Display device, control device, control method, and computer program

Abstract

A display device (32), a control device, a control method, and a computer program that can visualize a generation frequency of an alarm are provided. A display device (32) displays an operation state of a plant (1), in which for a plurality of alarms generated in the plant (1), a generation frequency of each alarm type indicating a type of the alarm in a first period is displayed in an aspect of being arranged for each alarm type. Accordingly, the generation frequency of each alarm type in the first period can be visualized.

Description

Display device, control device, control method, and computer program

[0001] The present invention relates to a display device, a control device, a control method, and a computer program for displaying the operating state of a plant.

[0002] Conventionally, sensors are installed in a plant, and the operating status of the plant is monitored based on the measurement values ​​of the sensors. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that when an object on a display screen is selected, information from the sensor relating to the object is displayed so that an operator can intuitively understand the detection target and detection results of the sensor. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses that a plurality of alarm messages are displayed on an alarm monitoring screen, and when an operator presses a graph display on the display screen, graph information of the corresponding alarm message is displayed.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-308895 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-115195

[0004] In the conventional configuration, it was possible to display alarms that occurred in a plant in chronological order. However, in the conventional configuration, it was difficult to grasp the frequency of occurrence of an alarm, such as the number of times the alarm occurred, when, for example, a certain type of alarm occurred many times in a certain period of time.

[0005] It is an exemplary object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a display device, a control device, a control method, and a computer program that are capable of visualizing the frequency of alarm occurrence.

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a display device according to one aspect of the present invention is a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, and displays, for a plurality of alarms that have occurred in the plant, the occurrence frequency of each alarm type during a first period, in an arrangement according to the alarm type.

[0007] In the above-described display device, displaying the occurrence frequency of each alarm type in the first period in a manner arranged by alarm type may be displaying the occurrence frequency of each alarm type in the first period in a graph format.

[0008] In the above-described display device, displaying the occurrence frequency of each alarm type in the first period in a manner arranged by alarm type may be displaying a bar graph corresponding to the occurrence frequency of each alarm type in the first period, arranged in descending or ascending order of occurrence frequency for each alarm type.

[0009] In the above-described display device, for an alarm type whose occurrence frequency in a first period is displayed, an occurrence history of the alarm type in a second period included in the first period may be further displayed.

[0010] The display device may further display, together with the occurrence history of the alarm type during the second period, the occurrence history of a related event related to the alarm type during the second period.

[0011] In the display device described above, the related event may be a process of the plant, or may be an alarm type whose occurrence frequency in the first period is different from the alarm type displayed.

[0012] In the above-described display device, the first period may be a part of the operation period of the plant.

[0013] In the display device described above, the occurrence frequency may be the number of occurrences.

[0014] A control device of another aspect of the present invention is a control device that controls a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, and includes: an acquisition unit that acquires alarm information indicating alarms that occur in the plant; a calculation unit that calculates an occurrence frequency of each alarm type indicating the type of alarm based on the alarm information, during a first period; and a display control unit that causes the display device to display the calculated occurrence frequencies of each alarm type during the first period in an array by alarm type.

[0015] The above-mentioned control device may further include a generation unit that generates, for an alarm type whose occurrence frequency for a first period is displayed based on the alarm information, occurrence history information indicating an occurrence history for a second period included in the first period of the alarm type, and the display control unit may further display the generated occurrence history information for the second period on the display device.

[0016] In the control device described above, the display control may further cause the display device to display the occurrence of alarm types in a graph format arranged in chronological order based on the generated occurrence history information for the second period.

[0017] The above-mentioned control device may further include a receiving unit that receives a selection of an associated event related to the alarm type whose occurrence frequency for the first period has been displayed, and the generating unit may generate occurrence history information indicating an occurrence history for the selected associated event for a second period based on process information or alarm information of the plant, and the display control unit may display, on the display device, the generated occurrence history information for the associated event for the second period together with the generated occurrence history information for the alarm type.

[0018] In the above-described control device, the display control unit may cause the display device to arrange occurrences of the alarm type in chronological order based on the occurrence history information for the second period of the generated alarm type, and may further display in a graph format the occurrences of the related events arranged in chronological order based on the occurrence history information for the second period of the generated related events.

[0019] The control device described above may further include a true / false input unit configured to be able to input whether the occurrence of the alarm type for which the occurrence frequency in the first period is displayed is true or false.

[0020] Another aspect of the control method of the present invention is a control method for controlling a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, and includes the steps of acquiring alarm information indicating alarms that occur in the plant, calculating an occurrence frequency during a first period for each alarm type indicating the type of alarm based on the alarm information, and displaying the calculated occurrence frequencies during the first period for each alarm type on the display device in a manner arranged by alarm type.

[0021] Another aspect of the program of the present invention is a program to be executed by a computer to control a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, and includes the steps of acquiring alarm information indicating alarms that have occurred in the plant, calculating an occurrence frequency in a first period for each alarm type that indicates the type of alarm based on the alarm information, and displaying, on the display device, the calculated occurrence frequencies in the first period for each alarm type in a manner arranged by alarm type.

[0022] In addition, any combination of the above components or mutual substitution of the components or expressions of the present invention between methods, devices, systems, computer programs, data structures, recording media, etc. are also valid aspects of the present invention.

[0023] According to the present invention, the frequency of alarm occurrence can be visualized.

[0024] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a plant according to the present embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing functional blocks of a system according to the present embodiment; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the physical configuration of a system according to the present embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing transitions of various display screens according to the present embodiment; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a dashboard display screen according to the present embodiment; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an occurrence history screen according to the present embodiment; and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of operation processing according to the present embodiment.

[0025] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention. The same or equivalent components, parts, and processes shown in each drawing will be given the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

[0026] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a plant according to this embodiment. First, the configuration of a plant 1, which is a target of this embodiment, will be described using FIG. 1 . The plant 1 is, for example, a power generation plant (incineration plant) including a circulating fluidized bed boiler (circulating fluidized bed type), and is equipped with a boiler that generates steam by burning fuel while circulating a circulating material such as high-temperature fluidized silica sand. As fuel for the plant 1, in addition to fossil fuels such as coal, non-fossil fuels (woody biomass, waste tires, waste plastic, sludge, etc.) can be used. The steam generated in the plant 1 is used to drive a turbine 100. Note that the target plant of this embodiment is not limited to power generation plants and incineration plants that include boilers, but may be any plant from which process data can be acquired, such as a chemical plant or a wastewater treatment plant.

[0027] The plant 1 is configured to combust fuel in a furnace 2, separate circulating material from exhaust gas using a cyclone 3 that functions as a solid-gas separator, and return the separated circulating material to the furnace 2 for circulation. The separated circulating material is returned to the bottom of the furnace 2 via a circulating material recovery pipe 4 connected below the cyclone 3. The bottom of the circulating material recovery pipe 4 is connected to the bottom of the furnace 2 via a loop seal 4a with a narrowed flow path. This leaves a predetermined amount of circulating material stored in the bottom of the circulating material recovery pipe 4. The exhaust gas from which the circulating material has been removed by the cyclone 3 is supplied to a rear flue 5 via an exhaust gas flow path 3a.

[0028] The boiler includes a furnace 2 for burning fuel and a heat exchanger for generating steam and the like using heat obtained by the combustion. A fuel supply port 2a for supplying fuel is provided in the middle of the furnace 2, and a gas outlet 2b for discharging combustion gas is provided in the upper part of the furnace 2. Fuel supplied to the furnace 2 from a fuel supply device (not shown) is supplied into the furnace 2 through the fuel supply port 2a. In addition, a furnace wall tube 6 for heating boiler feedwater is provided on the furnace wall of the furnace 2. The boiler feedwater flowing through the furnace wall tube 6 is heated by combustion in the furnace 2.

[0029] Within the furnace 2, the solids containing the fuel supplied from the fuel supply port 2a are fluidized by combustion and fluidization air introduced from the lower air supply line 2c, and the fuel burns at, for example, about 800 to 900°C while flowing. The combustion gas generated in the furnace 2 is introduced into the cyclone 3, accompanied by the circulating material. The cyclone 3 separates the circulating material from the gas by centrifugal separation, and returns the separated circulating material to the furnace 2 via the circulating material recovery pipe 4, while sending the combustion gas from which the circulating material has been removed through the exhaust gas flow path 3a to the rear flue 5.

[0030] In the furnace 2, a portion of the circulating material, called the in-furnace bed material, accumulates at the bottom. This bed material may contain coarse-grained bed material or exhaust combustion impurities that are unsuitable for circulating flow. These unsuitable bed materials can cause poor flow. Therefore, to prevent poor flow, the in-furnace bed material is continuously or intermittently discharged to the outside from a discharge port 2d at the bottom of the furnace 2. After removing unsuitable materials such as metals and coarse grains from the discharged bed material on a circulation line (not shown), the discharged bed material is either resupplied to the furnace 2 or disposed of as is. The circulating material in the furnace 2 circulates within a circulation system consisting of the furnace 2, the cyclone 3, and the circulating material recovery pipe 4.

[0031] The rear flue 5 has a flow path for flowing the gas discharged from the cyclone 3 to a subsequent stage. The rear flue 5 has a superheater 10 that generates superheated steam and an economizer 12 that preheats boiler feedwater as an exhaust heat recovery section that recovers heat from the exhaust gas. The exhaust gas flowing through the rear flue 5 is cooled by heat exchange with the steam and boiler feedwater flowing through the superheater 10 and the economizer 12. The rear flue 5 also has a steam drum 8 that stores the boiler feedwater that has passed through the economizer 12, and the steam drum 8 is also connected to the furnace wall tubes 6.

[0032] The economizer 12 transfers heat from the exhaust gas to the boiler feed water to preheat the boiler feed water. The economizer 12 is connected to the pump 7 by a pipe 21 and to the steam drum 8 by a pipe 22. The boiler feed water is supplied from the pump 7 via the pipe 21 to the economizer 12 and preheated by the economizer 12, and is then supplied to the steam drum 8 via the pipe 22.

[0033] A downcomer pipe 8a and a furnace wall pipe 6 are connected to the steam drum 8. The boiler feedwater in the steam drum 8 flows down the downcomer pipe 8a, is introduced into the furnace wall pipe 6 at the bottom of the furnace 2, and flows toward the steam drum 8. The boiler feedwater in the furnace wall pipe 6 is heated by the combustion heat generated in the furnace 2, and evaporates into steam in the steam drum 8.

[0034] A saturated steam pipe 8b that discharges the steam inside is connected to the steam drum 8. The saturated steam pipe 8b connects the steam drum 8 and a superheater 10. The steam inside the steam drum 8 is supplied to the superheater 10 via the saturated steam pipe 8b. The superheater 10 superheats the steam using the heat of the exhaust gas to generate superheated steam. The superheated steam passes through a pipe 10a and is supplied to a turbine 100 outside the plant 1 to be used for power generation.

[0035] The pressure and temperature of the steam discharged from the turbine 100 are lower than the pressure and temperature of the steam discharged from the superheater 10. Although not particularly limited, the pressure of the steam supplied to the turbine 100 is approximately 10 to 17 MPa, and the temperature is approximately 530 to 570°C.

[0036] A condenser 102 is provided downstream of the turbine 100. The steam discharged from the turbine 100 is supplied to the condenser 102, where it is condensed and returned to saturated water, and then supplied to the pump 7. A generator is connected to the turbine 100, which converts kinetic energy obtained by the rotation of the turbine 100 into electrical energy.

[0037] The pump 7a supplies makeup water so as to maintain a constant water level in the condenser 102. Fig. 1 shows a flow rate u1 of makeup water supplied by the pump 7a (an example of "process data").

[0038] The process data (data related to the operation of the plant 1) handled in this embodiment may be any data related to the plant 1. For example, it may be data (an example of "process data") measuring the state of the plant 1 with a sensor. More specifically, it may include measured values ​​of the temperature, pressure, flow rate, and the like of the plant 1. FIG. 1 shows a boiler feedwater flow rate u2 (an example of "process data") supplied from the pump 7 to the economizer 12. FIG. 1 also shows a boiler outlet steam flow rate u3 (an example of "process data") supplied from the superheater 10 to the turbine 100, and a saturated steam flow rate u4 (an example of "process data") supplied from the steam drum 8 to the superheater 10. The make-up water flow rate u1 may be controlled to follow the saturated steam flow rate u4. The boiler feedwater flow rate u2 may be controlled to follow the adjustment while monitoring both the boiler outlet steam flow rate u3 (or the superheated steam flow rate) and the liquid level of the steam drum 8.

[0039] If a hole occurs in the piping system that constitutes the plant 1, the makeup water flow rate u1 increases, or the flow rate difference between the boiler feedwater flow rate u2 and the boiler outlet steam flow rate u3 increases. A DCS (Distributed Control System, FIG. 2) 20 receives process data of the plant 1, such as the makeup water flow rate u1, the boiler feedwater flow rate u2, the boiler outlet steam flow rate u3, and the saturated steam flow rate u4, from the plant 1, and monitors the operating status of the plant 1 and whether any abnormalities have occurred in the plant 1. As will be described later, a monitoring device 40 (FIG. 2) evaluates the process data based on alarm determination logic set for each type of abnormality, and issues an alarm if an abnormality occurs.

[0040] Although the makeup water flow rate u1, the boiler feedwater flow rate u2, the boiler outlet steam flow rate u3, and the saturated steam flow rate u4 are exemplified as process data, the process data related to the plant 1 may be other data or data calculated based on a plurality of process data. The process data related to the plant 1 may be other data such as temperature and pressure, or may be uncalculated data acquired from a sensor or the like.

[0041] Next, the system 30 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2 is a diagram showing functional blocks of the system 30 according to this embodiment. Figure 3 is a diagram showing the physical configuration of the system 30 according to this embodiment.

[0042] The DCS 20 is a distributed control system for controlling the plant 1, and as shown in FIG. 2, acquires process data from sensors and the like installed in the plant 1, and supplies control signals to the plant 1 for controlling the plant 1 based on the process data.

[0043] The system 30 includes a display device 32 and a monitoring device 40. The monitoring device 40 includes a control unit 31 and a storage unit 33. The control unit 31 includes, as functional components, an acquisition unit 311, a calculation unit 312, a generation unit 313, a reception unit 314, and a display control unit 315. The storage unit 33 stores various types of data, such as a process information DB 33A, an alarm information DB 33B, and an occurrence history information DB 33C.

[0044] The acquisition unit 311 acquires process data from, for example, the DCS 20. The acquisition unit 311 sequentially acquires the process data from the DCS 20 while the plant 1 is in operation. The acquired process data is stored in the process information DB 33A as information related to the process of the plant 1 (hereinafter also referred to as "process information"). Note that the plant 1 is "in operation" as long as at least a portion of the plant 1 is in operation. Furthermore, the operating period of the plant 1 is a period during which at least a portion of the plant 1 is in operation, excluding planned shutdown periods for maintenance or the like.

[0045] Furthermore, the acquisition unit 311 acquires alarm information from the DCS 20. The acquisition unit 311 acquires alarm information from the DCS 20 each time an alarm is issued (an example of "occurrence") during operation of the plant 1. The alarm information indicates an alarm that has occurred in the plant 1, and is information on an alarm (warning) regarding an abnormality that has occurred. The alarm information includes an alarm item (the type of the alarm), the alarm occurrence date and time (the date and time the alarm occurred), an alarm level (the level (importance) of the alarm, etc., which is classified, for example, into a heavy alarm, a medium alarm, a light alarm, etc.), and a value of process data related to the alarm (for example, the value of the make-up water flow rate u1 or the boiler feedwater flow rate u2 determined to be abnormal).

[0046] The DCS 20 determines whether an abnormality or the like has occurred in the plant 1, and generates alarm information when it determines that an abnormality has occurred. The DCS 20 determines that an abnormality has occurred, for example, when a value included in the process data exceeds a predetermined threshold or when a predetermined change in trend occurs. More specifically, the DCS 20 may evaluate predetermined process data based on alarm determination logic and determine whether an abnormality such as a blowout (a condition in which metal materials such as tubes and pipes constituting a boiler are damaged and ruptured, causing internal steam to leak to the outside, such as a boiler tube leak; this includes a condition in which a blowout is likely to occur in the future; the same applies hereinafter) has occurred in the plant 1. The alarm information generated by the DCS 20 is also specifically referred to as "DCS alarm information." Similarly, the system 30 may also determine whether an abnormality or the like has occurred in the plant 1 based on process data acquired by the acquisition unit 311, and determine that an abnormality has occurred. The alarm information generated at this time is also specifically referred to as "system alarm information." Hereinafter, DCS alarm information and system alarm information will be collectively referred to as "alarm information." The alarm information is stored in the alarm information DB 33B.

[0047] The calculation unit 312 calculates the occurrence frequency of each alarm type during a first period based on the alarm information stored in the alarm information DB 33B. The calculated occurrence frequency of each alarm type is an index indicating the frequency of alarms of that alarm type that occurred in the plant 1 during a certain period in the past. The first period is a portion of the operating period of the plant 1, for example, 24 hours. The first period may be a predetermined period or may be a period that can be changed as appropriate. In this way, since the first period is a portion of the operating period of the plant 1, it is possible to display the occurrence frequency of each alarm type by focusing on a period extracted from the operating period of the plant 1, and it is possible to easily grasp the occurrence frequency of an alarm type that occurs during a specific time period, for example.

[0048] The occurrence frequency is, for example, the number of occurrences in a first period, which makes it easy to grasp the number of occurrences of each alarm type in the first period.

[0049] The occurrence frequency is not limited to the number of occurrences in the first period, but may be the occurrence ratio in the first period (for example, the ratio of the number of occurrences of the alarm type to the average number of occurrences of all alarm types in the first period), the occurrence frequency (for example, the frequency of the alarm type when the average number of occurrences of all alarm types in the first period is set to a reference value {for example, "1"}), etc.

[0050] The calculation unit 312 calculates the occurrence frequency of each alarm type during the first period, for example, at any predetermined timing (for example, when an alarm occurs, every second, every minute, every hour, etc.). The alarm types used to calculate the occurrence frequency are classified in any manner. For example, the alarm types may be classified according to the sensors used to measure the state of the plant 1. In this case, the alarm types may include, for example, alarms related to makeup water flow rate, alarms related to boiler feedwater flow rate, alarms related to boiler outlet steam flow rate, alarms related to saturated steam flow rate, etc.

[0051] The calculation unit 312 also calculates the occurrence frequency of each alarm type during the first period based on the DCS alarm information. That is, the occurrence frequency of each alarm type during the first period calculated by the calculation unit 312 is calculated from the alarm information of the DCS 20.

[0052] The generation unit 313 generates occurrence history information indicating the occurrence history for a second period for an alarm type whose occurrence frequency for a first period is displayed on the display device 32 by the display control unit 315 described later, based on the alarm information stored in the alarm information DB 33B. The generated occurrence history information for an alarm type is information regarding the occurrence history of alarms of that alarm type that occurred in the plant 1 during a certain period in the past. The second period is a period included in the first period described above, and is, for example, 24 hours, the same as the first period. The second period may be a predetermined period or may be a period that can be changed as appropriate. The second period may also be a period shorter than the first period, for example, 12 hours, 8 hours, or 6 hours.

[0053] The occurrence history information includes, for example, the timing of alarm occurrence (e.g., the date and time when the alarm type occurred), the alarm occurrence interval (e.g., the time interval when the alarm type occurred), the alarm occurrence density (e.g., the rate (or occurrence rate) of the alarm type occurring within a certain period of time), etc. during the second period.

[0054] The generation unit 313 generates occurrence history information for the second period for each alarm type at any predetermined timing (for example, when an alarm occurs, when an operation is performed by an operator, every second, every minute, every hour, etc.) The alarm types used to generate the occurrence history information are classified in the same way as the alarm types used to calculate the occurrence frequency.

[0055] Furthermore, the generation unit 313 generates the occurrence history information for each alarm type for the second period based on the DCS alarm information. That is, the occurrence history information for each alarm type for the second period generated by the generation unit 313 is generated from the alarm information of the DCS 20.

[0056] The reception unit 314 receives input of various information, instructions, selections, etc. in response to operations by the operator. For example, the reception unit 314 receives instructions for transitioning display screens, designation of planned shutdown periods, inputs, selections, selections of alarm types displayed on the display device 32, selections of related events related to the alarm types displayed on the display device 32, etc.

[0057] The related events related to the alarm type are processes in the plant 1 or alarms of a different type from the alarm type whose occurrence frequency during the first period is displayed on the display device 32. The process of the plant 1 is, for example, an event (phenomenon) that occurs in the plant 1, such as measuring the state of the plant 1 with a sensor or recording operations in the plant 1. The reception unit 314 receives a selection of these related events related to the alarm type displayed on the display device 32. The alarms that can be selected by the reception unit 314 include both alarms (DCS alarms) generated when the DCS 20 determines whether or not an abnormality or the like has occurred in the plant 1 and determines that an abnormality has occurred, and alarms (system alarms) generated when the system 30 determines whether or not an abnormality or the like has occurred in the plant 1 and determines that an abnormality has occurred. The reception unit 314 receives a selection of these alarms of a different type from the alarm type whose occurrence frequency during the first period is displayed on the display device 32.

[0058] Furthermore, the generation unit 313 generates occurrence history information for a second period for the related event selected via the reception unit 314, based on the process information stored in the process information DB 33A or the alarm information stored in the alarm information DB 33B. The generated occurrence history information is information about the occurrence history of processes or alarm types that occurred in the plant 1 during a certain period in the past.

[0059] The occurrence history information includes, for example, the timing of the occurrence of a process or alarm during the second period (e.g., the date and time when the process or alarm type occurred), the interval between the occurrence of the process or alarm (e.g., the time interval when the process or alarm type occurred), the occurrence density of the process or alarm (e.g., the rate (or occurrence rate) of the process or alarm type occurring within a certain period of time), etc.

[0060] The generation unit 313 generates occurrence history information for the second period for each related event at any predetermined timing (for example, when a process or alarm occurs, when an operator performs an operation, every second, every minute, every hour, etc.). The alarm types used to generate the occurrence history information may be classified in the same way as the alarm types used to calculate the occurrence frequency, or may be classified in a different way.

[0061] The generation unit 313 generates the occurrence history information for each associated event for the second period based on the DCS alarm information and the system alarm information. That is, as described above, the associated event can include both a DCS alarm and a system alert, and therefore the occurrence history information for each associated event for the second period generated by the generation unit 313 is generated from both the alarm information of the DCS 20 and the alarm information of the system 30.

[0062] The display control unit 315 generates display data based on the process data, alarm information, occurrence frequency during the first period, and occurrence history information during the second period, and causes a display screen based on the display data to be displayed on the display device 32. That is, the display control unit 315 controls the display of information related to the operating state of the plant 1, such as displaying the process data, the occurrence frequency during the first period for each alarm type, and displaying the occurrence history information on the display device 32. Examples of screens displayed on the display device 32 will be described later.

[0063] The process information DB 33A stores the process information (process data) acquired by the acquisition unit 311. That is, the process information DB 33A stores process information (process history information) relating to processes that have occurred so far.

[0064] The alarm information DB 33B stores alarm information (DCS alarm information) acquired from the DCS 20 by the acquisition unit 311, and alarm information (system alarm information) acquired from the system 30. That is, the alarm information DB 33B stores alarm information (alarm history information) relating to alarms that have occurred in both the DCS 20 and the system 30.

[0065] The occurrence history information DB 33C stores occurrence history information generated by the generation unit 313, the occurrence history information indicating the occurrence history of the alarm type during the second period, and the occurrence history information indicating the occurrence history of the related event during the second period.

[0066] The display device 32 displays various display screens including information related to the operation of the plant 1 based on the display data supplied by the display control unit 315. The various display screens displayed by the display device 32 will be described later.

[0067] The process information DB 33A, alarm information DB 33B, and occurrence history information DB 33C stored in the storage unit 33 are not limited to the example shown in Fig. 6. For example, at least a portion of the process information DB 33A, alarm information DB 33B, and occurrence history information DB 33C stored in the storage unit 33 may be subjected to predetermined normalization to subdivide any group unit. Furthermore, the information (data) stored in the process information DB 33A, alarm information DB 33B, and occurrence history information DB 33C is not limited to being stored in a database format, and may be stored in any structure and format, such as a table format, a block format, or a file format.

[0068] As shown in Fig. 3, the system 30 physically includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 30a, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 30b, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 30c, a communication unit 30d, an input unit 30e, and a display unit 30f, and these components are connected via a bus so as to be able to transmit and receive data to and from each other. Each functional block of the system 30 shown in Fig. 2 is realized by the physical configuration shown in Fig. 3.

[0069] Although the present embodiment describes a case in which the system 30 is configured with a single computer, the system 30 may be realized by combining multiple computers. For example, in addition to the display unit 30f, a display constituting a different display unit for displaying other information may be provided. The system 30 may also be configured with a tablet terminal. By configuring the system 30 with a tablet terminal, the system 30 can be carried around and used, for example, while patrolling the plant 1. The configuration shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and the system 30 may have other configurations or may not have some of these configurations. Furthermore, some of the configurations may be provided in a remote location. For example, the control unit 31 including the CPU 30a may be provided in a remote location. In this case, the display device 32 including the display unit 30f may be configured to receive control signals generated by the control unit 31 provided in the remote location via a network.

[0070] The CPU 30a is a calculation unit that controls the execution of programs stored in the RAM 30b or the ROM 30c and calculates and processes data. The CPU 30a is a calculation unit that executes a program (monitoring program) that displays graphs and descriptions of process data of the plant 1. The CPU 30a receives various data from the input unit 30e and the communication unit 30d, and displays the calculation results of the data on the display unit 30f or stores them in the RAM 30b.

[0071] The RAM 30b is a rewritable storage device among the storage units, and may be configured with a semiconductor storage element such as a DRAM or an SRAM. The RAM 30b may store data such as programs executed by the CPU 30a and process data of the plant 1. Note that these are merely examples, and the RAM 30b may store data other than these, or may not store some of these data.

[0072] The ROM 30c is a memory from which data can be read, and may be configured, for example, as a semiconductor memory element such as a flash memory or an HDD. The ROM 30c may store, for example, computer programs for executing various processes described in this embodiment and data that is not to be rewritten. The data that is not to be rewritten includes, for example, information regarding the plant 1 and specifications of components of the plant 1. The ROM 30c may also store, for example, process data of the plant 1, indicators related to the operation of the plant 1 (such as availability and efficiency), and data such as planned shutdown periods.

[0073] The communication unit 30d is an interface that connects the system 30 to other devices, and may be connected to a communication network such as the Internet.

[0074] The input unit 30e receives data input in response to operations by an operator, and may include, for example, a keyboard and a touch panel.

[0075] The display unit 30f has a screen that visually displays the results of calculations performed by the CPU 30a, and may be configured, for example, by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The display unit 30f may display graphs and explanatory text of process data. The display unit 30f may also be configured so that a single screen is configured by connecting multiple displays.

[0076] A computer program for executing the various processes described in this embodiment may be provided by being stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as the ROM 30c, or may be provided via a communication network connected by the communication unit 30d. In the system 30, the CPU 30a executes the monitoring program to realize various operations included in this embodiment. Note that these physical configurations are merely examples and do not necessarily have to be independent configurations. For example, the system 30 may include an LSI (Large-Scale Integration) in which the CPU 30a and the RAM 30b or the ROM 30c are integrated.

[0077] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing transitions among various display screens according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the display device 32 displays a login display screen DP0, a dashboard display screen DP1, and an occurrence history display screen DP2. The arrows between the display screens shown in FIG. 4 indicate transitions among the display screens based on instructions from the operator. That is, in the system 30, transitions are possible based on instructions from the operator, from the login display screen DP0 to the dashboard display screen DP1, and further from the dashboard display screen DP1 to the occurrence history display screen DP2. Note that when transitions occur among the display screens in the system 30, the previous display screen may be replaced with the next display screen, or the previous display screen may remain and the next display screen may be displayed at the same time. Note that the above-described display screens are merely examples, and the display device 32 may display display screens other than these display screens.

[0078] The login display screen DP0 displays information necessary for the operator to log in to the system 30. The information necessary for logging in includes, for example, the operator's user ID and password. The login display screen DP0 accepts input of the user ID and password from the operator. From the login display screen DP0, it is possible to transition to a dashboard display screen DP1, etc.

[0079] The dashboard display screen DP1 displays, at predetermined time intervals, various latest indicators related to the operation of the plant 1. The dashboard display screen DP1 displays, for example, trend graphs and the like based on various indicators related to the operation of the plant 1. The dashboard display screen DP1 also displays, for example, an abnormality display indicating the occurrence or possibility of an abnormality that may result in the shutdown of the plant 1, and a warning display indicating the occurrence or possibility of a warning when process data related to the plant 1 reaches a predetermined state. The dashboard display screen DP1 also displays, for example, the number of alarms and the time of occurrence. Furthermore, the dashboard display screen DP1 displays the frequency of occurrence of each alarm type during a first period.

[0080] The occurrence history display screen DP2 displays the occurrence history for the second period for the alarm type selected on the dashboard display screen DP1. The occurrence history display screen DP2 also allows the selection of related events that are related to the alarm type selected on the dashboard display screen DP1. The occurrence history display screen DP2 can also display the occurrence history for the selected related event for the second period.

[0081] Next, an example of the dashboard display screen DP1 will be described using Fig. 5. The dashboard display screen DP1 includes areas R10 to R13. Note that the example shown in Fig. 5 is only a portion of the dashboard display screen DP1, and the actual dashboard display screen DP1 also includes areas other than areas R10 to R13.

[0082] In region R10, "Dashboard" is displayed as the status of the current screen. The display in region R10 makes it easy to understand the status of the current screen.

[0083] In the region R11 of the dashboard display screen DP1, a warning display indicating the occurrence of a warning when process data related to the plant reaches a predetermined state is displayed as "latest alarm information." The warning display indicates a predetermined state of process data that affects the operating efficiency of the plant 1. For example, a warning display indicates a state that does not result in the shutdown of the plant 1, such as a blowout, but that reduces the operating efficiency of the plant 1. In the region R11, the history of warning displays is displayed, with time information indicating the time of the display and information indicating its content arranged in chronological order. For example, at the top of the region R11, time information such as "YYYY / MM / DD hh:mm:ss" is displayed in association with information indicating the content of the warning "Alarm A." From the information displayed in the region R11, the operator of the plant 1 can recognize that the warning for Alarm A occurred at YYYY year, MM month, DD day, hh hour, mm minute, ss second. Similarly, the operator of the plant 1 can recognize the history of time information indicating the time of the occurrence of a predetermined state of other process data that affects the operating efficiency of the plant 1 and information indicating its content.

[0084] Area R12 of the dashboard display screen DP1 displays indices such as efficiency related to the operation of the plant 1. For example, area R12 displays one or more trend graphs with the vertical axis representing indices important for stable operation of the plant 1 and the horizontal axis representing time. The time at the rightmost end of these trend graphs is the latest time at which these indices were calculated.

[0085] In region R13 of the dashboard display screen DP1, the occurrence frequency of each alarm type during the first period is displayed in a format arranged by alarm type. This makes it possible to visualize the occurrence frequency of each alarm type during the first period. Therefore, by understanding the frequency of alarm occurrence rather than simply whether an alarm has occurred, it is possible to prevent, for example, a malfunction that gradually develops over a certain period of time.

[0086] Specifically, the "alarm total" information may be, for example, the number of times (occurrences) that DCS 20 has determined to be an abnormality in the past 24 hours, totaled for each alarm type. Note that "alarm 1," "alarm 2," etc. in FIG. 5 may be displayed as identification information for identifying the type of alarm. The identification information may be, for example, the name of a specific sensor, the name of an alarm item detected by the sensor, etc.

[0087] Then, bar graphs of lengths corresponding to the calculated number of occurrences in the first period, tallied for each alarm type, are arranged in descending order of the number of occurrences, and displayed in the form of a so-called Pareto chart. Note that the bar graphs displayed in region R13 may also be arranged in ascending order of the number of occurrences. In this way, by arranging and displaying bar graphs corresponding to the occurrence frequency in the first period for each alarm type in descending or ascending order of occurrence frequency for each alarm type, it is possible to easily visualize the occurrence frequency in the first period for each alarm type using a so-called Pareto chart.

[0088] For example, if the operator places the pointer or cursor over the bar graph for "Alarm 1" in area R13 and clicks (single clicks), the content of the alarm type "Alarm 1" and the number of occurrences in the past 24 hours "508" are displayed, as shown in Figure 5.

[0089] Furthermore, if the operator places the pointer or cursor over the bar graph of "Alarm 1" displayed in area R13 and double-clicks it, the dashboard display screen DP1 transitions to the occurrence history display screen DP2.

[0090] The occurrence frequency of each alarm type during the first period is not limited to the display example shown in Fig. 5. The occurrence frequency of each alarm type during the first period may be displayed in other formats as long as the alarms are arranged by alarm type. The occurrence frequency of each alarm type during the first period may also be displayed in a graph format, such as a line graph, a stacked graph, or a bar graph.

[0091] Next, an example of the occurrence history display screen DP2 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. The occurrence history display screen DP2 includes areas R20 to R22.

[0092] Area R20 displays "Occurrence Date and Time," "Display Method," "Item," "Alarm Type," "Maximum Display Number," and "Search." The "Occurrence Date and Time" field in area R20 can be double-clicked by the operator to input the start and end points of the second period for displaying the occurrence history of the selected alarm type. For example, if the first period for the occurrence frequency of each alarm type shown in FIG. 5 is the past 24 hours, the start and end points of the second period can be input within the past 24 hours.

[0093] The "Display Method" included in region R20 can be selected from either "List" or "Graph." When "List" is selected in "Display Method," one of "ALL," "Evaluation Item," or "DCS" can be selected in "Alarm Type" included in region R20. On the other hand, when "Graph" is selected in "Display Method," related events related to the selected alarm type can be selected in "Item" included in region R20. For example, a maximum of five related events (five items) can be selected. In the example shown in FIG. 6, "Graph" is selected in "Display Method," and two related events (two items) are selected in "Item."

[0094] The "Maximum number of items to display" included in area R20 allows a numerical value to be input, and when the "Search" display included in area R20 is selected (pressed), the occurrence history information of the alarm type selected on the dashboard display screen DP1 and the occurrence history information of the related event selected in the "Item" included in area R20 from the start to the end of the entered second period are displayed in area R22.

[0095] Area R21 displays "Occurrence Date and Time," "Correct / Incorrect Determination," and "Update." The "Occurrence Date and Time" included in area R21 represents the start and end points of the occurrence date and time entered in area R20. The "Correct / Incorrect Determination" included in area R21 allows the user to select and input either "Correct" or "Incorrect." In other words, the "Correct / Incorrect Determination" in area R21 is configured to allow the user to input whether the occurrence of the alarm type selected on the dashboard display screen DP1 is correct or incorrect. This allows the operator, for example, to input and register the correctness of the occurrence of the alarm type determined by looking at a graph (described below) into the system 30 or the monitoring device 40. When the "Update" display included in area R21 is selected (pressed), the occurrence history information of the alarm type and the occurrence history information of the related events displayed in area R22 are updated to the latest status.

[0096] Area R22 displays the occurrence history information for the alarm type during the second period. By displaying the occurrence history information for the second period for the alarm type selected on the dashboard display screen DP1 in this way, it is possible to grasp, for example, the occurrence interval, occurrence frequency, occurrence timing, etc., for the alarm type during the second period.

[0097] More specifically, the occurrence of an alarm type is displayed in a graph format in which the occurrences of the alarm type are arranged in chronological order based on the occurrence history information for the second period of the alarm type. In the example shown in Fig. 6, the alarm type is displayed in a graph in which the horizontal axis represents time and each occurrence is plotted (drawn) in chronological order. In this way, for the alarm type selected on the dashboard display screen DP1, by displaying the occurrences of the alarm type in a graph format in which the occurrences of the alarm type are arranged in chronological order based on the occurrence history information for the second period of the alarm type, it is possible to easily grasp, for example, the occurrence interval, occurrence density, occurrence timing, etc., for the alarm type during the second period of the alarm.

[0098] Region R22 also displays the occurrence history information of the related events during the second period. By displaying the occurrence history information of the related events during the second period together with the occurrence history information of the alarm type selected on the dashboard display screen DP1 in this way, it is possible to understand, for example, the causal relationship between the alarm type and the related events, the operating state of the plant when the alarm type occurred, and so on.

[0099] More specifically, the occurrences of alarm types are arranged in chronological order based on the occurrence history information of the alarm type over a second period, and the occurrences of related events are arranged in chronological order based on the occurrence history information of the related events over a second period. In the example shown in Fig. 6, alarm types and related events are displayed in a graph in which the horizontal axis represents time and each occurrence is plotted (drawn) in chronological order. Here, if the alarm type plotted with a white circle is, for example, "an alarm indicating that the nitrogen oxide concentration in exhaust gas has exceeded a predetermined value," and the related event plotted with a black square is, for example, "an alarm indicating that the oxygen concentration in exhaust gas has fallen below a predetermined value," region R22 displays the occurrence history information of the alarm type over a second period and the occurrence history information of the related events over a second period in chronological order, making it clear that there is a causal relationship between the two. In this way, by displaying in a graph format in which the occurrences of an alarm type selected on the dashboard display screen DP1 are arranged in chronological order based on the occurrence history information for the alarm type over a second period, and the occurrences of related events are arranged in chronological order based on the occurrence history information for the related events over a second period, it is possible to easily grasp, for example, the causal relationship between the alarm type and the related event, the operating state of the plant at the time the alarm type occurred, and so on.

[0100] As described above, the related event related to the alarm type is a process in the plant 1, or an alarm of a type different from the alarm type whose occurrence frequency for the first period is displayed on the dashboard display screen DP1. This makes it easy to understand the causal relationship between the alarm type selected on the dashboard display screen DP1 and other alarms or processes, the occurrence status of other alarms or processes when the alarm type occurs, etc.

[0101] Next, the flow of processing by the system 30 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 7. This flowchart particularly shows the flow of processing for displaying information related to an alarm that has occurred in the plant 1. This processing is executed under the control of the control unit 31. Note that the content and order of the steps shown below are merely examples, and the operational processing is not limited to these.

[0102] In the following description, it is assumed that the plant 1 is in operation, the acquisition unit 311 acquires process data of the plant 1 via the DCS 20 and stores it in the process information DB 33A, and that the DCS 20 acquires alarm information (DCS alarm information) generated as a result of determining whether or not there is an abnormality in the plant 1 and stores it in the alarm information DB 33B. It is also assumed that the system 30 stores alarm information (system alarm information) generated as a result of determining whether or not there is an abnormality in the plant 1 in the alarm information DB 33B.

[0103] The calculation unit 312 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed (S11). Here, the length of the predetermined time is not particularly limited and may be in units of seconds, such as 1 second, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, or 30 seconds, or in units of minutes, such as 1 minute or 2 minutes. However, a shorter predetermined period is preferable because it improves the real-time nature of the information displayed on the dashboard display screen DP1. The length of the predetermined time may be arbitrarily set by an operator or the like. The calculation unit 312 repeats step S11 until it determines that the predetermined time has elapsed.

[0104] If it is determined that the predetermined period has elapsed (S11; Yes), the calculation unit 312 calculates the occurrence frequency during the first period for each alarm type based on the alarm information stored in the alarm information DB 33B (S12).

[0105] Next, the display control unit 315 displays the occurrence frequencies for each alarm type during the first period calculated by the calculation unit 312 in an area R13 of the dashboard display screen DP1, arranged by alarm type (S13). For example, as shown in Fig. 5, the display control unit 315 displays bar graphs with lengths corresponding to the occurrence frequencies for each alarm type, arranged in descending or ascending order of occurrence frequency.

[0106] Next, the generation unit 313 determines whether one of the multiple alarm types displayed in area R13 of the dashboard display screen DP1 has been selected (S14). As described above, the operator can select an alarm type by, for example, moving the pointer or cursor to one of the bar graphs for each alarm type displayed in area R13 and double-clicking. The generation unit 313 repeats step S14 until it determines that one of the multiple alarm types has been selected.

[0107] If it is determined that one of the multiple alarm types has been selected (S14; Yes), and if the operator has selected a related event, the accepting unit 314 accepts the selection (S15). For example, the display control unit 315 displays the occurrence history display screen DP2, and the accepting unit 314 accepts the selection of a related event related to the alarm type selected in step S14 in response to the operator's operation on area R20 of the occurrence history display screen DP2.

[0108] Next, the generation unit 313 generates occurrence history information indicating the occurrence history for the second period for the alarm type selected in step S14 based on the alarm information stored in the alarm information DB 33B, and also generates occurrence history information indicating the occurrence history for the second period for the related event selected in step S15 based on the process information stored in the process information DB 33A or the alarm information stored in the alarm information DB 33B (S16).

[0109] Next, the display control unit 315 displays the second period occurrence history information of the alarm type and the second period occurrence history information of the related event, which were generated in step S15, in area R22 of the occurrence history display screen DP2 (S17). Note that the second period occurrence history information of the alarm type and the second period occurrence history information of the related event may be displayed in the graph format shown in Fig. 6 or in a list format. This completes the processing.

[0110] As described above, according to this embodiment, the occurrence frequency of each alarm type during the first period is displayed in a manner arranged by alarm type. This makes it possible to visualize the occurrence frequency of each alarm type during the first period. Therefore, by understanding the frequency of alarm occurrence rather than simply whether an alarm has occurred, it is possible to prevent, for example, a malfunction that gradually develops over a certain period of time.

[0111] The embodiments described through the above embodiments can be combined, modified, or improved as appropriate depending on the application, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. It is clear from the claims that such combinations, modifications, or improvements are also included within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0112] 1...plant, 2...furnace, 2a...fuel supply port, 2b...gas outlet, 2c...air supply line, 2d...discharge port, 3...cyclone, 3a...exhaust gas flow path, 4...circulating material recovery pipe, 4a...loop seal section, 5...rear flue, 6...furnace wall pipe, 7...pump, 7a...pump, 8...steam drum, 8a...downcompressor pipe, 8b...saturated steam pipe, 10...superheater, 10a...pipe, 12...economiser, 13...area, 21...pipe, 22...pipe, 30...system, 30a...CPU, 30d...communication unit, 30e...input unit, 30f...display unit, 31...control unit, 32...display device, 100...turbine, 102...condenser, 311...acquisition unit, 312...calculation unit, 313...generation unit, 314...reception unit, 315...display control unit.

Claims

1. A display device that displays the operating status of a plant, the display device displaying, for a plurality of alarms that have occurred in the plant, the occurrence frequency of each alarm type during a first period, in a manner that arranges the alarm types.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein displaying the occurrence frequency of each alarm type in the first period in an array by alarm type displays the occurrence frequency of each alarm type in the first period in a graph format.

3. The display device according to claim 2, wherein displaying the occurrence frequency of each alarm type in the first period in a manner arranged by alarm type means displaying bar graphs corresponding to the occurrence frequency of each alarm type in the first period arranged in descending or ascending order of occurrence frequency for each alarm type.

4. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further displaying an occurrence history of the alarm type for a second period included in the first period for the alarm type whose occurrence frequency for the first period is displayed.

5. The display device according to claim 4, further displaying, together with the occurrence history of the alarm type during the second period, the occurrence history of related events related to the alarm type during the second period.

6. The display device according to claim 5, wherein the related event is a process of the plant, or the alarm whose occurrence frequency in the first period is different from the displayed alarm type.

7. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first period is a part of an operating period of the plant.

8. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the occurrence frequency is the number of occurrences.

9. A control device that controls a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires alarm information indicating alarms that occur in the plant; a calculation unit that calculates an occurrence frequency for each alarm type indicating the type of the alarm based on the alarm information; and a display control unit that causes the display device to display the calculated occurrence frequencies for each alarm type in the first period in an array for each alarm type.

10. The control device according to claim 9, further comprising a generation unit that generates, based on the alarm information, occurrence history information indicating the occurrence history of the alarm type for a second period included in the first period, for the alarm type whose occurrence frequency for the first period is displayed, and the display control unit further causes the display device to display the generated occurrence history information for the second period.

11. The control device according to claim 10, wherein the display control further causes the display device to display the occurrence of the alarm type in a graph format arranged in chronological order based on the generated occurrence history information for the second period.

12. A control device as described in claim 10 or 11, further comprising a reception unit that receives a selection of an associated event related to the alarm type whose occurrence frequency during the first period has been displayed, wherein the generation unit generates occurrence history information indicating the occurrence history of the selected associated event during the second period based on process information of the plant or the alarm information, and the display control unit causes the display device to display the occurrence history information for the second period of the generated associated event together with the occurrence history information for the second period of the generated alarm type.

13. The control device according to claim 12, wherein the display control unit causes the display device to arrange occurrences of the alarm type in chronological order based on the occurrence history information for the second period of the generated alarm type, and further displays in a graph format the occurrences of the related events arranged in chronological order based on the occurrence history information for the second period of the generated related events.

14. The control device according to claim 13, further comprising a true / false input unit configured to be able to input whether the occurrence of the alarm type for which the occurrence frequency during the first period is displayed is true or false.

15. A control method for controlling a display device that displays an operating status of a plant, comprising: a step of acquiring alarm information indicating alarms that occur in the plant; a step of calculating an occurrence frequency for each alarm type indicating the type of the alarm based on the alarm information, during a first period; and a step of displaying, on the display device, the calculated occurrence frequency for each alarm type during the first period in a manner arranged by alarm type.

16. A program to be executed by a computer for controlling a display device that displays the operating status of a plant, the program comprising: a step of acquiring alarm information indicating alarms that occur in the plant; a step of calculating an occurrence frequency for each alarm type indicating the type of alarm based on the alarm information, during a first period; and a step of displaying on the display device the calculated occurrence frequencies for each alarm type during the first period in a manner arranged by alarm type.