities

– Expected Operator responses

– Management of change

Maintenance


AlarmPhilosophy




Benchmarking &Assessment • Systematic review and

documentation of each configured/engineered alarmable tag in the DCS

• Store information in Alarm Database

• Objective is to optimize alarm quantity and quality– Ongoing process, target 50 to 100

worst alarmable tag per day

Maintenance


AlarmPhilosophy




Benchmarking &Assessment

• Implement alarm strategy on DCS• Implement advanced alarming strategies

– Alarm shelving• Temporary disabling of alarms depending on

process state

– Dynamic alarming• Change alarm limits depending on process

state

– Alarm grouping• Use top level alarm to summarize multiple

ones (with drill-down capability)

– Alarm eclipsing• Disable an H alarm if the HH alarm limit is

reached

Maintenance


Maintenance

AlarmPhilosophy




Benchmarking &Assessment • Integrate into work practices and

embed into company culture

• Prevent unauthorized changes

• Track changes made

• Monitor performance



Maintenance

AlarmPhilosophy




Benchmarking &Assessment • Analyze alarm floods during

upsets

• Frequent intervention analysis

– Identify opportunities for additional process automation (supervisory control)

Alarm Management Solutions for System 800xA

ProcessGuard

• Measures and analyzes alarms that have occurred• Referred to as “real-time” or “dynamic” alarms

• Alarm & event historian

• Automated alarm assessment

• Problem analysis reports

• Web visualization

• Universal connectivity

ProcessGuard• Problem analysis reporting

examples:

• Alarm count by console

• Alarm count by tag

• Operator

• Interventions

• Response times

• Chattering alarms

• Priority distribution

• Standing alarms

• Integrated alarm & process data

Alarm MOCCA

• Measures and analyzes alarms configured on DCS• Referred to as “configured” or “static” alarms

• Instant integrity assessment

• Automatic audit trail & MOC

• Master alarm database

• Easy alarm rationalization

• Assist & knowledge capture

AlarmInsight

• AlarmInsight seamlessly integrates ProcessGuard and Alarm MOCCA reports into the System 800xA environment

• Provides context sensitive alarm information for all alarms configured on System 800xA

L

L

AlarmInsight

• Reduces time to decision and action– Reduced nuisance alarms ensure

operator focus on valid and important alarms

• Maximizes engineering performance– Unified interface for control and alarm

management reduces engineering time associated with analysis

• Optimizes plant asset availability and performance – Proactive identification of equipment

problems through statistical analysis reduces downtime

AlarmInsight

• Integrates information for improved visibility– Alarm analysis reveals root causes and

areas for improvement

• Improves batch consistency and quality– Alarm and event analysis can uncover

performance problems that affect batch quality

• Reduces risk through high integrity– Increasing alarm integrity raises the

overall reliability of a control system and results in fewer incidents and increased productivity

Putting the Pieces Together

Alarm Management Workshops

Matrikon hosts regular and global hands-on alarm management workshops. Some of the practical skills attendees learn include:

• How to successfully eliminate up to 75% of their alarms

• How to improve safety standards, meet production demands and reduce trips

• How to employ proven procedures and strategies to prioritize and configure alarm settings

• How to build a successful alarm philosophy tailored specifically to their plant

Alarm Management Services

Matrikon offers globally based services to ensure that our clients get the most value from our products; these include:

• Standard and customized ProcessGuard product training courses

• Development of assessments, alarm philosophies, and business cases

• Alarm Rationalization for existing systems and systems under design

• Implementation of Management of Change solutions for control systems

• Advanced dynamic alarming solutions

Maintenance


AlarmPhilosophy



Benchmarking &Assessment

Applying Alarm Management Solutions

Alarm MOCCA

AlarmInsight, ProcessGuard& Alarm MOCCA

MatrikonServices

Group

&

AlarmManagement

Workshops

AlarmInsight & ProcessGuard

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